Spanish Empire

Question 1

La Noche Triste

Answer 1

• June 30, 1528
• the conquest of Tenochtitlan by Hernan Cortes who used Monteczuma as a puppet
• Spanish and allied natives took over city following death of King after holding him hostage; shows what happens when monarch is taken away from monarchal society
• Spanish suspect Aztecs conspiring against them, kill 12 elite members. As retaliation, Aztec laid siege at the Spanish compound where King was, killed Monteczuma

Question 2

Tenochtitlan

Answer 2

• established 1325
• capital of Aztec Empire
• started off as a triple alliance, but Tenochtitlan conquered the other two (beginning of Aztecs)
• ~300,000 people lived in city
• famous trade fairs in city center; all roads led to Tenochtitlan because trade was protected there
• very complex social stratification
• pyramids were a symbol of power and wealth

Question 3

Aztec Ritual Sacrifices

Answer 3

• Aztecs firm believers of cycles and interconnection between life and death
• trade fairs and sacrificial temple tied together
• was a great spectacle for the entire city
• would take place on top of pyramids and led by priests and royalty
• chose victims from captives after military campaigns; considered a great honor to be sacrificed to the gods
• dead bodies were then fed to animals (comparable to Mongols who forced defeated to feed their horses)

Question 4

Requerimento

Answer 4

• written declaration of sovereignty and war read by Spanish military forces
• used God as a justifiable way to take land
• said “submit to crown and God or be enslaved;” the text was said in Spanish and Latin, Indians didn’t know what they were saying
• claimed that Indians were taken in a just war, in a justifiable way

Question 5

Mitma System

Answer 5

• a policy of forced resettlement by Incas
• would impose Incan rule; would put someone local in charge but removed people and made them do labor somewhere else
• kept loyalties to Incan state
• exactly what Mongols did when they conquered lands

Question 6

Encomienda System

Answer 6

• A grant by the Spanish crown to a colonist in America conferring the right to demand tribute and forced labor from the Indian inhabitants of an area

Question 7

La Malinche

Answer 7

• slave given to Cortes after he defeated indigenous tribe
• acted as Cortes’s interpreter, advisor, and intermediary
• some see her as a hero because she’s seen as the founder of Mexico
• many see her as a traitor to her native peoples because she allowed for the Spanish

Question 8

Bartolome de Las Casas

Answer 8

• 1484-1566
• was a Dominican friar, but former slave owner
• reformed his ways, fought for the rights of Indians; said slavery violated Christian legitimacy of the conquest
• although advocation did not lead to widespread reform, it did result in several improvements in legal status of natives

Question 9

Acoma Massacre

Answer 9

• 1598
• Acoma and Spaniards were mostly peaceful, until they heard the Spanish wanted to take their land
• Spaniards demanded food and supplies but Acoma refused
• led to a battle where 800-1000 Acoma people were killed
• about 24 were made to cut off their right foot
• many others enslaved
• sensitive subject in America today

Question 10

Cacique

Answer 10

• leader of an indigenous group
• Spanish used the word as a title for the leaders of other indigenous groups they encountered in territories they occupied