Summary: History Of Latin America

Midterm Exam

HIST 304

History of Latin America

Session 15-54

DUE DATE / TIME:

Must be submitted to the drop box no later than 11:59pm CT on 4/17/16.

SAVE YOUR WORK FREQUENTLY!!

Name: Joe Kraushaar

SECTION I: Multiple Choice (40 points)

Select the BEST answer.

Then, DELETE the 3 INCORRECT answers (leaving only your final selection).

1. A chinampa was:

C. the Aztecs’ method of building raised farmland in Lake Texcoco using soil dredged from the lake

2. In contrast to the Inca Empire, the Aztec Empire is generally described by historians such as Keen, as:

A. “integrated”

3. In early Inca society, the concept of “gender parallelism” meant that:

C. men and women worked parallel fields, distributing the agricultural

surplus according to the amount of their labor

4. In early Inca society, men and women had defined labor roles, and these roles were considered to be:
A. complementary and equally important to society

5. In Spain, the Reconquista:
D. all of the above

6. During the 1400’s, the Atlantic Islands (in the eastern Atlantic Ocean):
A. served as a “stepping stone” and a “staging area” for Spain and Portugal’s conquest of the New World

7. In Spanish America, the encomendero’s official responsibilities included:
D. none of the above

8. Bartolome de las Casas’s early occupation was:
A. village priest

9. In Spain’s New World empire, the Bourbon Reforms:
A. were characterized by lessening royal control and increased economic independence for the colonies

10.

The achievement of Brazilian independence was different from the movements in Spanish America because:

A. the transition was largely peaceful

SECTION II: Identification (80 points)

Identify any ten (10) of the following items.

Your identification should include two parts:

a. identify / define the item (who, what, when, or where)

b. explain the significance of the item (why).

Your answer should be of sufficient length to adequately address these criteria, meaning that your answer should be a brief paragraph for each item.

1. captaincy system – is an governing system which is used by Portugal in Brazil; gave large amount of responsibility to private individuals because of the country's lack of resources slightly modified as the Portuguese began to settle the uninhabited Atlantic islands of the Azores, Madeiras, and Cape Verdes in the fifteenth century.

2. Bourbon Reforms – was the return of peace permitted by the new dynasty to turn its attention to implementing a program of reform which was inspired by the French model. This also ensured taxes were being collected and a mercantilist system.

3. mita

4. Reconquista – was wars between the Christian and the Muslim for control of the Iberian Peninsula. The wars went on for many years from718 to

1492

5. hacienda

6. creole nationalism - was studies of nineteenth-century nationalism and was built on the ideas of European Enlightenment, which were different and suspect to the people.

7. Tupac Amaru II – Part of the Inca aristocracy who led a rebellion against the Spanish in Peru in the early 1780s. He was eventually captured and killed along with his family.

8. peninsulares – A Spanish born who live in the New World. They were known for being at the top holding higher offices and were generally conservative.

9. Simon Bolivar - South American soldier whose was very important to the Spanish empire. He was born into wealth and got his education in Spain. He would eventually get into politics in Europe. In 1808 after France invaded Spain he joined the resistance movement and would play a main role in the Spanish American fight for independence.

10. Toussaint L’Ouverture - was the son of an educated slave and was also very educated with knowledge of Enlightenment principles from the American Revolution. He helped play a part in the slave revolt by organizing an army full of slaves. The rebalance was to claim independence.

11. Republic of Palmares

12. ayllu

13. Valley of Mexico

14. Bartolome de las Casas – He was one of the first people to write discovery and the conquer of America, and also wrote about human rights violations against the native American people.

15. Miguel Hidalgo - was a Mexican Catholic priest. In September1810 he rang the church bell which would start the revolution against the Spanish. He would try to flee to the north but would eventually get caught and killed in 1811. To this day they still celebrate the anniversary of his bell ringing as Mexico's Independence Day.

SECTION III: Essay 1 (40 points)

Answer the following question, including as much detail as necessary to support your points or argument. Be sure to answer each element of the question. Answer should be a minimum of 400 words.

Assess the Aztec Empire in these dimensions:
• Describe the factors that facilitated the rise of the Aztec empire in central Mexico.
• Also discuss the methods the Aztecs used to maintain this vast empire.
• Explain the factors contributing to the rapid collapse of the Aztecs at the hands of relatively few Spaniards.
• Assess which of these factors was most significant in the Aztecs’ fall.
• Finally, describe the role the former Aztec leadership played in Spain’s New World empire.

