Important people that you should know.

Cristopher Colombus







Amerigo Vespucci






Ferdinand Magellan








Vasco Nuñez de Balboa

An interesting and funny video about Colombus reaching new land.

The treaty of Torresillas.

When Colombus discovered America, the Catholic Monarchs asked the Pope for permission to rule and evangelise the new territory.
Portugal also wanted to control the sea and the territory explored by its navigators. To avoid conflict between the two nations, the Treaty of Torresillas was signed in 1494.
The Treaty of Torresillas divided the newly discovered territories between Spain and Portugal along a meridian 370 degrees west of the Cape Verde Islands. All territories west of the line belonged to Castile, and all territories east of the line belonged to Portugal.

The Great Geographical discoveries (vocabulary)

- Astrolabe                                              
 - Mestizos                                     
- Magellan
- Caravel                                                 
 - Black slaves                               
- Vasco Nuñez de Balboa
- Compass                                               
- House of trade                            
- Treaty Of Torresillas.
- Criollos
- Cristopher Colombus                              
- Pre-columbian civilizations

The conquest and organisation of the American Empire.

The crown of Castile conquered American territory thanks to its military superiority because it exploited the divisions between the indigenous peoples.

THE GREAT EXPEDITIONS:
 -Mexico. This conquest was led by Hernán Cortes, who founded the city of Veracruz. He conquered the Aztecs.
 -Peru.This conquest was led by Francisco Pizarro, the territories of the Inca Empire. Today, these territories included Peru, Ecuador and part of Bolivia.
In 1533, the colonisers executed the Inca emperor, Atahualpa.

THE ORGANISATION OF THE CONQUERED TERRITORIES:
The conquered territories were part of the Crown of Castile. The language,culture and lawswere imposed in these territories.
Two administrative areas were established, New Spain and Peru.
Cabildos(mayors) were also appointed to govern cities, and courts established to impart justice.

THE EXPLOITATIO OF RESOURCES:
The new territories were divided among the colonisers.

TRADE IN AMERICA:
Extensive mining was carried out in America and all was sent back to Spain. Other exports were new to Europe.
Castile also imported goods to America. The Casa de Contratación (House of trade), in Seville, regulated trade between Spain and America.

COLONIAL SOCIETY:
Most of the population was indigenous, Spaniards had political and economic power.
Different social groups:
     -Criollos: descendants of the colonisers.
     -Mestizos: one Spanish and one indigenous parent.
     -Black slaves: were brought from Africa.
The colonisation affected the demographics of the indigenous peoples in some areas the local population disappeared completely.

American flag nowadays.

Pre-columbian peoples.

When the Europeans arrived in America, they found advanced civilizations and great empires.
Because Colombus believed that he had arrived in India, he called the local inhabitants Indians. However, today, these civilizations are called pre-Columbian, which means before the arrival of Colombus.

-MAYAS:
   lived in Central America and they worked mainly in agriculture, astronomy and mathematics, they used hieroglyphs.

-AZTECS:
  lived in the Valley of Mexico and they founded important cities like Tenochtitlan.

-INCAS:
   lived in high pateaus of the Andes and they worked in agriculture.

Summary (discoveries)

Cristopher Colombus, a navigator believed to be from Genoa, thought he could reach the Spice Islands by crossing the Atlantic. Hw knew the Earth was round but he thought taht it was much smaller. He did not know thta the continent of America existed.

Colombus presented his project to the Catholic Monarchs. Quenn Isabella signed the Capitulations of Santa Fe in 1492, agreeing to finance his voyage.

Colombus project was based on two ideas:
 - The Earth was round.But he calculated the diameter incorrectly.
 - The ocean was the only thing separating Europe and Asia. He didn't know about America.

In 1513, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa led an expedition taht crossed the isthmus of Panama. It was there that he discovered a new ocean, the Pacific Ocean, and confirmed that America was a new continent.

The name of America comes from Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian navigator who explored the coasts of the New World after Colombus. He claimed to be the first person to set food on the new continent.

In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan led an expedition to find a sea route connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.This expedition was the first voyage around the world.