Spanish in the Americas

By: Fabrizio Cando E.

Settlers

• A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area.

Christopher Columbus

• Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in theRepublic of Genoa, in northwesternItaly.

• Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere.

• The term “Discover of the Americas” is wrong due to the fact that Leif Ericson landed on Vinland (a part of North America) 500 beforeColumbus did.

• Columbus never realized that he discovered a new continent.

Hispaniola

• It is the first place where Christopher Columbus settled in the New World.

• From this place the entire continent was colonized.

• French, English and Nederland pirates created bases on deserted parts of the island.

• Nowadays it is it divided in two nations, Haiti and Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo

• Is the capital and the largest city of Dominican Republic.

• It is located on the Hispaniola Island.

• During the colonization, the city became a major center of operations for the settlers, from this point they conquered the Mexica and Mayan Empires.

Hernan Cortes

• Remembered as the conqueror ofthe Aztec Empire.

• He was a part of the expedition toconquer Cuba.

• A indigenous woman called Doña María was his lover, interpreter and guide.

• Some people consider DoñaMaría or Malinche as a traitor to the Aztec Empire.

Moctezuma

• Was the governor of the Mexican city of Tenochtitlan, its domains expanded towards Texcoco andTlatelolco.

• He though that Cortes wasQuetzalcoatl, the Aztec supreme God.

• There is a legend that says that before the arrival of the Spaniards, Moctezumawitnessed ten warnings of this event;they include a comet, the sinking of a part of Tenochtitlan and a lighting that stroked a temple.

Aztec/Mexica Empire

• AKA: “Aztec Triple Alliance”, it begun with

the unification of the three most

powerful city-states of the region:

Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tlacopan.

• The rulers of annexed cities were usually left in power as long as they agreed to pay semi-annual tribute to the alliance or provided military support in wars with enemy states

• Their most venerated god was Quetzalcoatl.

• They were politeistic.

The term Aztec is new, it wouldn’t have been recognized by the Mexica Empire.

Aztec means people from “Aztlan”

Francisco Pizarro

• Born on March 16, 1478.• He participated with the

discovery of the Pacific Ocean.• After founding the city of Piura he sets off to Cajamarca

to chase and kill Atahualpa.• He authorized

the robbery of Cuzco.• Founded Lima

and died in hands of people loyal to Diego de Almagro.

Atahualpa

• He is considered to be the last Inca Emperor.• Many chronists describe him as a someone with the

power and the will to efficiently manage the Inca Empire.

• Atahualpa threw a Bible to the ground, it didn’t had any special meaning to him, given by Vicente de

• Valverde; this created indignation among the Spaniards and caused his capture and the murder of 20.000 Incan warriors that were with him.

• Some people claim that he had a good relationship with Pizarro and that the conqueror cried during his death.

• He might have been allowed to keep administrating the Empire while he was imprisoned.

• His body mysteriously disappeared after he was buried, the location of his body is unknown.

Inca Empire

• Was the most powerful Empire in South America.• It occupied the territories of Colombia,

Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.• It reached its highest cultural, scientific and

technological point under the regime ofHuayna Cápac.

• The Empire was divided in four provinces or suyus: Antisuyo, Collasuyo, Chinchasuyoand Contisuyo.

• It was also called Tawantinsuyo, literally translated as The Four Regions.

Maya Empire

• It is known as the only Meso-AmericanEmpire to have developed a full written language.

• They were the most advanced civilization in the areas of arts, science, astronomical and mathematical systems.

• Maya influence can be detected fromHonduras, Guatemala, Northern El Salvadorand to as far as central Mexico, more than 1,000 km from the Maya area.

• The end of their Classic Period ended with the mysterious collapse of their society.

• One of their most famous objects is the DresdenCodex, the oldest known recording of history on the continent.

Smallpox

• Smallpox is a disease caused by theVariola major virus.

• Some experts say that over the centuries it has killed more peoplethan all other infectious diseasescombined.

• Two research labs still house small amounts of the virus.

• During the Spanish colonization, the disease was brought to America and wiped out 90% of the Incan population in the next years.

Columbian Exchange

• It was one of the most significant events concerning ecology, agriculture, and culture in all of human history.

• It was the massive exchange of products,ideas, knowledge, diseasesand every aspect of America with the Old Continent and vice versa.

• The Columbian Exchangeaffected every other cultures on the planet.

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