Chapter 7 Section 2 South America History

2.1 The Inca The Inca Empire included present day Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. It stretched along the Andes Mountain Range From 1438 until the Spanish conquest in the 1530s, the Inca Empire was one of South America’s largest and most advanced civilizations.

Workings of the Empire Capital city was built in Cuzco, (Peru) Their government was highly organized. The emperor was called Sapa Inca and considered a descendant, or relative of the sun god Inti. At its high point the Inca had 80 provinces and 12 million people. Inca society was organized into groups based on kinship, or blood relationship, and common land. Inca married within their kinship. The leader of each family worked for the empire a few months of the years.

Achievements of the Inca The Inca utilized, or made practical use of, their advanced engineering to adapt to the mountain environment. Inca farmed on terraced fields, or flat fields cut into slopes or mountainsides. They built irrigation canals and roads They built suspension bridges using vines and wood. A suspension bridge is a bridge used to cross canyons or water. Machu Picchu was built in the 1400s. Some archaeologists believe it served as a royal estate. 1530s the empire face problems with the people and economy and were conquered by Spain in 1532

2.2 Exploring the Nasca Culture Archaeologists study how people lived in the past. They examine artifacts, or objects left behind by past cultures. The Nasca people lived in Peru nearly 2,000 years ago. They left behind Nasca lines, which are a series of geogyphs, or large, geometric designs and animal shapes drawn on the ground.

2.3 People of the Lowlands People settled in the low-lying areas of South America more than 5 thousands years ago Development of agriculture allowed larger populations Lowland River Basins The lowland,or low-lying areas of South America include several fertile river basins which are supplied by melting snow The lowlands include the Orinoco River and surrounding grasslands, the Amazon River Basin ,and Paraguay River Basin.

Developing Agriculture First lowland people were nomads, or people who move from place to place. As hunter-gathers ,or people who hunted animals and gathered plants and fruits for food, they moved to different locations. As early as 3000 B.C. people began to farm the land and build villages in the lowlands. The Guarani people lived in the Paraguay Basin and used a technique called slash-and-burn before planting crops. They cut down and burned existing forest and vegetation to clear farm land.

2.4 The Spanish in South America In 1494, in order to avoid conflicts over exploration and settlement, Spain and Portugal signed a treaty, or an agreement between two or more countries. The Treaty of Tordesillas drew a line on a map that divided the newly discovered lands between the two countries. Spain had west of the line, and Portugal had east of the line. This set the stage for the Spanish conquest of South America

The Spanish Conquest In 1533, Francisco Pizarro, with a small army of men, overthrew the Inca emperor, Atahualpa. Pizarro founded the city of Lima Peru in 1535. The Spanish conquest of South America permanently transformed, or changed, much of the continent and its people. Impact of Native Populations European diseases wiped out entire villages. The Spanish enslaved natives and forced them to work on plantations and ranches and in mines. Many died from harsh labor conditions. Missionaries arrived after 1550’s to convert, or persuade native populations to change their religious beliefs.

Sugar and Slaves Portuguese colonization of Brazil took decades. They used native people to work their plantations but they quickly died from European disease, then they brought in slaves from Africa in 1560. Portuguese Wealth Brazil’s abundant resources combined with the slave labor made Portuguese wealthy. Gold and diamonds were discovered and demand for slaves from Africa increased. More than 5 million slaves came from Africa to Brazil. The Portuguese successfully put down rebellions, or revolts, against their rule until the early 1800s. Brazil declared independence in 1822. Slavery was abolished in 1888. 2.5 Brazil and the Slave Trade In 1500, Portuguese navigator Pedro Alvares Cabral was headed to India with his fleet when he went off course and landed on present day Brazil.

2.6 Simon Bolivar on Independence Most of South America was ruled by the Spanish for more than 300 years. Simon Bolivar led the revolution against the Spanish. Bolivar was born in 1783 to a wealthy family Caracas, Venezuela. In 1810 he joined the independence movement in Venezuela. Present day Bolivia was named in his honor.