History year 8 Exam Flashcards
To learn history topics for year 8 exam
The development of the Aztecs in what we now know as Mexico
Aztecs arrived in whwat is now mexico in alte 1100s. By 1250 they settled near the shores of Lake Texcoco.. By 1325 the building of Tenochtitlan begun and it was built in Lake Texcoco on five swampy islands. It was very nicely built with canals, roads, and 3 long causeways leading to the city for boats/canoes. Tenochtitlan populations was around 250,000.
Schooling in Tenochtitlan
Young boys would go to school and learn to live prudently, governing and history. The girls were taught at home. When boys tearn 15 years old if they are noble children they go to calmecac (advance) and if they are commoners then they go to telpochcalli (military).
Food in Tenochtitlan
They have 2 meals a day. Army have meats and legumes. The Aztec introduced chocolate reserved for warriors and nobility and they made octli (alchahol).
Crime and Punishment in Tenochtitlan
Commoner wearing cotton lead to death. Adultery (girlfriend/boyfriend) lead to death or cutting living tree. There was a group of judges who determined such things.
Aztec warfare
Aztec vs Tlaxcala (also lived in now called Mexico). Commoners had basic fighting skills. There was also a professional warrior class where the eagle and jaguar warriors were the best. Prisoners usesd to capture/harm enemy but don’t kill.
Mythology and Religion in the Aztec Empire
They were flat earthers and the art and architecture were the religious warship. 20,000 sacrifiiced each year and they believed that if you sacrifice you go to heaven. Battle or child birth death would also lead to heaven. Peacefully dying meant to pass through the underworld first.
Agriculture in the Aztec civilisation
They used Chinampas which were like ‘floating gardens’.
Columbus’s discovery
The America was the new land and Christiphor Columbus thought to have arrived in India but had actually arrived in the Bahamas. They set out in August 1492 and discovered America in 1493-1504.
The legal conquest
Pope Alexander VI made the decree to colonise America. Tordesillas Treaty clarified regions for Spain and Portugal to colonise in America.
Hernon Cortes
He moved to Hispaniola at 19 and participated in the conquest of cuba. Cortes wanted to take over Aztecs in Mexico. Cortes gained support of the Tlaxcalans (alliance). The people of Tlaxcalans trusted Cortes because they had never seen white people before so they thought they were good, it is rumored that they thought Cortes was a god as he looked similar to a god that they believed in.
Destroying the Aztecs
Spaniads took everything. They destroyed temples and the Aztec’s religion eroded as the Spaniads wanted to convert them into christianity and if not then they would be killed. Cortes wanted to conquer the Aztecs as he thought they had ‘riches to offer’ and he could gain wealth and land. Montezuma II was the leader of the Aztecs and his own people killed him as they thought that he was not fit for ruler as he couldn’t seem to do anything against Cortes.
Conquering the Inca Civilisation
The Inca and Maya civilizations arised and were soon taken over by the Spaniads. It took about 40 years to conquer the Inca civilisation.
Conquering the Maya civilisation
The Maya civilization is made up of independent city states so the Spanish had to conquer each one individually which took a long time. It took 150 years to conquer the whole of Maya.
Columbian Exchange
Trades that opened up between America and Europe. Tomatoes, potatoes, corn and tobacco were discovered during this time and were traded through the Columbian Exchange. Bananas, coffee beans, horses were brought to americas. Disease brought killed many indigenous people.
Encomienda system
Labourers offered tributes in return for protection and Christianisation. Forced labour and land seizur. The pacific ocean had potential for a major trade routes for the Spanish. Silk, spices, sliver and slaves were traded from Asia to Americas to Europe.
Expansion and Conflict
Spain, Great Britain and France were most active in the war for americas. Other countries saw americas as a opportunity for wealth as they saw spain succeed.
The end of new Spain
For 3 centuries Spain had ruled most of North America. By 1820’s most of the colonies got independence. In 1810’s Mexico got independant from Spain. In 1898 Spanish were defeated by the United States.
Impact on the Aztecs
Population decline due to diseases, slavery and malnutrition. 90% of population decline by 1600s. Tradition and culture gets taken away form them (the Aztecs): arts, music and languages. Codex design (pictures) changed to text-base and the Encomedia system led to the mixing of Aztec, Mayan and Incan cultures. Converting to Christianity was a major factor in the cultural loss.
Slavery
The Aztec slavery is different to European slavery as slaves could have possessions and buy their freedom, they could sell themselves into slavery to pay debts, even murderers = slaves to family of the victims and chilidren of slaves were automatically slaves. If an Aztec person was not a christian then they were a slave.
Language and religion
After take over the most spoken language was Spanish. North and South America = speak spanish except brazil who speak portugguese because of the Treaty of Tordesillas.
Why did the conquestadors want to colonise america
Expand their empires, foreign territories and to claim wealth, power, and religious converts. The conquestadors were sent by Spain after Montezuma II was killed and the Spain had before been kicked out. The conquestadors consisted of the Spanish and Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizzaro.
Feudalism
Social order of/in medieval europe.
