Eccleston School

HISTORY

Second Year booklet

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 Eccleston School

HISTORY

Unit N°1: The modern

European States.

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Spanish monarchy supremacy
What was the Spanish Golden Age?
Spain's prosperous period in the late 1500s birthed what became known as the Golden
Age. Although the Spanish renaissance period arrived later than much of the rest of
Europe, it was no less impressive and left a lasting mark on culture and arts.

How did the Golden Age of Spain come about?

There are three main factors that supported the Golden Age of Spain: The Conquest of
Granada, overseas exploration, and King Philip II’s patronage of the arts.

Golden Age of Spain: The Conquest of Granada

While many other countries in Europe had begun their journeys into the new Renaissance
period in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Spain was preoccupied with the
Reconquista, an 800-year war that Christians had been fighting against Muslim Moors
in an effort to regain the territories that they had lost to them in the eighth century.

After the successful Conquest of Granada in 1492, Christians managed to reconquer the
different kingdoms and were free to set their sights on other objectives. One major goal
was to catch up to the rest of Europe and enter the Renaissance period.

Overseas exploration

A Golden Age needs, surprisingly enough, gold, or at least some form of economic
support. Hence, one of the most important factors in establishing Spain's Golden Age was
the success of Spanish exploration. When, in 1492, the rogue seafarer Christopher
Columbus came to ask for funding for an expedition, the Catholic Monarchs agreed. This
decision essentially sealed the fate of Spain for the next few centuries, as Columbus would
chance across Cuba, which paved the way for the Spanish colonization of the rest of the
Americas. Two subsequent conquistadors, Cortés and Pizzaro, however, really drove
the Golden Age with their exploration and plundering of Mexico and Peru, which were
rich in precious metals.

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King Philip II

Isabella and Ferdinand's consolidation of royal power (known as the catholic monarchs)
and the expansion of the Spanish empire under Charles I contributed to the making of the
Golden Age. However, its true patron was King Philip II, whose zeal for cultural
development and patronage of the arts drove the Golden Age of Spain. He funded the arts
by giving them patronage.

The economy during the Golden Age of Spain

The exploitation of the colonies in the Americas reaped enormous amounts of wealth for
Spain. Most historians believe that in the mid-sixteenth century, Spain reached the height
of its economic growth. However, the extent to which this actually benefitted the Spanish
people themselves is questionable.

During this age, Spain poured vast amounts of money into the fight against Protestantism,
which put the country in huge amounts of debt. The costs of the Eighty Years War and
the Armada's disastrous attack on England far superseded the amount of money Spain
was generating from the Americas, hence Philip had to introduce heavy taxation and use
loans. By 1596, Philip's government had declared its third bankruptcy. In the late
sixteenth century, the Spanish economy was on a downward trajectory, which culminated
in a severe economic crisis until the mid-seventeenth century.

The end of the Golden Age of Spain

The Golden Age of Spain ended in the late seventeenth century as Spain entered a new
era and its power and prosperity began to decline. Some mark the Golden Age of Spain
by Calderon’s (one of the greatest writers of the age) death in 1681, whilst others argue
it ended earlier with the Treaty of the Pyrenees in 1659 that ended the Franco-Spanish
war and signaled Spain's end as the dominant power in Europe.

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The Protestant Reformation

The Reformation was a movement that aimed at reforming the Roman Catholic Church.
Instead, it resulted in a tumultuous schism that put an end to the unity of the Western
Christian world.
The Protestant Reformation led to a restructuring of the social system of Europe and
changed the face of Christianity. The Reformation is the root of all the branches of
modern-day Protestantism.
In nailing his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of Wittenberg Cathedral, Martin Luther, a
Catholic monk and teacher, hoped to draw attention to what he saw as corruption in the
Church. In particular, he objected to the selling of indulgences. Luther also objected to
the Church’s teachings on a more fundamental level. He had come to believe that
salvation was obtainable only through faith and was not something that could be granted
by the Church. Luther’s actions began the movement that became known as the Protestant
Reformation.

Martin Luther

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The historical context
Until the Reformation began in the sixteenth century, the Roman Catholic Church had
united the Christians of Western Europe. The Catholic Church, with the pope at its head,
appeared to bind all believers to a single faith. The Catholic Church was more than just a
religion; it was a cornerstone of the medieval social and political system.
The Renaissance, that great flowering of culture that occurred at the end of the Middle
Ages, began to loosen the grip of the Church on society. Scholars of the Renaissance were
influenced by the ideas of Humanism, an essential component of which was the
questioning of accepted beliefs. Humanists placed less emphasis on the spiritual aspect
of humankind and stressed a moresecular and individualist philosophy.
The Renaissance set the stage for the Reformation in another important way, too. In the
mid- fifteenth century, a German named Johannes Gutenberg had invented a kind of
printing that usedmovable metal type. This was a vast improvement on previous methods
of printing used in Europe. Before Guttenberg, most books were written by hand and
could take months to produce.Now, hundreds of pages could be turned out in a day for a
fraction of the cost. Cheap books, or pamphlets, would come to play an important role in
the spread of ideas during the Reformation.
The Church was also raising money in some less than respectable ways. One practice,
that cameto symbolize the need for reform, was the selling of indulgences. An indulgence
was the remission of the temporal penalty due to forgiven sin, in virtue of the merits of
Christ and the saints. It exempted either the bearer, or a dead friend or relative of the
bearer, from the punishment associated with the sin. In other words, people could buy
forgiveness and a ticket to heaven by handing over money to the Church. Another way of
making money was the practice of selling positions of authority in the Church. This
widespread practice was known as simony. Some people bought multiple Church offices,
and used these positions as a source of income.
The Church was also open to criticism further down the pecking order. Many priests led
debauched lives, cohabiting openly with their mistresses and making a mockery of any
vows ofchastity. Many priests did not even live in the parishes they represented. This kind
of corruptionwas the fuel that fed the fire of the Reformation, but it was the monk, Martin
Luther, who in 1519 lit the first match.

Catholicism and Protestantism have distinct views on the meaning and the authority of
the Bible. For Protestant Christians, Luther made clear that the Bible is the "Sola
Skriptura," God's only book, in which He provided His revelations to the people and
which allows them to enter in communion with Him. Catholics, on the other hand, do
not base their beliefs on the Bible alone. Along with the Holy Scripture, they are
additionally bound by the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church.

The word "catholic" means "all-embracing," and the Catholic Church sees itself as the
only true church worldwide, under the leadership of the pope. In contrast, the Protestant
Churches which have emerged from Reformation, also called "Evangelical," which
means "according to the Gospel," do not make up one united Church. There are rather
several tens of thousands of different denominations around the world. Officially, all of
these many churches are considered equal. Protestants are not open at all to papal

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primacy. According to the Evangelical view, this dogma contradicts statements in the
Bible

Martin Luther
Until 1517, Luther remained a relatively minor figure—an undistinguished theology
professor at a tiny university tucked away in Saxony. But this would soon change
dramatically. Luther would be instantly, and unexpectedly, catapulted into the
international spotlight and would, by 1519, be one of the most famous men in Europe.
The movement began in Wittenberg, a city in the German-speaking region known as
Saxony. There, Martin Luther nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the cathedral door. He was
protesting against corruption in the Church, but more than that, Luther objected to some
of the teachings atthe heart of Church theology. For the Church, the way to salvation was
by following the practices and rituals of Catholicism. For Luther, salvation came through
faith in Christ and a belief in the truth of the Bible. Luther’s argument became known as
“justification by faith.”
The movement soon spread throughout much of Europe. When the pope, Leo X, issued a
directive condemning Luther’s ideas, Luther publicly set fire to the document. Charles V,
the Holy Roman Emperor and a loyal Catholic, ordered Luther to recant. Luther refused,
and the firecontinued to spread. Luther’s opposition to the Church became a focus for
others throughout Europe. Those who were unhappy with the Church for their own
reasons rallied behind Luther. For many, Luther’s revolt provided an opportunity to break
with the Church and reject the authority of Rome. Within a short time, religious uprisings
and wars erupted across the continent.
In Germany, Luther looked to sympathetic German princes for support, and some came
to his defense, sheltering him from Charles V. Lutheranism continued to grow, often in
the face of fierce opposition from the Catholic clergy, this led to a religious war in the
Holy Roman Empire. Fighting between Catholics and Protestants continuedduring the
rest of Luther’s lifetime. Nine years after his death, Charles V agreed to the Peace of
Augsburg, recognizing the practices of Luther’s new Church, even though religious wars
continued in Europe for more than a century. One change was permanent: even though
the Roman Catholic Church continued to thrive in much of the subcontinent, it never
again spoke for all Western European Christians

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 Eccleston School

HISTORY

Unit N°2: The American

Imperial States.

