WHI.14

media type="custom" key="29532673" align="right" =Describe the major economic, political, and social effects of the European colonial period in South America. =
 *  **


 * Topics on the Page **
 * Overview of European Colonization in South America **
 * ** Special Topic Page Comparison of PreColumbian Civilizations **
 * Colonialism **
 * Military Tactics **
 * Disease and Death **
 * Racial Caste System **
 * ** Hernando Cortes **
 * Early Religions **
 * Christianity **
 * Slavery in South America **
 * **Dramatic Event page on Origins of the Atlantic Slave Trade**
 * **Slave Revolt in** **Jamaica (1760-1761)**
 * **Malê Revolt (1835) **

**Overview**

 * Short Account of the Destruction of tthe Indies, Bartolome de Las Casas, 1542.
 * **The Conquest of Mexico series of paintings from the Library of Congress**

Brief overview of Early Latin America from the International World History Project.

The Treasure That Sank the Spanish Empire discusses the 2013 locating of a shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico where a fleet of 28 Spanish ships were hit by a hurricane on September 5, 1622. The loss of the gold, silver and other items destroyed the Bank of Madrid and contributed to the collapse of Spain's empire. This article includes pictures of the lost treasures.

Lesson plan on the colonization of South America.

Watch this [|video] for an overview of the Native Americans in South America and the Spaniards that conquered them

See also: ** For more on Mayans, Aztecs and Incas, see **
 * Spain's Territorial Conquest in the Americas from the University of Groningen.
 * A Journey Through the Spanish Conquest, a student project from the University of Michigan.
 * [|Timeline from the AHA which shows major events from the period]
 * ** World History I.13 **
 * ** Special Topic Page on Comparison of Precolumbian Civilizations **



Colonialism
1. the control or governing influence of a nation over a dependent country, territory, or people. 2. the system or policy by which a nation maintains or advocates such control or influence.
 * Definition:**

Colonialism is about the dominance of a strong nation over another weaker nation. It happens when a strong nation sees that its material interest and affluence require that it expand outside its borders. Colonialism is the acquisition of the colonialist, by brute force, of extra markets, extra resources of raw material and manpower from the colonies.

1. The colonized are savages in need of education and rehabilitation 2. The culture of the colonized is not up to the standards of the colonizer, and it’s the moral duty of the colonizer to do something about fixing it. 3. The colonized nation is unable to manage and run itself properly, and thus it needs the wisdom and expertise of the colonizer. 4. The colonized nation embraces a set of religious beliefs incongruent and incompatible with those of the colonizer, and consequently, it is God’s given duty of the colonizer to bring those stray people to the right path. 5. The colonized people pose dangerous threat to themselves and to the civilized world if left alone; and thus it is in the interest of the civilized world to bring those people under control.
 * Colonization is justified under 5 rationales:**

The early Spanish explorers justified their actions by a three word slogan, **God, Glory, and Gold.**

Click here for an article from Slate about how France and England influenced Spanish colonization, as well as more information about Spanish colonization. [|Video from Khan Academy discussing Spanish colonization]

The very size and sophistication of the Aztec and Inca empires worked against them during the European conquests.
[|This source explains the different tactics used by both the Spanish and Aztecs]
 * Their strict social and political hierarchies, and their dedication to a certain way of war made them easier targets.
 * The ancient military tradition of their armies, which numbered in the tens of thousands, emphasized one-on-one engagements on the front lines in open, level areas.
 * The bulk of each army remained out of action, acting instead as support forces for the actual fighters as they waited for their turn at the battlefront. The armies made little use of battlefield tactics or ambushes.
 * Further, the primary goal of the combatants was to disable their opponents and take them captive, rather than to slay them. Also, the armies operated under the strict authority of their commanders.
 * They did not use graduated levels of command. If the commander was killed or captured, his army considered itself defeated and withdrew from the battle.

The Spanish encounter ultimately destroyed the empires of the Aztec, Maya, and Inca, in part due to the influences of disease.
 * Disease and Death **
 * European diseases such as smallpox, influenza, measles and typhus, to which the native populations had no resistance, and systems of forced labor decimated the native population.
 * The diseases themselves usually preceded the Spanish invaders, and the resulting population loss severely weakened the native civilizations' ability to resist the invaders. Sometimes, this loss was upwards of 90%.
 * They introduced epidemic diseases such as influenza, smallpox, measles, and typhus.
 * These foreign diseases were catastrophic for the native peoples, who had no natural resistance to them.
 * Within 50 years the diseases had decimated the indigenous populations of the large Caribbean islands.

For an overview of the Spanish conquest time line and and implications, click this link: A Journey Through The Spanish Conquest.

For an overview of Conquistadors, click this link: Conquistadors from PBS.


 * South American Society and a Racial Caste System **

European colonialism created a caste system in South America. This system allowed for the control over the other groups and the dictation of what occurred in South America during European colonialism.
 * Peninsulars who were native born Spaniards at the top of the colonial society. Peninsulars held the highest positions in the government and church that were unavailable to those below them in the caste system.
 * The Creoles made up the next rung of the social ladder. Creoles were individuals born in Spanish America that Spanish ancestors and had the same rights as Peninsulars but could not hold the some high offices and were treated as second class citizens.
 * Next in the hierarchy of society were Mestizo who had a combination of Spanish and Indian heritage.
 * Then came Mulattoes who were of mixed Spanish and African blood. Amerindians came next who were American Indians.
 * Then Zambo who were of African and Amerindian descent and then Africans. This society saw the power in the hands of those that were born in Spain or had entirely Spanish heritage.

