Chapter 4

Spain Builds an Empire

Lesson 1: The Voyages of Columbus

Columbus and the Taino

• On the island of Guanahani in 1492, the villagers (Taino) see a ship like nothing they have ever seen before.

• This island is southeast of FL• Europeans were continuing to explore the world.• Christopher Columbus-Italian-wanted to find a

better besides the Silk Road to reach the Indies to get the gold, spices and other goods there.

• He suggested sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean.

• Columbus needed money to pay for this expedition.

• He took his plan to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.

• They did not agree right away, but were finally convinced that Columbus could find a cheaper and quicker way to the Indies.

• On August 3, 1492 Columbus left Spain in 3 ships-Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.

• After 1 month at sea, the men feared they were never going to see home again. They had traveled farther west than they thought possible, and they wanted to turn back and go home.

• Columbus pushed on.

• On October 12 land was sighted from the Pinta.• Columbus wrote, “At two hours after midnight,

the Pinta fired a cannon, my prearranged signal for the sighting of land.”

• Columbus claimed the land for the Spanish king and queen.

• Soon after, the Taino come to greet the Europeans.

• It is also thought that Columbus may have reached the Bahama Islands because he believed that he reached the Indies. He called the Taino “Indians,” and this name was later referred to the native people of the Americas.

• The Bahama Islands and other islands of the region became know as the West Indies.

• 1. Why did Columbus suggest sailing west to Asia?

• 1. He thought he might find an easier and quicker route to India.

• 2. Why do you think Columbus wanted to continue even when the crew wanted to turn back?

• 2. He wanted to honor his agreement and he wanted to become famous and wealthy.

• 3. What do you think was Columbus’s first impression of the people he met?

• 3. He admired the skill with which they make their boats.

The Columbian Exchange

• Columbus led 3 more expeditions to the Americas.

• On the second trip in 1493, he took 17 ships loaded with settlers, animals and other supplies.

• The new goal for this trip besides the riches already discovered, was to start a colony that would bring profits to Spain.

• Before long, thousands of settlers were living in colonies set up throughout the West Indies.

• The Columbian Exchange had begun-this was a movement of people, animals, plants, diseases and ways of life between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

• Europeans brought horses, cattle , sheep and pigs with them to the Western Hemisphere, and in the Eastern Hemisphere people enjoyed new foods from the Americas like corn, potatoes, tomatoes, cocoa, and beans.

• The exchanges helped the people, but not all of the effects were positive.

• Without knowing it Europeans brought disease germs to the Americas. Many Native Americans died because they had no defense against small pox and measles.

• As European colonies took hold in the West Indies, the native people’s way of life changed-many were forced to work on large farms growing sugar cane and other crops. Sugar cane was use to make sugar-a huge profit maker for owners.

• The Spanish also wanted to bring Christianity to the native people. They forced the natives to give up their own beliefs and the way of life for the Taino and other native groups disappeared.

• 4. What were Spain’s goals in returning to the Americas?

• 4. To start a colony that would bring profits to Spain.

• 5. Do you think the Columbian Exchange was beneficial to native peoples? Why?

• 5. No, because their way of life was changed and many died because they had no defense against smallpox or measles.

• 6. Using the picture at the bottom of page 136• Which animal moved from West to East? • Which plant moved from East to West?

• 6. Turkey

Sugarcane

• 7. How were the goods moving from West to East similar to the goods moving from East to West?

• 7. Plants and animals traveled in both directions.

Explorers for Spain

• Christopher Columbus• 1451-1506• Born in Italy• Let four voyages

between 1492 and 1504

• Amerigo Vespucci• 1454-1512• Born in Italy• Sailed to the eastern

coast of South American in 1501

• Vasco Nunez de Balboa

• 1475-1519• In 1513 crossed the

Isthmus of Panama and reached the Pacific Ocean

• Ferdinand Magellan• About 1480-1521• Led the first

expedition around the world, which began in 1519 and ended without him in 1522.

