ARKY 345 - Midterm 2

Francisco Hernandez de Cordoba

• left cuba to explore mexico

• died after a battle with the maya

Juan de Grijalva

• 1518 → explored Yucatan (continued Cordoba’s mission)

• mapped rivers

• coined the name “New Spain”

• first to meet the Aztecs

• established good relationships with almost everyone he met → except the Maya of Champoton

• Cortes exploited the relationships he created

Hernan Cortes in Mexico

• already in Cuba (unlike in Eldorado)

• 1519 -

• → 11 ships, 500 men, explore mexican coast

• defied governor of cuba

La Malinche (Marina)

• daughter of local rulers of the province of Olutla

• one of 20 female slaves given to Cortes by the Putun Maya of Potonchan

• together w/ Aguila served as an interpretive team for Cortes

• common-law wife of Cortes → son Martin

Who did the Tlaxcallans ally with?

Cortes

Supplied over 10,000 warriors to aid in the conquest of Tenochtitlan → very likely wouldn’t have succeeded without their help

What was the Cholula massacre?

• the spanish and tlaxcallans stop at cholula

• welcomed into the city peacefully

• convinced they’re gonna get ambushed

• capture the leaders

• kill thousands of unarmed warriors and civilians

• killed approx. 10% of city’s population

How does Cortes gain power in Tenochtitlan?

• fakes friendship w/ emperor Motecuhzoma

• invited to live in the palace

• takes Motecuhzoma hostage

• spanish soldiers were stationed around the palace

Who is sent by the Cuban governor to arrest Cortes for disobeying orders, but instead gets taken captive by Cortes and 240 soldiers?

Panfilo Narvaez

who does Cortes leave in charge while he is off dealing w/ Navarez?

Pedro de Alvarado

What did Pedro de Alvarado do while Cortes was gone?

• massacred participants in a festival honoring the god Huitzilopochtli

• the aztecs retaliated and lay siege to the places

• so then cortes and his pals have to fight their way back to join them

How is Motecuhzoma killed?

its uncertain

may have been executed by the spanish, possibly by mexica nobles who wanted to replace him

who replaced Motecuhzoma?

his brother Cuitlahuac

what happened during La Noche Triste

• cortes and his men decided to flee the city

• many were shot by aztec warriors or drowned while trying to get away

• “the canal was filled w/ the dead and those who wame last trod upon the bodies of their companions too make the crossing”

what epidemic raged through meso america and killed tons of the indigenous population?

smallpox

what happened during the final conquest of Tenochtitlan?

• months after they originally fled, 700 spaniards and 75,000 Tlaxcallans troops return to tenochtitlan and lay siege to the city for 3 months

• Tenochtitlan armies are weak since the city is devastated by smallpox

• In august 1521, Cuahtemoc is captured by the Aztecs and victory is declared

• vengeful tlaxcallans went on to massacre many more aztec residents

How did Emperor Cuitlahuac die?

smallpox

who replaced Cuitlahuac?

his third brother Cuauhtemoc

what happens to Cortes after the conquest of Tenochtitlan

he is appointed governor, captain general and chief justice of “New Spain” by King Charles → four royal officials are sent to supervise him

what does Cortes do after becoming governor?

• destroys the Aztec sacred precinct to build Mexico City

• Established the encomienda system, giving land and indigenous tribute to his military captains

• welcomes the Franciscans to convert Indigenoius people

• appoints military captains to march on various Aztec provinces and other territories

who tried to claim Honduras as his own and what was his relation to Cortes?

Cristobal de Olid

He was a former captain in Cortes’ army

what series of events comes from Cortes trying to defeat Cristobal de Olid?

• heads an expedition to honduras 1524-1526

• marches across tabasco and the Peten

• stops at the Maya capital of Tah Itza

• executes Cuauhtemoc → the last Aztec emperor

• maybe might have beheaded Olid (unsure)

• suspended as governor of spain

• maybe poisoned his accusers

what happens to Cortes after he is suspended governor of New Spain?

in 1528 he is exiled to Spain, but pleads his case, and returns as the Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca → makes him very rich

never regains his governorship

what were many captains given to conquer different polities?

commisions

how long did the process of conquest take and why?

175 years

Maya kingdoms were independent so each one essentially had to be conquered one by one

what two groups were now aiding the Spanish armies?

Aztecs and Tlaxcallans

basically conscripted and didn’t have much of a choice

they still hated eachother though

what was the biggest thing defeating indigenous armies?

smallpox

what rulers sent Cortes an offer of alliance after hearing about the defeat of the Aztec empire?

the Zapotecs

who was included in the quest to Oaxaca looking for gold?

Pedro de Alvarado - sent by Cortes

what groups negotiated w/ the Spanish to maintain elements of their traditional rulership structure under Spanish authority?

