From Colonization to Economic Independece

• Ruled from 1438 to 1533 in the present day

  Locations of Argentina, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile

• Ruler: Sapa Inca

• 3 Moral Codes designed to encourage cooperation and good relationships (Ordinances: a law made by the local Inca government)

  • Do not Steal

  • Do not lie

  • Do not be Lazy

• A 15th-century fortress built high in the Andes Mountain ranges

• Advanced Engineering

  • Stones were transported from other areas of the empire

  • Stones fit together with precision

• Major Cultural, Political, and Economic importance is still a mystery

• Economy of the Inca: based on agriculture (Cash Crops)

  • Maize, potatoes, and squash

  • Domesticated llamas and alpacas

• Staple Crops: Maize, quinoa, legumes, fish, llama, cuy, peppers, cherimoya

• Inca Food Preservation: Freeze-dried food

• Inca Infrastructure

  • Elaborate Road System

  • Vast Trade System

  • Suspension Bridges: a type of rope bridge made from reeds and grasses used to cross deep valleys that connected ancient roads

• Quipu: a system of writing and record keeping that used knots tied on cords

• Religion: polytheistic, state religion with many rituals

​Ingenuity of the Inca

Iberian Conquest

• Iberian Peninsula Countries (Portugal and Spain)

• Central countries in the Iberian Conquest (referring to a period when Europeans from the Iberian Peninsula colonized Central and South America)

  • Iberian Conquest also colonized lands in Africa and Asia. 

  • Enslaved people were brought from these countries to the American

• Goals of the Iberian Conquest

  • Obtaining Natural Resources

  • Expand their power

  • Converting others to Christianity

• Conquistador Francisco Pizarro

  • 1532 - wanted to take control of the region's natural resources

  • What Pizarro had on his side

    • Diseases - 6.5 million Inca died

    • Civil War - The Incas fought other groups in the region

    • Capture of Atahualpa (Inca Ruler)

      • accused him of treason (conspiracy against the government)

      • Executed Atahualpa - no leadership

• Impact on the Inca

  • Enslaved by the Spanish to work on plantations and haciendas or in mines

  • Killed by the Spanish

  • Forced to abandon traditional ways and adopt European cultures

  • Forced to convert to Christianity

  • Faced Discrimination

• Some indigenous groups resisted the Iberian Conquest

• Guerrilla Warfare: independent military groups taking part in the fighting, often using hit-and-run raids, sabotage, and other non-battlefield tactics to wage war

• Seeking Refuge (safety) in the rainforest or mountains

• Indigenous Resistance groups

  • Chichimeca

  • Mapuche

• Mestizo: the blending together of two cultures (Indigenous and European)

  • Intermarriage and Children

  • Blending of Culture

    • Language

    • Religion

    • Food

    • Music

    • Art

  • Blending of Enslaved African Culture Ite

• Mestizo Culture Today

  • Proud of their mixed culture

  • Demonstrates adaptability, diversity, and resilience

• Triangle Trade (Columbian Exchange): the exchange of goods, services, and ideas between Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

• Sides of the Triangle Trade

  • Europeans would sail to Africa to trade goods (textiles, animals, food) for enslaved people.

  • Enslaved Africans were shipped across the Atlantic Ocean and sold to work on plantations and in mines, etc...

  • The money made from selling the enslaved people would be used to purchase goods (such as sugar, tobacco, and cotton), animals, food, and other necessities, and then sent to Europe.

• The Spanish used a system of Mercantilism (a system where a country’s government controlled the economy to make the country more powerful) to grow the wealth of Spain. 

• Spanish Cash Crops grown in South America were sugarcane, tobacco, cacao, and coffee. 

• Central and South America are free and independent trading countries

  • Free Trade: buying and selling goods with other nations around the world

• Main Imports

  • Machinery, electrical equipment, chemical products, oil, and electronics

• Main Exports

  • Coffee, iron ore, soybeans, beef, footwear, cars, orange juice, tropical hardwoods

• Free Trade Agreement (FTA): an agreement between two or more countries where the countries agree on certain conditions that promote Trade between the countries

  • Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR)

  • A trading bloc between the US and the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and other nations

  • Bloc: a combination of countries, parties, or groups sharing a common purpose