Latin america: Short- and Long-Term Effects of European Exploration Chapt 10, Sect 2

1. 
   Why did Europeans sail to the Americas?
   

2. 
   What were some of the short-term effects of European exploration in Latin America?
   

3. 
   What were some of the long-term effects of European rule over Native Americans in the region?
   

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  Sailors in the 1400s guided their ships using ont the stars, a compass, and an astrolabe (a kind of map of the starts)
  
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  Malinche, the daughter of a Mayan leader, learned Spanish and became the translator for Cortez when he arrived in the Americas in 1519.
  
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  Europeans were looking for a faster route to Asia, where they would trade in spices, silks, and other goods.
  
• 
  Columbus “found” the Americas on October 12, 1492.
  

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  The Treaty of Tordesillas, a written agreement between Spain and Portugal, set a Line of Demarcation at 50⁰W. This was set BEFORE they explored the land and they hoped to avoid future wars over rights to lands with this treaty.
  
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  As it turned out, only half of Brazil was in the area reserved for Portugal; all other land was in the area reserved for Spain. This is why today Brazil is the only Portuguese speaking country in Latin America!
  
• 
  Spanish rulers did not pay for the trips made by the explorers; instead they gave conquistadors the right to keep 80% of what they found, as long as the King of Spain got the land and 20% of the riches found.
  
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  Initially Moctezuma invited Cortez into Mexico City, thinking he might be some sort of god.
  
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  Cortez brought just 500 men and 16 horses, yet they were able to conquer a much larger number of Aztec warriors.
  
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  Francisco Pizarro, also a Spanish conquistador, sailed around the southern end of South America and sailed to the Incan empire. With only 180 soldiers, he was able to conquer the capitol city, and within four years he controlled the entire Inca empire.
  
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  Within fifteen years (1519-1534), the conquistadors defeated the two more powerful empires in the Americas. They had guns, horses, cannons; they also carried diseases against which the Native Americans had no immunity.
  
• 
  By the 1540s, Spain controlled much of the Americas. Spain divided its territories into provinces and set up a strong government. New Spain (Mexico City) and Lima (Peru) were the two most powerful provinces.
  
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  Spaniards lived in the centers of the cities; mestizos (mixed heritage) lived on the outskirts of the city; and Native Americans lived in the countryside.
  
• 
  Many Native Americans died from overwork, malnutrition, and disease. In 50 years New Spain went from a population of 25 million to just 3 million people.
  

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