Spain and the 'New World' - Edexcel GCSE History

How was the nation of Spain united in 1469?

King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile got married, joined their forces to turn on Grenada, ending the Reconquista

What were Spain's ambitions for exploration? (4 points)

- Isabella wanted to spread Catholocism

- Open up new trade routes to East Indies

- Not wanting Portugal to be more powerful

- Moors were driven from Spain and there was peace

What enabled Spain to explore? (4 points)

- New navigational devices (astrolabe and cross-staff)

- Spain had control of Canaries - stepping stone in the Atlantic

- Spanish and Portuguese signed the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)

- Better maps and better ships

Why was the Catholic church political?

They passed laws. Everything came from the church.

What were the aims of the Catholic church?

To spread Catholicism internationally and get rid of the Jews and Muslims in Spain

Why did Isabella and Ferdinand sponsor Columbus? (3 points)

- Faith (to spread religion and Isabella's personal priest helped Columbus persuade her to sponsor)

- Gold

- Pride and Glory

What three ships did Columbus take on his first voyage?

Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria

Who did Columbus take on his first voyage?

90 people:

- 3 doctors

- 6 priests

- cartographers

- mariners

- the Pinzon brothers

- the Conquistadors

What problems were faced at the start of Columbus' first voyage?

- Had to repair ship after 9 days

- Had to reload food and supplies

- Had trouble with crew - was threatened to be overthrown, some were ill

- Route had to be adjusted to avoid Portuguese

When did the voyage set off?

3rd August 1492

When was land claimed for Spain?

12th October 1492 - named San Salvador (Guanahani)

Why did Columbus refer to the natives as Indians?

Columbus thought he had landed on the East Indies

What were the natives wearing?

Fine gold jewellery

Why did Columbus continue sailing South from San Salvador?

He wanted gold from the natives but he was told to sail South for more

After no luck finding gold in the Bahamas, where did Columbus go next?

Cuba, Columbus thought is was Japan

Why was La Navidad necessary?

Pinzon left with the Pinta, Santa Maria ran aground so left with only Nina and needed protection for men

How did the first voyage end?

Columbus sailed back to Spain leaving 39 men behind, arrived back in March 1493

What was initial contact with the natives like?

It was friendly and resulted in trade between natives Spaniards, the Cuban Tainos thought the Spaniards were 'men from the sky'

What 3 products were discovered in the 'New World'

- Gold - mostly by Pinzon

- Tobacco - gifted to Columbus and smoked

- Cotton - seen growing on several islands

What were Columbus' first impressions of the Tainos and Caribs tribes?

Tainos - peaceful, good slaves, easy to convert

Caribs - ferocious, cannibals, looked for slaves and women

Why was the incident ofSamana important?

Spanish were attacked by the natives - Columbus realised that the Spanish needed to defend themselves with force to scare the natives

Which treaty did Portugal use to claim the New World?

Treaty of Alcacovas in 1479

What was the Treaty of Tordesillas?

Treaty was agreed as pope supported Isabella's spread of Catholicism, a line (2000km from Cape Verde) was drawn, West of line was Spanish and East was Portuguese

Why was the Treaty of Tordesillas important? (3 points)

- Treaty gave Spain the New World and the ability to claim Mexico and Americas

- Gold and silver found would only go to Spain

- Motivated Spain to conquer further and collect rewards and resources

What was involved in Columbus' voyage of 1493?

- Columbus was in charge of new territories

- given 17 ships and took 1200 men to New World including priests, gentlemen, farmers + skilled workers, animals, seeds and tools

What was Columbus' role as governor? (4 points)

- establish colony of settlements

- convert natives to Christianity

- send gold to Spain

- appoint officials to act on his behalf

Why was the Isabela settlement unsuccesful? (2 points)

- poor location

- settlers wanted gold and women instead of crops, didn’t clear forests

How was Santo Domingo founded?

in 1496 Columbus left brother Bartholomew in charge at Isabela so he could explore. Bartholomew built Santo Domingo settlement straight away and Columbus returned to Spain

Built on the mouth of Ozama river, fertile lands around

What was the significance of Santo Domingo? (5 points)

- Columbus returned and Santo Domingo was in uproar so he offered land and native labourers to settlers

- hanged Spaniards and natives after rebellion continued

- Columbus requested help from Isabella and Ferdinand

- Bobadilla took over as governor and agreed with the settlers

- Columbus was sent back to Spain for trial and sentenced

What year did Francisco Bobadilla take over from Columbus as governor?