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Aztec, self fane Culhua-Mexica, Nahuatl-speaking people who in the 15th and early
16th centuries ruled a large empire in what is now central and southern Mexico. The
origin of the Aztec people is uncertain, but elements of their own tradition suggest that
they were a tribe of hunters and gatherers on the northern Mexico before their appearance
in Mesoamerica in perhaps the 12th century. They settled on islands in Lake Texcoco and
in 1325 founded Tenochtitlan, which remained their chief centre. The basis of Aztec
success in creating a great state and ultimately an empire was their remarkable system of
agriculture, which featured intensive cultivation of all available land, as well as elaborated
systems of irrigation. The high productivity gained by those methods made for a rich and
populous state.

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Agriculture
Much of the land was occupied by a chain of lakes; and much of the immediate lakeshore
plain was waterlogged. In 1519 it supported a population of 1,000,000 to 1,500,000; a
density of 200 per square kilometre, the densest population in Meso-American history.
Soil fertility was maintained by plant and animal fertilizers, by short-cycle fallowing, and
by irrigation. In gently sloping terrain, erosion was controlled by earth and maguey
terraces, in steeper areas by stone terracing. The problem of humidity was solved by canal
irrigation of both the floodwater and permanent type.
Much of the irrigation was done just before planting in April and May in order to give
crops a head start and hence avoid the autumn frosts. Terracing functioned also as a
method of conserving moisture. There is also evidence that dry-farming techniques were
applied to store moisture in the soil. The most significant achievement of Aztec
agriculture, however, was that of swamp reclamation, even including colonization of the
lakes. This system of farming, called chinampa, was first applied to Lake Chalco. The
lake covered approximately 60 square miles and apparently varied in its character from
swamps to ponds of fairly deep, open water. By a process varying from digging drainage
ditches to artificial construction of land masonry causeway dikes were constructed across
the lake to control flooding. By a system of dikes and sluice gates the Aztec even managed
to convert a portion of saline Lake Texcoco, the largest and lowest lake in the basin, to a
freshwater bay for further chinampa colonization. Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital,
depended on these lands for much of its food. By a comparable method, much of the
waterlogged lakeshore plain was also converted into agricultural land. Particularly
notable is the fact that all of these techniques of food production were achieved by human
power and simple hand tools.

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Other resources
Obsidian, natural glass of volcanic origin, was a superb material for a great variety of
stone tools. Basalt was also abundant. Lake Texcoco was a major source of salt, and the
lakes generally provide waterfowl, fish, and other aquatic foodstuffs. The great pine
forests above the limits of agriculture were a major source of lumber. On the other hand,
the basin, because of its high elevation, was unsuitable for a great variety of tropical
products, including cotton, paper, tropical roots and fruits, tobacco, copal incense, rubber,
cacao, honey, precious feathers and skins, and such prized goods as metal, jade, and
turquoise. The major motivation of Aztec conquest was to obtain control of these
resources.

Social and political organization

One of Aztec distinctive aspects was differentiation by status levels. The use of most of
the extra-local resources was limited to a small upper and middle class; and there were
striking differences in dress, housing, and diet by social class.
Commoners, for example, wore clothing woven from maguey fibre, while the upper
classes wore cotton garments. The use of imported foods, at least on a regular basis, was
limited to the upper and middle classes. Commoners lived in small adobe or stone and
mud huts, the upper and middle class in large multiroomed palatial houses of cut stone,
lime plaster, and concrete.
The nuclear family functioned in procreation, education of children, and as a unit of food
preparation and consumption, with a well-defined division of labour between husband
and wife. Among the Aztec, however, a number of nuclear families usually resided

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together in a single cooperating household, or extended family, consisted of a man, his
married sons or brothers, and their families. The average peasant household of this type
was small. Up to usually placed within a courtyard fenced with organ cactus or adobe
walls, forming a compound. The extended family household probably functioned as a unit
of land use and food production.
A number of households, varying from a few score to several hundred, were organized
into a internally complex corporate group referred to as a calpulli by the Aztec and
translated as barrio “ward” by the Spaniards. The household retained the right of usufruct,
but only the calpulli as a whole could sell or rent lands.
The State: Above the level of the calpulli was the State. The central town was divided
into wars. At the head of the state was an official called the Tlatoani, to whom all
household heads owed allegiance, respect, and tax obligations. The tlatoani’s position
was fixed within a particular lineage, the particular choice varying from the state to state.
In some areas, succession passed from father to son; in others, the succession went
through a series of brothers and then passed to the eldest son of the eldest brother. In still
other states, the office was elective, but the choice was limited to sons or brothers of the
deceased ruler. The ruler resided in a large, multiroom palace inhabited by a great number
of wives, servants, and professional craftsmen. He was carried in a sedan chair in public
and treated with exaggerated respect by his subordinates. The tlatoani held considerable
power.
• He appointed all lesser bureaucrats;
• He promoted men to higher military status, organized military campaigns, and was the
distributor of booty and tribute;
• He collected taxes in labour, military service, and goods from his supporters;
• He owned private estates manned by serfs;
• He was the final court of appeal in judicial cases;
• He was titular head of the religious cult
• He was head of the town market.

Many of these functions were delegated to a large staff of professional administrators:

priest, market supervisors, military leaders, judges, tax collectors, and accountants. The
tax collectors, or calpixque, were especially important administrators because they acted
as the ruler’s agents in collecting goods and services from the calpulli chiefs. Society was
divided into three well-defined castes. The system of social stratification permitted
considerable vertical mobility. Other element in the Aztec social system was slavery.
Slaves did exist and in some parts of Meso-America were used as workers or servants.
Slaves were bought in lowland markets and used primarily for human sacrifice.
The states conquered by the Aztec were grouped into 38 provinces. One town in each
province served as capital, and an Aztec tax collector-governor was placed there to
supervise the collection, storage, and disposition of the tribute.
In many provinces, the Aztec established garrisons. These consisted of warriors and their
families who were assigned lands in the conquered province. The planting of colonists,
combined with such factors as the merchant guild and royal family intermarriage,
suggests that the Aztec elite were attempting to integrate more closely the population.

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The Aztecs introduced the cult of their national god Huitzilopochtli to conquered
provinces.

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Tenochtitlan
Tenochtitlan was a huge metropolis. It was originally located on two small islands in Lake
Texcoco, but it gradually spread into the surrounding lake by a process, first of chinampa
construction. The population in 1519 was about 400,000 people, the largest and densest
concentration in Meso-American history. The majority of people in the city were non-
food-producing specialist: craftsmen, merchants, priests, warriors, and administrators.
The great market in Tlatelolco was reported by the Spaniards also described the enormous
canoe traffic on the lake moving goods to the market. The Aztec capital was originally
two separate cities, Tlatelolco and Tenochtitlan, which merged into one through the
conquest of Tlatelolco. The division maintained for administrative purposes. Each ward
contained 12 to 15 calpulli. Tlatelolco must have had 10 to 20 calpulli as well, bringing
the total up to perhaps 80. With this enormously expanded tax base, the central
government became internally complex. The Spaniards described the palace of
Montezuma II as containing 300 rooms grouped around three courts.
Aside from the private apartments of the king, the palace included libraries, storehouses,
workshops for royal craftsmen, great halls for justice and other councils, and offices for
an army of accountants. The sources even describe a royal zoo and aviary and a number
of country retreats. The internal organization of the taxation, military, and judicial
departments must have been far more complex than in small states; but precise data is
lacking.
Within the city there were at least two large complexes, religious centres of the dual cities
of Tenochtitlan and Tlatelolco. The temple complex of Tenochtitlan consisted of three
large pyramid temples. The principal temple platform was dedicated to Huitzilopochtli
and Tlaloc. There were also six small pyramid temples, three calmecac buildings
(dormitories and colleges for priests), a ball court, a great wooden rack for the skulls of
sacrificed victims, a sacred pool, a sacred grove, and several large open courts. All of
these structures were placed within a vast walled enclosure. The temple complex at
Tlatelolco was at least half as large.

