Early latin America
Mesoamerica is the name for areas of Mexico and Central America that were civilized before the Spanish arrived.
The Maya
The Mayan civilization on the Yucatán Peninsula flourished between A.D. 300 and 900. The Maya were a sophisticated people who built temples and pyramids, and developed a complicated calendar. Mayan cities were built around a central pyramid topped with a temple to the gods. Cities also included temples, palaces, and sacred ball courts. Urban centers such as Tikal may have had a hundred thousand inhabitants.
Mayan civilization was composed of city-states governed by a hereditary ruling class. The states warred with each other. Captured soldiers were enslaved. Captured nobles and war leaders were used for human sacrifice. Mayan rulers claimed to be descended from the gods. The Mayan rulers were helped by nobles and a class of scribes who may have also been priests. Mayan society also had townspeople who were artisans, officials, and merchants. Most Mayans were peasant farmers. The Mayans created a writing system based on hieroglyphs, or pictures. Scholars eventually discovered that many of the writings recorded dates in the Mayan calendar known as the Long Count. The Long Count was based on a belief in cycles of creation and destruction. Mayans believed our present world was created in 3114 B.C. and would end on December 23, A.D. 2012.
The Mayan civilization eventually declined. Invasion, internal revolt, natural disaster, or an overuse of land that led to reduced crop yields may have caused the decline. Abandoned Mayan cities were not discovered until the 1800s and 1900s.
The Aztec
Sometime during the twelfth century A.D., the Aztec began a long migration to the Valley of Mexico. They established their capital at Tenochtitlán in an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, where Mexico City is now. They built a magnificent city of temples, public buildings, and roadways linking the islands to the mainland. They also consolidated their rule over much of what is modern Mexico.
By 1500 up to four million Aztec lived in and around the Valley of Mexico. Power was in the hands of the king, who claimed descent from the gods. At the center of the capital city of Tenochtitlán was a pyramid dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, god of the sun. A platform at the top of the pyramid was used for human sacrifices.
In 1519 a Spanish force under the command of Hernán Cortés landed at Veracruz and marched to Tenochtitlán. Cortés had only 550 soldiers and 16 horses. The Aztec monarch Montezuma (Moctezuma) gave the Spanish gifts of gold. Tensions eventually arose between the Spanish and the Aztec. By 1520, the Spanish forces had destroyed the city of Tenochtitlán.
The Inca
The Incan civilization flourished in South America in the fifteenth century. In the 1440s the Inca, under the leadership of the ruler Pachacuti, began to expand their lands. Eventually the Incan Empire extended as far as Ecuador, central Chile, and the edge of the Amazon basin.
The empire included up to twelve million people. The emperor was at the top of the system. The people believed the emperor was a descendant of Inti, the son god. The Incan state was built on war. All young men had to serve in the army, which numbered two hundred thousand. The Incan army was the largest and best armed in the region. The Inca built 24,800 miles of roads. Two major north-south highways extended through the Andes and along the coast. These roads had connecting roads between them.
The first Spanish expeditions arrived in the central Andes in 1530 under the command of Francisco Pizarro. Though he had only a small band of about 180 men, Pizarro had some things that the Inca did not: steel weapons, gunpowder, and horses. The Incan Empire experienced a smallpox epidemic. Like the Aztec, the Inca were not immune to European diseases. Smallpox destroyed villages and killed the emperor. Armed with stones, arrows, and light spears, the Inca could not defeat the Spanish who had horses, guns, and cannons. Pizarro captured the capital Cuzco with the help of Incan allies. By 1535 Pizarro had established a new capital at Lima for a new colony of the Spanish Empire.
The Maya
The Mayan civilization on the Yucatán Peninsula flourished between A.D. 300 and 900. The Maya were a sophisticated people who built temples and pyramids, and developed a complicated calendar. Mayan cities were built around a central pyramid topped with a temple to the gods. Cities also included temples, palaces, and sacred ball courts. Urban centers such as Tikal may have had a hundred thousand inhabitants.
Mayan civilization was composed of city-states governed by a hereditary ruling class. The states warred with each other. Captured soldiers were enslaved. Captured nobles and war leaders were used for human sacrifice. Mayan rulers claimed to be descended from the gods. The Mayan rulers were helped by nobles and a class of scribes who may have also been priests. Mayan society also had townspeople who were artisans, officials, and merchants. Most Mayans were peasant farmers. The Mayans created a writing system based on hieroglyphs, or pictures. Scholars eventually discovered that many of the writings recorded dates in the Mayan calendar known as the Long Count. The Long Count was based on a belief in cycles of creation and destruction. Mayans believed our present world was created in 3114 B.C. and would end on December 23, A.D. 2012.
The Mayan civilization eventually declined. Invasion, internal revolt, natural disaster, or an overuse of land that led to reduced crop yields may have caused the decline. Abandoned Mayan cities were not discovered until the 1800s and 1900s.
The Aztec
Sometime during the twelfth century A.D., the Aztec began a long migration to the Valley of Mexico. They established their capital at Tenochtitlán in an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco, where Mexico City is now. They built a magnificent city of temples, public buildings, and roadways linking the islands to the mainland. They also consolidated their rule over much of what is modern Mexico.
By 1500 up to four million Aztec lived in and around the Valley of Mexico. Power was in the hands of the king, who claimed descent from the gods. At the center of the capital city of Tenochtitlán was a pyramid dedicated to Huitzilopochtli, god of the sun. A platform at the top of the pyramid was used for human sacrifices.
In 1519 a Spanish force under the command of Hernán Cortés landed at Veracruz and marched to Tenochtitlán. Cortés had only 550 soldiers and 16 horses. The Aztec monarch Montezuma (Moctezuma) gave the Spanish gifts of gold. Tensions eventually arose between the Spanish and the Aztec. By 1520, the Spanish forces had destroyed the city of Tenochtitlán.
The Inca
The Incan civilization flourished in South America in the fifteenth century. In the 1440s the Inca, under the leadership of the ruler Pachacuti, began to expand their lands. Eventually the Incan Empire extended as far as Ecuador, central Chile, and the edge of the Amazon basin.
The empire included up to twelve million people. The emperor was at the top of the system. The people believed the emperor was a descendant of Inti, the son god. The Incan state was built on war. All young men had to serve in the army, which numbered two hundred thousand. The Incan army was the largest and best armed in the region. The Inca built 24,800 miles of roads. Two major north-south highways extended through the Andes and along the coast. These roads had connecting roads between them.
The first Spanish expeditions arrived in the central Andes in 1530 under the command of Francisco Pizarro. Though he had only a small band of about 180 men, Pizarro had some things that the Inca did not: steel weapons, gunpowder, and horses. The Incan Empire experienced a smallpox epidemic. Like the Aztec, the Inca were not immune to European diseases. Smallpox destroyed villages and killed the emperor. Armed with stones, arrows, and light spears, the Inca could not defeat the Spanish who had horses, guns, and cannons. Pizarro captured the capital Cuzco with the help of Incan allies. By 1535 Pizarro had established a new capital at Lima for a new colony of the Spanish Empire.