Spanish Empire in the Americas

By Randy Hardin

Diego Vasicuio- Peru Tribal Group religious leader

Born approx. 1581, text says he was over 90 in 1671

Lived in city called Salamanca, located in present day Peru

Chief priest and custodian of the god Sorimana

He was included in this collection because his story is an example of how the Indians had to survive through adaptation

Martin Ocelotl Mexico-New Spain

Born 1496 in Chinanta in present day Mexico, possibly died at sea 1537

Native priest, cult leader

Included because he was an example of the Indians trying to hold on to their faith during the Christianization effort.

Juan de Morga/Gertrudis de Escobar Mexico – New Spain

Mulatto slaves

Lived in Central Mexico

Juan was born a slave in Oaxaca in about 1627

Gertrudis was born around 1645, text states she was 14 in 1659

They were both very harsh treated slaves

They were included in this collection as an example of the hardships that some slaves endured in that time period

Isabel Moctezuma Mexico-New Spain

Indian, daughter of Moctezuma II

Born 1509 or 1510, died 1550

Lived in Mexico She was awarded the

enomienda of Tacuba Included to tell the story

of the one remaining heir to the emperor of the Aztecs

Beatriz de PadillaMexico/ New Spain

Mulatta or Morsica (daughter of a white man and a mulatta)

Lived in Lagos, near Guadalajara in waestern New Spain

Mistress, mother to 4 children 2 boys and 2 girls, never married

Included in this collection as an example of a mulatta mistress

Lived mid 1600's

Miguel HernandezMexico/ New Spain

Free mulatto

Lived full life in 16th century Mexico

Literate

Born in Mexico city, died 1604

He was a muleteer and later in life became a senor de recuas ( master of mule trains)

Included in this collection as an example of a mulatto that survived and trived in Spanish society

Enrico MartinezMexico/ New Spain

Born in Hamburg about 1557, died 1632

Printer, Engineer, and Scientist

Lived in Mexico

He is included in this collection because of his desire for science and astrology and the restriction of the Church on those matters.Also because he was the lead engineer in building the desague ( a major drainage canal for Mexico City)

Aztecs Ch.1

Tula was a great anchient city about 56 miles north of Mexico City

Tula's power crumbled and finally collapsed in the mid 12th century, the people (Toltecs) migrated

Many people claimed to be the descendants of the Toltecs

“Aztecs” are also known as “Mexitin” or “Mexica”

The Mexica migrated to the Valley of Mexico

The Mexica chose Acamapichtli as their leader

Aztecs ch. 2

In 1440 Moctezuma I came into power over the Aztecs

Moctezuma I decided to have a perpetual war with the people of Puebla and Tlaxcala in order to gain people for sacrifice to the gods

He set out to conquer the tropics and forced cities to pay tribute

Some difficulties to true control of the empire was the enormous distances and rudimentary means of communication

Aztecs ch. 3

Ahuitzotl came to power in 1486

When the great temple of Tenochtitlan was completed its inauguration consisted of thousands of human sacrifices

To the Aztecs human sacrifice was necessary, they believed their gods were mortal and needed to be fed. Once fed things would continue as normal but if not fed the world would come to an end.

Ahuitzotl continued to increase the empires borders

The empires size began to cause problems

In 1503 Moctezuma II began to reign

Aztecs ch. 4

In the first decade of the 16th century Moctezuma thought he was the “master of the world”

There were prophecies of destruction for the Aztecs before Cortes arrived

Moctezuma was unsure about how to treat the Spaniards

He submitted to the Spaniards but was betrayed

Cortes defeated the Aztecs then took control of the area then called New Spain

Aztecs ch. 5

Cortes demanded that the Indians convert to Christianity

The “anti-Spanish party” rejected Cortes and Christianity

The conquerors began to intermarry with the daughters of the Indian Aristocracy, this furthered the transition between the two worlds

Epidemics brought by the Spaniards killed many Indians

Aztecs ch. 6

In the 17th century the native society disintegrated

The 17th century saw the beginning of a unique Christianity which allowed the Indians to express what remained of their original identity

In the cities the Indians began to assimilate the negative aspects of “culture” brought by the Spaniards, such as drunkenness

Kingdom of Spain

The Kingdom of Spain was created in 1492 with the unification of the Kingdom of Castile and the Kingdom of Aragon

Spain and Portugal

In the 16th century Spain and Portugal were at the top of global exploration and colonial expansion and opening trade route across the ocean

Spanish Empire

From 1580 until the 19th century, Spain had the largest empire in the world