Transcript The Clash of Cultures: Europeans in the Americas Readings: Spodek, pp. 452-458

The Clash of Cultures: Europeans in
the Americas
Readings:
http://faculty.fullerton.edu/nfitch/nehaha/index.htm
Spodek, pp. 452-458
Aztecs/Mexica--Mexico
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Nahuatl
Mayan
Quetzacoatl
Tenochtitlan
Lake Texcoco
Montezuma II
takes power
(1502)
Cortes Decides to Conquer Mexico
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Spaniards Conquer Cuba
1517—Spaniards begin to explore
Mexico
Aztecs may have experienced bad
omens, but an invention?
February 10, 1519 Hernan Cortes
defies Governor Diego Velasquez
June 3, 1519 Spaniards arrive at
Cempoala with 11 ships, 600
soldiers, 200 native servants, 16
horses, 32 crossbows, 13 muskets,
and 14 cannons
Cortez’s translator, Jerome de
Aguilar spoke Mayan.
Cortes finds a Translator and Mistress
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Dona Marina is also
known as La Malinche
or Malintzin.
Dona Marina spoke
Mayan and Nahuatl.
She became Cortez’s
translator and mistress
Mexica called Cortez El
Malinche in some
documents
Cortes’ Route to Tenochtitlan
Cholula Massacre
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September 2-20,
1519—the
Spaniards fight with
the Tlaxcalans but
end by winning
Tlaxcalan allies
October 1519—
Massacre at Cholula
Cortez and Moctezuma
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November 8, 1519 –
Cortes enters
Tenochtitlan
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Does Moctezuma believe
he’s Quetzacoatl?
Modern historians – no,
documents ambiguous
Panfilo de Navaez – May
1520
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Cortes leaves Pedro de
Alvarado in Charge
Moctezuma Killed
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Pedro de Alvarado
attacks Mexica during
festival
June 1520 –
Moctezuma killed
Ultimately replaced
by Cuauhtemoc
La Noche Triste
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Spaniards forced to
flee
La Noche Triste –
June 30, 1520
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Cortes loses 2/3 of
his men and many
horses
Spanish conquest
not inevitable
Cortes takes Tenochtitlan
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July 1520—Spaniards reach Tlaxcala
and are welcomed
July 1520-May 1521 Cortez regroups
with Tlaxcala help—builds
brigantines
October 1520—Smallpox decimating
the population of Tenochtitlan
Mexica fortify Tenochtitlan like
European cities
May 1521—Spaniards lay siege to
Tenochtitlan.
July 1521—After failing to take
Tenochtitlan, Cortez decides to
destroy it.
August 13, 1521—Cuathemoc either
surrenders or is captured and the
Battle of Tenochtitlan is over with the
city in ruins.
Peru
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Inca Huayna Capac ruled
generally well from
1493-1525.
He had an army of
50,000 loyal followers.
The Incas thought he was
a god or god-like
Problem: Religion and
Ancestor Worship of
Incas (The name was
given to the people ruled
as well as the ruler.)
Peru (continued)
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When Capec died, he was preserved as a mummy
and housed in a sacred chamber with other
mummified Incas.
The mummified Inca retained possession of all
estates and properties held in life. Inca nobility
managed the property of the dead Incas.
By 1525, so much property in hands of dead
Incas, almost none available for live Incas
The Incas
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Huascar (1525-1532)
succeeded his father
as Inca and was
crowned at Cuzco.
Proposed burying the
mummies and selling
their property so
living could have
land.
Incas
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Atahualpa (1532-1533)
Atahualpa was Huascar’s
half-brother
He had tried to get
Huascar to agree to share
power
Huascar refused
Atahualpa not legal heir
but had support of
nobility – upset at
mummy proposal.
There was a civil war and
Atahualpa won.
Spanish Conquest of Peru
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Francisco Pizarro (c. 14751541)
May 13, 1532 – Alahualpa
wins, Pizarro reaches northern
Peru
Did Atahualpa think Pizarro
was the God Virachocha, who
he believed would return? Or,
a Spanish invention?
Pizarro tricked Atahualpa—
killed him after he got
Atahualpa’s gold
Fierce resistance for at least
100 years
How did the Spaniards control
the Americas?
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Disease (especially smallpox) was one control – not intentional at
first
Peru’s population fell from 1.3 million in 1570 to 600,000 in 1620.
Mexico’s population fell from 25.3 million Indians in 1519 to 1
million in 1605
Native population had no immunity because of isolation from the
population networks of Africa and Eurasia.
Economic Control
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Natives were also treated poorly
by the Spaniards. They were
forced to work on mines and
sugar plantations after
Spaniards took land from them.
In 1511 King Ferdinand
concluded that “one black could
do the work of four Indians.”
That started the birth of Slavery
and massive imports of Africans
into the Americas.
Encomienda
Plantation/Fazenda
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New agriculture
New livestock
New labor
Cultural Control
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Paper
City Building
Race
Language of Color-based
racial thinking
Gender
Religion
Government