• He was killed during the voyage

• 8. Was the “new world” really “new”?

• How did it get that name?

• 8. No, other civilizations lived in the Americas for many years before the Europeans arrived.

• Europeans gave it that name because the places were new to them.

• 9. Which explorer or explorers sailed before Vasco Nunez de Balboa?

• 9. Christopher Columbus and Amerigo Vespucci

• 10. Which explorers sailed along the eastern coast of South America?

• 10. Amerigo Vespucci and Ferdinand Magellan

• 11. Which explorer sent by Spain led the most expeditions to the Western Hemisphere?

• 11. Christopher Columbus

• 12. Most of the explorers made voyages a little longer than those made by the explorer or explorers before him. Why do you think this was true?

• 12. Ships became sturdier;

Explorers better understood the dangers and knew more about certain routes;

Explorers were curious and wanted to find new lands

The Impact of Columbus

• Columbus showed Europeans the way to the Americas.• The name America comes from the explorer, Amerigo

Vespucci, who in 1502 became the first to call the Americas a “new world.”

• Many more Europeans followed in search of land and riches.

• By the early 1600s explorers and settlers from Spain, Portugal, England, France, Sweeden and the Netherlands had come to the Americas.

• These countries fought among themselves and against native peoples for control of the Western Hemisphere.

• 13. What was the effect of the voyages made by Columbus and Vespucci? How are Columbus’s accomplishments honored today?

• 13. Explorers from other European countries also came to the Americas to claim land and other riches.

• We have a national holiday -Columbus Day

Astrolabe

Columbus used an astrolabe to measure his latitude on his voyage to the Americas.

Naming America

• The Italian navigator Amerigo Vespucci was the first to realize that America was a separate continent-not part of China. The continents of North and South America are named for him.

Gold from the Americas

• Columbus promised to return with gold and silver for King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. The gold he found was used to make coins.

The Santa Maria• The Santa Maria was one of

the three ships of

Columbus’s first

voyage. He traveled

on the Santa Maria

until it was wrecked

off the coast of the

West Indies. For the

voyage back to Spain,

he transferred to the Nina.

Lesson 2: Different Worlds Collide

The Aztecs are Conquered

• The Spanish had begun establishing colonies in the Caribbean Sea.

• Hernando Cortes arrived in Cuba and heard of riches in Mexico and was encouraged to gain some of the Aztecs’ wealth.

• He as a member of a group of Spanish soldiers (conquistadors) went to take on the Aztecs and Moctezuma.

• Cortes and his 500 conquistadors faced a major challenge-they were outnumbered.

• The Spanish did have some advantages over the Aztec-metal armor for protection, muskets, and horses.

• The Spanish also had some allies-the people that they met on their way to Tenochtitlan did not want to live under Aztec rule any more, so they decided to help Cortes.

• One woman, Dona Marina, spoke several Indian languages and spoke to the natives of Mexico for Cortes and persuaded them to join him.

• Another ally was an invisible one that they carried with them, smallpox. Thousands did as a result of this disease.

• In 1519 Moctezuma agreed to let Cortes stay in Tenochtitlan.

• A year later, the Aztecs rose up and threw the Spanish out of their city. Moctezuma was killed, maybe by his own people.

• Cortes escaped, but returned in 1520 with many more native people as allies.

• In 1521, the mightiest empire of the Americas fell to the conquistadors.

• 1. Which forces were stronger-Cortes’s forces or Aztec forces? Explain.

• 1. The Aztec forces were larger, but Cortes had horses, better weapons, and the help of allies.

• 2. How did Cortes gain allies to help conquer the Aztecs?

• 2. He met native peoples who did not want the live under Aztec rule. He became friends with an interpreter who persuaded many native peoples to join him.

• 3. What role did disease play in Cortes’s plan to conquer land for Spain? How is this similar to the role of diseases in the Columbian Exchange?

• 3. Smallpox killed many of the Aztecs, weakening their forces. Smallpox and measles also killed native peoples who came into contact with Columbus and his crew.