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Religion
As the empire expanded and Tenochtitlan evolved into a heterogeneous community, the
religious needs correspondingly changed from those of a simple agrarian society. The
Aztec approach to contact with the supernatural was through a complex calendar of great
ceremonies, which were held at the temples and were performed by a professional
priesthood that acted as the intermediary between the gods and human beings. Many of
these were public in the sense that populace played the role of spectators. Elements in all
the ceremonies were very similar and included ritual ablutions to in all the ceremonies
were very similar and included ritual ablutions to prepare the priests for the contact;
offerings and sacrifices to gain the gods’ favour; and theatrical dramas of myths by
masked performers in the form of dances, songs, and processionals. Each god had his
special ceremony that, considering the richness of the pantheon, must have filled the
calendar. Aztec religion heavily emphasized sacrifice and ascetic behaviour as the
necessary preconditions for approaching the supernatural.
Priests were celibate and were required to live a simple life. They performed constant
self-sacrifice in the form of bloodletting as penitence (by passing barbed cords through
the tongue and ears). The cult of the gods required a large professional priesthood.
Spanish document indicate that the priesthood was one of the most elaborate of Aztec
institutions. Each temple and god had its attendant priestly order. At Tenochtitlan the high
priests of Tlaloc and Huitzilopochtli served as heads of the entire priestly organization.
Within the orders were priests in charge of ceremonies, of the education of novices, of
astrology, and of the temple lands. Much of Aztec religion probably was practiced at
home at special household altars. Common archaeological artefacts are small baked-clay
idols or figurines, representing specific gods apparently used in these household
ceremonies, along with incense burners.

Tlaloc

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 Quetzalcoatl

Huitzilopochtli

Cosmology
According to the Aztec cosmological ideas, the earth had the general shape of a great disk
divided into four sections oriented to the four cardinal directions. To each of the four
world directions were attached five of the 20 day-signs, one of them being a Year-Bearer,
a colour and certain gods. The fifth cardinal point, the centre, was attributed to the fire
god Huehueteotl, because the hearth stood at the centre of the house. All of the heavenly
bodies and constellations were divinized, such as the Great Bear (Tezcatlipoca), Venus
(Quetzalcoatl), the stars of the north (Centzon Mimixcoa, “the 400 Cloud-Serpents”), the
stars of the south (Centzon Huitznaua, “the 400 Southerners”). The solar disk, Tonatiuh,
was supposed to be borne on a litter from the east to the zenith, surrounded by the souls
of dead warriors, and from the zenith to the west among a retinue of divinized women,
the Cihuateteo. When the night began on the earth, day dawned in Mictlan, the abode of
the dead.

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The codices
Aztec sacred books and works, which were kept in the temples and other native books
have become known in Western scholarship as codices. Sacred books were written (or
rather, painted) on deerskin or agave-fibre paper by scribes (tlacuiloanime), who used a
combination of pictography, ideograms, and phonetic symbols and dealt with the ritual
calendar, divination, ceremonies, and speculations on the gods and the universe. Because
of their religious content only a small fraction of these codices escaped destruction by the
Spaniards. Their interpretation is far from easy.

Mythology of death and afterlife

The old paradise of the rain god Tlaloc, depicted in the Teotihuacan frescoes, opened its
gardens to those who died by drowning, lightning, or as a result of leprosy, dropsy, gout,
or lung diseases. He was supposed to have caused their death and have sent their souls to
paradise.
Two categories of dead persons went up to the heaves as companions of the sun: the
Quauhteca (“Eagle People”), who comprised the warriors who died on the battlefield or
on the sacrificial stone, and the merchants who were killed while traveling in faraway
places; and the women who died while giving birth to their first child and thus became
Cihuateteo, “Divine Women”.
All the other dead went down to Mictlan, under the northern deserts, the abode of
Mictlantecuhtli, the skeleton-masked god of death. There they travelled for four years
until they arrived at the ninth hell, where they disappeared altogether.
Offerings were made to the dead 80 days after the funeral, then one year, two, three, and
four years later. Then all link between the dead and the living was severed. But the
warriors who crossed the heavens in the retinue of the sun were thought to come back to
earth after four years as hummingbirds. The Cihuateteo were said to appear at night at the
crossroads and strike the passers-by with palsy.

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MAYA CIVILISATION

Maya origins
The Maya had a lengthy and complicated mythical origin story that is recorded in the
Popol Vuh. According to the stories, the forefather gods Tepew and Q’ukumatz brought
forth the earth from a watery void, and endowed it with animals and plants. Eventually
humans were created, including the hero twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, who embark in
a series of adventures, which included defeating the lords of the underworld. Their
journey climaxed with the resurrection of their father, the maize god. It seems clear that
this whole mythic cycle was closely related to maize fertility.
The Maya people were influenced by a civilisation to the west of them know as the
Olmecs. These people may have initially devised the long count calendar that the Maya
would become famous for, Coe writes. Additionally, the recent discovery of a ceremonial
site dated to 1000 B.C at the site of Ceibal sheds more light on the relationship between
the Maya and Olmecs suggesting that it was a complex one. The Nahuatl (Aztec) name
for these people, Olmecatl, or Olmec in the modern corruption, means “rubber people”
or “people of the rubber country”. That term was chosen because the Olmecs extracted
latex from Panama rubber trees growing in the region and mixed it with the juice of a
local vine to create rubber.

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Maya civilisation at its peak
The ancient Maya reached a peak between A.D. 250 and 900, a time that archaeologists
call the “Classic” period when numerous Maya cities flourished throughout much of
Central America.
The civilisation reached intellectual and artistic heights which no other in the New World,
and few in Europe, could match at the time. The Maya civilisation was influenced by the
city of Teotihuacan, located farther to the west. At Tikal, it appears that one of their early
rulers, named Siyaj K’ak, may have come from there. According to an inscription; he
ascended the throne on Sept. 13, A.D 379, and is depicted wearing feathers and shells and
holding an atlatl (spear-thrower), features associated with Teotihuacan. The numerous
cities found throughout the Maya world each had their own individual wonders that made
them unique. Tikal, for instance, is known for its pyramid building. Starting at least as
early as A.D. 672, the city’s rulers would construct a twin pyramid complex at the end of
every K’atun (20-year period). Each of these pyramids would be flat-topped, built
adjacent to each other and contain a staircase on each side. Between the pyramids was a
plaza that had structures laid out to the north and south. Copan, a Maya city in modern-
day Honduras, is known for its “Temple of the Hieroglyphic Stairway.” It’s a pyramid-
like structure that has more than 2,000 glyphs embellished on a flight of 63 steps, the
longest ancient Maya inscription known to exist and appears to tell the history of the
city’s rulers. The site of Palenque, another famous Maya city, is known for its soft
limestone sculpture and the incredible burial of “Pakak”, one of its kings, deep inside a
pyramid.

TIKAL

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COPAN PALENQUE

Writing & astronomy

Record keeping was an important part of the Maya world and was essential for
agriculture, astronomy and prophecy. By keeping records of the rainy and dry seasons,
the Maya could determine the best times to plant and harvest their crops. Additionally,
by recording the movements of the sky deities (sun, moon, planets, and starts), they
developed accurate calendars that could be used for prophecy. With long-term records,
the Maya were able to predict planetary cycles – the phases of the moon and Venus, even
eclipses. This knowledge was used to determine when these deities would be in
favourable positions for a variety of activities such as holding ceremonies, inaugurating
kings, starting trading expeditions, or conducting wars.

