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Spain Claims an Empire Spain Claims an Empire TERMS & NAMES 1 Treaty of SpainSpain ClaimsClaims Tordesillas missionary anan EmpireEmpire mercantilism Amerigo Vespucci conquistador MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW Hernando Cortés Spain claimed a large empire in The influence of Spanish culture Montezuma the Americas. remains strong in modern America. Francisco Pizarro ONE EUROPEAN’S STORY Pope Alexander VI had an important decision to make. In 1493, the rulers of Spain and Portugal wanted him to decide who would control the lands that European sailors were exploring. Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain expected Alexander VI to give Spain the rights over many of these lands. But King John II of Portugal claimed territories, too. What would the new pope do? In May 1493, Alexander VI issued his ruling. He drew an imaginary line around the world. It was called the Line of Demarcation. Portugal could claim all non-Christian lands to the east of the line. Spain could claim the non- Christian lands to the west. In this section, you will learn how Spain and Portugal led Europe in the race to gain Line of Demarcation colonies in the Americas. Pope Alexander VI Treaty of Tordesillas (1493) (1494) Spain and Portugal Compete King John II was unhappy with the pope’s placement of the line. He believed that it favored Spain. So he demanded that the Spanish rulers meet with him to change the pope’s decision. In June 1494, the two countries agreed to the Treaty of Tordesillas (TAWR•day•SEEL•yahs). This treaty moved the Line of Demarcation more than 800 miles farther west. The change eventually allowed Portugal to claim much of eastern South America, which later became the Portuguese colony of Brazil. After making this agreement, Spain and Portugal increased their voyages of exploration in search of wealth, power, and glory. European countries had three main goals during this age of explo- ration. First, they wanted to spread Christianity beyond Europe. Each expedition included missionaries, or people sent to convert the native peoples to Christianity. Second, they wanted to expand their empires. Third, they wanted to become rich. By increasing their wealth, European countries could gain power and security. An economic system called mercantilism describes how European Exploration of the Americas 61 CONNECT TO HISTORY 1. Finding Main Ideas Under Mercantilism mercantilism, what did a The main goal of mercantilism was to increase the money in a country need to do to become rich? Discuss the way colonies country’s treasury by creating a favorable balance of trade. A enriched a country according to country had a favorable balance of trade if it had more exports mercantilism. than imports. Colonies helped a country have the goods to See Skillbuilder maintain a favorable balance of trade. Handbook, page R5. For example, say Spain sold $500 in sugar to France, and France CONNECT TO TODAY sold $300 in cloth to Spain. France would also have to pay Spain $200 2. Making Inferences Think worth of precious metals to pay for all the sugar. Spain would then about your own family budget. have a favorable balance of trade because the value of its exports What do you think would (sugar) was greater than the value of its imports (cloth). Spain would happen if your family collected become richer because of the precious metals it received from France. less money than it paid for goods for several years? Do you Sugar think this situation would be $500 the same for a nation as it would for a family? For more about mercantilism . France RESEARCH LINKS CLASSZONE.COM Cloth Spain $300 Gold & Silver $200 Europeans enriched their treasuries. (See Economics in History, above.) Vocabulary Colonies helped nations do this in several ways. They provided mines that colony: a region produced gold and silver. They also produced goods such as crops that or people that is politically and could be traded for gold and silver. Finally, they served as a market for the economically con- home country. The search for riches spurred European exploration. trolled by another country Europeans Explore Foreign Lands After Columbus’s first voyage, many explorers went to sea. Amerigo Vespucci (vehs•POO•chee) was one of the first. He was an Italian sailor who set out in 1501 to find a sea route to Asia. Vespucci realized that the land he saw on this voyage was not Asia. A German mapmaker was impressed by Vespucci’s account of the lands, so he named the continent “America” after him. Another famous explorer was the Spaniard Vasco Núñez de Balboa. Balboa heard Native American reports of another ocean. In 1513, he led an expedition through the jungles of Panama and reached the Pacific Ocean. Raising his sword, Balboa stepped into the surf