September 1500

What was the final outcome for Columbus? (3 points)

- Columbus and brother were charged and imprisoned for six weeks

- Columbus kept titles but had no more say in governing

- took a final voyage but Isabella died and Ferdinand refused to meet him upon his return

What effect did smallpox have on the native population?

natives had no immunity to infection so many died

How many natives in Hispaniola (Haiti) died from smallpox by 1507?

440,000 - the number of natives went from 500,000 to 60,000 in 15 years

What happened to natives who resisted slavery?

brutal treatment - mutilated or attacked by hunting dogs

What were the names of the two massacres where the Spanish killed Tainos?

the Jaragua massacre (1503) and the Higuey massacre

What forms were the natives expected to pay tribute in?

gold, cotton or produce

Who stopped Columbus' slavery expeditions?

Isabella

What was the encomienda system?

a system in which each Spanish settler was given a group of natives who had to provide tribute (labour, goods etc) and in return the Spanish would 'protect' the natives by teaching them Spanish and converting them to Christianity

What 5 things were involved in the Spanish imperial policy in New World?

- regulation of exploration

- establishment of a trade monopoly

- extension of spanish authority

- the Laws of Burgos

- the use of Catholic missionaries

What 4 rules did Isabella and Ferdinand set in order to regulate exploration?

- any ship going to the New World had to be registered in and leave from Cadiz

- one tenth of the cargo on ships going to the New World had to be Spanish

- settlers had to give 2/3 of all gold and 1/10 of all other products found to the spanish treasury

- any new lands had to be registered with the Spanish authorities

What was the Casa de Contratacion?

House of trade in Seville, ensured that all trade with the Caribbean was controlled by the Spanish and that Spain received the correct profits

Where was the Spanish government in the New World?

Santo Domingo, after it was rebuilt in 1502

What were Catholic missionaries?

monks and priests sent from Spain to teach natives about reaing, writing, Christianity and to baptise the natives

When were the Laws of Burgos set?

1512

What did the Laws of Burgos do? (4 points)

- maintained encomienda system

- allowed Spaniards to punish natives for breaking laws

- required natives to be Christian

- natives were to be treated kindly and for their working hours to be regulated

Who were the conquistadors?

Spanish conquerors

Who was Balboa? (6 points)

- conquistador who wanted wealth

- governer of Veragua

- led and expedition that discovered Pacific Ocean

- treated natives brutally and ruthlessly

- was rivals with Pedrarias

- executed for treason by Pedrarias in 1519

Who discovered the Pacific?

Balboa

What did Balboa claim when he discovered the Pacific?

the Pacific ocean and everything touching it

What was the significance of Panama? (4 points)

- Panama was founded by Pedrarias and was important as a colony

- Pedrarias and Espinosa explored the Pacific coast

- the route through Panama led to Magellan's circumnavigation

- Panama became a starting point for Pizarro and Cortes' conquests

Who conquered Cuba?

Velazquez

What were the key events of Velazquez's conquest of Cuba? (6 points)

- death from illness reduced number of people able to be slaves

- Velazquez launched an invasion to get more slaves and wanted to catch Hatuey who escaped from Haiti with 300 followers

- Hatuey was captured (despite strong resistance) and was burned to death after refusing to convert to Christianity

- 2000 natives were massacred by the Spanish at Caonao

- rest of the island was conquered

- cuba was established as a Spanish Colony under Velazquez, settlements were constructed at Santiago de Cuba and Havana

What was the significance of the capture of Cuba? (4 points)

- encomienda system established in Cuba

- started the cultivation of crops on the island

- native population declined further, from 350,000 in 1515 to 3000 in 1555

- led to further exploration of Florida and Mexico

How did the Spanish treat the natives? (4 points)

- forced them to work

- prevented them from planting their own crops, many starved

- murdered or enslaved them

- burned them to death as pagans or heretics if they refused to convert to Christianity

Why was Charles I keen for Magellan to find the Spice Islands?

the Treaty of Tordesillas wasn't clear about who they belonged to so he wanted Spain to get there first and develop trade in spices

What were the key events of Magellan's circumnavigation? (5 points)

- set sail in 1519 across Atlantic

- discovered Strait of Magellan to get through to the Pacific

- sailed to the Philippines, reached in 1521

- Magellan killed by natives in the Philippines a month later

- one of the five ships and 18 of the 270 men returned to Spain, many of them sick

Why was Magellan's voyage important? (3 points)

- established that the earth was round, Columbus was correct that you could sail west to reach East Indies

