Week 1 Flashcards
Which were the two most advanced empires on the American continent? How did Europeans take them over? Which factors led to the establishment of this European dominance?
The two advanced empires in America were the Incas and the Aztecs. Cortes, a Spanish conquistador, took over the Aztecs using native translators who informed him of the empire’s weaknesses. Cortes allied with Tlaxcala and occupied Cholula. In 1519, Cortes marched into Tenochtitlan and held Moctezuma II captive but was defeated. In 1521, the Spanish attacked Tenochtitlan for the second time and won. Therefore, internal grievances within the empire led to European dominance. Pizarro took over the Incas in 1532 by holding Atahualpa captive and eventually killing him in 1533. He arrived the day Atahualpa was crowned after a civil war, which helped establish European dominance because the war would have weakened the empire. Moreover, European brought diseases like smallpox from livestock that the indigenous had not been exposed which killed many of them. Other factors included the superiority of the Spanish military through gunpowder, steel swords and horses.
How were the American colonies of the Portuguese and the Spanish ruled? Present the key aspects of the systems of governance that were set up.
While early conquest and settlement were conducted largely by private initiatives, the Spanish government soon assumed more direct control. In 1503, the Spanish gave the port of Seville a monopoly over all traffic to the New World. They also established the House of Trade to oversee all economic matters in the colonies. In 1523, the Spanish created the Royal and Supreme Court of the Indies with authority over all colonial affairs subjected to approval by the king. The Spanish territories in the Americas were divided into four viceroyalties: New Spain, Peru, New Granada, and La Plata. The first two were established in 1535 and 1542, respectively, while the latter two were created in the 18th century. Each viceroyalty was governed by a viceroy, who held broad military and civil authority. The viceroy was advised by a board of judges, known as the audiencia, which also served as the highest judicial body. The social hierarchy was strongly reinforced during this period due to this. For example, women were kept out of public life in the colonies, just like in the West.
The Portuguese government was similar to the Spanish in its move to direct control. In the 1530s, the Portuguese implemented captaincies to secure the vast expanse of Brazil. Captaincies were hereditary grants of land given to nobles and loyal officials who bore the costs of settling and administering their territories. Over time, the crown secured great power over the captaincy, appointing royal governors to act as administrators. The captaincy of Bahia was the site of the capital, Salvador, home to the governor-general and other royal officials. It helped that they already had urban societies with governing institutions because the Europeans could pick up the politics there and then set up their own and develop it further
The Catholic Church played an integral role in Iberian rule for both countries. The papacy allowed Portuguese and Spanish officials greater control over the church than was the case at home, allowing them to appoint clerics and collect tithes. This control allowed colonial powers to use the church as an instrument to indoctrinate indigenous people.
How did the two old empires evolve demographically and economically after the arrival of Europeans?
The two old empires evolved demographically due to the pattern of devastating disease and population loss established in the colonies. The population declined by as much as 90% or more, but with important regional variations. Densely populated urban centres were hit worse than rural areas, and tropical, low-lying regions suffered more than cooler, higher-altitude ones. Colonial administrators responded to native population decline by forcibly combining dwindling indigenous communities into new settlements and imposing the rigours of the encomienda and the repartimiento. By the end of the sixteenth century, the search for fresh sources of labour had given birth to the new tragedy of the Atlantic slave trade. Therefore, the demographic also changed in the empires as there was an influx of African slaves. Despite the growing number of Europeans and the rapid decline of the native population, Europeans remained a small minority of the total inhabitants of the Americas. Iberians had sexual relationships with native women, leading to the growth of a substantial population of mixed Iberian and Indian descent known as mestizos. The century after the discovery of silver in 1545 marked the high point of Iberian immigration to the Americas. Although the first migrants were men, whole families soon began to cross the Atlantic, and the European population increased through natural reproduction. By 1600, American-born Europeans, called Creoles, outnumbered immigrants.
