Europe and the "New World"

I. Native Americans

A. Inka civilization

1. The Inka Empire--was the largest empire in the world during its time, stretching nearly the entire west coast of South America; much of the empire was contained within the Andes Mountains, at heights were sustaining civilization is very difficult

2. Inka reign--lasted just over one hundred years before its demise at the hands of Francisco Pizzaro; but as we shall see, like his cousin Cortez, he lucked into attacking an empire that was suffering from internal difficulties that contributed to its downfall.



3. Rise of the Inka--Inka was the name for the people, as well as incorporated into the name of the ruler.

a) Originated near Lake Titicaca, in the Andes along the border of present-day Peru and Bolivia. Move then to area near Cusco (or Qosqo)

b) Inka made enemies of the Chanka people, were suppose to be led into battle by Wiraqocha Inka and his designated heir (the Inka named their successors), Inka Urqon. The fled the Chanka, however, and the Inkas were led into battle by the youngest son, Inka Cusi Yupaki, who led them to victory. After being tipped off to his father’s plans to have him murdered, Yupaki foiled the plot, and his humiliated father fled. Yupaki then renamed himself Pachakuti (“Worldshaker”) in Runa Sumi, the Inkan language.

c) The Hegemonic Empire--Pachakuti formed his empire largely by persuading other peoples to adopt Inka ways of life and Inka protections; then co-opting local rulers to do his bidding.

d) Succession problems--naming the successor worked as long as it was a decisive decision--and the person named outlived the Inka. By the early 1500s, to successive ascensions to the throne were contested, setting off small civil wars in Inkan society; the second was only resolved just before the appearance of Pizzaro.

B. North of the Rio Grande

1. Demise of the Mound Builders

2. Smaller political units

II. Rise of Europe

A. Fall of Contantinople (1453)--the Ottoman Turks finally succeeded in conquering Constantinople in 1453, and this allowed them to control the spice trade through the Levant (today’s Middle East). This gave added impetus to Christian merchants to find alternative sources for this trade

B. Reconquista--since the Islamic conquest of the Iberian peninsula in 712 CE, Christian forces there had worked to reconquer the peninsula--an 800 year struggle, as it turned out.

1. Why so long?--this struggle occurred in fits and starts, and was not fought during the entire 800 year period. The Christian kings, in fact, spent much of the time fighting amongst themselves over land and who would rule over it. By the late 1400s, most of Spain was united by the marriage of Ferdinand of Castille and Isabelle of Aragon, and by early 1492 the last caliph of Granada surrendered to Spanish forces

2. Aftereffects--The Spanish monarchy saw itself as the great proponent or orthodox Catholicism, and moved against anyone who strayed from that orthodoxy.

C. Military culture in Iberia--because of this long military struggle, Spain (and Portugal, to a lesser extent), built up a support system to sustain a large military force; miltary religious orders were an important part of this system. With this development, the military became a means of “proselytizing” religious faith--one gained religious converts at the point of the sword.

1. Reconquista in Portugal--was effectively over by 1250 CE, when Portuguese forces gained control of the Algarve, the southernmost area of today’s Portugal; after Portugal became the first European country to gain a foothold in former Muslim held North Africa (Cueta, 1415), the began explorations in the Atlantic and the African coast.

III. Spanish Conquest of the New World

A. Christopher Columbus--son of a Genoese shopkeeper. Columbus aspired to greatness on the seas; from his early teen years on he gained sailing experience. He developed a theory that one could reach Asia by sailing west from Europe, largely because of a miscalculation.

1. Columbus in Lisbon--Portugal is the westernmost country in Europe, and had sailors sailing the Atlantic long before the rise of Prince Enrique (Henry) the Navigator. With the fall of Constantinople, Lisbon had become the place for seafaring adventurers.

a) Columbus’ proposal (1485)--to Joao (or John) II, that he be outfitted with three ships and a year’s time to make the voyage to Asia and back. King Joao turned this request over to his councilors, who concluded that Columbus had badly miscalculated the circumference of the earth, and that the trip was impractical.

b) Columbus’ proposal (1488)--same sales pitch, same result. Decision was also probably influenced by knowledge that a Portuguese expedition had yet to return from an attempt to round the continent of Africa.

