EARLY AMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS & THE AGE OF EXPLORATION

1. EARLY AMERICAN CIVILIZATIONS & THE AGE OF EXPLORATION

2. EARLY AMERICAMAYAN CIVILIZATION • 300 – 900 A.D. • Located in Southern Mexico and parts of Central America • Broken into city-states • Each city-state had a ruling chief • Priests were very powerful • Mayans were farmers and traders • Women had important religious, political, and household duties • Religious Beliefs • Polytheistic • Human sacrifices • Held ceremonies for harvests and war • Contributions • Writing system • Calendar • Astronomy • Pyramids

3. EARLY AMERICAAZTEC EMPIRE • 1325-1521 A.D. • Located in Central Mexico • Built an empire through conquest • Collected tribute • Single Ruler (Example: Montezuma) • Nobles served as officials, judges, and governors • Capital City – Tenochtitlan • Aztecs were farmers, warriors and traders • Religious Beliefs • Polytheistic • Sun God was the most important • Human sacrifices • Conquered by the Spanish in 1521

4. EARLY AMERICASINCAN EMPIRE • Located in present day Peru, South America • Located in the Andes Mountains • Ruled by a god-king • Provinces ruled by chiefs and nobles • Incans were farmers and metalworkers • Depended on the llama for food, clothing, and transport • Arranged marriages • Built an extensive road system • Cuzco – city that was centrally located in the empire and center of the government • Religious Beliefs • Polytheistic • Sun god was most important

6. WHAT MADE IT POSSIBLE? • Cartographer – a person who makes map • The Astrolabe – Sailors used this portable navigation device to help them find their way. By measuring distance of the sun and the stars above the horizon, the astrolabe helped determine latitude. • Circumnavigate – to travel around the world • Caravels – These large ships employed significantly larger sails and could hold supplies for longer journeys in their large cargo rooms

7. THE CARAVEL SHIP

8. WHO EXPLORED? • Spain and Portugal led the way during the Age of Exploration • The Iberian Peninsula was strategically located on the Atlantic coast

9. THE ENCOUNTER • Conquistador - Conqueror • Hernando Cortez • Conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico • Francisco Pizarro • Conquered the Incan Empire in Peru • How? • Both men faked friendship towards the Native Americans before conquering their empire Hernando Cortez Francisco Pizarro

10. HOW DID THE EUROPEANS CONQUER THE NATIVE AMERICANS? • Superior military technology • Division among the Native Americans • Indians believed the end of the world was near • Disease among the Native Americans • The Native American population went from 20 million in 1520 to fewer than 2 million in 1580

11. THE DESTRUCTION OF THE AZTEC & INCAN EMPIRES

12. THE SPANISH EMPIRE Government • Viceroy • Council of Indies The Church • Practiced Christianity in the New World • Europeans tried to force the Native Americans to Christianity Harsh Treatment • Europeans treated the Native Americans as inhumane • They tortured, beat, killed, and raped the Native Americans

13. THE SPANISH EMPIRE Impact of Africans • The need for labor in the Americas resulted in the importation of Africans • Africans were used as slaves • West African slave trade • Middle Passage

16. AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE

17. PENINSULARES:Latin Americans born in Spain. Held the most wealth and almost all the power. They were the dominant class! CREOLES:Latin Americans of pure Spanish descent (Both parents were born in Spain). Held major wealth but little power in the government MESTIZOS:mostly peasants farmers of mixed Native American & Spanish descent who held few rights. MULATTOES: Latin Americans of mixed African & Spanish descent who held few rights SLAVES: mostly people of Native American or African descent who were forced to work and who had basically no rights

18. ENCOMIENDA SYSTEM • This system provided the peninsulares with land and a specified number of native laborers • In return, the peninsulares were expected to protect the natives and convert them to Christianity • Some Christian missionaries were shocked at the treatment of some of the natives and appealed to the viceroys, emperor, and the Catholic Church • Solution – bring in new workers for the hardest jobs (Africans) • Both the natives and Africans were at the bottom of the social structure and received no rights

19. A FAIR DEAL FOR THE COLONISTS? During colonial times, European manufacturers paid for raw materials (such as cotton) from the colonies. At the same time, the colonists were expected to purchase all of their finished goods (such as clothing) from Europe. • What types of prices do you think European manufacturers paid for raw materials? • What types of prices do you think the colonists paid for finished goods? • Do you think this was a fair relationship? • What was this theory known as?

20. WHAT IS MERCANTILISM? • An economic system in which the government controls trade • Exported goods are of greater than value than imported goods

21. MANUFACTURED GOODS COLONY– MOTHER COUNTRY RELATIONSHIP MOTHER COUNTRY Uses raw materials from the colonies to make manufactured goods and then sells them to the colonies COLONY Produces raw materials for the mother country’s industry and buys the manufactured goods the mother country produces • RAW MATERIALS • MONEY

22. THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE • The exchange of goods between Europe and the Americas • Involved European countries located on the Atlantic coast such as Portugal, Spain, England and France

24. COMMERCIAL REVOLUTION • Europe made the transition from a feudal economy to a new economy where goods were traded worldwide (mostly along waterways) • Involved several factors: • Mercantilism: economic system benefitting mother countries • Colonies: owned by a mother country; responsible for selling less costly raw materials to the mother country and would buy finished, manufactured goods at a more expensive price