The Conquest of Mexico

1
The Conquest of Mexico

• In 1519 the Spanish government asked Hernán
  Cortés to lead an expedition to the Yucatán
  Peninsula to find Native Americans to work on the
  farms and in the mines of Cuba. ?

• Cortés also wanted to investigate reports of a
  wealthy civilization there.

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2
The Conquest of Mexico (cont.)

• Equipped with swords, crossbows, guns, and
  cannons, the Spanish had a technological
  advantage over the people they encountered in the
  Yucatán Peninsula and quickly killed more than
  200 warriors.

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3
The Conquest of Mexico (cont.)

• After learning that the Aztec were at war with
  many groups in the region, Cortés recruited the
  help of the Tlaxcalan people against the Aztec. ?

• Montezuma, the Aztec leader, failed to stop the
  Spanish advance, and Cortés marched into
  Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec Empire.

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4
The Conquest of Mexico (cont.)

• In 1520 the Aztec organized a rebellion against
  the Spanish and drove them out of the capital. ?

• However, in 1521 Cortés launched another attack
  and this time defeated the Aztec, who were
  greatly weakened by a smallpox epidemic.

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5
The Conquest of Mexico (cont.)
Why were the Spanish successful in defeating the
Aztec?
The Spanish had the technological advantage,
having more sophisticated weaponry and the use of
horses, which the Aztec had never seen before. In
addition, a smallpox epidemic had devastated the
Aztec population and weakened the Aztec defenses
against the Spanish.
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6
New Spain Expands

• On the ruins of Tenochtitlán, the Spanish built a
  new city named Mexico. ?

• It became the capital of the Spanish colony of
  New Spain. ?
• Cortés sent other expeditions into Central
  America. ?
• The people who led the expeditions became known
  as conquistadors, or conquerors. ?
• One conquistador, Francisco Pizarro, explored
  Peru and conquered the Inca Empire.

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7
New Spain Expands (cont.)

• Other Spanish conquistadors explored other parts
  of America, searching for rumored wealthy cities.
  ?

• Pánfilo de Narváez search for a fabled city of
  gold in what is today northern Florida.

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8
New Spain Expands (cont.)

• In 1540 Francisco Vásquez de Coronado led an
  expedition throughout the southwestern area of
  what is today the United States. ?

• Hernando de Soto led an expedition and explored
  the area north of Florida. ?
• They were the first Europeans to see the
  Mississippi River.

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9
New Spain Expands (cont.)

• The Spanish gave the name New Mexico to the
  territory north of New Spain. ?

• They built presidios, or forts, throughout the
  region as trading posts and protection for the
  settlers. ?
• Spanish priests also built missions throughout
  the region to spread the Christian faith among
  the Native American people there. ?
• A road called El Camino Real linked the missions
  together.

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10
New Spain Expands (cont.)
Why did many Spanish conquistadors set out on
expeditions to America?
Many of the conquistadors were searching for
fabled wealthy cities, which they did not find.
However, their search resulted in the exploration
of various regions of America.
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11
Spanish American Society

• For most conquistadors, the main motive for
  coming to America was to acquire wealth and
  prestige.

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12
Spanish American Society (cont.)

• Although the Spanish did not find vast deposits
  of gold in the Americas, they did discover huge
  deposits of silver. ?

• Mining camps emerged all across northern Mexico.
  ?
• To feed the miners, the Spaniards created large
  ranches for their herdsof cattle and sheep.

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13
Spanish American Society (cont.)

• These ranches were called haciendas. ?

• The men who worked the ranches were called
  vaqueros. ?
• Cowhands in the United States later adopted many
  of the ways of the vaqueros.

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14
Spanish American Society (cont.)

• Spanish colonial society operated on the system
  of encomienda, where encomenderos were granted
  control over Native American towns.

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15
Spanish American Society (cont.)

• The people in the Spanish colonies in the
  Americas formed a highly-structured society. ?

• A persons position in society was determined by
  birth, income, and education. ?
• The highest level of society consisted of the
  peninsularesthose born in Spain. ?
• Below this level were the criollosthose born in
  the colonies to Spanish parents. ?
• Next were the mestizosthose born of Spanish and
  Native American parentage.

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16
Spanish American Society (cont.)

• The lowest level of society included Native
  Americans, Africans, and people of mixed Spanish
  and African or African and Native American
  ancestry. ?

• The Spanish king divided the empire in America
  into regions called viceroyalties. ?
• A viceroy ruled each region as a representative
  of the king.

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17
Spanish American Society (cont.)
How were social classes determined in the Spanish
colonies in the Americas?
They were determined by an individuals birth,
income, and education.
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18
The French Empire in America

• In 1524 the French king sent Giovanni da
  Verrazano to map the North American coastline. ?

• The king was interested in finding the Northwest
  Passagethe northern water route through North
  America to the Pacific Ocean. ?
• Although Verrazano found no such passage, he did
  map a large area of North Americas east coast. ?
• Jacques Cartier, another explorer, discovered and
  mapped the St. Lawrence River.

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19
The French Empire in America (cont.)

• In 1602 the French king authorized a group of
  merchants to establish colonies. ?

• The merchants, who hoped to build a fur trade
  with Native Americans, hired geographer Samuel de
  Champlain to help them colonize North America. ?
• Champlain established Quebec, which became the
  capital of the new colony of New France.

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20
The French Empire in America (cont.)

• New France was founded for the fur trade. ?

• Settlers were not needed to clear land or start
  farms. ?
• Consequently, the population grew slowly. ?
• Most of the fur traders did not live in the
  colony but among the Native Americans with whom
  they traded.

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21
The French Empire in America (cont.)

• In 1663 New France became a royal colony. ?

• The French government then introduced a series of
  projects designed to increase the colonys
  population. ?
• The French also began exploring North America. ?
• Louis Joliet and Jacques Marquette explored the
  Mississippi River.

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22
The French Empire in America (cont.)

• René-Robert Cavalier de La Salle then followed
  the river to the Gulf of Mexico and claimed the
  region, which he named Louisiana, for France.

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23
The French Empire in America (cont.)
What was the main purpose for establishing the
colony of New France?
The main purpose for establishing the colony of
New France was to establisha fur trade.
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24
Settling Louisiana

• Settlements were established in Louisiana over
  the next few decades. ?

• The French soon realized that crops that were
  suitable for the region required hard manual
  labor, which few settlers were willing to do. ?
• As a result, the French in Louisiana imported
  enslaved Africans and forced them to work the
  plantations.

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25
Settling Louisiana (cont.)

• The Spanish had established the town of St.
  Augustine, Florida, in 1565 to protect their
  claim to the region after the French tried to
  settle the north. ?

• The town became the first permanent settlement
  established by Europeans in present-day United
  States.

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26
Settling Louisiana (cont.)

• After the French arrived at the mouth of the
  Mississippi River, the Spanish established a
  mission in eastern Texas to attempt to block
  French expansion into the region.

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27
Settling Louisiana (cont.)
Why did the French begin importing enslaved
Africans to Louisiana in the early 1700s?
The crops that were suitable for the region
required difficult manual labor, which European
settlers were unwilling to do.As a result, they
imported enslaved Africans to compel them to work
the plantations.
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