Feudal system connections
The Monarch (kings and queens) give land and other privileges to the Tenants-in-chief. The Tenant-in-chief pledged their loyalty money and prayers and provided fully equipped knights to serve for a term in the monarch’s army. They also give land and other privileges to the Sub-tenants. Sub-tenants guard the property of tenant-in-chief and protected them. They also give allocated spare land to the Peasants. The Peasants work the land of the Sub and Tenants in chief. They also paid taxes in the form of crops. The Peasants = Free serfs and those bound to lords. Sub-tenants = knights and lesser clergy. Tenants-in-chief = lords and bishops. The Monarch = kings and queens.
Mutual obligation
When two parties agree to both give and receive from eachother.
How can you get more marks for a question?
BE MORE SPECIFIC: For example, a question may ask to describe the role of women in medieval europe. Instead of saying ‘house chores’ and getting one mark you could say ‘preserving food, making meals/dishes, walk the animals/clean the pens/feed the animals, care for children and helped with farm work’. That is worth 5 marks. BE MORE SPECIFIC :)
Noble women life and Peasant women life
They married at young (up to 12). They were expected to make a male heir but childbirth was risky. For peasant women their jobs were to preserve food, making meals/dishes, walk the animals/clean the pens/feed the animals, care for children and helped with farm work.
Differences between noble and peasant women
Peasant women worked and had household duties whereas noble women did not.
Mounted warriors
On a horse and are meant to terrorise and destroy foot soldiers. Have armor and different weapons.
Foot soldiers
Different weapons, armor and travel on foot.
Changes to feudalism
The merchant class rised as they started to trade overseas. Banks were made. There was a risk of robbers who would kill then steal. Guilds were formed. Apprentices were formed.
Long-term effect of black death
Growth of medicine - dissection of human corpse, developing medicine and surgical practices.
Sanitation and public health - laws made to prevent littering and waste disposal.
Religion - Power of Catholic church reduced
Class changes- peasant and workers demanding their rights for higher wages.
Language - People shifted from speaking Latin and French to English.
Who were the flagellants?
Religious group that travelled around whipping themselves with steel-tipped whips.
Scapegoating treatment
Jews blamed for causing the spread of black death
Medicine experiments that were used for the black plague
Bloodletting, leeches, cutting buboes, smelling herbs, curing sound.
Quarantine treatment
Ships quarantined for 40 days if suspected of carrying the disease
How did the black death start and spread?
- Black death struck Europe in 14th century
- It was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis and transmitted through fleas infesting black rates
- It originated in Central Asia and arrived in Sicily through trade routes.
- 3 types - bubonic, pneumonic, septicemic
Community justice
The community was hierarchical and lords would often dispense justice when needed.
Hue and cry
When a crime is committed, observers/bystanders called out an alarm (hue and cry) and neighbours were to catch the criminal.
Tithing
Every man over 12 was in thithing group of ten households to make sure the law was not broken. Broken then criminal was taken local manorial court for justice.
The posse comitatus
If criminal runs, local sheriff would call group of men who chased him.
Minor crimes (list atleast 5)
Stealing firewood
Nagging on’es husband
Beating a wife
Infidelity
Gossiping
Cheating one’s customers
Allowing one’s animals to damage others farm
Public drunkennes
Telling lies
Swearing
Failing to go to church
No work on sunday unless looking after farm animals
Punishments for minor crimes
Pay fine to lord
Work for lord
Hair cut off
Stocks and pillories where villagers threw rubbish or rotten food at them.
If merchant cheats customers they were given a bad ale by a brewer to drink and rest poured on head.
Food sellers dragged through villagers with the food tied around their necks.
Minor crime punishments for woman
Nagging husband - Ducking stool or forced to wear scold’s bridle.
Scold’s bridle
The scold’s bridle is a metal mask that is put on and attached to a string which another person is holding. They can pull on the string and the mask will hit the face and sometimes the mask can have nails on it.
Stocks/Pillories
Stocks was a wooden board that had a hole for a face to go through and for two hands to go through. The person had to stand there for days as the villagers threw things at them.
Ducking stool
Woman strapped to chair and dunked in water/river from a decent height.
Major crime (list atleast 5)
Hunting on royal land without permission
Treason (Fraud)
Murder
Arson
Mugging
Forgery
Blasphemy
Critisising the Church
Theft
Heresy
Punishments for major crimes
Mutilation (theft)
Death by hanging (murder)
Death by being burnt alive at the stake (treason, heresy)
Death by being hanged, drawn and quartered (high treason)
Sometimes criminals were bricked up behind a wall and left to starve for death
Punishment for criticising the church
- Guilty of heresy
- Most serious crime dealt in church courts
- Heretics were burnt and tortured to gain a confession
Punishments for theft
Theft = most common crime back then
Ordeal by fire = Put hand in hot water or red-hot iron or arm over blazing fire
Trial by Ordeal
Ordeal by water = thrown in water and if sank = innocent and if rise = guilty as god rejected them.
Ordeal by combat = Only used for nobles. Fight!
Ordeal by fire = put hand in hot water or red-hot iron or arm over blazing fire
Discouraging crime
All punishments were commited in public. Gibbets used where person were sat in cages in the village in the sky hung and body is inside and and rots as they put them there after they are dead.
Torture methods
The rack
The chair
The thumbscrew
The heist
The ladder
The rack
The rack pulled arms and legs until body ripped.
The chair
A chair with hundreds of spikes. Sometimes slow fire was lie underneath the chair.
The thumbscrew
Victim’s thumbs was placed inside and pressure was applied until spikes crush the victim’s thumb
