Ch. 3 - Europe Expands to America
Voyages of Portugal and Spain (pp. 392-399)
1. Silk Route
-ancient trade route from the Middle East to China
-actually a series of trails
-
-cities along the route became wealthy, charging travelers and traders passage on the route
2. Macro Polo
-trader and explorer from Venice, Italy who went on three year trading mission to China at age 17
-given a governor ship by Kublia Khan, Mongol leader of China
-free to travel around China for 17 years
-returned to Europe after 17 years in China and put in jail
-wrote “The Adventures of Marco Polo” a book which described his travels
-prompted Europeans to try to find a sea route to China
3. Prince Henry
-Portuguese leader nicknamed “The Navigator”
-created a “navigation school” in Portugal to create a sea route to India and China
-as a result, Portugal began exploring and trading along the coast of Africa
-eventually led to a sea route to the Far East
4. Bartolomeu Dias-
-first to round the Cape of Good Hope
-proved that the Atlantic Ocean connected with the Indian Ocean
5. Vasco da Gama
-used the previous knowledge of the sea to reach India
-Portugal’s success prompted other nations to develop a sea route to Far East Asia
6. Christopher Columbus
-Italian explorer who used previous learning (including Greeks) to develop a theory
-”sail west to get east”
-unable to secure funding from Italy, went to Spain who agreed to fund his journey
-Spain had money freed up after driving Arab Moors out of Spain
-landed in Caribbean islands he mistakenly thought were in India and claimed them for Spain
7. Colombian Exchange
-refers to the trading between Europe and the Americas
-some exchange was good, some not so good
8. Treaty of Tordesillas
-issued by Pope Alexander VI to avoid conflict between the two most active nations claiming new land
-Spain had right to land west of the line and Portugal had rights to land east of the line
-Pedro Cabral’s fleet claimed what is modern Brazil for Portugal
9. Amerigo Vespucci
-first used the term “New World” realizing that the lands that had been discovered was not Asia
-for whom America was named
10. Vasco Balboa-
-proved that the New World was not in Asia
-crossed Panama reaching what he called the South Sea
11. Ferdinand Magellan
-first to rounded the southern tip of South America
-continued westward to the Philippine Islands (where he was killed)
-his crew returned to Spain being the first to sail around the world
Mesoamerica and Andean South America (pp. 208-211)
6. Olmecs-
-earliest civilized culture in the Americas reaching it’s height from 1200 to 400 B.C.
-influenced later Mesoamerican tribes
-farmed, fished, and hunted
-began practice of establishing religious centers
-used their technology to create several huge 40 ton statue heads
-mysteriously disappeared, possibly becoming the Mayan culture
8. Mayas-
-developed in Central America and southern Mexico
-known for advancements in astronomy, mathematics, and calendar
-first in Americas to develop a system of writing
-worshipped several gods which required blood sacrifices
-constructed tall pyramids for elaborate religious ceremonies
-eventually defeated by European invaders
9. Tikal-
-most populated (60,000 - 90,000) Mayan city, important as a religious center
-large religious pyramids and other monuments were constructed there
-was abandoned due to overpopulation, depleting resources, and competition from other cities caused its decline
10. Teotihuacan-
-large well organized Mayan city
-location of the pyramid of the sun and pyramid of the moon
-eventually conquered by the Aztecs
20. lachtli-
-religious ceremony carried out by playing a ball game in huge, elaborate, ball courts
-played with a small rubber ball which was to be knocked through a hoop along a wall
-could not use hands and feet
-cross between basketball and soccer
-losers where generally sacrificed to the gods
11. Toltec-
-early urban, American culture
-conquered central Mexico and controlled it with a strict military government
-Tula was capital city
-first began to worshipping the ancient gods
-some migrated to influence Mayan civilization
-gradually replaced in importance by the Aztec culture
12. Topiltzin-
-mythical Toltec leader, considered the offspring of the gods
-created large central American civilization by defeating his father’s 400 brothers after they murdered his father
-summoned the “feathered-serpant god” for assistance
-Topiltzin eventually dies while the “feathered-serpant god” flees across the sea
5. Mexica-
-with no homeland, they were forced to live a nomadic life
-lived under the rule of the Tepanecs kings who forced the Mexica to fight for them
-their settlement in Tenochtitlan marked the beginning of the Aztec empire
14. Aztecs
-warrior tribe which conquered most of central Mexico
-adopted and added to the culture of the Toltec
-possessed a complex religion that featured bloody sacrifice
-conquered land to use prisoners for sacrifices
-built cities larger than those in Europe
-had an elaborate and complex social structure
17. Huitzilopochtli-
-Aztec god of war
-believed to have the ability to fight off the darkness of night
-this god required “red water” (blood) to maintain his strength to fight the night
-promised the early Aztec a homeland when they saw the sacred sign: an eagle with a snake in it’s talons