Zapotecs, Mixtecs, and other groups of the central valleys, highlands, and Pacific Coast

who chose to rebel (in the context of the conquest of Oaxaca)?

the Mixes and Zapotecs of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec

• were put down by allied Spanish, Mixtec and Aztec troops

• many rebels retreated into isolated areas of the Sierra Norte

who headed the conquest of Yucatan?

Francisco de Montejo (the elder)

served under Grijalva and Cortes in the conquest of Mexico

when did Montejo attempt to conquer the Maya of Yucatan?

1527-1528

he failed.

What happened to Tabasco in 1530?

Montejo brought them under spanish military control

did Montejo’s men stay loyal to the cause?

No

they were tired of constantly fighting the Maya and not finding any booty so they essentially quit.

why is there not really any treasure (gold, silver etc.) in the Yucatan?

its mostly limestone

what happened to Montejo the elder?

he was forced to withdraw from the peninsula and returned to mexico city as a poor defeated man

why did the Xiu court have to pass through Cocom territory in 1536?

wanted to make offerings at the Cenote of Sacrifice at Chichen Itza

what series of events happen after the Xiu ask to go through the Cocom territory?

• Cocom ruler promises to give them safe passage

• he and a delegation meet the Xiu delegation at the Cocom capital

• they entertain the xiu family for four days

• then slaughter them at a banquet

what does the Xiu family do to take revenge on the Cocom?

unites with the Spanish when they return in 1540

who is entrusted with conquest of the Yucatan in 1540?

Francisco the Montejo the younger

By 1542 what has Montejo the younger achieved?

effectively subdued the western part of the peninsula, founded Campeche, Merida and other settlements

When does Montejo finally conquer the eastern portion of Yucatan?

1546

who officially wrote the Popol Vuh?

K’iche’ maya → previously just oral tradition

who were the K’iche’ maya?

expansionist empire in the western highlands

capital: Q’umarkaj (utatlan)

who were the Cakchiquel maya?

former subjects and allies of the K’iche’ → revolted and established a new, independent kingdom around 1470

capital: Ixmiche

who was Pedro de Alvarado?

• one of Cortes’ captains

• participated in the conquest of Tenochtitlan, Oaxaca, highland Chiapas, and highland Guatemala

• led the first effort by Spanish forces to extend their dominion to the nation of Cuscatlán (El Savador)

Who did the Cakchiquel ally themselves with, and did it work in their favour?

Pedro de Alvarado

No, they realized they were just being used and abused → began to resist which took Alvarado several years to stop.

why was Antigua, Guatemala important?

its a powerful city created and founded by early Spanish colonies, rather than an indigenous city that was just taken over by the Spanish

what was likely the reason the Tah Itza took so long to be conquered?

wasn’t a priority for the Spanish since they didn’t like to fight in the rainforest, but eventually was pretty much the only place left

what is the capital of Tah Itza?

Nojpeten

what happened with Cortes’ horse and Tah Itza

• briefly stopped there on his way to honduras and left a lame horse

• the locals worshipped the horse as a god

  • kept its bones in a shrine

Who decides to make it his personal mission to conquer Tah Itza (isles of Flores)?

Martin de Ursua, a Basque conquistador, and interim governor of Yucatan

How did Martin de Ursua go about conquering Tah Itza?

had a camino built from Merida to Nojpeten by using Yucatec Maya labor

took a long time and was expensive cause the labor kept running away

but eventually happened in 1696, and then they all kinda got lost in the rainforest

what was the series of events in the fall of Tah Itza?

• the ruler of Tah Itza - Kan Ek - sends emissaries to Merida to try for a peaceful resolution → didn’t work

• Tah Itza soldiers slow down the road construction

• once road is complete a small Spanish forces takes Kan Ek prisoner

• after losing the battle, the residents of Tah Itza disappear into the jungle → the spanish get lost

• a permanent mission is established to convert the locals to Catholicism

who was the ultimate authority of the Colonial government?

the spanish crown.

what were the 2 viceroyalties of of the americas?

New Spain

Peru

what were the audencias of New Spain?

• Guadelajara

• Mexico

• Yucatan

• Guatemala (included Chiapas)

• New Granada

within viceroyalties, ________ were ruled by __________

provinces (provincias)

governors

within provincias, ________ and ________ ________ ruled towns

corregidores

alcaldes mayores

what’s a cabildos?

town council

inspectors periodically conducted _______ for the crown

visitas (inspections)

how were many of the diseases transmitted?

Mosquitos (Aedes aegypti)

spread throughout the americas by european sailors emptying and refilling water barrels from transoceanic voyages

approximately how large was the population loss in the central mexican plateau due to disease?

97%

how were members of spanish conquistador armies rewarded?

with encomienda grants

what are the details of the encomienda system?

• tribute and labor formely paid to local rulers is now paid to spaniards

• encomenderos would force conversion to catholicism on the native people

• dispossessed maya families of traditional lands

  • resettled them in a new town centered on a Catholic mission

what was slavery like prior to european contact?

• slaves could earn their own profits → sometimes buy their way out

• could occur after warfare → loser taken captive

what was spanish slavery like?