Mayan Calendar

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Religion

The ancient Maya believed that everything was imbued in different degrees with an
unseen power or sacred quality, call k’uh, which meant “divine or sacredness”. The
universe of the ancient Maya was composed of kab, or Earth (the visible domain of the
Maya people), kan, or the sky above (the invisible realm of celestial deities), and Xibalba,
or the watery underworld below (the invisible realm of the underworld deities). Caves
were seen as entranceways to the underworld. The Maya followed a number of deities:

Mayan Deities
Deity Role
Kukulcán The feathered serpent deity, known to the
Yucatec Maya as Kukulcán, is the most
well-known and prominent Mayan god of
the Maya pantheon. You will also see this
god referred to as Gucumatz in the Quiche
Maya designation and as Quetzalcoatl in
the Aztec Nahuatl language
Itzamná – The God of the Sky Considered the founder of the Maya
culture, patron and protector of the
sciences, astrology, and writing. Often
depicted as a toothless wise old man with
a large nose, he was considered a creator
and healer who could also resurrect the
dead.
Ix Chel – The Mayan Moon Goddess Ix Chel is one of the most important
goddesses in the vast Maya Pantheon She
was also wife to Itzamná, one of the most
powerful gods. Ix Chel had powerful
attributes and dual identities that made her
very popular and she is still worshipped
today
Ah Puch – The God of Death In Mayan religion, Ah Puch is just one of
the many names associated with the aspect
of death, and he stands above the others
known for his sovereign rule over death,
disaster, and darkness.
Buluc Chabtan – The God of War Buluc Chabtan was the Mayan god of war,
violence, and sudden death. People prayed
to him for success in war and, simply put,
to stay on his good side in order to avoid
sudden death.

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Human sacrifices and game
Human sacrifices were made on special occasions. Among the Maya, human sacrifice
was not an everyday event but was essential to sanctify certain rituals, such as the
inauguration of a new ruler, the designation of a new heir to the throne, or the dedication
of an important new temple or ball court. The victims were often prisoners of war. At the
site of Chichen Itza victims would be painted blue, a colour that appears to have honoured
the god Chaak (god of rain), and cast into a well. Additionally, near the site’s ball court
there is a panel that shows a person being sacrificed. This may depict a ball-player from
either the winning or losing team being killed after a game.

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Economy
While agriculture and food gathering were a central part of daily life, the Maya had a
sophisticated economy capable of supporting specialists and a system of merchants and
trade routes. While the Maya did not develop minted currency, they used various objects,
at different times, as money. These included greenstone beads, cacao beans and copper
bells. Maya rulers managed the production and distribution of status goods used to
enhance their prestige and power. They also controlled some critical (non-local)
commodities that included critical everyday resources each family needed, like salt. Maya
labourers were subject to a labour tax to build palaces, temples and public works.

Collapse?
The Maya civilisation did not vanish. It’s true that many cities, including Tikal, Copan
and Palenque, became abandoned around 1,100 years ago. Drought, deforestation, war
and climate change have all been suggested as potential causes of this. However, it is
important to note that other Maya cities, such as that of Chichen Itza, grew, at least for a
time. In fact, Chichen Itza has the largest ball court in the Americas, being longer than a
modern-day American football field. The arrival of the Spanish brought about a profound
change in the Maya world. The diseases they brought decimated the Maya and the
Spaniards forced the Maya to convert to Christianity, even burning their books. Today,
the Maya people live on, numbering in the millions.

47
THE INCAS

The First Inca.

The legendary founding of Cusco by the firs Inca, Manco Capac, is placed about 1100
A.D. Manco Capac, according to legend, came up this valley from the south; following
instructions of the sun god he threw his golden staff into the Cusco earth, and when the
staff disappeared, suggesting the land’s fertility, he founded his city. It is generally
agreed, and archaeologically confirmed, that Inca history actually begins about 1200 and
continues through 13 ruling Incas, ending with the death of Atahualpa at the hands of the
Spaniards in 1533. In the 12th century, however, the Incas were only one of the myriad
tribes that occupied the Andes area.

Conquest
By 1350, during the reign of
Inca Roca, they had
conquered all areas close to
Lake Titicaca in the south as
well as the valleys to the
immediate east of Cusco. To
the north and east the region
around the Upper Urubamba
River also soon fell to the
Incas, and their realm then
began to spread westward.
Toward the end of the reign of Viracocha (died 1437) the Chancas people made a surprise
attack and invaded Cusco. Viracocha fled for safety to the Urubamba Valley, but his son
organized the defence of Cusco, and the Chancas were completely defeated.
The son, Pachacuti (“earth shaker”), was made Inca (1438-1463); under him, the Incas
swept northward as far as Lake Junin; southward they conquered all of the Titicaca area.
Between 1463 and 1493 Pachacuti’s son, Topa Inca, pushed the conquest into Chile,

48
Bolivia, and Argentina, then north again as far as Quito, Ecuador. In 1463 the armies of
Topa Inca, by means of a flanking attack, overwhelmed the coastal kingdom of Chimor.
The Chimu rulers were whisked off to Cusco as royal hostages.
The last indisputable Inca, Huayna Capac, who came to power in 1493, the year after
Columbus landed in America, made the final conquests.

Language
Quechua, the language of the Incas, bears only a distant relationship to Aymará, the
language spoken in the vicinity of Lake Titicaca. It is not known what the Incas spoke
before Quechua was made their official language by the Inca Pachachuti in 1438. Because
of their conquests and their system of population transference, Quechua eventually
became the dominant language. It is to this day spoken by a large percentage of Peru’s
inhabitants.

Agriculture
The population of the Inca Empire was composed
primarily of farmer-soldiers. More than half of the
products that the world eats today were developed or
cultivated in the Andean area. Among these are more
than 20 varieties of corn and 240 varieties of potato
camote (sweet potato), squash, a variety of beans,
manioc (from which come farina and tapioca),
peppers, peanuts, and quinoa (pigweed, which is the
source of a cereal). By far the most important crop was
the potato. Corn (sara) was eaten fresh (choclo),
parched and popped (kollo), made into a hominy
(mote), and, finally, made into an alcoholic beverage
(saraiaka or chicha). To make the latter, the corn
kernels were softened by the women. The saliva of the
chewer converted the starch, an enzyme distillate
into a malt sugar which became a dextrose and was
thus converted into alcohol. In Inca times all tribes
were on about the same technological level in their
agriculture. Work was communal, and the most
important implement was the Chaquitaclla, a simple
digging stick consisting of a pole with a thick fire-
hardened point. Rain generally falls in the Andes
between December and May. Water had to be
brought to arable lands by canals, many of which
showed superb engineering techniques.

49
Llamas
Llamas can resist the Andean cold and the desert heat; it served as a beast of burden
carrying up to a hundred pounds; it supplied meant (which when sun-dried was called
charqui) and wool, used mostly for ropes and cargo sacks. Its dung was important as a
fertilizer.

Social Organization: The Ayllu

At the base of the social pyramid of the Inca Empire was the ayllu, a clan of families
living together in a restricted area and sharing land, animals, and crops. Everyone
belonged to an ayllu; one was born into it and died within it. The commune could be small
or large; it could even be a town. No individuals owned land; land was owned by the
ayllu, or later the emperor, and was only loaned to each member for his use. Planting and
harvesting were communal.
At the age of twenty a man was expected to marry. If he did not, a mate was selected for
him by the chieftain (Kuraca). Marriage for the workers was strictly monogamous, but all
members of the ruling class had more than one wife. Some women had a chance to leave
the ayllu and better their life. These were the “chosen women,” who were selected
because of their beauty or special talents and taken to Cusco or one of the provincial
capitals. There they were taught weaving, cooking, and the rituals of the Sun, the state
religion. Many of the “chosen women” became wives of officials, and some became
concubines of the Inca himself.