2. Columbus in Cadiz--Columbus had already utilized his Genoese connections to find half the money for the expedition; he had to rely upon a European monarch for the other half of the funding, however.

a) Proposal to Henry VIII of England, who did not decide in favor before Columbus was finally able to persuade the dual monarchs of Spain to take the chance.

b) Ferdinand and Isabella--although the Kingdom of Spain was mostly broke from fighting the final battles to unite their kingdom, they were able to find some money in the treasury (and force contributions from some of their subjects) to fund the expedition

c) Departure--from Palos de la Fronterra on August 3, 1492. The three ships made a stop in the Canary Islands for final repairs, then departed on September 6.

d) Arrival--land was spotted on October 12 (Columbus Day in much of the Spanish-speaking world)

3. Columbus in the New World

a) Caribbean Islands--Columbus’ first encountered a gentle, friendly people the Spanish called the Tainos, who seemed to welcome the strangers

b) Columbus was attracted to their gold jewelry, and attempted to ascertain where they obtained it--but they had great difficulty communicating with each other, since neither party spoke the others’ language.

c) Kidnapped 12 “Indios” to take back to Spain (kind of like specimens); tellingly, all 12 died shortly after their arrival in Spain



d) Columbus made three other voyages, and served for a time as governor of “New Spain” (when he was accused of misusing his power and theft, and briefly thrown in jail), but it is not clear that he ever understood the importance of his “discovery.”

IV. New Spain

A. The Caribbean--Spain quickly overcame natives on most of the islands of Caribbean, mostly through the microbes they introduced directly or through those that came with the livestock they introduced.

1. Pigs--the Spanish place male and female pigs on many of the islands in preparation for their exploration, ensuring they would have a ready food supply when they returned. The pigs, however, carried a number of microbes that readily jumped to human hosts, and promptly killed a number who had never been exposed to them.

B. Hernan Cortes and the Golden City--son of a lesser noble family; evidence suggests that he was a man of extraordinary ambition.

1. Government official on the island of Cuba, then the headquarters for Spanish government in New Spain.

2. Led third expedition to the mainland, which he largely funded himself.

3. His hostile relationship with the appointed governor led to an attempt to stop his expedition. Cortes resisted this attempt, and began writing letters to the Spanish king, claiming he was merely working for the greater glory of his majesty, etc.

4. Dona Mariana (La Malinche)--native woman who acted as translator for Cortes; she spoke both Mayan and Nauhautal.



5. Veracruz--upon landing, Cortes ordered the ships beached, and then burned

C. Moctezuma--fatefully decided to allow the Spanish to enter Tenochtitlan with no resistance and lavished them with many gifts; the gold only made the Spanish want more. Eventually, the Spanish decided to hold Moctezuma hostage in order to get more gold, and finally murdered him when things began to go wrong.

1. Mexica forces expelled Spanish from city--Spanish only escaped because they were getting slaughtered so badly on the causeways that connected the island city of Tenochtitlan to the mainland that they were using the bodies of comrades to fill in the gaps the Aztecs had made.



2. Siege of Tenochtitlan--Cortes had previously returned to the coast to seek more reserves, where he defeated--and converted--yet another force sent to stop him. He returned with these reinforcements and lay siege to Tenochtitlan. The siege, in conjunction with the microbes, finally defeated the Aztec forces.

V. Francisco Pizzaro and the Inka

A. The Conquistadore--cousin of Cortes, of an even lesser noble family (Pizzaro was himself illiterate), but fired by even more ambition than Cortes

1. Early recognizance--Pizzaro made several earlier trips, and caught wind of a supposed fabulously wealthy kingdom.

2. Third expedition--Pizzaro heard of an ongoing civil war, and moved south with 106 foot soldiers and 62 horsemen

3. Cajamarca--this Inka town was largely abandoned because of the civil war. Pizzaro’s men hid themselves about the town, and Pizzaro sent word for the winner of the civil war, Atahualpa, to meet him there. Atahualpa agrees to the meeting; to impress the Spanish, he paraded into town accompanied by 5,000 to 6,000 of his largely unarmed people, leaving his army behind.



4. Spanish massacre--began with firing guns, cannon, attacking the crowd with men on horseback; the huge crowd panics, and most are crushed to death by falling over each other trying to escape.

5. Atahualpa held hostage. He notices Spanish “lust for gold,” agrees to fill two rooms with gold and silver in return for his release. While the valuables are being gathered, Atahualpa arranges for this remaining rivals to be murdered; he himself is garroted by the Spanish.

6. Inka resistance--continued until the Spanish were able to capture and execute the final Inka emperor, Tupac Amura, in 1572.

VI. Conclusion--the “Black Legend”