Comprehensive Notes on South America (1200-1450)

1200-1450 South America

• Gender Parallelism: A concept prevalent in South American societies during this period.

Aztecs

• Capital: Tenochtitlán, the center of the Aztec empire and economy.
• Record Keeping: Meticulously recorded information.
• Social Structure:
  • Majority of the population consisted of peasants and enslaved people.
  • Women had the right to inherit property.
• Political System:
  • Warriors formed the elite class.
  • Expansionist policies were pursued.
  • Professional army.
  • Decentralized system, lacking a bureaucratic structure.
• Religion:
  • Quetzalcoatl: Feathered serpent god.
  • Human Sacrifice: Practiced, involving cutting out the hearts of prisoners and offering them to the setting sun.
  • Huitzilopochtli: Sun god; people were sacrificed to him.
  • Conquered areas supplied slaves for sacrifice.
  • Tlacaelel: Finalized the sacrificial ideology.
• Intellectual and Technological Achievements:
  • Chinampas: Floating gardens.
  • Pictogram writing system.
  • Imperial tribute collectors.
  • Floating cities with canals and bridges made of logs.
• Economical Aspects:
  • Conquered areas were forced to pay tributes.
  • Heavy taxation.

Inca

• Social Structure:
  • Bureaucratic system.
  • Women were expected to work in the fields.
  • No private property.
  • Three-week civil service requirement.
• Political System:
  • Capital: Cuzco.
  • Emperor held significant power.
  • Military conquest of neighboring regions.
  • Census taking of the population.
  • Mit'a System: Family labor service.
• Religious Beliefs:
  • The emperor was considered a descendant of a god and owner of the world.
  • Sacrifices involved animals, minimal human sacrifice, and goods.
  • Temples in various locations, including Machu Picchu, where sacrifices were made.
• Intellectual and Technological Advancements:
  • Quipu: A system of knotted strings for record-keeping.
  • Terrace farming.
  • Roads.
  • No formal writing system despite having a language.
• Economical Features:
  • Gold culture.

Mayans

• Incas and Aztecs were influenced by the Mayans.
• Social Structure: Social order with submission to a higher order or god.
• Political Organization: Conquered states in surrounding areas.
• Cultural Elements: Stone carvings and painted elements.
• Religion: Human sacrifice, temples, and worship of the sun god.
• Intellectual and Technological Contributions:
  • Calendar system.
  • Concept of zero.
• Economics: Based on agriculture and trade.

Post-1450 Developments (1450-1150)

• 1492: Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas while seeking a trade route to India.
• Aztec Perspective: Montezuma, the Aztec leader, initially welcomed Hernán Cortés, believing him to be the serpent god.
• Spanish Conquest: Cortés viewed the Aztecs as heathens and aimed to spread Christianity.
  • Cortés overthrew the Aztecs.
  • Doña Marina: An Aztec woman who served as a translator for Cortés, aiding in the conquest.
  • Tlaxcalans: Indigenous allies who assisted Cortés.
• Conversion to Christianity: Mass conversions in the 1530s due to the Spanish influence and the perception that the Spanish god was more powerful.
  • The Spanish were not affected by diseases devastating the indigenous population.
• Fransisco Pizarro: Conquered the Incas with fewer men and horses than Cortés, leveraging disease, guns, and steel.
• Inca Civil War: Pizarro exploited a conflict between two Inca brothers, defeating and killing them both to take control.
• Virgin of Guatalupe: A syncretic figure blending Christian and Native South American beliefs.