The State: Tawantinsuyu

Tawantinsuyu, meaning four quarters, was the name given by the Incas to their State.
Four roads, which went to the ends of each quarter, no matter how distant, came out of
Cusco; each road bore the name of the suyu to which it ran.

50
1) Anti-suyu included all the land east of Cusco; this domain contained the mountain
and jungle, and was continually harassed by attacks from the only partially
pacified tribes of the area.
2) Cunti-suyu embraced all the lands west of Cusco, including the conquered coastal
empires, from Chan-Chan through the Rimac (now Lima Valley) down to
Arequipa.
3) Colla-suyu was the largest in extent; located south of Cusco, it took in Lake
Titicaca and regions in Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
4) Chincha-suyu contained all the land and tribes which lay to the north, up to
Rumichaca. Each quarter was ruled by an apo, or governor, related by blood to
the Inca and answerable only to him.

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The Inca.
The Inca was selected by a council of advisers of the royal lineage. There was no clear
line of succession; the most competent of the legitimate sons of the Inca’s principal wife
(coya) was usually selected. The Inca had one real wife, but he maintained a group of
royal concubines. The empire was one of the world’s few real theocracies, for the Inca
was not only ruler but also, in the eyes of his people, a demigod and the head of the state
religion.

Taxation: The Mit’a

Every man was obliged to give a certain amount of work to the State. This tax-through-
work service was called mit’a. Only the state and religious officials were exempt. Each
ayllu cultivated fields within its communally held lands for the Sun and the Inca, that is,
for religion and the state. The crops from these fields, planted and harvested communally,
were stored for official use. Another form of work service was prescribed for various
projects: road building, bridge building, mining, and the erection of temples, forts, and
royal residences. All was under the supervision of professionals. Accurate records of
work service for each community were kept on a knotted string the quipu. In addition to
work service, every man formed part of an agrarian militia and was liable to military
service at any given moment. When he was absent on a military campaign other members
of the ayllu cultivated and harvested his allotment of land.

Colonization: Mit’a-kona.
The system devised by the Incas to organize and assimilate newly conquered territory
was an extension of the idea of work service. As soon as any region was conquered, the
unreliable part of the local population was moved out and a safe Quechua-speaking
population was moved in; these latter were the mit’a-kona (called mitamaes by the
Spaniards). Local customs, dress, and language of the conquered population which
remained were allowed, but officials had to learn and use Quechua. It was the duty of the
mit’a-kona to bring Inca culture to the newly conquered peoples. The mit’a-kona were of
three orders:
• Military (to guard frontier stations)
• Political (to win over the population and coordinate the conquered peoples)
• And economic.
The mit’a-kona were given social and economic benefits much like the benefits accorded
the soldiers of the Roman legions when serving in distant lands. So complete was the Inca
integration of the Andes, mountain and coast, that even today the entire area retains the
mark of Inca culture. Seven million people still speak Quechua dialects, the ayllus are
maintained in the form of communities; and the Inca culture continues to be manifest in
music, agricultural practices, and the character of the people.

52
Roads, Bridges and Couriers.
Roads, bridges, and the courier system held the empire together. The Incas took over the
roads of earlier civilizations and developed more than 16,000 km of new all-weather
highways (capac nan). Since pre-Columbian Peruvians did not have the wheel, the roads
were constructed for foot and llama caravans. In addition, the communication system had
smaller stations for couriers (chasquis); the chasquis ran in relays, each covering 2.4 km.
It has been proven that this chasqui system was able to convey a message over 2,000 km
in five days.

53
The Spanish conquest of America

Columbus’s first voyage

The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries were a time of exploration and discovery for
Europeans. The great seagoing powers of the time, Portugal and Spain, made important
discoveries and opened up sea routes for trade and colonisation. But it was a young Italian
who would end up having arguably the greatest impact of any European explorer. Just
like many other explorers of his time, Christopher Columbus set off with the aim of
finding a sea route to the Indies (regions around South Asia and South-East Asia) so that
spices could be found and trading routes established. But unlike the Portuguese explorers
Bartholomew Diaz and Vasco da Gama, who sailed south around the tip of Africa,
Columbus sailed west from Portugal, convinced that this would lead him to the ‘Far East’
or the Indies. Unable to find financial support from the king of Portugal, Columbus turned
to the king and queen of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella. He convinced them that the
voyage would bring them wealth and also help to convert the people of the Indies to
Christianity.

He departed Spain on 3 August 1492, secure in his belief that his next landfall would be
Asia. His fleet consisted of three ships: The Pinta and the Niña, both caravels (ships that
were light and easy to manoeuvre), and his flagship the Santa Maria, a “Nao” (a larger,
heavier ship). Unfortunately, Columbus had inaccurate knowledge of the distances
involved and was completely unaware, as most Europeans were, that the continents of
America blocked his path. After eight weeks his crew were becoming afraid that they
would never see land again and begged Columbus to turn around. But when he sighted
branches in the water he was sure that land was near. Finally, after more than two months
at sea, he set foot on land on 12 October 1492, naming the island San Salvador (modern-
day Bahamas). He assumed he was in the Indies and so referred to the inhabitants as
Indians.

Columbus continued to explore the region, ‘discovering’ the islands of Hispaniola

(modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and Cuba. Although he suspected he
wasn’t actually in China or India, Columbus thought that he couldn’t be far away. He
arrived back in Spain in March 1493 and was made Admiral of the Ocean Sea as well as
governor of the Indies. Queen Isabella requested that the Pope recognize Spain as the
owner of the newly discovered land and this was granted that same year.

54
Who ‘discovered’ America?
For centuries, it was generally accepted that Columbus discovered America when he
sighted land in 1492. However, historians today regard this as inaccurate. Although
Columbus was the first person to spread knowledge of the New World through western
Europe, the Viking explorer Leif Eriksson likely sailed from Scandinavia to North
America almost five centuries before Columbus’s voyage; however, the details of his
expedition remain largely unknown. And, of course, Native Americans had inhabited
North America for thousands of years before Columbus’s arrival.

55
Cortes, the conquistadors and the Aztecs

History is full of tales about conquest and colonization. The fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries saw a rapid expansion of European colonies throughout the world, particularly
in the Americas. The Europeans clashed, often violently, with the indigenous inhabitants
they encountered. In most cases, the two cultures could not coexist peacefully — one
would dominate the other. The most well-known example is arguably that of Hernan
Cortes and the Aztecs.

Hernan Cortés was chosen by the governor of Cuba to lead an expedition to the mainland
of South America. Like many others, Cortés had come to the West Indies to escape the
poverty of his home town in Spain and to seek fame and fortune. In 1519, he set sail with
11 ships and 530 conquistadors – including 30 crossbowmen and 12 men armed with
harquebuses (an early form of rifle) and cannon. They also took 16 horses and several
large fighting dogs. Cortés intended to conquer and colonize on behalf of the king of
Spain and in the name of Christianity. He also intended to find the strait that separated
the ‘island’ of Yucatán from the ‘mainland’ in the hope of finding a route to Asia, as it
was still believed that China and India were close by, towards the west.

