Latin America

Name Named this because the main languages spoken in the region, Spanish and Portuguese, are derived from Latin. (These are romance languages.)

What is Latin America Latin America consist of Middle America, (which is part of North America), and South America.

Middle America Middle America consists of Mexico, the seven countries of Central America, and the islands of the West Indies.

Mexico: Cancun

Mexico: City

Mexico: Popocatepetl

Belize

Belize: City

El Salvador

Honduras

Nicaragua

Costa Rica

Mexico: Pyramids of Teotihuacan

Panama

West Indies The West Indies consists of the Antilles, (Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico), the Lesser Antilles, and the Bahamas.

Antilles The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico.

The smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the southeast— comprising the northerly Leeward Islands, the southeasterly Windward Islands, and the Leeward Antilles just north of Venezuela.

SPAIN AND THE NEW WORLD

In 1492 Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to finance Christopher Columbus in the first European venture westward across the Atlantic. She had hopes of high returns on her investment.

Columbus, a sailor and a businessman, was hoping to find a faster route to Far Eastern trade area. In October of 1492, Columbus landed on the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas.

After being “claimed” by Columbus for Spain, the country financed a fleet to establish a settlement. In 1493, the first Spanish town, Isabella was built on the island of Hispaniola.

Economic Impact and Competition Colonists set up plantations to raise sugar, cotton, vanilla, and livestock. Native agricultural products such as potatoes, cocoa, corn, and tobacco were also shipped to Europe. This exchange of plants and animals between Europe and the Americas is known as the Columbian Exchange. Portugal brought eastern spices, jewels, silk, and perfumes. A global economy.

Watch Columbian Exchange John Green Crash Course.

God, Gold and Glory The desire for wealth was a large part of European expansion. Merchants, adventurers, and government officials hoped to find precious metals in and expand trade with the East, especially trade in spices. Another motive was religious, the desire to spread the Catholic faith to native peoples.

Spanish Colonies Spain had three goals in establishing this colony: – To gain the wealth of the Native Americans. – To convert the Native Americans to Christianity. – To establish a base for further Spanish explorations.

Spanish conquests The Spanish were able to conquer millions of Native Americans and destroy their cultures in a relatively short time. How did they do it? : – One of the best examples of Spanish conquest is the defeat of the Aztec Empire, the single most powerful Indian nation at the time of Spanish exploration.

Watch Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond. Guns, Germs, and Steel is a 1997 book by Jared Diamond, professor of geography at (UCLA). In 1998, it won the Pulitzer Prize. A documentary based on the book, and produced by the National Geographic Society, was broadcast on PBS in July The book attempts to explain why Eurasian civilizations have survived and conquered others, while arguing against the idea that Eurasian power is due to any form of intellectual, moral, or inherent genetic superiority. Diamond argues that the gaps in power and technology between human societies originate in environmental differences. When cultural or genetic differences have favored Eurasians he asserts that these advantages occurred because of the influence of geography on societies and cultures, and were not inherent in genetics.

How they did it: – Superstition-The belief that the Spaniards were supernatural gods. – Some believed that the Spaniards were the fulfillment of Indian legends. – The Native Americans were cautious in their dealings with the strange-looking people.

How they did it: Superior weapons- Cannons, guns, swords, armor, and horses caused fear, terror and confusion. The loud sounds of the Spanish weapons and the charging of armor-clad soldiers on horseback caused many of the Indians to flee. The Spanish weapons also inflicted debilitating injuries.

How they did it: Disease- A “weapon” the Spanish had not expected. Native Americans had little resistance to the European diseases; smallpox, measles, and typhus.

Results It is estimated that the Native American population in Middle America declined from 15 million to 3 million after only a century of Spanish rule.

Justification The Europeans saw Native Americans as sub- humans and not their equal. – Naked Savages – This is how they justified their domination and enslavement of these people.

Conquest Following long-held traditions of conquest, the Spanish set out to replace Indian culture with Spanish culture.