Social Order in the Spanish New World is an essay describing the social hierarchies of the Americas under Spanish colonial rule. [|This short video introduces the social order of Spanish America] Spanish speaking colonies were not the only dominating presence in the region. Portugal considered Brazil one of her prize colonies, and instituted harsh practices of slavery to keep up with commercial demands back home and abroad. Brazil was one of the last places in the Americas to abolish slavery, which it did in 1888. As such, photography reveals the harsh realities and intricate details of a society predicated on slavery. Click [|here] for more details.

A National Geographic article detailing[| hidden societies] created by escaped slaves in Brazil who took influence from maroon societies in Jamaica. These hidden societies are now trying to assert their right to own the land and protect it from environmental destruction. Social pyramid of South American Society.

Here is a powerpoint about the Latin American caste system.

Hernan Cortés: from Second Letter to Charles V, 1520 Account by Cortes the leader of the Spanish conquistadors on the Aztec Empire.

Hernando Cortes

[|Here] is a lesson plan on how to teach gender and race for this standard.

Early Religions
As farming peoples, Mesoamericans frequently worshiped the forces of nature as gods, including agricultural deities.  The complex religion of the Maya included belief in a supreme god, called //Hunab Ku//.  Among the people of Teotihuacán, religious ceremonies included sacrifices of birds, flowers, dogs, and sometimes humans, to feed hungry gods and keep them strong.  The Aztec worshiped a pantheon of gods, including more than 60 major deities and numerous lesser spirits.
 * Most of the elaborate rituals and ceremonies conducted by Mesoamerican priests were intended to secure the goodwill and support of these gods. Among some groups. human sacrifice was used to appease the gods.
 * Rulers were seen as religious leaders who served as intermediaries between humans and the gods, or spiritual forces. As a result, the civil and religious aspects of life in Mesoamerica were often inseparable.
 * This deity was seen as too remote from humans to have any effect on their daily activities. His son, a sky deity called // Itzamna //, was believed to be the god who gave humans food, medicine, and the art of writing.
 * Numerous other deities—including the gods of rain, maize, war, medicine, wind, death, Moon, and Sun—were thought to control the specific affairs of humans.
 * These deities all had a dual aspect: they could bring good things to humans, such as rain, a plentiful harvest, or peace, but they could also bring harm, such as drought, famine, or war. Many rituals and ceremonies performed by the Maya, including human sacrifices, were intended to secure favorable treatment from these gods.
 * Doing so was necessary, they believed, to continue life and keep the world in harmony.
 * A principal deity was Quetzalcoatl, also known as the Plumed, or Feathered, Serpent, a beneficial god who was frequently locked in combat with evil gods.
 * The ancient deity Quetzalcoatl, among others, was revered, but the principal god was the Aztecs' own, Huitzilopochtli, the god of war and of the Sun.
 * The gods were ranked in importance, and each one had its own cult and special hierarchies of priests. Many Aztec ceremonies entailed sacrificing human victims to the gods, whose strength needed perpetual renewal with human blood.
 * Sacrificial victims, sometimes large numbers at once, were led up the steps of pyramids to temples on top, where their hearts were cut out and their heads impaled on skull racks; others were flayed, and their skins were worn by priests. Victims were usually war captives, although Aztecs themselves sometimes volunteered for important sacrificial rituals.

For an overview of early Latin American religions, click this link: General Essay on the Religions of Latin America.

Christianity
Many native subjects were forced to convert to Christianity as well by their Spanish captors. This has resulted in a loss of original native culture and religion. The indigenous peoples quickly adopted Christianity, as they found it compatible with important traditional beliefs. Few priests worked among the native populations, so indigenous communities were able to adapt Christian beliefs and rituals to their local practices. Religious worship and ritual became closely associated with community identity and service. Native Americans incorporated important aspects of Roman Catholicism, such as ritual god-parenthood, religious brotherhoods, and devotion to saints, into their own cultures. Individual towns adopted patron saints and shrines that they promoted through festivals and generally developed forms of Catholicism that could be practiced without a priest’s continued presence. A priest appeared usually once or twice a year, especially during the community’s major festivals. Only then were confessions heard, masses conducted, and marriages and baptisms carried out.

Economically speaking, many tribes were forced to pay tribute and taxes to their Spanish oppressors, resulting in communities stripped of their wealth and forced into poverty.

Also the introduction of European influences led to the creation of mestizo- blending of two cultures, not necessarily racial: could be religious conversions, traditions, culture, etc.

Slavery in South America

 * Spanish colonists initially enslaved the local population to work in mines and the fields.
 * This, along with disease, caused a significant decline in the native population.
 * The colonists turned to African slave labor in the colonies.
 * Slavery was a major aspect in the economies of both South America and Europeans.

[|Article exploring slavery in the Spanish colonies]

American Counterpoint: New Approaches to Slavery and Abolition in Brazil

[|A look inside]the only slave rebellion in the Americas that was led by Islamic slaves, teachers, and freedmen against the colonial government of Brazil. The slave trade was abolished in 1851 in Brazil partly as a result from the Malê Revolt.

[|Video on the Atlantic Slave Trade]


 * ** Dramatic Event page on Origins of the Atlantic Slave Trade **


 * Slave Revolt in Jamaica (1760-1761) **


 * Works Cited**

[4] Spanish colonization of the Americas. (2007, February 13). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved 20:41, February 14, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Spanish_colonization_of_the_Americas&oldid=107831730