56
He was also looking for gold and had heard rumours that the Aztecs had lots of it. In
February 1519 Cortes set sail for Mexico. Upon reaching the coast in March, Cortes
burned his ships to ensure his men did not have any thoughts about desertion. He fought
a battle against the indigenous people at a town called Tabasco before founding the town
of Veracruz. He then began marching inland to the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. On the
way, Cortes made contact with Tlaxcala, which was a kingdom that resisted the rule of
the Aztecs. The Tlaxcala’s initially resisted the Spanish and soon they were fighting.
Upon arrival at Tenochtitlan in November 1519, the Spaniards discovered a thriving,
highly organized city. Built on the islands in the middle of Lake Texcoco, the city would
have appeared to the approaching Spaniards as almost floating on an inland sea. The city
had a population of about 250 000 people, and it controlled much of the surrounding
countryside. It was from these lands that the city drew its wealth in the form of gold,
jewels and crops.
Cortes was welcomed by Montezuma II, emperor of the Aztecs. One theory suggests that
Montezuma thought Cortes was the god Quetzalcoatl, who was said to have fair skin and
a beard, just like Cortes. After establishing a headquarters in Tenochtitlan, Cortes
attempted to strengthen his position by taking Montezuma hostage. This was a common
tactic in Europe but was seen as unacceptable to the Aztecs, who attacked and drove the
Spanish from the city. During this uprising Montezuma himself was killed, possibly by
his own people who thought him weak in the face of the Spanish. Cortes returned in 1521
and laid siege to the city before attacking. The battle lasted for two months and the
Spanish were forced to fight fiercely for every street. Tenochtitlan was reduced to rubble
and many thousands of Aztecs were killed. On 13 August 1521 Cortes was able to claim
the city for Spain.
The success of Cortes over the Aztecs led to an unprecedented period of European
expansion in the Americas. The following two centuries saw the Spanish consolidate their
rule over many Native American societies, including the Inca and Maya civilizations.

57
The Spanish Conquest of the Inca Empire

Spanish Arrival
The Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro, along with a small military retinue, landed on
South American soil around 1526. The Spanish recognized the wealth and abundance that
could be had in this territory; at this point the Inca Empire was at its largest, measuring
around 690,000 square miles. In 1528 Pizarro went back to Spain to ask for the official
blessing of the Spanish crown to the conquer the area and become governor. He returned
with his blessings around 1529 and began the official takeover of the region.

Francisco Pizarro

Inca Civil War

Although Pizarro had a small force behind him, many problems within the Inca Empire
worked to his advantage between 1528 and 1533. Foremost among these was the Inca
Civil War, which is also known as the War of Succession or the War of Two Brothers. It
began to brew just one year after Pizarro first landed in the region. Around 1528, the
ruling Inca emperor, Huayna Capac, and his designated heir, Ninan Cuyochic, died of
disease. It was most likely smallpox, which had quickly travelled down to South America

58
after the arrival of Spanish explorers in Central America. Brothers Huascar and
Atahualpa, two sons of the emperor Huayna Capac, both wanted to rule after their father’s
death.

Initially, Huascar captured the throne in Cusco, claiming legitimacy. However, Atahualpa
had a keen military mind and close relations with the military generals at the time, and
proved to be the deadlier force. Between 1529 and 1532 the two brothers’ armies waged
warfare, with one or the other gaining a stronger foothold for a time. Atahualpa initially
garnered favour with northern allies and built a new capital for his forces in Quito. By
1532, Atahualpa had overpowered his brother’s forces via intrigue and merciless
violence, scaring many local populations away from standing up to his power. This civil
war left the population in a precarious position by the time it ended.

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Spanish Colonization
Around the same time that Atahualpa seized the throne in 1532, Pizarro returned to Peru
with blessings from the Spanish crown. The Spanish forces went to meet with Atahualpa
and demanded he take up the “true faith” (Catholicism) and the yoke of Charles I of Spain.
Because of the language barrier, the Inca rulers probably did not understand much of these
demands, and the meeting quickly escalated to the Battle of Cajamarca. This clash left
thousands of native people dead. The Spanish also captured Atahualpa and kept him
hostage, demanding ransoms of silver and gold. They also insisted that Atahualpa agree
to be baptized. Although the Inca ruler was mostly cooperative in captivity, and was
finally baptized, the Spanish killed him on August 29, 1533, essentially ending the
potential for larger Inca attacks on Spanish forces.

Even though the Inca Civil War made it easier for the Spanish armies to gain control
initially, many other contributing factors brought about the demise of Inca rule and the
crumbling of local populations. As scholar Jared Diamond points out, the Inca Empire
was already facing threats:

• Local unrest in the provinces after years of paying tribute to the Inca elite created
immediate allies for the Spanish against the Inca rulers.

• Demanding terrain throughout the empire made it even more difficult to keep a
handle on populations and goods as the empire expanded.

• Diseases that the population had never been exposed to, such as smallpox,
diphtheria, typhus, measles, and influenza, devastated large swaths of the
population within fifty years.

• Superior Spanish military gear, including armour, horses, and weapons,

overpowered the siege warfare more common in the Inca Empire.

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The Last Inca
After Atahualpa died and the Spanish seized control, they placed Atahualpa’s brother
Manco Inca Yupanqui in charge of Cusco as a puppet ruler while they tried to reign in
the north. After a failed attempt to recapture the city from greater Spanish rule during this
time, Manco retreated to Vilcabamba and built the last stronghold of the Inca. The Inca
continued to revolt against totalitarian Spanish rule until the year 1572. In that year the
Spanish conquered Vilcabamba and killed the last Inca emperor, Tupac Amaru, after a
summary trial.

Spanish Rule
The Spanish named this vast region the Viceroyalty of Peru and set up a Spanish system
of rule, which effectively suppressed any type of uprising from local communities.

The Spanish system destroyed many of the Inca traditions and ways of life in a matter of
years. Their finely honed agricultural system, which utilized tiered fields in the

61
mountains, was completely disbanded. The Spanish also enforced heavy manual labour
taxes, called mita, on the local populations. In general, this meant that every family had
to offer up one person to work in the highly dangerous gold and silver mines. If that
family member died, which was common, the family had to replace the fallen labourer.
The Spanish also enforced heavy taxes on agriculture, metals, and other fine goods. The
population continued to suffer heavy losses due to disease as Spanish rule settled into
place.

62
 Eccleston School

HISTORY

Unit N°3: Interaction between

Europe and America.

63
 Treatment and conversion of the Indians

The Spaniards treated the Indians of the West Indies most harshly and forced them to
work in mines and on sugar plantations. The hard labour, to which the Indians were
unaccustomed, broke down their health, and almost the entire native population
disappeared within a few years after the coming of the whites.

This terrible tragedy was not repeated on the mainland, for the Spanish government
stepped in to preserve the aborigines from destruction. It prohibited their enslavement and
game them the protection of humane laws. Though these laws were not always well
enforced, the Indians of Mexico and Peru increased in numbers under Spanish rule and
often became prosperous traders, farmers, and artisans.
The Spaniards succeeded in winning many of the Indians to Christianity. Devoted monks
penetrated deep into the wilderness and brought to the aborigines, not only the Christian
religion, but also European civilization. In many places the natives were gathered into
permanent villages, or “missions”, each one with its church and school. Converts who
learned to read and write often became priests or entered the monastic orders. The monks
also took much interest in the material welfare of the Indians and taught them how to
farm, how to build houses, and how to spin and weave and cook by better methods than
their own.

The Old World and the New.

The New World contained a continent, full of natural resources and capable in a high
degree of colonization. The native peoples, comparatively few in number and barbarian
in culture, could not offer much resistance to the explorers, missionaries, traders, and
colonists from the Old World. The Spanish and Portuguese in the sixteenth century,

64
followed by the French, English, and Dutch in the seventeenth century, re-peopled
America and brought to it European civilization. Europe expanded into a Greater Europe
beyond the ocean.