Economically, the Spanish created systems for exploiting the labour of indigenous peoples in the Empires as a cause of and a response to the disastrous decline in their numbers that began soon after the arrival of Europeans. Conquistadors granted their followers the right to employ groups of indigenous people as labourers forcibly and to demand tribute payments from them in exchange for providing food, shelter, and instruction in the Christian faith. This system was first used in Hispaniola to work gold fields, then in Mexico for agricultural labour, and, when silver was discovered in the 1540s, for silver mining. In 1512, Spanish law authorizing the use of the encomienda called for indigenous people to be treated fairly, but in practice, the system led to terrible abuses. Spanish missionaries publicized these abuses, leading to debates in Spain about the nature and proper treatment of indigenous people King Charles I responded to such complaints in 1542 with the New Laws, which set limits on the authority of encomienda holders. The New Laws provoked a revolt among the elites in Peru, and they were enforced little throughout the Spanish territories. Nonetheless, the Crown gradually gained control over encomiendas in central areas of the empire and required indigenous people to pay tributes in cash rather than in labour. To respond to a shortage of indigenous workers, royal officials established a new government-run system of forced labour called repartimiento in New Spain and Mita in Peru. Administrators assigned a certain percentage of the inhabitants of native communities to labor for a set period each year in public works, mining, agriculture, and other tasks.
Which commodities were imported and exported from Africa? What role did the Spanish and/or Portuguese empires play in this flow?
Slaves were exported from sub-Saharan Africa to Mediterranean Europe after the Ottomans captured Constantinople in 1453 and halted the flow of slaves from the eastern Mediterranean. Additionally, Europeans turned to Africa for slaves after the Christian reconquest of the Iberian peninsula drastically diminished the supply of Muslim captives, too. The empires first took these slaves through small raiding parties, but Portuguese merchants soon found that it was easier and more profitable to trade with African leaders, who were accustomed to dealing with enslaved people captured through warfare with neighbouring powers. In 1483, the Portuguese established an alliance with the Kingdom of Kongo. The royal family eventually converted to Christianity, and Portuguese merchants intermarried with Kongolese women, creating a permanent Afro-Portuguese community. From 1490- 1530, Portuguese traders brought between 300 and 2000 enslaved Africans to Lisbon each year. The Portuguese brought the first slaves to Brazil around 1550. Spanish and Portuguese demand for new sources of labour for the mines also contributed to the intensification of the African slave trade. Over 12 million people were transported. In turn, for the slaves, the Spanish and Portuguese traded luxury goods such as gunpowder. Moreover, Spain imported silver, which it had immense amounts of in the 16th century. Railroads for agricultural purposes were imported later on.
Which commodities were imported and exported from the Americas? What role did the Spanish and/or Portuguese empires play in this flow?
The Portuguese and Spanish exported food from the Americas, including sugar, tomatoes, squash, pumpkins, peppers, beans, and maise. They also exported tobacco, which was grown in the Americas. In 1545, the Spanish discovered an extraordinary source of silver at Potosi in Bolivia. By 1550, Potosi yielded 60% of all the silver mined in the world. The Spanish also exported silver from the mines in Zacatecas and Guanajuato in Mexico.
The Spanish and Portuguese both imported slaves to the Americas to work on plantations to produce food, sugar, and cotton. This was needed after the decline in the indigenous population, which resulted in a smaller workforce, and due to the increase in demand from the Iberian peninsula, which resulted in an increase in population and prosperity.
Which commodities were imported and exported from Europe? What role did the Spanish and/or Portuguese empires play in this flow?
Everywhere Spain and Portugal went, they also exported food to raise there, including grapes, olives and wheat, which did particularly well in Peru and Chile. They also exported livestock to their colonies, meaning the indigenous population began to incorporate milk and meat into their diet and used horses for faster transportation. This export also meant the spread of disease.
Spain imported mass amounts of silver from Potosi, Zacatecas and Guanajuato in Mexico. Between 1503 and 1650, 35 million pounds of silver and over 600,000 pounds of gold entered Seville’s port. Moreover, the Spanish and Portuguese brought food to Europe that became essential to their diet, including corn, beans, tomatoes and pumpkins. By the late seventeenth century, maize had become a staple in Spain, Portugal, southern France, and Italy. In the eighteenth century, it became one of the chief foods of southeastern Europe and southern China. Even more valuable was the nutritious white potato, which slowly spread from west to east, contributing everywhere to a rise in population. Sugar and cotton were also bought to Europe by the Spanish and Portuguese, who grew this in their colonies.
Which commodities were imported and exported from Asia? What role did the Spanish and/or Portuguese empire play in this flow?