-being sacrificed was considered an honor, but so many were needed that captive enemies were used
16. Lake Texcoco-
-located in the Valley of Mexico
-Aztec create large city on an island in the center of the lake
-eventually spread out into the Aztec empire
-drained in the 1600’s; modern Mexico City is located there
18. Tenochtitlan-
-great Aztec capital city on island in Lake Texcoco
-extremely well planned out and beautiful city of 200,000 people
-contained a huge pyramid with two temples on the top, one for Huitzilopochtili (sun god) and one for Ahuitzotl (rain god)
19. Chinampas-
-artificial farmland created around island
-Aztecs drove wood into lake bottom and filled area with dirt and reeds
-used for farming and feeding the growing population of Tenochtitlan
-some still exist and are used today
13. Quetzalcoatl-
-”feathered-serpent god” from the Toltec culture
-Aztecs believed the earth had been destroyed and created many times
-this god sprinkled the bones of the dead with his blood and created their new race
-since then, human blood was needed to replace that of the gods
-legend said he left this world, but would return from across the ocean in “one reed year” (1519) as a white-skinned, bearded being
22. Montezuma-
-greatest of the Aztec rulers
-conquored all of southern Mexico and Central America
-disliked by the people he conquored because he demanded an extremely high tribute
-taken captive by the Spanish and eventually killed during the Aztec revolt
15. Tribute
-payments (usually in the form of products, services, and sacrifices) given to the Aztecs by the conquered cities around Tenochtitlan
-Aztecs required these payments for protecting the areas around them
-cultures paying this tribute disliked the Aztecs and contributed to their demise
Conquistadors
-Spanish explores who sought gold in the “New World”
-overtook and destroyed the Mesoamerican cultures
-killed Indians in battle and through disease
21. Hernando Cortez-
-Spanish explorer that eventually brought an end to the Aztec civilization.
-thought to be a Quetzalcoatl by Montezuma
-made allies with surrounding tribes who the Aztecs forced to pay tribute and provide sacrifices
-was soundly defeated when trying to defeat the Aztecs, but left behind smallpox which eventually defeat the Aztec
23. Notcha Tresta-
-”the sad night”
-many Spaniards where killed as they tried to flee the city of Tenochtitlan after the death of Montozuma
24. Incas-
-South American empire which existed at the same time as the Aztecs in Mexico
-worshipped the sun and the moon, their name means “children of the sun”
-isolated from other civilizations by the high, rugged Andes Mountains
-governed by small, well organized communities called ayllus
-defeated by Spanish in 1532
25. Inti
-sun god, and main god of the Inca
26. Pachacuti
-known as the Sapa Inca (emperor) becoming the first ruler of the empire by defeating invaders
-thought to be the son of the sun god
-lived a very luxurious life
-followed tradition by marring his sister, Coya and appointing their children and other relatives to important government positions
-civil war after his death among his heirs severely weakened the empire
27. Cuzco
-Inca capital, rebuilt by Pachacuti in the shape of a puma
-population of probably reached 100,000, with central region reserved for nobles
-a network of roads linked the capital by message runners (called chasquis) with the rest of the empire
-huge temple of the sun built at the head of the puma
-burned when Incas tried to recapture the city from the Spanish
28. Quechua
-official language of the Inca empire
-developed because the tribes spoke different languages and communicate was difficult
-allowed for religion, laws, education, etc. to be unified
-no written language
29. Quipu
-knots tied on a rope, used to keep track of information like trade items, population, and harvest
30. Apopanaca
-”he who chooses”
-select young girls called Acllas to serve the gods
-a great honor to be selected
-all lived in an “acllahuachi” or “house of the chosen”
-the emperor chose who these girls would marry
-some were sacrificed to the gods in times of great emergency
31. “Juanita”
-frozen body of a well preserved Inca girl
-may have been killed as part of religious ceremony to stop a nearby volcano
Prophecies of the Inca Wisemen-
-1. plague- the small pox virus introduced by the Spanish
-2. war- civil war between Atahualpa and his brother Huscar
-3. destruction of the Inca Empire- Spanish destruction of the empire
Sapa Inca-
-name given to the leader of the Inca culture
21. Atahualpa
-fought civil war with his brother Huascar for inheritance of the Inca empire
-nobles supported Atahualpa because he granted them land
-developed strict rules about how the Inca would live their lives would be dictated for them early in life
-was taken captive by Spanish and offered a room full of gold and two of silver for his release
-Spanish, fearful that setting him free would mean the end for them, executed him for ordering the murder of his brother
Francisco Pizarro-
-after watching the success of Cortez, at age 60 led the Spanish conquistadors in taking over the Inca Indians
-takeover was aided by the recent civil war won by Atahualpa
-like Cortez and the future Spanish conquistadors, killed many in their quest for gold