Some of the consequences in America:

65
Shifting of Trade Routes: The year 1492 A.D. inaugurated the Atlantic period of
European history. The time may come when the centre of gravity of the commercial world
will shift still farther westward to the Pacific.
Increased production of the precious metals: The discovery of America revealed to
Europeans a new source of the precious metals. The Spaniards soon secured large
quantities of gold by plundering the Indians of Mexico and Peru of their stored-up wealth.
After the discovery in 1545 A.D. of the wonderfully rich silver mines of Potosi in Bolivia,
the output of silver much exceeded that of gold.
Consequences of the enlarged money supply: Spain could not keep this new treasure.
Having few industries themselves, they were obliged to send it out, as fast as they received
it, in payment for their imports of European goods. Spain acted as a huge sieve through
which the gold and silver of America entered all the countries of Europe.
New commodities imported: But America was much more than a treasury of the
precious metals. Many commodities soon found their way from the New World to the
old. Among these were maize, the potato, which, when cultivated in Europe, became the
“bread of the poor,” chocolate and cocoa made from the seeds of the cacao tree, Peruvian
bark, or quinine, so useful in malarial fevers, cochineal, the dye-woods of Brazil, and the
mahogany of the West Indies. America also sent large supplies of cane-sugar, molasses,
fish, whale-oil, and furs. The use of tobacco, which Columbus first observed among the
Indians, spread rapidly over Europe and thence extended to the rest of the world.
Political Effects of the Discoveries: The atlantic-facing countries, first Portugal and
Spain, then Holland, France, and England, became the great powers of Europe. Their
trade rivalries and contests for colonial possessions have been potent causes of European
wars for the last four hundred years.
Effects of the discoveries on thought: The earth was found to be far larger than men had
supposed it to be and they believed that other amazing discoveries might be made. From
the 16th century to the 20th the work of exploration has continued, till now few regions of
the world yet remain unmapped. At the same time came acquaintance with many strange
plants, animals, and peoples, and so scientific knowledge replaced the quaint fancies of
the Middle Ages.
Effects of the discoveries upon religion: The sixteenth century in Europe was the age
of that revolt against the Roman Church called the Protestant Reformation. During this
period, however, the Church won her victories over the American aborigines. What she
lost of territory, wealth, and influence in Europe was more than offset by what she gained
in America.

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Introduction to the Spanish Viceroyalties
in the Americas

The Viceroyalty of New Spain

Less than a decade after the Spanish conquistador (conqueror) Hernan Cortés and his men
and indigenous allies defeated the Mexica (Aztecs) at their capital city of Tenochtitlan in
1521, the first viceroyalty, New Spain, was officially created. Tenochtitlan was razed and
then rebuilt as Mexico City, the capital of the viceroyalty.
At its height, the viceroyalty of New Spain consisted of Mexico, much of Central
America, parts of the West Indies, the south-western and central United States, Florida,
and the Philippines. The Manila Galleon trade connected the Philippines with Mexico,
bringing goods such as folding screens, textiles, raw materials, and ceramics from around
Asia to the American continent. Goods also flowed between the viceroyalty and Spain.
Colonial Mexico’s cosmopolitanism was directly related to its central position within this
network of goods and resources, as well as its multi-ethnic population.

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The Viceroyalty of Peru
The Viceroyalty of Peru was founded after Francisco Pizarro’s defeat of the Inka in 1534.
Inspired by Cortés’s journey and conquest of Mexico, Pizarro had made his way south
and inland, spurred on by the possibility of finding gold and other riches. Internal conflicts
were destabilizing the Inka empire at the time, and these political rifts aided Pizarro in
his overthrow.
While the viceroyalty encompassed modern-day Peru, it also included much of the rest
of South America (though the Portuguese gained control of what is today Brazil). Rather
than build atop the Inka capital city of Cusco, the Spaniards decided to create a new
capital city for Peru: Lima, which still serves as the country’s capital today.

Evangelization in the Spanish Americas

Soon after the military and political conquests of the Mexica (Aztecs) and Inka, European
missionaries began arriving in the Americas to begin the spiritual conquests of indigenous
peoples. In New Spain, the order of the Franciscans (an order of mendicant friars, or
monks who take an oath of poverty) landed first (in 1523 and 1524), establishing centres
for conversion and schools for indigenous youths in the areas surrounding Mexico City.
They were followed by the Dominicans and Augustinians, and by the Jesuits later in the
sixteenth century. Like the Franciscans, the Dominicans and the Augustinians are both
mendicant orders (meaning that their members take an oath of poverty). In Peru, the
Dominicans and Jesuits arrived early on during evangelization.

Strategies of Dominance in the Early Colonial Period

Spanish churches were often built on top of indigenous temples and shrines, sometimes
re-using stones for the new structure.
This practice of building on previous structures and reusing materials signaled Spanish
dominance and power. It had already been a strategy used by Spaniards during the
Reconquest, or Reconquista, of the Iberian (Spanish) Peninsula from its previous Muslim
rulers. In southern Spain, for instance, a church was built directly inside the Great Mosque
of Córdoba during this period
Throughout the sixteenth century, terrible epidemics and the cruel labor practices of the
encomienda (Spanish forced labor) system resulted in mass casualties that devastated
indigenous populations throughout the Americas. The Encomiendas established
throughout these territories placed indigenous peoples under the authority of Spaniards.
While the goal of the system was to have Spanish lords educate and protect those
entrusted to them, in reality it was closer to a form of enslavement. Millions of people
died, and with these losses certain traditions were eradicated or significantly altered.

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The Spanish Colonial System

The apparatus of colonial government in the Spanish Empire consisted of multiple levels,
starting with the monarchy and Council of the Indies at the top and moving down to the
viceroy, audiencias, mayors, and local councils. The system was designed to extract
wealth from the colonies and to spread the Christian faith, but these two aims were often
in conflict, as were the various branches of colonial government throughout the imperial
period.

The Pyramid of Government

Spain colonised vast parts of the Americas starting from the landing by Christopher
Columbus (1451-1506) in 1492. Working through the Caribbean islands and then
moving on to the mainland in the first decades of the 16th century, by 1570, some
100,000 Europeans were governing over 10 million indigenous peoples who inhabited
lands from what is today the southern United States to the southern tip of Argentina.
Included, too, were the Philippines. The tentacles of power of the Spanish monarchs
were many and long as they attempted to keep control of people, officials, and resources
from afar. The various levels of government in the colonies of the Spanish Empire
included:

• Royal decrees from the Spanish monarchy

• Directives from the Council of the Indies
• Decisions made by the viceroy
• Legislation passed by the audiencia
• The regulations controlled by the corregidor
• The collection of taxes and revenues by the Official Real
• The decisions of the alcaldes mayores (mayor) and town council

Council of the Indies

The Council of the Indies (El Real y Supremo Consejo de las Indias) was based in
Spain, and it was created by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (r. 1519-1556) in 1524 to
oversee all colonial matters in the Americas and the Spanish East Indies. The name of
this institution comes from the term then used to describe the Americas, the 'Spanish
Indies'. The only authority above the council was the monarchy itself. Its members were
few, between six and ten, all appointed by the monarch. Operating until 1834, it tried to
balance the twin aims of colonization: wealth acquisition and the conversion of new
peoples to Christianity. One of the major directives of the Council of the Indies was that
local peoples should be protected or, at least, not over-exploited to the point of
starvation and death.

In the late 15th and early 16th century, the Spanish Crown had first used a sort of franchise
system of awarding individuals the right to conquer new territories and extract wealth.

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The office of adelantado was awarded to conquistadors ("conquerors"), like Christopher
Columbus, Franciso Pizarro (1478-1541), and Ferdinand Magellan (c. 1480-1521), who
agreed to fund expeditions to subdue local peoples and establish colonies. The reward
was the right to govern and keep 80% of the wealth they came across; the Crown received
the other 20%. The adelantado also agreed to ship a certain number of settlers and
clergymen to the colony. A year or so later, the state then stepped in and appointed
officials of its own to govern the new colony and establish a more formal system of
government with its head, the viceroy, and various other officials reporting directly to the
Council of the Indies.

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The Council of the Indies drew up legislation for the colonies, scrutinised and approved
the expenditures of colonial officials, gave permission to conduct wars and generally
supervised military matters, inspected expedition ships, collected import and export
duties, interviewed potential expedition leaders and heard their reports in person on their
return, set down the geographical scope of expeditions, and heard appeal cases from the
colonial audiencias (see below). The Council made colonial and ecclesiastical
appointments and could impose fines, confiscations of property, and prison sentences on
those who did not follow regulations.

Viceroys

The viceroy directly represented the Spanish Crown in their particular colonial territory,
a viceroyalty being the largest administrative area within the empire. There were
eventually four viceroyalties:

• The Viceroyalty of New Spain (today's Mexico, Central America, parts of the
southern United States, the Caribbean Antilles, and the Philippines). Established
in 1535.
• The Viceroyalty of Peru (from Panama to Tierra del Fuego). Established in
1542 and first known as New Castille.
• The Viceroyalty of New Granada (northern South America). Established in
1717 when it split from the Viceroyalty of Peru.
• The Viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata (Paraguay, northern Argentina, and eastern
Bolivia). Established in 1776 when it split from the Viceroyalty of Peru.