- opened up Pacific Ocean for exploration

- Philippines became part of the Spanish empire and Spain could dominate world trade

Why did the Spanish send an expedition to Mexico? (3 points)

- explorers had brought back gold and silver objects and stories about cities built by the Mayans

- Velazquez wanted wealth and fame from claiming more land for Spain and spreading Christianity further

- Cortes had become wealthy working for Velazquez and wanted to find more treasure

Why were Cortes and Velazquez rivals? (4 points)

- Cortes appointed commander of Mexico expedition by Velazquez

- Cortes was told to establish trade with tribes, not settle

- just before Cortes was about to set sail, Velazquez changed his mind as he thought Cortes would conquer and settle

- Velazquez tried to arrest Cortes and stop him from leaving but he had already left Cuba

What did Cortes take with him on his expedition to Mexico?

11 ships, 600 men and 100 Cuban slaves

What was Mexico like in 1519? (4 points)

- dominated by Aztec Empire, ruled by Montezuma

- rulers of conquered cities could stay in power as long as they gave Aztecs warriors when necessary

- many tribes resented the Aztecs, potential allies for Cortes and Spaniards

- Aztec capital Tenochtitlan in the middle of lake Texcoco had 300,000 people - bigger than any European city at the time

When did Cortes arrive in Mexico and claim it for Spain?

March 1519

How did Cortes win the battle with natives tribes upon his arrival in Mexico?

he had a military advantage with horses and artillery

What did Cortes do after winning the battle with native tribes?

-he was given 20 young native women, converting them to Christianity

- he met Malinche, who became his mistress and interpreter and spoke with the Aztecs on Cortes' behalf

How was Cortes able to overthrow Montezuma and defeat the Aztec Empire?

he built alliances with the local tribe, the Tlaxcalans

How did Montezuma know about Cortes?

his spies had been tracking Cortes as they were concerned about alliances made by Cortes and tribes

Why did Montezuma send Cortes gifts?

to invite him and his soldiers to the capital, Tenochtitlan

What city did Montezuma want Cortes to travel through on the way to Tenochtitlan?

Cholula

What did Cortes take with him to Tenochtitlan?

1000 men provided by the Tlaxcalans because he feared it was a trap

What happened at Cholula?

- Cortes and his men massacred 3000 people and destroyed the city which was sacred to the Aztecs

- demonstrated power of the Spanish across the Aztec Empire

What were the consequences of the Spanish arrival in Tenochtitlan? (4 points)

- Spaniards were welcomed as guests, some believing they were gods

- Cortes tricked Montezuma, taking him prisoner and threatening to kill anyone opposing Spanish ways

- Cortes used Montezuma as a puppet ruler

- Christian images were put on Aztec temples to show superiority

How were the aztecs defeated? (6 points)

- Velazquez sent Spaniards to arrest Cortes

- Cortes defeated Velazquez's forces

- the deputy, Alvarado, killed aztec nobles who defied him

- aztecs turned on Spanish and forved them out of Tenochtitlan (the Night of Tears)

- Montezuma was killed, either by Spanish or his own people

- Cortes and allies regrouped in Tenochtitlan, starved inhabitants and attacked them before the city surrendered to the Spanish

What were the consequences for the Aztecs?

- empire and ruling class abolished

- language change

- religious conflict and forced conversion

- slaves used for labour with encomienda system, products farmed changed

- marriage between Spanish and Aztecs

What were Pizarro's ambitions?

he had been with Balboa when he reached the Pacific and was impressed by Cortes in Mexico and wanted to explore himself to find gold and wealth

Why did Pizarro's first expedition fail?

hit by bad weather, lack of food and hostile natives so forced to turn back

What happened on Pizarro's second expedition? (6 points)

- left in 1526 with two ships, 180 men and horses

- reached Columbian San Juan River

- discovered and captured a raft containing precious metals and emeralds

- he and 13 men stayed to explore further

- traveled South and found evidence of wealth in Peru

- returned to Panama in 1527

Why did Pizarro appeal to King Charles I?

he returned to Spain with evidence of great wealth in Peru and convinced the King to allow him to 'extend the empire of Castile'

Who was Huayna Capac?

Inca leader, worshipped by his people, died from smallpox

What was the Inca Empire like?

very wealthy and contained cities, temples and fortresses, linked by roads

When was the Inca smallpox outbreak?

1528

Who did Huayna Capac leave his empire to?

his two sons Atahualpa and Huascar, each getting half, resulting in a civil war