Impact of European Colonialism in the Americas

European powers wanted to establish colonies in the Americas to get ________________ not available in Europe.

raw materials

Trading slaves became part of a ___________________ trade route that linked Africa, the Americas, and Europe.

triangular

Inca Empire

(1438 - 1533 CE) A large civilization in South America that stretched from present-day Colombia to Chile. The Inca excelled at engineering and developed new crops like potatoes.

Atlantic Slave Trade

(16th - 19th centuries) The transportation of African peoples across the Atlantic Ocean to be sold in the Americas as slaves.

Francisco Pizarro

(ca. 1471 or 1476 - 1541) A Spanish explorer who conquered the Inca Empire in South America.

Which of the following were effects of European colonialism in the Americas?

- Destroyed Aztec and Inca empires - Created a caste system in Spanish colonies - Brought deadly diseases to indigenous peoples - Brought Christianity to the Americas - Brought raw materials from the Americas to Europe - Forced indigenous peoples and Africans to work for Europeans

Which of these statements apply to both Spain's and Portugal's early expeditions to the Americas?

- Hoped to establish permanent colonies - Desired more natural resources

Which of these people would be the least likely to support laws weakening the encomienda system in 1542?

A European plantation owner; Plantation owners stood to make great profits by exploiting free native labor and would likely oppose an end to the encomienda system.

Encomienda System

A Spanish legal system that allowed Spaniards to use indigenous people for labor during the colonization of the Americas. Many Spaniards abused the indigenous people they controlled.

Triangular Trade

A trade route among Europe, Africa, and the Americas in which manufactured goods were brought from Europe to Africa and exchanged for slaves. Slaves were then transported across the Atlantic and exchanged for colonial goods like rum and tobacco. These goods were then brought to Europe, thus completing the triangle.

Which of these factors was not a reason why European colonists purchased enslaved Africans as a source of labor?

African slaves were used as overseers to force indigenous workers to complete their tasks

How do we know that some people of African descent were not slaves in spains American colonies?

Because the Spanish had a caste system that included free Africans and former slaves.

How was the experience of the Aztecs under Hernan Cortes similar to that of Africans brought to the New World in the 1500s?

Both groups were forced to perform labor for European colonists.

Which of these describes a similarity between the indigenous American and African experience with Christianity?

Both mixed Christianity with their own religions, as they were often compatible; While the Spanish hoped to completely convert indigenous and slave societies, missionary efforts usually resulted in new religions that combined Christianity with other forms of spirituality.

Could Colonists Rely on Coercing Indigenous Peoples?

European colonists faced more than just social and political pressure to end forced indigenous labor. There were also practical problems: - Some indigenous peoples, especially in the Portuguese colonies in Brazil, did not have a tradition of farming the same land every year and had few relevant skills. - Since native workers knew the land better than Europeans, many successfully escaped into the forests and jungles. - Most importantly, the European diseases that had helped the conquistadores defeat powerful American empires continued to devastate indigenous populations in Spanish and Portuguese colonies.

How Did Indigenous Laborers Differ from African Slaves?

Indigenous Laborers: - Little resistance to European diseases - Often had little farming experience - Born near Spanish colonies African Slaves: - Some immunity to European diseases - Unfamiliar with American landscape - Experience cultivating valuable crops

Which of the following statements best summarizes the major impact of Cortés's arrival in Central America?

Indigenous populations were devastated through war and disease.

European Weaponry: Guns and Germs

Part of the success of Cortés and his troops can be explained by Europeans' superior military equipment. The wooden weapons and cloth armor of the Aztecs were no match for European guns, steel weapons, and horses. Cortés also won the support of some groups of indigenous people who had suffered under Aztec rule. The most important factor, however, was the spread of disease.

Common Classifications in the Spanish Caste System

Peninsulares: White European settlers. born in Spain Creoles: Children of white Europeans born in the Americas Mestizos: Children of a white European and an indigenous American Mulattos: Original European settlers born in Spain Indigenous American and Free Africans: Indigenous people and Africans who were born free or had been freed Enslaved Africans: Africans who were enslaved

How Did Spain Manage Its Colonies?

Pizarro and Cortés were able to conquer large territories with small armies. But successful colonies needed more people to produce food, mine for precious metals, and maintain buildings. To supply the colonies with labor, the conquistadores relied on coerced labor through the encomienda system. The encomienda system was based on European feudalism. Spanish colonists, like lords in the feudal system, were given control over specific lands and all the indigenous peoples living on them. These people were not allowed to leave the colony, had to work for little or no pay, and were required to provide colonists with gold, food, and resources. In exchange, the colonists were tasked with defending the indigenous peoples, educating them in the Spanish language, and teaching them about Christianity.

Spain and _______________ were the first countries to establish large colonies in the Americas.

Portugal

Defining Social Classes in Spanish America

Spanish colonists invented a complicated caste system that classified people into categories, each with its own social roles and privileges. Under this system, people in the Americas fit into four basic racial categories: - White Europeans born in Europe - White Europeans born in the Americas - Enslaved and free black Africans - Free indigenous people

Why did Spanish colonists begin to rely more heavily on the Atlantic slave trade by the mid-1500s?

Spanish legal restrictions and outbreaks of disease made it difficult to enslave indigenous populations.

Explain what factors you think might allow a small military force to conquer a much larger civilization.

Superior weapons could allow a small number of people to defeat a larger group. A small force could also use bribery, sabotage, or other tricks to gain an advantage.

Why might African leaders have been willing to participate in the exchange of slaves for goods?

The Slaves were often prisoners, not their own people

Which statement defines colonialism?

The policy of extending political and economic control over a foreign territory

How do historians know that race and social class in the early Spanish colonies were closely related?

There were specific terms used to divide people into different classes based on their parents

The Motivations of Portugal and Spain

While many European countries established colonies in the Americas, Portugal and Spain were the earliest to do so. During the Age of Exploration, Portugal took the lead in investigating the New World — perhaps because Portugal's small European territory struggled to produce all the natural resources the country needed. By establishing colonies in the Americas, the Portuguese gained access to valuable resources like sugar that had not been available to them in the past. Portuguese sugar plantations in present-day Brazil were some of the first European settlements in the New World. Portugal's larger neighbor, Spain, also saw value in colonizing the Americas. Motivated by a desire to get precious metals and convert indigenous peoples to Catholicism, Spain sent soldiers to Central and South America in the early 1500s to conquer new lands and establish colonial rule.

Spanish and Portuguese colonists needed _____________________ for their mines and plantations in the Americas.

cheap labor

When the indigenous population __________________ rapidly, colonists in __________________ turned to slave traders in __________________.

decreased, America, Africa

One reason Spain was so successful in conquering indigenous peoples is that many of them _______________________.

died from European diseases

The Spanish developed the _____________ system, which gave them control of indigenous peoples and others in the Americas.

encomienda