The Aztec empire began back in 1150 when the Toltec empire fell and constant battels over the land, even though the Aztecs didn’t arrive till about 1248. The Aztecs learned some organizational and ideological principles which they learned from the refugee Toltecs. Some of these which included the ruling of the elite and that only a family member from a royal Toltec dynasty could become the emperor. (Ancient America)
In the early 1300’s the Aztecs were considered a small tribe. They knew how to develop the land and were strong warriors that were inspired by their war god Huitzilopochtli. They were always trying to find new land to develop for themselves, but most of the land the found was already occupied by cites. The Aztecs offered their services as mercenaries for those local rulers. Sometime they the mad the rulers mad by their savage ways and steel the local women for their own wives. (Ancient America)
In the Late 1300’s The Aztecs would used their army to help fight for the kingdom of Tepanec, who were expanding onto mainland. As the Tepanec expanded their rule over more city-states in Mexico, the Aztecs would benefit from their alliance with the Tepanecs. Within this alliance the Aztecs would learn more technics the Tepanecs used to build and run their empire. (Ancient America)
In the early to mid-1400’s the Tezozomcs were getting worried that the Aztecs were getting too strong under the Tepanecs protection and would try to start a war with the Aztecs. Two leaders in the Aztecs join together Itzcoatl and Tlacaelel and would resist and fight rather than deal with the threats. In a short time the Aztecs destroyed the Tepanec and their imperial city. The Aztecs had become the greatest state in Mexico. (Ancient America)
The Spanish led by Hernan Cortez, who left Spain with a fleet of 11 galleons sailing along the eastern gulf coast. They dropped anchor on the beach of San Juan de Ulua. The ships carried a total of 550 Spanish soldiers, sailors and horses which were the first species to tread on the American Continent. (The Spanish) The Aztecs brought greetings and gifts to exchange. Cortes immediately requested a meeting with the Aztecs ruler, but the Aztec runners where already on their way to the city 200 miles away to report these new strangers.
Cortez wasted no time once he had arrived and was staking a claim for King. Finding a settlement on the coast that he called Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, which was in reference to the arrival on Good Friday and to what he believed to be a land of plenty. This was the beginning of the Spanish Conquest. (The Spanish)
The collapse of the Aztec Empire happened because the Aztec believed that Cortes was a god and because of an alliance between Cortes and other Native Americans. Hernan Cortes over powered the Aztecs by force and took over Tenochtitlan in 1521, which would bring an end ton end to Mesoamerica's last native civilization. (Fall of the great)
In the end the Aztec were just unprepared for the Spanish arrival, even though they outnumbered the Spanish. The power, greed and advancement of the Spanish were no match for either of the Empires.

Works cited
-"Ancient America: The Rise Of The Aztec Empire | Native American Netroots". Nativeamericannetroots.net. N.p., 2010. Web. 16 Apr. 2016.
-"Fall Of The Great Inca And Aztec Empires". Spirituality.knoji.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.
-Haynes, Benjamin Keen and Keith. 2013. A History of Latin America. Boston: Wadsworth
-"The Spanish Conquest (1519-1521) : Mexico History". Mexconnect.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 25 Mar. 2016.

SECTION IV: Essay 2 (40 points)

Answer the following question, including as much detail as necessary to support your points or argument. Be sure to answer each element of the question. Answer should be a minimum of 400 words.

Assess the revolutions / independence movements in Spanish America during the early 19th Century (from roughly 1790—1823). Be sure to include discussion of all the following:
• Describe the philosophies and/or intellectual trends that animated these revolutionaries. Where did these philosophies originate?
• Describe who led these movements and which classes participated.
• Discuss the goals and motivations of EACH of the various classes who participated, and how these goals and motivations may have conflicted with each other.
• Finally, consider which aspects of Haiti’s Revolution varied from the movements in Spanish America.

The Enlightenment Ideas, Spanish Revolution and the Latin American Wars of Independence were fought by colonists, slaves, and revolutionaries. They hoped for freedom, better lives and independence. The citizens of the Americas banded together and rose up against their oppressors.
Enlightenment Ideas in Latin America took place in the later 1700s and the ideas were appealing to people, because they taught that man was free and that all were equal.

Two places that were influenced by the enlightenment were Haiti and South America. Haiti had over a half million enslaved Africans working on sugar plantations owned by the French. Most of which were over worked and under fed. In 1791 a huge slave revolt broke out in Haiti and the Haitians would fight for freedom and pave the way to destroying the French rule.

The Latin American Independence was from 1807-1824. There were military and political movements that ended the colonial rule by Spain over Mexico, Central America, and South America. This gave birth to the modern independent nations of Latin America. (Latin American history)There were a few reasons which made the independence movements happen in Latin America when they did. The Creoles were inspired by the political ideas from Europe’s time of Enlightenment, which would question the traditional beliefs and authority along with introducing such concepts as limiting the power of

monarchs.
The Latin American fighting for independence didn’t succeed without conflict and would cause the loss of a lot of lives. Troops that were loyal to Spain resisted those fighting for independence. Spanish troops partially reconquered modern day Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and Panama between 1814 and 1816, before locals led by Simon Bolivar eventually gained control. They established an independent confederation known as Gran Colombia in 1819, which became the states we know today 11 years later. (Latin America revolts)
Overall, the consequences of the wars and movements were due to oppressed and exploited colonies. Latin America was hurting economically, politically and socially for many years which lead to the inevitable events like rebellions and uprisings and the search for independence. This lead to the dependency of Latin American to Europe and Spain for many years to follow.

Bibliography

Minster, Christopher. "What Led Latin America To Seek Independence From Spain?". N.p., 2016. Web. 9 Apr. 2016.
" The Latin American Revolts In The Early 1800S | The Classroom | Synonym". N.p., 2016. Web. 9 Apr. 2016.
" The Latin American Wars Of Independence Happen?". N.p., 2016. Web. 9 Apr. 2016.

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