Fall of the Aztec & Incan Empires

Unit Seven Notes

FYI – Did Ya Know…

According to Inca legends, the sun god Inti sent his son Manco Capac and his daughter Mama Ocllo to Earth.

Before they took off, he gave them a golden rod and told them to push the golden rod into the ground whenever they stopped for rest.

If the golden rod sank completely into the ground, they need to travel no more..

Right then and there rhey should build a city called Cuzco and dedicate it to worship the sun god.

And that is how the capital city of the Inca was founded!

Manco Capac and his sister Mama Ocllo

Spain Vs. Portugal

Christopher Columbus asks both countries to sponsor his voyage--Spain agrees.

Portugal saw the wealth that Spain was gaining, and wanted to be part of the action.

Countries became rivals and tried to stop each other from claiming land in the Americas.

Spain Vs. Portugal

1494--countries signed Treaty of Tordesillas– set the Line of Demarcation (imaginary line from

the North Pole to the South Pole at 50 degrees longitude)

Spain got everything to the west, while Portugal got everything to the east.– What language is spoken in most of Latin America

today?– What language is spoken in Brazil?

Spanish Conquistadors

“Conquistadors” = soldier-explorers who settled in the Americas in hopes of finding treasure

inspired by Columbus to seek fortune in the New World

Many came from the part of Spain called Extremadura.– poor soil, icy winters, & blistering hot summers held

little chance for wealth– Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro were born in

this province

Spanish ConquistadorsWhat are some

words that

describe us?

Rise amd Fall of the Incan Empire

Part One

Rise of the Incas

The Incan empire began in Cuzco, a village that is now a city in Peru.

Cuzco, founded by Manco Capac (the 1st

emperor) was the capital of the Incan empire.

Expanding Empire

The Inca Empire spread along the Western coast of South America.

What mountain range is located within the empire?

What modern day countries are located within the empire?

Machu Picchu

The “lost city” of Machu Picchu demonstrates the detailed stonework that has become a trademark of the Inca civilization.

Incan Achievements

Roads – Incas built 19,000 miles of roads to help govern the vast empire and assist in trade.

Achievements continued

Incas also built canals and aqueducts.

An aqueduct is a pipe or channel designed to carry water from a distant source.

Achievements continued

The Incas did not have a written language.

To record information, Incas used quipus.

A quipu had a main cord with several colored strings attached to it. Each color stood for an item, and knots stood for numbers

Farming

The Incas increased farming by terracing steep slopes.

The road system also allowed easier distribution of food.

Why didn’t the Aztecs use terracing?

Francisco Pizarro Pizarro was from the Extremadura.

– He was not of noble birth; could not even write his name.

– At age 16, Pizarro fled a job herding pigs in Italy.

1502--He arrived in the Americas and became very wealthy by exploring Panama.– heard a rumor that there was a great

empire filled with gold in the mountains of South America

The Inca

1530s—Incan empire was HUGE! Inca thought they ruled most of the world;

two threats from the north proved they did not...

1.They couldn’t stop the spread of smallpox.

2. They couldn’t scare away Pizarro.

This is how they rolled…

The Inca were no match

Pizarro Conquers the Inca

Pizarro led 160 soldiers to the Incan homeland.– raided Incan storehouses & fired guns at

villagers Incan emperor, Atahualpa, thought

Pizarro was crazy--how could he stand up to an army of 80,000 Incan warriors?

1532--Pizarro came up with a plan to defeat the Inca...

Atahualpa

Pizarro Defeats the IncaThe Double Cross

Spanish messengers invited Atahualpa to a meeting.

He agreed & left most of his army behind--brought only 5,000 bodyguards.

Pizarro’s 160 soldiers attacked the Inca & kidnapped Atahualpa.

Pizarro offered to free Atahualpa if he filled one room with gold & one with silver.

Atahualpa kept his end of the bargain, but Pizarro killed him in 1533.

After Conquering the Inca…

Spanish king made Pizarro the governor of Peru.

