Standards  Strand: History  Topic: Colonization to Independence  European countries established colonies in North America as a means of increasing wealth and power. As the English colonies developed their own governments and economies, they resisted domination by the monarchy, rebelled and fought for independence.  Content Statement: 2  North America, originally inhabited by American Indians, was explored and colonized by Europeans for economic and religious reasons.

Essential Question  What were the economic and religious reasons for Europeans (the Spanish) coming to North and South America?

Effects of the Reconquista  During the Reconquista in Spain, (fighting with the Moors of N. Africa) there was constant war. o This created a class of warriors that had little land or money.  When the Reconquista ended, these soldiers were out of work.  Many Spanish soldiers chose to move to the Americas to seek fortune and fame.

Conquistadores  Conquistadores – Spanish soldiers who led military expeditions in the Americas.  Hernán Cortés – Spanish conquistador sent to present- day Mexico in 1519.

o He heard stories of a wealthy land ruled by King Moctezuma. o He wanted to find Moctezuma and capture him and his treasure in the name of the King of Spain. o Traveled with around 600 armed soldiers, 16 horses, and war dogs.

Kingdom of the Aztec  Moctezuma II (aka Montezuma)- King of the Aztec Empire o Rich civilization was made up of millions of people with thousands of warriors. o While he had many warriors, his people had never seen horses and had no guns.

Cortés’ Plan  Cortés hoped his superior weapons, horses, and war dogs would frighten the Aztecs and bring him victory.

Moctezuma’s Response  Moctezuma sent Cortés gifts of gold and other valuables to try and keep him away from the Aztec capital Tenochtitlán.  The signs of wealth only encouraged Cortés and increased his greed.

Cortés and Moctezuma  Moctezuma was friendly to the Spanish, but Cortés took him prisoner and captured the city.  The Aztec rebelled and fought back against the Spanish.  The outnumbered Spanish suffered heavy losses.  During the battle of Tenochtitlán, Moctezuma was wounded and died shortly after.

 The Spanish fought the Aztec for several months.  Cortés gathered thousands of soldiers from other American Indian groups and equipped his fleet with cannons.  The city was destroyed shortly after.  Cortés conquered a territory larger than Spain.

Effects on the Aztec  After the capital fell, other towns soon fell to Cortés and his men.  Hundreds of thousands of Aztec also began to die from Spanish diseases such as smallpox.  These losses and the spread of disease led to the fall of the Aztec empire.

Francisco Pizarro  News of Cortés’ success and fortune inspired other conquistadores.  Francisco Pizarro was a conquistador who heard of Cortés’ success and wanted to become rich and famous as well.  Pizarro heard rumors of golden cities in the mountains of South America.  In 1531, Pizarro landed with a small army on the coast of present-day Peru.

Pizarro and the Inca  Pizarro soon reached the Incan Empire.  It stretched from present-day Chile to Colombia.

 The Inca leader, Atahualpa (ah-ta-wall-pa) heard about Pizarro and his men but he was not afraid o Pizarro only had around 200 men compared to the thousands of the Inca

Factors against the Inca  The Inca could not compete with the Spanish invaders’ swords and guns  Smallpox also killed tens of thousands of Inca  The Inca also were involved in a civil war with forces led by Atahualpa’s half-brother.

Fall of the Inca  Pizarro arranged a meeting with Atahualpa.  Pizarro lured Atahualpa and his men to the feast, and then opened fire on the unarmed Inca.  He then kidnapped Atahualpa and tried to force him to convert to Christianity.

Cont’d  While holding him captive, Pizarro made plans to gain power over the Inca  He then ransomed Atahualpa for Incan gold and silver  For Atahualpa’s safe return, the Inca delivered 24 tons of gold and silver to Pizarro.  Instead of freeing him, Pizarro killed Atahualpa.  Pizarro then joined with several Inca rebel leaders, and eventually conquered the Inca Empire.

Background  Conquistadors had conquered a huge territory for Spain.  After mid 1500’s, Spain’s American empire was larger than that of any other European nation.  Spain ran into the problem of trying to control an empire across the Atlantic ocean

Spanish Empire  Spain ruled its American empire through a system of royal officials.  The Council of the Indies was formed to govern the Americas from Spain o The Council appointed two viceroys  The Viceroyalty of Peru  Most of South America  The Viceroyalty of New Spain  Central America and Mexico

Spanish Empire  Most of the local officials were not carefully watched o The empire was so large it was difficult to oversee everything that happened.  The people in Spanish America lived in the old Aztec and Inca Empires  These lands were full with gold and silver mines o This gold and silver would be shipped back to Spain

Ruling New Spain  There were three kinds of settlements in New Spain o Pueblos - trading posts and centers of government  Formed on the sites of American Indian villages o Missions – Religious community built around a church  Used to convert local American Indians to Catholicism o Presidios – Military forts  Used to protect the towns and missions

Ruling New Spain  Orders from King Phillip II of Spain also declared that Christianity should be spread through the Native population o The natives should also be taught Spanish customs and ways of life.

Life in New Spain  Many settlers relied heavily on the labor of American Indians  Spain established the encomienda (en-com-e-enda) system o This gave Spanish settlers the right to tax local American Indians or to make them work o In exchange, these settlers were to protect and teach local American Indians

Life in New Spain  The settlers also were expected to convert the native Americans to Christianity  The native Americans were treated like slaves, being forced to grow crops, work in mines, and herd cattle  Many of the native Americans died because of harsh working conditions  The natives also were continuing to die because of Spanish disease.  In response to these deaths, the Spanish started to bring in enslaved Africans in order to work on plantations.

Colonial Society/Social Classes  By 1650 the Spanish Empire in America contained between 3 and 4 million people o American Indians made up about 80% of the population  Spanish law divided society into classes based on birthplace and race

Social Classes- highest to lowest o Peninsulares- were white Spaniards born in Spain  Held the highest government offices in New Spain o Criollos (cree -o-yo-s)– people born in the Americas to Spanish parents o Mestizos – Had both Spanish and American Indian parents  Often worked for criollos as laborers or craftspeople  Largest group of people of European descent  American Indians had only limited legal protection  Enslaved Africans had little or no legal protection

P eninsulares Criollos Mestizos American Indians