The Clash of Cultures: Europeans in the Americas

Readings: http://faculty.fullerton.edu/nfitch/nehaha/index.htm

Spodek, pp. 452-458

Aztecs/Mexica--Mexico Nahuatl Mayan Quetzacoatl Tenochtitlan Lake Texcoco Montezuma II

takes power (1502)

Cortes Decides to Conquer Mexico Spaniards Conquer Cuba 1517—Spaniards begin to explore

Mexico Aztecs may have experienced bad

omens, but an invention? February 10, 1519 Hernan Cortes

defies Governor Diego Velasquez June 3, 1519 Spaniards arrive at

Cempoala with 11 ships, 600 soldiers, 200 native servants, 16 horses, 32 crossbows, 13 muskets, and 14 cannons

Cortez’s translator, Jerome de Aguilar spoke Mayan.

Cortes finds a Translator and Mistress

Dona Marina is also known as La Malinche or Malintzin.

Dona Marina spoke Mayan and Nahuatl.

She became Cortez’s translator and mistress

Mexica called Cortez El Malinche in some documents

Cortes’ Route to Tenochtitlan

Cholula Massacre

September 2-20, 1519—the Spaniards fight with the Tlaxcalans but end by winning Tlaxcalan allies

October 1519—Massacre at Cholula

Cortez and Moctezuma November 8, 1519 –

Cortes enters Tenochtitlan Does Moctezuma believe

he’s Quetzacoatl? Modern historians – no, documents ambiguous

Panfilo de Navaez – May 1520 Cortes leaves Pedro de

Alvarado in Charge

Moctezuma Killed

Pedro de Alvarado attacks Mexica during festival

June 1520 – Moctezuma killed

Ultimately replaced by Cuauhtemoc

La Noche Triste

Spaniards forced to flee

La Noche Triste – June 30, 1520 Cortes loses 2/3 of

his men and many horses

Spanish conquest not inevitable

Cortes takes Tenochtitlan

July 1520—Spaniards reach Tlaxcala and are welcomed

July 1520-May 1521 Cortez regroups with Tlaxcala help—builds brigantines

October 1520—Smallpox decimating the population of Tenochtitlan

Mexica fortify Tenochtitlan like European cities

May 1521—Spaniards lay siege to Tenochtitlan.

July 1521—After failing to take Tenochtitlan, Cortez decides to destroy it.

August 13, 1521—Cuathemoc either surrenders or is captured and the Battle of Tenochtitlan is over with the city in ruins.

Peru Inca Huayna Capac ruled

generally well from 1493-1525.

He had an army of 50,000 loyal followers.

The Incas thought he was a god or god-like

Problem: Religion and Ancestor Worship of Incas (The name was given to the people ruled as well as the ruler.)

Peru (continued) When Capec died, he was preserved as a mummy

and housed in a sacred chamber with other mummified Incas.

The mummified Inca retained possession of all estates and properties held in life. Inca nobility managed the property of the dead Incas.

By 1525, so much property in hands of dead Incas, almost none available for live Incas

The Incas Huascar (1525-1532)

succeeded his father as Inca and was crowned at Cuzco.

Proposed burying the mummies and selling their property so living could have land.

Incas Atahualpa (1532-1533) Atahualpa was Huascar’s

half-brother He had tried to get

Huascar to agree to share power

Huascar refused Atahualpa not legal heir

but had support of nobility – upset at mummy proposal.

There was a civil war and Atahualpa won.

Spanish Conquest of Peru Francisco Pizarro (c. 1475-

1541) May 13, 1532 – Alahualpa

wins, Pizarro reaches northern Peru

Did Atahualpa think Pizarro was the God Virachocha, who he believed would return? Or, a Spanish invention?

Pizarro tricked Atahualpa—killed him after he got Atahualpa’s gold

Fierce resistance for at least 100 years

How did the Spaniards control the Americas? Disease (especially smallpox) was one control – not intentional at

first Peru’s population fell from 1.3 million in 1570 to 600,000 in 1620. Mexico’s population fell from 25.3 million Indians in 1519 to 1

million in 1605 Native population had no immunity because of isolation from the

population networks of Africa and Eurasia.

Economic Control

Natives were also treated poorly by the Spaniards. They were forced to work on mines and sugar plantations after Spaniards took land from them.

In 1511 King Ferdinand concluded that “one black could do the work of four Indians.” That started the birth of Slavery and massive imports of Africans into the Americas.

Encomienda Plantation/Fazenda

New agriculture New livestock New labor

Cultural Control

Paper City Building Race Language of Color-based

racial thinking Gender Religion Government