Pizarro’s conquest of Peru opened most of South America to Spanish rule.

Spain controlled a vast territory covering 375,000 miles with almost seven million inhabitants.

Your Task: Create a Wanted poster for Francisco Pizarro.

Your Poster Must Include:1. A sketch of what the person

probably looks like.2. A reward amount listing the

specific crime the person did.3. A made-up quote from a person

living at the time showing what people might have said about this person.

4. The approximate date this poster would have been found.

5. A written description of what the person has done in their life.

Collapse of the Aztec Civilization

Part Two

Aztec Civilization

The Aztec civilizaton was composed of tribes of wandering warriors. Of these tribes, the Mexica was the most dominant. In fact, it was from this tribe that Mexico got its name!

The Aztec Capital

The Aztec Empire’s capital (Tenochtitlan) was located on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, in modern day Mexico City.

Tenochtitlan

The Empire The Aztec empire began in the

14th century and grew until Spanish invasion in the 16th

century The Aztecs expanded their

empire in the 1400’s by conquering other people in the region.

The Aztecs forced the people they conquered to pay tribute (taxes).

Due to these tributes, Tenochtitlan became a rich center of trade and learning.

Aztec Accomplishments

Trade/learning Medicines Astronomy, calendar

http://library.thinkquest.org/27981/calendar.html

hieroglyphics

Aztec Accomplishments Chinampas When the Aztec people finally found a place to settle down, they did so on

rather marshy land around a lake. Some of the land was not very good for gardening. As the population grew, the Aztecs needed to find a way to grow more food. They could have built further away from the cities, but then they would need to guard the fields from robbers.

Instead, the clever Aztec engineers created “floating” gardens. The floating gardens were actually rafts. The rafts were anchored to the bottom of the lake, or to a strong tree in the marsh. They piled vegetation and reeds on top of the raft to help provide good soil and drainage. On top of this, they piled dirt. They planted seeds in the dirt. The gardens were used to grow chili peppers, corn, tomatoes, beans, and squash.

The “Chinampas” were crucial is the growth of the Aztec empire. The Aztec empire was able to grow so rapidly because there was always more than enough food to feed the people. ---- The empire grew to more than 30 million people.

Chinampas – “Floating Gardens”

Hernan Cortes

Spanish conquistador who reached Mexico in 1519 in search of treasure

arrived in Mexico with 550 soldiers, 16 horses, 14 canons, & a few dogs

group was met by Aztec emperor, Montezuma II

Cortes invades Mexico How could such a small force conquer a huge

empire?1. Cortes knew how to use Spanish horses and

guns to shock Aztecs.2. Malintzin (a Mayan woman) gave Cortes the

inside scoop on the Aztec empire & helped him form alliances against Montezuma.

3. Cortes had invisible help--diseases that killed more Aztecs than Spanish swords.

4. Montezuma believed Cortes to be Quetzalcoatl--an important Aztec god.

Cortes Meeting Montezuma

Cortes Defeats the Aztec

Cortes traveled 400 miles to reach Tenochitlan.

Montezuma did not attack right away because he first thought Cortes was Quetzalcoatl.

The Spanish were able to take control of the city & took Montezuma hostage.

Cortes ordered the Aztec to stop sacrificing people.

Cortes Defeats Aztec

Cortes’ orders angered the Aztecs, so they planned a rebellion.

Fighting broke out & Montezuma was killed. The Spanish were outnumbered, so they fled the

city. Before they could prepare a 2nd attack,

smallpox broke out in Tenochtitlan & greatly weakened the large Aztec empire.

1521--Spanish destroyed the Aztec capital.

After Conquering the Aztec…

Cortes took part in one more expedition to Honduras.

served as Governor General of New Spain returned to Spain a very wealthy man died in Seville, Spain in 1547

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Aztec Civilization Recipe

Your Task: Write a “recipe” for the Aztec civilization.

1. Include the “ingredients” that went into forming that civilization

2. Write the special instructions for bringing the “ingredients” together.

Check out the example…

www.mrroughton.com