Study Guide Unit 8: History of Latin America and the Caribbean

With Answers! Wednesday February 24, 2010

People and Vocabulary You Need to Know

Atahualpa- Incan Emperor Conquistadors- Spanish Explorer-warriorsSimon Bolivar- Liberator of Latin America Zapatistas- Support Indigenous people in

Mexico, wanted better education, housing, healthcare.

Hernan Cortes- Conquistador, invades Mexico

Miguel Hidalgo- Liberator of Mexico, Catholic PriestMontezuma- Emperor of the AztecsQuipu- Incan record keeping device Fidel Castro- dictator of Cuba since 1959 Francisco Pizarro- Conquistador, invades Incan

EmpireToussiant L’Ouverture- Liberator of Haiti, freed

Haitian slaves.

• Become familiar with locations of the Aztec and Incan cities, especially the present day cities.

Aztec- Tenochtitlan- Mexico City Inca- Cuzco- Peru What were some of the main reasons why Cortes

and Pizarro conquered the Aztecs or Incans? Surprised the emperor’s army and held him hostage.

• Know the events in ORDER in which the fall of the Inca empire falls/collapse.

1.Pizarro learns that the Incan emperor is wealthy

2.Spanish king allows Pizarro to attack the Incas3.Pizarro attacks 4.Inca emperor, Atahualpa is killed

• Why was Cortes not attacked immediately when he traveled to the Aztec empire? Aztecs thought he was God.

• What were some of the advantages that the Conquistadors had over the Aztecs or Inca?

Horses, guns, disease, they killed their leaders.

• What was the Columbian Exchange? What animals were brought over through the Columbian Exchange?

Moving of animals, plants, people, and disease from Europe to the Americas.

Horses were the most important because they were used for hunting and trade.

• Why were slaves brought from Africa during the Columbian Exchange? Native Americans were short in supply due to disease and war

• Which two languages are primarily spoken in Latin American countries today? Spanish and Portuguese

• What is the common religion of Latin America? Catholic

• Which country imprisoned L’Ouverture? France

• Which country gained independence under Bolivar’s efforts? There were several, but mainly Venezuela.

• What type of government is in Cuba under Fidel Castro? Communist

• What were some of the reasons why there was almost a nuclear war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union? Cuban Missile Crisis

• Why did the Zapatistas not like NAFTA? How did they show their opposition against them? Took over towns in Southern Mexico.