19: Early Latin America

Question 0

Isabella of Castile

Answer 0

Along with Ferdinand of Aragon, monarch of largest Christian kingdoms in Iberia; marriage to Ferdinand created united Spain; responsible for recon quest of Granada, initiation of exploration of New World.

Question 1

Ferdinand of Aragon

Answer 1

Along with Isabella of Castile, monarch of largest Christian kingdoms in Iberia; marriage to Isabella created united Spain; responsible for recon quest of Granada, initiation of exploration of New World.

Question 2

Caribbean

Answer 2

First area of Spanish exploration and settlement; served as experimental region for nature of Spanish colonial experience; encomienda system of colonial management initiated here.

Question 4

Hispaniola

Answer 4

First island in Caribbean settled by Spaniards; settlement founded by Columbus on second voyage to New World; Spanish base of operations for further discoveries in New World.

Question 5

encomienda

Answer 5

Grants of Indian laborers made to Spanish conquerors and settlers in Mesoamerica and South America; basis for earliest forms of coerced labor in Spanish colonies.

Question 6

encomendero

Answer 6

The holder of a grant of Indians who were required to pay a tribute or provide labor.The encomendero was responsible for their integration into the church.

Question 7

Las Casas, Bartolome de

Answer 7

Dominican friar who supported peaceful conversion of the Native American population of the Spanish colonies; opposed forced labor and advocated Indian rights.

Question 8

Cortez, Hernan

Answer 8

Led expedition of 600 to coast of Mexico in 1519; conquistador responsible for defeat of Aztec Empire; captured Tenochtitlan.

Question 9

Moctezuma II

Answer 9

Last independent Aztec emperor; killed during Hernan Cortez’s conquest of Tenochtitlan.

Question 10

Mexico City

Answer 10

Capital of New Spain; built on ruins of Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.

Question 11

New Spain

Answer 11

Spanish colonial possessions in Mesoamerica; included most of central Mexico; based on imperial system of Aztecs.

Question 12

Coronado, Francisco Vazquez de

Answer 12

Leader of Spanish expedition into northern frontier region of New Spain; entered what is now United States in search of mythical cities of gold.

Question 13

Valvida, Pedro de

Answer 13

Spanish conquistador; conquered Araucanian Indians of Chile and established city of Santiago in 1541.

Question 14

mita

Answer 14

Labor extracted for lands assigned to the state and the religion; all communities were expected to contribute; and essential aspect of Inca imperial control.

Question 15

Potosi

Answer 15

Mine located in upper Peru (modern Bolivia); largest of New World silver mines; produced 80 percent of all Peruvian silver.

Question 16

Huancavelica

Answer 16

Location of greatest deposit of mercury in South America; aided in American silver production; linked with Potosi.

Question 17

haciendas

Answer 17

Rural estates in Spanish colonies in New World; produced agricultural products for consumers in America; basis of wealth and power for local aristocracy.

Question 18

consulado

Answer 18

Merchant guild of Seville; enjoyed virtual monopoly rights over goods shipped to America and handled much of the silver received in return.

Question 19

galleons

Answer 19

Large, heavily armed ships used to carry silver from New World colonies to Spain; basis for convey system utilized by Spain for transportation of bullion.

Question 20

Treaty of Tordesillas

Answer 20

Signed in 1494 between Castile and Portugal;clarified spheres of influence and rights of possessions in New World; reserved Brazil and all newly discovered lands east of Brazil to Portugal; granted all lands west of Brazil to Spain.

Question 21

letrados

Answer 21

university-trained lawyers from Spain in the New World; juridical core of Spanish colonial bureaucracy; exercised both legislative and administrative functions.

Question 22

Recopilacion

Answer 22

Body of laws collected in 1681 for Spanish possessions in New World; basis of law in the Indies.

Question 23

Council of the Indies

Answer 23

Body within the Castilian government that issued all laws and advised king on all matters dealing with the Spanish colonies of the New World.

Question 24

viceroyalties

Answer 24

Two major divisions of Spanish colonies in New World; one based in Lima; the other in Mexico City; direct representatives of the king.

Question 25

viceroys

Answer 25

Senior government officials in Spanish America. They rules as direct representatives of the king over the principal administrative units or viceroyalties. They were usually high ranking Spanish nobles with previous military or governmental experience. The Portuguese also used viceroys who resided in Goa for their possessions in the Indian Ocean, and then after the mid Seventeenth century their colony in Brazil.

Question 26

audiencia

Answer 26

Royal court of appeals established in Spanish colonies of New World; there were 10 in each viceroyalty; part of colonial administrative system; staffed by professional magistrate.

Question 27

de la Cruz, Sor Juana Inez

Answer 27

Author, poet, and musician of New Spain; eventually gave up secular concerns to concentrate on spiritual matters.

Question 28

Cabral, Pedro Alvares

Answer 28

Portuguese leader of an expedition to India; blown off course in 1500 and landed in Brazil.

Question 29

capitaincies

Answer 29

Strips of land along Brazilian coast granted to minor Portuguese nobles for development; enjoyed limited success in developing the colony.

Question 30

paukistas

Answer 30

Backwoodsmen from Sao Paulo in Brazil; penetrated Brazilian interior in search of precious metals during the 17th century.

Question 31

Minas Gerais

Answer 31

Region of Brazil located in mountainous interior where gold strikes were discovered in 1695; became location for gold rush.

Question 32

Rio de Janeiro

Answer 32

Brazilian port; close to mines of Minas Gerais; importance grew with gold strikes; became colonial capital in 1763.

Question 33

sociedad de castas

Answer 33

American social system based on racial origins; Europeans or whites at top, black slaves or Native Americans at bottom, mixed races in middle.

Question 34

peninsulares

Answer 34

People living in the New World Spanish colonies but born in Spain

Question 35

Creoles

Answer 35

Whites born in the New World; dominated local Latin American economies and ranked just beneath peninsulares.

Question 36

amigos del pais

Answer 36

Clubs associations dedicated to improvement and reform in Spanish colonies; flourished during the 18th century; called for material improvements rather than political reform.

Question 37

War of the Spanish Succession

Answer 37

Resulted from Bourbon family’s succession to Spanish throne in 1701; ended by Treaty of Utrecht in 1713; resulted in recognition of Bourbons, loss of some lands, grants of commercial rights to English and French.

Question 38

Charles III

Answer 38

Spanish enlightened monarch; ruled from 1759 to 1788; instituted fiscal, administrative, and military reforms in Spain and its empire.

Question 39

Galvez, Jose de

Answer 39

Spanish minister of the West Indies and chief architect of colonial reform; moved to eliminate Creoles from upper bureaucracy of the colonies; created intendants for local government.

Question 40

Marquis of Pombal

Answer 40

Prime minister of Portugal from 1755 to 1776; acted to strengthen royal authority in Brazil; expelled Jesuits; enacted monopoly companies to stimulate the colonial economy.

Question 41

Comunero Revolt

Answer 41

One of popular revolts against Spanish colonial rule in New Granada (Columbia) in 1781; suppressed as a result of divisions among rebels.

Question 42

Amaru, Tupac

Answer 42

Mestizo leader of Indian revolt in Peru; supported by many among lower social classes; revolt eventually failed because of Creole fears of real social revolution.