Early American Empires

1. Early American Empires

2. Types of Government • Democracy = a system of government in which the power is shared by all the people • Authoritarianism = a system of government in which power is highly centralized and maintained by political repression • Monarchy = a system of government in which all or most of the power is in the hands of one individual, the monarch, whose authority is hereditary.

3. Yucatan Peninsula • Valley of Mexico • Andes Mountains Now that’s a nice looking map!

4. Maya Empire (250 - 900 CE) • Each city had its own ruling chief (usually men, but sometimes women governed) • Nobles served as both military rulers, officials who collected taxes, and law enforcers • Since most Mayas were farmers, men cultivated the crops and women turned them into food • Most of the wealth of Maya cities, like Tikal, came from trade (honey, cocoa, and feathers) along roads of packed earth across Middle America.

5. Aztec Empire (1400s – 1521) • A single ruler, or Emperor, was chosen by council of nobles & priests and led the Aztecs from the capital • Tenochtitlan was a city (with temples, palaces, zoos and floating gardens) and the center of a well-ordered empire • Nobles served as officials, judges, and governors • Warriors might rise to nobles by killing/capturing enemies • Majority of people were farmers; some built chinampas • The lowest class were slaves, mostly prisoners of war

6. Inca Empire (1400s – 1535) • The emperor, known as Sapa Inca, exercised absolute power over the empire because he claimed divine right • Incan god-kings owned all land, herds, mines, and people • Gold, the “sweat of the sun,” was the emperor’s symbol • From their mountain capital at Cuzco, the Incas had an efficient chain of command that reached into every village • Nobles ran the local provinces and villages • Officialsenforced laws and collected taxes with quipus • The government divided up harvests among the farmers