• 4. Why do you think Moctezuma at first agreed to let Cortes stay in Tenochtitlan?

• 4. He may not have understood Cortes’s true goals and may have trusted him.

Founding New Spain

• After the conquest of the Aztecs, the Spanish destroyed Tenochtitlan.

• The conquistadors were helped again by disease-smallpox continued to take the lives of many in Mexico.

• In 1535, Spain established the colony of New Spain, and the capital was Mexico City.

• Spanish officials came and set up a government, laws, and build schools and universities.

• Roman Catholic priests came to convert the natives to its Christian religion.

• Spanish colonists hoped to gain wealth by staring farms, businesses, and gold and silver mines in New Spain.

Mexico City

• Mexico City is one of the oldest cities in the Western Hemisphere.

• It was built on the ruins of Tenochtitlan.

• Evidence of the ancient Aztec city are found in the center of the modern city by archaeologists.

• 5. How does building new cities on the ruins of older cities make the work of archaeologists easier and harder?

• 5. Easier because they don’t have to search for additional sites.

• Harder because materials from older cities could be covered by new roads or buildings that prevent excavation.

• 6. What happened after the Spanish forces defeated the Aztecs?

• 6. They destroyed Tenochtitlan.

• 7. Do you think the Spanish could have achieved their goals in different ways? Why do you think they chose to fight instead of working with the Aztecs?

• 7. The Spanish wanted complete control and decided to display their strength. The Spanish may have believed that they were better than the Aztecs.

The Conquests Continue

• The powerful and wealthy Incas controlled a huge area of land in western South America.

• Ten years after the conquest of Mexico began, Spain sent Francisco Pizarro to South America to conquer the Incan Empire.

• Pizarro captured the Incan ruler Atahualpa in 1532.• The next year, Pizarro captured Cuzco the capital city.• By 1535, Pizarro had founded a new capital Lima in a

colony called Peru-still the capital city today.• The conflict between the Spanish and the native peoples

continues, and some natives fought back. Most faced defeat and a new culture that was part Indian and part Spanish was born.

• 8. Where did the Spanish conquest begin? How did it spread?

• 8. It started in present-day Mexico. Pizarro went to South America to conquer the Incan Empire.

Lesson 3: Life in New Spain

The Search for Gold• In 1540, Spanish conquistador Hernando de

Soto and 700 men are traveling through what is now today Georgia.

• They are searching for Cofitachiqui, a rich American Indian city they have heard about.

• They meet a young Native American woman that they call “the Lady of Cofitachiqui.”

• They ask her about the pearls she has with her. She then takes them to a building that contains many more pearls.

• De Soto is interested in more than just pearls. He hopes to find gold like Cortes found in Mexico.

• They demand that the woman take them to find gold, but she escapes and they are left to explore without finding the treasure they seek.

• Another story was told by Esteban, an African sailor who had been enslaved. He tells of a rich kingdom called Cibola located far to the north of Mexico.

• Esteban had survived a shipwreck off the coast of Texas with the conquisator Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca in 1528.

• They traveled for 8 years through what is now the southwest region of the U.S.

• 3 years later, Esteban joined another expedition to find Cibola. He did not find the kingdom.

• Esteban was killed by the Zuni people in what is now New Mexico.

• The legend of Cibola did not fade.

• The governor of New Spain decided to send Franscisco Vasquez de Coronado to find the cities.

• He did not find the cities of Cibola either, because they did not exist.

Spanish Explorers

• Juan Ponce de Leon

• Landed on the Florida peninsula in 1513

• Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca• Explored what is now Texas in

1528

• Hernando de Soto

• Became the first European to reach the Mississippi River in 1540

• Francisco Vasquez de Coronado

• Explored the American Southwest in 1540

• 1. How did the Spanish hear the story of Cibola?

• 1. Esteban, an enslaved African sailor, told the story

• 2. Why do you think that the Spanish believed the story of Cibola for so long?