and claimed the ocean and all the lands around it for Spain. (See page 59.) Perhaps no explorer was more capable than the Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan. He proposed to reach Asia by sailing west around South America. The Spanish king agreed to fund Magellan’s voyage. In 1519, Magellan set out from Spain with five ships and about 240 62 CHAPTER 2 men. After a stormy passage around South America, Magellan entered the Pacific Ocean. For several months his crew crossed the Pacific, suf- fering great hardship. A member of the crew described what they ate. A VOICE FROM THE PAST We were three months and twenty days without . fresh food. We ate biscuit, which was no longer biscuit, but powder of biscuits swarming with worms. We drank . water that had been putrid for many days. Antonio Pigafetta, quoted in The Discoverers A. Finding Main Ideas What were the main Eventually, Magellan reached the Philippines, where he became contributions of involved in a local war and was killed. But his crew traveled on. In 1522, Vespucci, Balboa, and Magellan the one remaining ship arrived back in Spain. The sailors in Magellan’s as explorers? crew became the first people to sail around the world. A. Answer Vespucci was the first to realize The Invasion of Mexico that the Americas While Magellan’s crew was sailing around the world, the Spanish began were not Asia. their conquest of the Americas. Soldiers called conquistadors Balboa reached the Pacific by (kahn•KWIHS•tuh•DAWRZ), or conquerors, explored the Americas and crossing Panama. claimed them for Spain. Hernando Cortés was one of these conquista- Magellan led an dors. He landed on the Central American coast with 508 men in 1519. expedition that Skillbuilder travelled around The Spanish arrival shook the Aztec Empire, which dominated most Answers the world. of Mexico. The Aztec emperor Montezuma feared that Cortés had been 1. Eight 2. North America European Exploration of the Americas, 1500–1550 0˚ 40˚W ENGLAND Explorers’ Routes Cabot 1497 Spanish 80˚W Car 536 tier Portuguese –1 35 120˚ W 5 French 1 1534 EUROPE English NORTH FRANCE Aztec Empire, AMERICA PORTUGAL 1519 SPAIN Coronado 40˚ N De Soto AZORES Inca Empire, 1540–1542 Santa Fe 1539–1542 1525 ATLANTIC OCEAN Cabeza de Vaca CANARY Cabrillo 1528–1536 Verrazzano 1524 ISLANDS 1542–1543 St. Augustine MADEIRA Ponce de León 0 1,000 Miles Gulf of 1512–1513 Mexico 0 2,000 Kilometers Cortés 1519 CUBA HISPANIOLA Tropic of Cancer PACIFIC Tenochtitlán Santo Domingo Veracruz 4 AFRICA OCEAN (Mexico City) 150 02– Caribbean us 15 Sea Columb GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER i c 0 c 0 Interpreting Maps u Balboa p 15 s l e a M 1510–1513 r 1. Movement How many years did it V b a a g Pizarro 9 e C take Cabeza de Vaca to travel from 14 1 ll 9 5 a 1530–1533 SOUTH 9 n –1 1 Florida to Central Mexico? 50 's 0˚ Equator 0 n a C l r AMERICA l e 2. Region Which continent did the e w g 1 English and French explore? 1501–1502 a 52 M 2 63 sent by an Aztec god to rule Mexico. Montezuma sent Cortés gifts— including two disks of solid gold and silver—to get him to leave. But the gifts only excited Spanish dreams of riches. The Spaniards marched inland and formed alliances (agreements Background with friendly peoples) with the native peoples who hated Aztec rule. One of the people whom After a few months, Cortés reached the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán Cortés brought (teh•NAWCH•tee•TLAHN). Montezuma received Cortés with great cer- into his group emony and housed the conquistadors in a magnificent palace. But Cortés was Malintzin. She was the took Montezuma captive and tried to rule the Aztec Empire by giving daughter of a commands through Montezuma. The Aztecs rebelled. local chief and The Aztecs surrounded the Spaniards and their allies in their head- served as an interpreter quarters in Tenochtitlán. On the night of June 30, 1520, the Spaniards for Cortés. tried to sneak out of the city, but the Aztecs discovered them and vicious fighting broke out. About 800 Spaniards and more than 1,000 of their allies were killed that night. The Spaniards later called the event La Noche Triste (lah NAW•cheh TREES•teh)—the Sad Night. Despite this defeat, the Spaniards and their allies regrouped. In May 1521, Cortés led his forces back to Tenochtitlán. At this point, the Spaniards got help from an invisible ally. Many Aztecs fell victim to an outbreak of smallpox, which severely weakened their ranks. The germs HERNANDO CORTÉS MONTEZUMA 1485–1547 1466–1520 Hernando Cortés was born in Spain to a Montezuma, ruler of the Aztec Empire, rose to noble but poor family. In 1504, at the age the throne in 1502. Eloquent and wise, his of 19, he sailed to the Americas to seek words carried weight with his subjects.
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