Social+Studies

The European Conquest of Latin America **
 * Lesson 41


 * OBJECTIVE: ** ** Students will explain the impact of European conquest in order to describe the beginning of the decline of the Aztec and Inca Empires. **

** WARM-UP: ** **Have you every heard of the conquistadors? Who are they are where do they come from? Click on the link below and tell us what you know about the conquistadors.** // **Don't forget to include your name. Any response without a name will be deleted.** // **@http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/southamericaches**

//**Prentice-Hall: World Studies: Latin America**// Chapter 2, Section 3 = Europeans Arrive in the Americas =

//(Teacher reads this section to class)//
==In the 1400s, the European nations of Spain and Portugal were searching for new trade routes to Asia. They knew that in Asia they would find goods such as spices and silks. These goods could be traded for huge profits in Europe.==

media type="custom" key="5184057"
= Columbus Reaches America = ==Christopher Columbus , an Italian explorer, thought he could reach Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. Columbus knew the world was round, as did most educated Europeans. But Columbus believed the distance around the world was shorter than it is. First Columbus asked Portugal to sponsor his voyage. Portugal refused. Then he asked Spain. Queen Isabella of Spain finally agreed.==

Columbus set sail in early August, 1492. Some 10 weeks later, on October 12, he spotted land. Columbus thought he had reached the East Indies in Asia, so he called the people he met Indians.
= Dividing a Continent = ==Spain and Portugal each sent explorers to the Americas and tried to stop the other country from claiming land there. In 1494, the two nations signed an important treaty. (A treaty is an agreement in writing made between two or more countries.) The Treaty of Tordesillas (tawr day see yahs) set an imaginary line from the North Pole to the South Pole at about 50°W longitude, called the Line of Demarcation. It gave Spain the right to settle and trade west of the line. Portugal could do the same east of the line. The only part of South America that is east of the line is roughly the eastern half of present-day Brazil. Because of the Treaty of Tordesillas, the language and background of Brazil are Portuguese.==

= The Success of the Conquistadors = (Students read this section) ==Spanish explorers heard stories of wealthy kingdoms in the Americas. They hoped to find gold and other treasures there. Spanish rulers did not pay for the expeditions of the explorers. Instead, they gave the conquistadors  (kahn  kees  tuh dawrs), or conquerors, the right to hunt for treasure and to settle in the Americas. In exchange, conquistadors agreed to give Spain one fifth of any treasures they found.== media type="custom" key="5184153" = Colonization = = European Settlers Arrive =
 * By the 1600s, Spain claimed land throughout much of the Americas. Spain’s lands stretched from the tip of South America all the way north into the present-day United States, and included some islands in the Caribbean Sea. Later, the French and English also claimed some Caribbean islands. Portugal claimed Brazil. **


 * Settlers from Spain, Portugal, and other European nations began arriving in what came to be called Latin America. Some of them were missionaries, sent by the Catholic Church to spread Christianity to the peoples of the Americas. Others came to look for gold and other mineral riches. Still others wanted to settle and farm the land. If the Native American people resisted, the newcomers used their superior force to suppress them. The Europeans created the kinds of colonies that would benefit them and the countries from which they had come. **

3. In your own words, name three reasons Europeans came to Latin America and two reasons why.
==4. Click on the DISCUSSION tab on the top of the page to answer the question. Find your group name and click on the link. Type your names in the subject line. Any response without a name will not be given credit for the assignment.==

//Whole class will review answers and discuss.//
= BREAK TIME FOR FUN = http://www.chelsea.k12.mi.us/ education/components/docmgr/ default.php?sectiondetailid= 21638&fileitem=7884&catfilter= 1899Walk the Plank