Latin America History Review

Flashcards covering key vocabulary terms and definitions related to Latin American history.

Aztecs

The most powerful civilization in central and southern Mexico.

Hernan Cortes

The Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztecs.

Montezuma

An Aztec ruler from about 1500 to 1520, also known as Moctezuma II.

Tenochtitlan

The capital city of the Aztecs, now known as Mexico City.

Nahuatl

The Aztec language still spoken by thousands of people in Mexico.

Incas

An ancient civilization that lived along the coast of South America.

Atahualpa

The last ruler of the Inca empire.

Francisco Pizarro

A Spanish conquistador known for conquering the Inca empire.

Sapa Inca

The living descendant of the sun god in Inca society.

Quechua

The language of the Inca empire, still spoken today.

Lima, Peru

The city founded by Pizarro, where he built a palace.

Machu Picchu

Believed to be a sacred religious site for Inca leaders.

Columbian Exchange

The transfer of animals, plants, people, and diseases between the Old World and the New World.

Triangular Trade

A system of trade involving slaves, crops, and manufactured goods among Africa, the Americas, and Europe.

Atlantic Slave Trade

The transportation of slaves across the Atlantic Ocean from the 15th to the 19th century.

Middle Passage

The trip across the Atlantic Ocean for enslaved Africans.

Mariel Boatlift

The mass exodus of over 125,000 Cubans to the United States in 1980.

Bay of Pigs

The failed U.S. invasion in 1961 to overthrow Fidel Castro.

Migration

Movement from one locality to another.

Pull Factors

Reasons that drive people to move to an area, such as better jobs or climate.

Push Factors

Reasons that drive people to leave an area, such as poverty or high crime rates.

Drug Cartels

Criminal organizations involved in drug trafficking.

Poverty

The state of being extremely poor.

Cuban Revolution

The revolution led by Fidel Castro against the Batista dictatorship from 1956 to 1959.

Old World

Europe, Asia, Africa

New World

the Americas

Fulgencio Batista

Cuban dictator overthrown by Fidel Castro during the Cuban Revolution.

Fidel Castro

Cuban revolutionary leader who overthrew Fulgencio Batista and established a communist state in Cuba.