Spain, Portugal, and the New World

Review of the Eastern Hemisphere

Review of the Western Hemisphere

When Christopher Columbus landed in America, he claimed the country for Spain.

Soon, Portugal and Spain were both sending ships across the Atlantic and were wanting to build cities in the New World.

The land they “discovered” was already inhabited by native tribes, so Spain and Portugal sent soldiers called conquistadores to fight the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas.

They also fought with each other.

Finally Spain and Portugal made a deal that would divide the land in Central and South

America.

Instead of trying to find a peaceful outcome, the Spanish and Portuguese marched into the cities of Aztecs and Incas and into

the villages of the Mayans, and killed thousands of people.

They also destroyed temples, houses, and palaces, and then built settlements and claimed the land as their

own.

Soon the Spanish and Portuguese realized they needed help to grow crops, dig for gold, and rowers for their

ships, and the easiest way to get help was to buy slaves from the Muslim traders in North Africa.

For many years, these Muslim traders had bought slaves from the West African empires of Ghana, Mali,

and Songhay. Slavery was a way of life in these empires.

Sometimes poor men would sell themselves as slaves so that their families could have more money. Usually, however, slaves would be captured enemy

soldiers, but at least they would remain in Africa.

When the Spanish and Portuguese bought slaves, they took them halfway around the world – far from home. They had no chance

of ever becoming free.

The demand for slaves was so huge, the Muslim traders could no longer provide them, so the Spanish and Portuguese made slaves

out of the Central American tribes.

They also decided to get their own African slaves by sailing down the West African coast and kidnapping African villagers – men,

women, and children.

Some West African tribes realized they could make a lot of money if they sold other Africans as slaves, so they would also kidnap members of other tribes

to sell to the European slave traders.

The journey to Central America took months, and it became known as the Middle Passage. Many slaves died on the journey

because of terrible conditions on the ships.

The slave trade continued for over 200 years, and the lighter-skinned Europeans believed that the brown-skinned people of

South America and the black-skinned people of West Africa weren’t human and were the equivalent of dogs and horses.

Cortés and Montezuma

When the Spanish came to Central America, they found the Aztecs ruling it. The Spanish wanted to conquer the Aztecs, but

they were fierce warriors.

When Hernán Cortés arrived in the West Indies, he heard rumors about a city with streets of gold and walls

made of jewels.

He took soldiers and horses onto a ship, and sailed the coast of Central America. When he stopped, the villagers ran away afraid

and told others that monsters and gods were coming.

The Aztec king, Montezuma, received messages from villagers about the approach of Cortés. He worried that

it might be the return of their god, Quetzalcoatl.

Because Montezuma had descriptions, the calendar was about right, and he even had a dream Quetzalcoatl was coming, he believed Cortés was indeed

the god, and they welcomed him and his soldiers when they arrived.

Cortés and his men lolled around for months, being pampered and adored by the Aztec people. However, the soldiers began to get bored, and soon began fighting the Aztecs. When some Aztecs were killed, Montezuma declared that

Quetzalcoatl would never behave like that and prepared to battle Cortés.

The fighting went all over the city, and eventually led to the death of Montezuma.

The Spaniards were driven back to Montezuma’s palace and couldn’t come out because they were surrounded

by angry Aztecs.

After many days, they noticed the city was deserted, and they ventured out to escape. Unfortunately, the timbers that made up the bridge from the city were missing, so Cortés ordered his men to get wood and build a bridge as

quickly as possible. Suddenly, they were surrounded by Aztec warriors.

Only Cortés and a few of his best men escaped in the dark. They returned to West Indies,

beaten.

Cortés wasn’t about to give up, however. He arranged for more soldiers, horses, and carpenters. He also enlisted the help of local villagers who had people kidnapped from them for the

Aztec sacrifices. They were more than willing to help.

Cortés had his carpenters build twelve small warships right on the edge of Lake Texcoco, and they met the

Aztec canoes in the middle.

The battle went on for three months, but Cortés had cut off the city from the shore, and the city began to run out of food and water. Soon, they were

forced to surrender, and Cortés became the governor of the newest Spanish colony in Central America.