Ancient History of Latin America Ch. 9 Sec. 2. Ancient Empires Olmecs: 1400 BC-500 BC –Mxn Gulf Coast –Ruled by priests & royals/elite No mention of.

Ancient History of Latin AmericaCh. 9 Sec. 2

Ancient EmpiresOlmecs: 1400 BC-500 BCMxn Gulf CoastRuled by priests & royals/eliteNo mention of military?Known for giant stone heads (40 tons)Mastered crafts- rubber, jade, stone carving

Ancient EmpiresMayan: 250-900Southern MX/ Northern CA (Guatemala/ Yucatan Pen.) Tikal & Chichen Itza major citiesRuled by priests & noblesPriests performed sacrifices for good harvests, war success

Ancient EmpiresMayan contdExtensive farming techniques/terracingLots of maize pop. grew quicklyDev. glyphs for recording hist. & honoring gods (Spanish burned most books many left untranslated)365 day solar calendar

Tikal (Guatemala)Chichen Itza

Ancient EmpiresAztecs: 1300s-1520sFounded Tenochtitln in C. MX Island in Lake TexcocoChinampas- floating islandsFoods shared with worldmaize (corn)chocolate (xocoatl)- only for elite though- Food of the godstomatoes

Ancient EmpiresAztecs contdRuled by emperor military, then majority (farmers), last were criminals & slavesPriests had own classHuman sacrifices to sun god to rise ea. dayTens of thousands: mostly P.O.W.s and some noble family members

Ancient EmpiresInca: 1430s-1530sAndes Mtns, Ecuador ChileRuled by emperor (Sapa Inca)Then military (very oppressive)Extensive road network thru mtns (rivals Romans)Runners to warn of rebellion, invadersAll roads went thru Cuzco

Original Incan roadMachu Picchu

Ancient EmpiresInca contdUsed quipu for record keeping (for traders)Spoke Quechua (dev. into ethnic grp.)No written lang.Masters of terracing & irrigation from Pac. Ocn.Domesticated alpacas & llamas

QuipuTerracing

Decline of EmpiresOlmecs: ?? (volcano, absorbed)Mayan: ?? (frequent war??, overpop. over farm??, plagues??)Aztecs: Span. conquistador Hernn Corts (1521)Inca: Span. conquistador Francisco Pizarro (1535)

European ConquestsFrom 1500s-1700sColonizing for power and resources for home countryColumbian ExchangeAs disease killed many Natives, they began enslaving Africans to meet labor shortages

Latin American Revolutions

Sources of Discontent- Late 1700sViceroys- Spanish governorsPeninsulares- Spaniards living in LACreoles- straight Euro. descentMestizos- Native + Euro. Mulattoes- Afn. + Euro. Zambos- Native + Afn. Amerindians- NativesALL distrusted one another

Sources of DiscontentPeninsulares/Viceroys wanted self-ruleCreoles read works of Enlightenment thinkers; All looked to Amn & Fr. Rev wanted more rightsNat. & Afns wanted freedom from slavery

Finally acted when Napoleon defeated Spain (made weaker)

Haitis StruggleFrench-ruledSugar & coffee plantations = 1/2 million slaves lots of $ for France25,000 free (but not equal) mulattoes

Haitis StruggleRevolted in 1791Led by Toussaint LOuvertureFormer slave, but educatedNapoleon went in to regain, but Pres. TJ aided rebels1804: Complete independence

Haiti is first non-slave nation in Western Hemisphere

Mexicos FightFather Hidalgo: El Grito de Dolores1810: cry for independenceencouraged lower class (mestizos) to fight for indep. and more rightsHidalgo was executed Fr. Jose Morales led fight (later executed)

Creoles (pure Span. descent) against rebels at 1st

Mexicos Fight1820: new govnt in Spain scared Creoles fought with rebels won in 1821 Set up monarchy 1st, later a republic never stable

Simn Bolvar1810: Bolivar led revolt in Venezuela form republic (did not last)Went on to Ecuador, Peru, & Bolivia republicsJoined Jose de San MartinLeader in Argentina & Chile

Simn BolvarWars ended in 1824Tried to unite lands into Gran Colombia Biggest problem: Power struggles caused huge civil wars turn to military

BrazilNapoleon beat Portugal Royals fled to Brazil King made reforms Left son Dom Pedro to rule But new powers in Portugal were against Dom Pedro

BrazilHe made Brazil independent constitutional monarchy Freedom of press & religion; elected legislature1889: became republic w/o any violence

DictatorshipsAs the countries fought for indep., power went to new peopleEuropean & indigenous hist. stressed rank & privilegeSo ppl of power and strength were natural fitEnter the era of CAUDILLOS (dictators)

DictatorshipsHaiti: Instability staysBlacks vs. mulattoes- assassination of each others leadersMany military coups (even of democratically elected pres!), US occupancy, military dictatorshipsUN peacekeepers present since 2004

DictatorshipsMexico:Series of military dictatorships beginning with Santa Anna1920s: Had ify multi-party elections (PRI ruled for 70+ yrs)Charged with fraud, unfair electionsVenezuelaFrom Bolivar on, dictatorships gave into military regimes

DictatorshipsBrazil:Dom Pedros son helped econ. and ended slavery landowners revolted to oust emperorSet up fed. RepublicLack of democratic tradition brought about decades of dictatorships, Nazi, & Communist uprisings1985 marked 1st civilian president

DictatorshipsPeople are unhappy REVOLTOption A: the military puts out revolt and resumes power to keep orderOption B: rebels win & put in someone military/wealthy dont like military coup

Caribbean Independence1898: Cuba from Spain1900s: Jamaica & Barbados from Britain

Some still under foreign control

Panama CanalIsthmus perfect place to connect oceansFerdinand de Lesseps (Suez Canal) tried but failedDisease, geography, $Bunau-Varilla asked US pres TR (1901) to aid building

Panama CanalPanama was part of Colombia at timeCol. refused to give up landPanamanians revolted, US helped themPanama gained independence (1903)Canal began in 1904, until 1914US owned until 1999

CubaLike others, ppl were discontent with govntCuba- gap b/w rich and poorRevolution led by Fidel Castro set up Communist State with military dictator (1959)Ruled until 06-08 left Raul (brother) in power

ChangeMexico:Mid-90s gave rise to Zapatista rebelsFight for indigenous rights spreads2000 marked PAN take over (Vicente Fox, Felipe Calderon)Venezuela:Coups lasted into 90s, one even by current leftist Pres. ChavezElectorate voted him in b/c he was a strong ruler in a time a of crisis