Spanish and Latin American History — Video Notes (Vocabulary Flashcards)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, people, events, and ideas from the lecture notes on Spain and Latin American history.

Moorish period in Spain (711 AD)

The Muslim rule that began after the Visigoths were defeated in 711; Arabs in Spain allowed religious tolerance, with Christians serving in courts, public offices, and military roles.

Reconquista

Christian campaigns to reclaim Iberia from Muslims, culminating in Granada's fall in 1492.

El Cid (El Cid Campeador)

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, a celebrated Christian knight and national hero who led early Reconquista campaigns.

Granada

Last Moorish kingdom in Iberia; fell to Christians in 1492, ending eight centuries of warfare.

Catholic Monarchs (Ferdinand II and Isabella I)

Married rulers who united Spain’s crowns and completed the Reconquista, also supporting Columbus.

Cuesta de las Lágrimas (Hill of Tears)

Legendary hill where Boabdil supposedly looked back on Granada as it fell to the Christians.

Spanish Inquisition

Founded in 1478 to detect heresy; motives included political, economic, and religious aims; promoted limpieza de sangre.

Limpieza de sangre (purity of blood)

Ideology banning intermarriage between Christians and Jews or converts to preserve a 'pure' Catholic lineage.

Columbus (Christopher Columbus)

Navigator sponsored by the Catholic Monarchs to reach Asia westward, leading to Spanish colonization of the Americas in 1492.

Hernán Cortés

Conqueror of the Aztec Empire; landed at Veracruz and defeated Moctezuma, founding Mexico City on the ruins of Tenochtitlán.

Moctezuma II

Aztec emperor during Cortés’ conquest, taken prisoner during the fall of Tenochtitlán.

Tenochtitlán

Aztec capital conquered by Cortés; site later became Mexico City.

Cajamarca massacre (1532)

Pizarro’s ambush and massacre of Inca Atahualpa’s forces; ransom for Atahualpa demanded and paid with gold and silver.

Francisco Pizarro

Conqueror of the Inca Empire; captured Atahualpa at Cajamarca and gained control of Peru.

Atahualpa

Inca emperor captured by Pizarro; offered a ransom room of gold and silver; executed in 1533.

Charles V / Carlos I

Habsburg king who ruled Spain as Charles V; Holy Roman Emperor; abdicated in 1556, splitting his empire between Philip II and Ferdinand I.

Armada Invencible (1588)

Spanish naval attempt to invade England that ended in defeat, signaling the decline of Spanish naval dominance.

El Siglo de Oro (Golden Age)

Spanish literary and artistic era roughly 1492–1659, highlighting Cervantes and Lope de Vega; ends with the Baroque period.

Encomienda

Colonial grant granting conquistadors rights to indigenous labor; often exploited; Las Casas opposed its abuses.

Leyes Nuevas (New Laws) – 1542

Regulations aimed at protecting Indigenous peoples under the encomienda system; part of reform efforts.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

Dominican friar who defended Indigenous rights and influenced reforms toward humane treatment.

Paraguay reducciones (Jesuit missions)

Jesuit settlements where Indians lived in Christian communities; large populations protected by Jesuits.

Expulsion of the Jesuits (1767)

Spanish (and Portuguese) expulsions that ended the reducciones and diminished mission influence.

Bourbons in Spain – Philip V era

First Bourbon king; introduced Enlightenment ideas; reoriented governance; border policies against revolutionary ideas.

Napoleon’s invasion of Spain (1808) and Cadiz Constitution (1812)

Napoleon forced abdications; Cadiz declared a constitution marking a shift toward constitutional government.

Isabela II and the Carlist Wars

Isabela II (crowned 1833) triggered liberal-conservative conflicts; Carlist Wars spanned decades.

Peninsulares and Creoles

Peninsulares born in Iberia with priority in government; Creoles born in the Americas; tension contributed to independence movements.

Mestizos and Mulattos; Indians and Africans

Social categories in Latin America: mestizos (European-Indigenous), mulattos (European-African); Indians and Africans often at the bottom.

Simón Bolívar

Venezuelan liberator who led independence movements across northern South America, including Gran Colombia (1810–1822).

José de San Martín

Argentine general who aided independence movements; led campaigns in Chile (Chacabuco, 1817) and Peru (1821).

Grito de Dolores (1810)

Miguel Hidalgo’s call for Mexican independence; sparked the Mexican independence movement.

Caudillos and personalismo

Strongman leaders who ruled by personal loyalty; common in 19th–20th century Latin America; exemplified by figures like Juan Perón.

Spanish-American War (1898)

War between Spain and the United States; USS Maine incident; Cuba’s independence and the Philippines; marked the end of the Spanish Empire.

Francisco Franco and the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939)

Nationalist victory leading to a long dictatorship (1939–1975); Franco’s regime isolated Spain internationally until its end.

Juan Carlos I

King who steered Spain from Franco’s dictatorship to democracy after 1975.

Yanqui imperialism (20th century)

U.S. interventionism in Latin America beginning in the early 20th century, influencing politics and economics.

World Wars and Depression (1914–1945) in Latin America

Period of US influence, economic upheaval, and a revival of caudillo politics amid global conflicts.