19: Early Latin America Flashcards
Isabella of Castile
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.
Ferdinand of Aragon
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.
Caribbean
First area of Spanish exploration and settlement; served as experimental region for nature of Spanish colonial experience; encomienda system of colonial management initiated here.
Hispaniola
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.
encomienda
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.
encomendero
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.
Las Casas, Bartolome de
Dominican friar who supported peaceful conversion of the Native American population of the Spanish colonies; opposed forced labor and advocated Indian rights.
Cortez, Hernan
Led expedition of 600 to coast of Mexico in 1519; conquistador responsible for defeat of Aztec Empire; captured Tenochtitlan.
Moctezuma II
Last independent Aztec emperor; killed during Hernan Cortez’s conquest of Tenochtitlan.
Mexico City
Capital of New Spain; built on ruins of Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.
New Spain
Spanish colonial possessions in Mesoamerica; included most of central Mexico; based on imperial system of Aztecs.
Coronado, Francisco Vazquez de
Leader of Spanish expedition into northern frontier region of New Spain; entered what is now United States in search of mythical cities of gold.
Valvida, Pedro de
Spanish conquistador; conquered Araucanian Indians of Chile and established city of Santiago in 1541.
mita
Labor extracted for lands assigned to the state and the religion; all communities were expected to contribute; and essential aspect of Inca imperial control.
Potosi
Mine located in upper Peru (modern Bolivia); largest of New World silver mines; produced 80 percent of all Peruvian silver.
Huancavelica
Location of greatest deposit of mercury in South America; aided in American silver production; linked with Potosi.
haciendas
Rural estates in Spanish colonies in New World; produced agricultural products for consumers in America; basis of wealth and power for local aristocracy.
consulado
Merchant guild of Seville; enjoyed virtual monopoly rights over goods shipped to America and handled much of the silver received in return.
galleons
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.
Treaty of Tordesillas
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.
letrados
university-trained lawyers from Spain in the New World; juridical core of Spanish colonial bureaucracy; exercised both legislative and administrative functions.
Recopilacion
Body of laws collected in 1681 for Spanish possessions in New World; basis of law in the Indies.
Council of the Indies
Body within the Castilian government that issued all laws and advised king on all matters dealing with the Spanish colonies of the New World.
viceroyalties
Two major divisions of Spanish colonies in New World; one based in Lima; the other in Mexico City; direct representatives of the king.
viceroys
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.
audiencia
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.
de la Cruz, Sor Juana Inez
Author, poet, and musician of New Spain; eventually gave up secular concerns to concentrate on spiritual matters.
Cabral, Pedro Alvares
Portuguese leader of an expedition to India; blown off course in 1500 and landed in Brazil.
capitaincies
Strips of land along Brazilian coast granted to minor Portuguese nobles for development; enjoyed limited success in developing the colony.
paukistas
Backwoodsmen from Sao Paulo in Brazil; penetrated Brazilian interior in search of precious metals during the 17th century.
Minas Gerais
Region of Brazil located in mountainous interior where gold strikes were discovered in 1695; became location for gold rush.
Rio de Janeiro
Brazilian port; close to mines of Minas Gerais; importance grew with gold strikes; became colonial capital in 1763.
sociedad de castas
American social system based on racial origins; Europeans or whites at top, black slaves or Native Americans at bottom, mixed races in middle.
peninsulares
People living in the New World Spanish colonies but born in Spain
Creoles
Whites born in the New World; dominated local Latin American economies and ranked just beneath peninsulares.
amigos del pais
Clubs associations dedicated to improvement and reform in Spanish colonies; flourished during the 18th century; called for material improvements rather than political reform.
War of the Spanish Succession
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.
Charles III
Spanish enlightened monarch; ruled from 1759 to 1788; instituted fiscal, administrative, and military reforms in Spain and its empire.
Galvez, Jose de
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.
Marquis of Pombal
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.
Comunero Revolt
One of popular revolts against Spanish colonial rule in New Granada (Columbia) in 1781; suppressed as a result of divisions among rebels.
Amaru, Tupac
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.
