Outline 3 (Americas Columbus) Flashcards
What types of cultures filled the Americas before European conquest?
Diverse cultures including nomadic groups, small settlements, and entire empires.
What were the two major empires of the Americas and where were they located?
1) Aztec located in southern North America and Central America
2) Inca located in South America
What was the capital of the Aztec Empire?
Tenochtitlan
Why was the Aztec empire unstable?
Because it was war-oriented and filled with many unhappy conquered members.
What religious ideas did the Aztecs have?
Sacrifices (usually of war captives) connected to ideas of cosmic struggle for order and balance.
What was the Aztec economy based on?
Farming (maize, cocoa beans, peppers, tomatoes, cotton) as well as a vibrant market community.
What was Aztec society like?
There was a strict social ladder that began with warriors and priests, then went down to merchants, then to farmers and artisans, then to slaves or conquered peoples. It was also a patriarchal society.
What was the capital of the Inca Empire?
Cuzco
Why was the Inca Empire more stable than the Aztec’s?
They had a gentler policy when it came to imperial policies.
Who planned and carried out farming in the Inca empire?
The government and they farmed potatoes, maize, quinoa, beans, and peanuts and raised llamas.
What was the Inca religion closely tied to?
nature and agriculture
What were four connections that can be made in the Americas?
1) Similarity of legends and religion
2) Commercial exchange between Central and North America
3) Relative isolation in South America
4) Population density and disease
Why did European expansion begin?
1) Italy recovered quickly from the Plague
2) Europe’s weak position in global market
What trade problems did the West have?
The West was at the end of the trade routes and had nothing to bargain with, China only wanted cash, and Europeans had to pay for several different merchants per product.
Ferdinand and Isabella and the Reconquista lead to Spain and Portugal’s ascent. This was partially the reason for what?
Iberian expansion and exploration
Name three explorers that made significant discoveries during the 15th century.
1) Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal
2) Bartolomeu Dias
3) Vasco de Gama
What was this time period of discovery and expansion described as?
The Maritime Revolution of 1500
Why was the success of Spain and Portugal in the Atlantic so important in world history?
Before 1500, most ideas, expansion, and technology, flowed East to West. After 1500, power, wealth, wealth and intellectual life behind to shift towards the West.
What was Columbus trying to do by sailing west?
He was trying to find a shorter route to the Indies than the Portuguese found to the East.
What were common motives behind these maritime voyages?
Gold, God, Glory
Who was Columbus funded by?
Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain
What kind of encounters did Columbus initially have?
Friendly encounters from the locals at first.
What did Columbus call the natives?
“Noble savage”
What was the Treaty of Tordesillas?
A line of demarcation that separated the newly discovered land between the Spanish and the Portugese.
What began happening soon after the discovery of the new land (first in Hispaniola)?
Colonization