• 2. The land was so new to the Spanish that the idea of such a place many not have seemed strange to them. The Spanish had found many riches, so they may have believed there were still more to come.

• 3. Which of the explorers listed was first to explore lands in what would become the U.S.?

• 3. Juan Ponce de Leon-Florida

• 4. Which explorer went the furthest west in North America?

• 4. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado

Society in New Spain

• Most of the fighting between the native people and conquistadors north and south of Mexico City had ended by the late 1500s.

• The Spanish gained enough control to move colonists into these lands.

• A new way of life and a new society-group of people forming a new community, was developing in New Spain

• At the top of colonial society were the peninsulares-people born in Spain– Wealthy and powerful– Some owned plantations-large farms with many workers– Others received grants-encomienda-which granted control of all

the native people who lived on an area of land– Owners were supposed to care for the native people and

convert them to Christianity, natives could also work on the plantation

– The Native people would give the encomienda owner crops that were grown and other goods

• The next group were creoles-people of Spanish background who were born in the Americas

• Under creoles were mestizos-person with Indian and Spanish background-this was the largest group in New Spain

• People who had no Spanish ancestors, Indians and Africans, were held to the lowest position in this society

• In the cities, colonists became merchants and shopkeepers or worked for the colonial government

• Others had small businesses, making furniture or clothing

• 5. Which people were at the top of the society?

• What does this say about the Spaniards’ values?

• 5. The Peninsulares

• The Spaniards valued their own culture more than the cultures of the Americas

• 6. How were the creoles and mestizos similar and different?

• 6. Creoles were Spanish people born in America; mestizos were Indian and Spanish. Both were considered lower than the peninsulares but higher than Indians and Africans.

• 7. What was the peninsulares’ relationship with the native peoples?

• 7. The peninsulares on encomiendas had control over the native peoples and were supposed to care for them and convert them to Christianity.

• 8. What river formed the northern border of New Spain in what is now Mexico? (map pg 148)

• 8. The Rio Grand

More Changes for Native Peoples

• Many encomienda owners put native people to work as farm workers, miners, and servants

• The native people worked without pay and did not always have enough to eat

• They could also be beaten and forced to work to work long hours

• One type of encomienda was run by Roman Catholic missionaries-people who teach their religion to other people

• These priests built missions-religious settlement where missionaries live and work, throughout New Spain

• The purpose of these missions was to teach native people about Christianity

• Missionaries also taught them some European farming practices-like raising cattle and sheep

• The native people had to give up their traditional ways of life and become Christians

• Some people were treated cruelly at some missions• A priest named Bartolome de Las Casas spoke against

the mistreatment of native people • In 1527 Las Casas wrote about what he had seen in the

encomiendas:– “The native peoples die or lead lives harsher than death. They

have been split into shares as if they were herds of cattle or sheep; that it, divided among the Spaniards and assigned by a specific number to each to become their slaves.”

• The efforts of Las Casas had some success • He persuaded Spain to pass laws on 1542 saying that

native peoples must be paid for their work• These laws were not enforced, and later were canceled

• 9. What do Bartolome de Casa’s writings reveal about the treatment of the native peoples?

• 9. Some Spaniards treated the native peoples very poorly.

• 10. Why do you think the laws passed by Spain were not enforced?

• 10. The Spaniards realized that they could gain more economically by not paying the native peoples; Spain was far away from the colonies and the lawmakers could not enforce the laws

Slavery in the Americas

• Despite the efforts of Las Casas, slavery did not end in the Americas

• The Spanish first brought enslaved Africans to replace the native people who were dying in large numbers from disease and overwork

• Gradually, the enslavement of captured Africans became an important part of the colonial economy

• Hispaniola had 12,000 enslaved Africans by 1574• The profits from colonial plantations and mines created

great wealth for Spain• In the 1600s these riches helped make Spain one of the

most powerful countries in the world

• 11. Why were Africans captured by Spain and forced to work in the Americas?

• 11. To replace enslaved native peoples who were dying from disease, overwork and mistreatment