Large amounts of silver were imported from Spain to China. China demanded silver for their products and payment of imperial taxes. They were the main buyer of world silver absorbing half the world’s production. China exported silk to European markets in exchange for Spanish silver. The demand for silk was so huge in 1597 that 12 million pesos of silver, almost the total value of the transatlantic trade, moved from New Spain to Manila
Portuguese ships loaded with Chinese silks and porcelains from Macao sailed to Japan and the Philippines, where Chinese goods were exchanged for Spanish silver from New Spain. Throughout Asia the Portuguese exported slaves. They also exported horses from Mesopotamia and copper from Arabia to India. From there, they exported hawks and peacocks to the Chinese and Japanese markets. The Portuguese imported Asian spices that had been purchased with textiles produced in India with gold and ivory from East Africa. From their colony in Brazil, they also shipped back sugar produced by African slaves from whom they transported across the Atlantic.
Bartolome de Las Casas, Brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies 1542
A brief Account of the Devastation of the Indies is an account written by the Spanish Dominican Friar Bartolome de Las Casas in 1542 about the mistreatment of the indigenous people of the Americas in colonial times and to the then prince Phillip II of Spain.
Las Casas had 50 years of experience in the Spanish colonies in the indies which granted him the moral legitimacy and accountability for writing this account. In 1516, he gained the title Protector of the Indians by Cardinal Cisneros after he submitted a report on the declining population due to mistreatment by colonial officials and harsh labour. Las Casas found attempts insufficient to protect the welfare of the Indians, and returned to Spain to appeal to the Spanish monarch in 1517. He wrote his account during the hearings ordered by Charles V of Spain to resolve issues of forceful conversion and colonial exploitation of Indians, Las Casas presented the account before the members of the Council of the Indies as proof of atrocities committed upon Indians by colonial authorities.
Las Casas fears for the souls of the natives and for the divine punishment Spain will receive. The account is one of the first attempts by a Spanish writer of the colonial era to depict examples of unfair treatment that the indigenous people endured in the early stages of Spanish conquest. In the excerpt he paints the indigenous as the “good Christians’’ by explaining they have no desire to possess worldly goods and so they should be treated as good Christians. He strongly believes they would be obedient to the Christian church. He depicts them in almost a child like manner and if they are as sheep and would follow what they were told. Contrastingly, the Spanish are presented as brutish. He was criticised for exaggerating the character of both,
In his earlier writings De Las Casas advocated the defines of indigenous peoples by recommending the use of African slaves as an alternative to indigenous people, but later repudiated the suggestion and condemned both the enslavement of indigenous people and Africans.
De Las Casas is also noted as one of the first writers and thinkers to racialize the indigenous people of the Americas. In his attempt to defend the indigenous people, he argues that they are part of the human race by describing their bodies, skin color, language and culture. In A Short Account, De Las Casas racialized the indigenous people and created a new understanding for them in the context and hierarchy of European ideas of race.
His account was responsible for the passage of the new Spanish colonial laws known as the New Lawa of 1542, which abolished native slavery for the first time in European colonial history. This text was used as a way to convince the King of Spain of the cruelties caused by the Spanish Conquistadors. As such, he did not focus on or mention the effects of disease as a cause of suffering for the native people. Instead, De Las Casas focused on the suffering caused by the Spanish conquistadors so that the King would address the conquistadors’ behaviour.
The book was frequently reprinted, alone or in combination with other works, in the Netherlands and in other countries struggling against Spain’s power in Europe and the Americas. The title in English, German, Dutch, and most languages was manipulated further to emphasize the detrimental consequences of the Spanish conquest.
Map Africa
In the 17th century, Willem Janz Blaeu created a significant map of Africa, reflecting the intense exploration of the time. The map shows island chains in the Indian Ocean, indicating extensive exploration. It depicts various political units with elephants, lions, monkeys, and ostriches and settlements marked by small buildings. Two large lakes in the south give rise to numerous rivers, with Blaeu drawing on different sources to depict the source of the Nile, including Ptolemy’s Mountains of the Moon.
Blaeu’s map also showcases major African cities along the top border, offering glimpses of coastal settlements’ rich port economies. Alongside the map are drawings illustrating the local dress of African cultures, reflecting European perceptions. The sea is depicted with ships, sea monsters, and birds, with a decorated compass rose on the equator.
Historically, European understanding of Africa evolved from medieval T-O maps to more accurate representations due to exploration, notably Vasco da Gama’s rounding of the Cape of Good Hope in 1498. Blaeu’s map incorporated Portuguese and Dutch discoveries, reflecting his access to the latest sources.
The depiction of the Nile’s source evolved over time, with Blaeu incorporating elements from previous cartographers while adopting his own interpretations. The map went through different publication states, with the second being the most influential. It inspired numerous imitations by other cartographers in the 17th century and became a cornerstone of African cartography collections.