• chattel slaver; slaves were considered property for life, and could be tortured and killed

• slavery of indigenous people was outlawed multiple times because it just kept happening

• enslaved africans were brought over from west africa

  • needed more bodies since the indigenous population was dying off from disease

  • most slavery was concentrated in sugar plantations in the Caribbean and the Pacific coast

Castas

ethnic castes that defined rights and oppourtunities

peninsular spaniard

from spain - had the most privileges and status

creole

spanish ancestry, but born in New Spain

Mestizo

spanish and indigenous

Mulatto

spanish and african

Sambaigo (Zambo)

indigenous and african

free african

had citizen status

Indian

had some legal rights, including land ownership

African slave

had no legal rights

what was the Repartimiento system?

• replaced the encomienda system after the New Laws of 1542

• increased what they could demand of local indigenous communities

• basically slavery under a new name

what are some examples of cash crops that became commercialized for international markets?

tobacco, henequen, indigo, cochineal, cacao

eventually sugarcane was imported from Africa and that became one as well

true or false: most alcaldes mayores were really good people and went out of their way to take care of the indigenous people

false

they were almost all corrupt

In highland Chiapas and Guatemela where were Spanish cities founded?

major valleys

what was the design of Spanish cities

Bulls-eye design

• spanish encomenderos and clergy in the centre

• “Mexican” barrios (re-settled warriors) in the middle

• local indigenous groups on the outskirts

many member of the indigenous ______ retained some rank and privileges, as long as they cooperated with the _______

nobility, Spanish

aka. caciques

what did the indigenous people have to do to become citizens of the Spanish Crown with corresponding legal rights?

become catholic

Who was Fray Bartolome de las Casas

• encomendero and slave owner

• in 1513 participated in the conquest of Cuba → massacred a bunch of indigenous

• in 1514 decided had a revelation that everything was really bad → gave up his slaves and encomienda

• returned to Spain to try and convince King Ferdinand to end the encomienda system

• everyone kinda hated him

where are Francisacans most active?

Central Mexico

where are Dominicans most active?

Chiapas and Guatemala

secular clergy gained control in ________

Yucatan

why were conversions a source of wealth?

churches could demand high-value items and access to Indigenous labour and tribute

What were reducciones?

forced indigenous people to move to new cities and towns → go to church and stay under observation

in some cases, populations that had previously been enemies were forced to live together

what were visitas?

• due to a relative scarcity of clergy

• pairs of monks would travel between a number of communities to say mass and administer the sacraments

• demands for alms and free labour

explain church and wealth in the Chiapas

• dominican monks build a monastery w./ the labor of 16,000 indigenous maya

• by 1580, the church was a major landowner and was deeply involved in the agricultural economy

• church officials also cahrged fees for particular services and sacraments

what were “open chapels”

• constructed for the purpose of converting indigenous people, from 1540s-1600s

• in some areas Spanish and indigenous people were not allowed to worship together

• had naves of stone, and traditional thatches roofs

• by the 18th and 19th century, many were replaced with stone churches

who was Diego de Landa

• Franciscan friar, appointed to Yucatan in 1549

• hated that the indigenous people weren’t converting

• in 1562 ordered an Inquistion in Mani → burned at least 27 codices

• interrogation, torture, and execution of many Maya people

• was forced back to spain to plead his case (womp womp)

what important document did Diego de Landa write, that later helped to decipher Maya hieroglyphs?

Relacion de las cosas de Yucatan, likely w/ the help of Xiu scribes

what was the Inquisition in New Spain

• officially established in Mexico City 1571

• indigenous people were supposed to be exempt (they weren’t)

• particularly targeted individuals of mixed-race heritage and enslaved africans

  • women were often accused of witchcraft and tortured and/or burned at the stake

what were some ways that religious practices of indigenous and catholic were synched?

• friars that supported indigenous people against encomenderos were well liked

• catholic saints, particularly the Virgin Mary, were fused w/ the characteristics of indigenous deities

• friars encouraged the development of cofradias (fraternities) dedicated to the celebration of particular saints

what were some scenarios where the Indigenous population may have potentially misinterpreted catholicism

• mostly focused on the rituals → concepts like “sin” didn’t translate well

• reenactments of the crucifixion involving human sacrifice

• sains and miracles were often the focal point for indigenous rebellions

what were the series of events during the Tzeltal Revolt of 1712

• 13 year old girl from highland Chiapas claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary

• flogged by the local dominican priest of Cancuc

• local people of cancuc build a chapel

• 16 local leaders tried to have the chapel blessed → they’re imprisioned

• began a rebellion that included people from 20 native twosn across highland Chiapas

• in 1713, a spanish led-army from guatemala suppressed the rebellion

what did english pirates do?

• use the sheltered coastline and cayes to hide from and attack spanish ships

• harvested significant amounts of palo tinto (logwood) and mahogany

• british settlements were founded in 1716, but not officially recognized until 1786

how many codices have survived to the present?

15