Chapter 25: The New Worlds: The Americas and Oceania

Vocabulary

• Hernan Cortes: Hernan Cortes was a leader of a Spanish expedition searching for gold on the American mainland. Cortes and his men defeated the Aztec peoples with the use of their steel swords, muskets, cannons, and horses. The war lasted two years – 1519-1521.

• Encomienda: An institution that recruited labor. The Spanish settlers founded this because they were not strong enough or skilled enough to work in the gold mines. The Taino people made up the majority of the people that were recruited. 

• Conquistadors: Conquistadors literally translates to “conquerors”. These were Spanish explorers that led conquests over the American Mainland. 

• Francisco Pizarro: The leader in the expedition and conquest of the Inca Empire in modern day Peru. He led a force of about 160 men to defeat the hundreds of thousands of Incas in search for gold and other valuable metals and jewels. 

• Viceroys/audiencias: Viceroys were the king’s representatives in the Americas. To make sure they would not betray him and attempt to build their own power up to challenge him, the Kings of Spain subjected all viceroys to audiencias. Audiencias were reviews of them, their actions, and their progress led by “university-educated lawyers.” 

• Treaty of Tordesillas: The Treaty of Tordesillas was between Spain and Portugal. This treaty divided up the world along an imaginary north-south line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. According to this, all land found west of this imaginary line was claimed by Spain and similarly all land east for Portugal. 

• Mestizo: Mestizo literally translates to “mixed”. This was used to describe societies in which ethnicities were mixed. They were used at this time because the majority of migrants to the American Mainland were men, and therefore many entered relationships with the native peoples. Thus, Mestizo societies were born. 

• Silver Trade: Silver was more valuable and more attainable in the Americas. This made for a huge profit, and incentive for migrants to relocate. Silver production was majorly around two areas; high in the central Andes Mountains, and the thinly populated northern Mexico. 

• Mita System: A system in which the Spanish drafted 1/7 of all men from each village to work in the Potosi silver mines. The death rates of the mines were incredibly high, so native populations and demographics took a toll from this system. Many indigenous peoples fled the area so that they could avoid this. 

• Fur Trade: European mariners first visited the North American shores for fish, but eventually found that fur trade was much more profitable. Thus they began to barter with natives for fur, instead of fish and other items. They would sell the fur back in Europe or in settled American communities for large profits. 

• Indentured Servitude: Indentured servants were European peoples who could not afford to migrate over to the New World. Thus they would be brought over by someone else, and then be there servant for a number of years to pay off the cost of bringing them over the Atlantic Ocean. 

• James Cook: Captain James Hook was an experienced mariner who navigated all over the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans. He was the first European to discover Hawai’i. They did however, leave their mark there, spreading many epidemic diseases to the native people. 

Focus Question #1

            What were the various economic purposes for settlement of the new world?

            The economic purposes for settlement of the new world were the abundances of gold, silver, and other valuable natural resources. Other purposes included agricultural ventures to gain profit.

            The New World was especially rich in the highly valued gold and silver. The indigenous peoples were forced, at times brutally, to gather and mine these valuable resources so that the Europeans could take them back to Europe for a large profit. This led to many settled communities in the New World around these highly concentrated gold and silver mines.

            The agriculture in the New World was also a purpose for settlement. Tobacco, and other cash crops, were found only in the Americas, and thus were sold at great profits in Europe and all over the Western Hemisphere.

            Both of these factors contributed to a large pull of migrants from European countries looking to better their lives in these new settlements in the Americas.

Focus Question #2

            Compare and contrast South and North American colonial societies. Include governances, social structure, and labor systems.

            The colonial societies in North and South America differed in the majority of their labor systems; however, their governances and social structures were more similar then not.

            The labor systems in the early North American colonial societies were majorly made up of enslaved Africans and indentured servants. Africans were brought over from Africa to the New World in large ships in which hundreds of them were kept inhumanely. Indentured servants, however, were treated a lot better then the slaves. They were Europeans that could not afford to make the journey over to the New World, and thus they paid other Europeans to bring them over in return for their servitude for a number of years. This temporary servitude aided many communities to get started up. The labor systems in South America, however, usually involved the enslavement or work drafts of the indigenous peoples. Once the Europeans had established rule over the territory they would force the natives to do such jobs as the dangerous work in the gold and silver mines.

            The social structures in both North and South America were very similar. In both, the Europeans dominated the upper class and the middle class. The lower classes were made up of slaves, indentured servants, and indigenous peoples. These classes were not permanent however, because of the lack of European women that migrated; many indigenous people married Europeans and were hence regarded as being part of a higher social class.

            The governing of the new territories was also much the same for both Americas. In South America, Spanish Kings established viceroys to keep Spanish rule over territories. In North America, Europeans also established rule over indigenous peoples. The one major difference was that in North America, the overseas governments had less control, while in South America, the European governments had almost total control.