Viceroys, who were usually noblemen, were chosen by the monarch in consultation with
the Council of the Indies. Their term of office ranged from three to five years, and they
resided in the capital of their viceroyalty (Mexico City, Lima, Sante Fe de Bogotá or
Buenos Aires). The viceroy had overall responsibility for the colony; he headed the
bureaucracy bristling with colonial secretaries (escribanos de gobernación), commanded
the army, and supervised the collection of royal revenues. The viceroy also headed the
activities of the Church under the system of Patronato Real whereby the popes in Rome
had, in 1501 and 1508, given the Spanish monarchy absolute powers over church matters
in the colonies. The bishops of the Spanish Catholic Church were not entirely happy with
this arrangement, and there was much jostling for supremacy between church and crown
officials throughout the colonial period.

Corregidores

The corregidor was a judicial and political officer who directly represented the Spanish
Crown. He was, in effect, the governor of a specific area. The corregidor in New Spain
served for five years if selected from Spain, but only three years if recruited locally. In
Peru, he served for just one year. The corregidor appointed administrators (tenientes) for
each of the cities in his jurisdiction or corregimiento. He was responsible for regulating
the prices of foodstuffs and maintaining public buildings, urban streets, squares, and
sanitation in his district. As the salary was relatively low for those in smaller towns, a
corregidor often made himself rich by acting as a middleman between European
merchants and the indigenous population both in terms of goods and forced labour, a
situation ripe for corruption.

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Audiencias

All the major cities of the Spanish Empire had an audiencia, which was responsible for
certain legal, political and commercial matters which concerned both European settlers
and indigenous peoples. The audiencia had jurisdiction over a particular city and its
surrounding area. It met in regular sessions (acuerdos) and passed legislation (autos
acordados) relevant to local affairs. Audiencias also acted as an important advisory
body for the viceroy.

Alcaldes Mayores & Town Councils

Local town councils (cabildos) were led by a mayor (alcaldes mayores) who typically
served for three years. Beneath the mayor were the councillors (regidores), between
four and six in a small town and at least eight in larger towns. The councillors were
initially appointed by the Crown but then elected by the local citizens (vecinos), that is
property owners. Then there were the magistrates and minor administrators known as
alcaldes ordinarios, the town clerk (escribano de cabildo), and officials such as the
local chief constable (alguacil mayor) and the receptor de penas who collected fines
imposed by the courts.
The cabildo governed not only a specific town but also the surrounding rural areas and
smaller communities. The council could give out land grants and licenses to erect
buildings, raised a militia force when necessary, raised local taxes, controlled the prices
of certain goods, and was responsible for maintaining roads and the town prison.
Alongside the main cabildo, there was a second council which governed indigenous
peoples in the area and which had similar positions and responsibilities as its European
twin but without certain judicial functions.

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 Eccleston School

HISTORY

Unit N°4: Absolutism.

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 Absolutism in France

The divine right of kings:

Many primitive peoples regard their headmen and chiefs as holy and give them the control
of peace and war, of life and death. The reformation tended to emphasize the sacred
character of kingship. The reformers set up the authority of the State against the authority
of the Church, which they rejected and condemned. Even those who were not reformers
distorted the Christian idea that government has divine basis to represent kings as God’s
vicegerent upon earth, as in fact earthly deities. The theory of divine right received its
fullest expression in a famous book, written by Bossuet, a learned French bishop of the
17th century. A hereditary monarchy, declared Bossuet, is the most ancient and natural,
the strongest and most efficient, of all forms of government. Royal power emanates from
God; hence the person of the king is sacred and it is sacrilege to conspire against him. His
authority is absolute and autocratic. No man may rightfully resist the king’s commands;
his subjects owe him obedience in all matters. To the violence of a king the people can
oppose only respectful remonstrance and prayers for his conversion.

The Absolutism of Luis XIV, 1661-1715 A.D

Cardinal Richelieu:
French absolutism owed most of all to Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister of Louis
XIII. Though a man of poor physique and in weak health, he possessed such strength of
will, together with such thorough understanding of politics, that he was able to dominate
the king and through the king to govern France for eighteen years. Though the nobles
were still rich and influential, Richelieu beat down their opposition by forbidding the
practice of duelling, that last remnant of private warfare, by ordering many castles to be
blown up with gunpowder, and by bringing rebellious dukes and counts to the scaffold.
The nobles were no longer feudal lords but only courtiers.

Cardinal Mazarin
Richelieu died in 1642 A.D., and the next year Louis XIII also passed away. The new
ruler, Louis XIV, was only a child, and the management of affairs for a second period of
eighteen years passed into the hands of Cardinal Mazarin. Though an Italian by birth, he
became a naturalized Frenchman and carried out Richelieu’s policies. His death in 1661
A.D found the royal authority more firmly established than ever before.

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Louis XIV
He was a man of handsome presence, slightly
below the middle height, with a prominent nose
and abundant hair, which he allowed to fall over
his shoulders. In manner he was dignified,
reserved, courteous, and as majestic, it is said, in
his dressing-gown as in his robes of state. Louis
possessed much natural intelligence, a retentive
memory, and great capacity for work. It must be
added, however, that his general education had
been much neglected, and that throughout his life
he remained ignorant and superstitious. Vanity
formed a striking trait in the character of Louis.
He accepted the most fulsome compliments and
delighted to be known as the “Grand Monarch”
and the “Sun-king”.
Louis taught and put into practice the doctrine of
divine right. In his memoirs he declares that the
king is God’s representative and for his actions is
answerable to God alone. The famous saying, “I
am the State” (“L’Etat, c’est moi”-it was in fact:
“Le Roi c’est le Loi”) Though not said by Louis,
accurately expressed his conviction that in him
was embodied the power and greatness of France.
He never permitted himself to be turned away from the punctual discharge of his royal
duties. Until the close of his reign Louis devoted from five to nine hours a day to what he
called the “Trade of a king”.

Court of louis XIV at Versailles

Louis gathered around him a magnificent court, which he located at Versailles, near Paris.
Here there was a whole royal city, with palaces, parks, groves, and fountains. Here the
“Grand Monarch” lived surrounded by crowds of fawning courtiers. The French nobles
now spent little time on their country estates; they preferred to remain at Versailles in
attendance on the king, to whose favour they owed offices, pensions, and honours.

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Absolutism in France
Conditions in France made possible the despotism of Louis. Richelieu and Mazarin had
laboured with great success to strengthen the crown at the expense of the nobles and the
commons. The nation had no parliament to represent it and voice its demands, for the
Estates-General had not been summoned since 1614 A.D. it did not meet again till 1789
A.D., just before the outbreak of the French Revolution. In France there was no Magna
Carta to protect the liberties of the people by limiting the right of a ruler to impose taxes
at will. During this period the French language, manners, dress, art, and science became
the accepted standards of good society in all civilized lands.

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 Baroque
Some of the qualities most frequently associated with the Baroque are
grandeur, sensuous richness, drama, vitally, movement, tension, emotional
exuberance, and a tendency to blur distinctions between the various arts.

The origin of the term.

The term Baroque probably derived from the Italian word barocco, which philosophers
used during the Middle Ages to describe an obstacle in schematic logic. Subsequently the
word came to denote any involuted process of thought. Another possible source is the
Portuguese for barroco (Spanish barrueco), used to describe an irregular or imperfectly
shaped pearl. In art criticism the word Baroque came to be used to describe anything
irregular, bizarre, or otherwise departing from established rules and proportions. The term
always carried the implication of odd, grotesque, exaggerated, and overdecorated.

(Baldachin of St. Peter Basilica – Vatican – Rome)

Three main tendencies.

Three cultural and intellectual tendencies had a profound impact on Baroque art as well
as Baroque music:

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1st The emergence of the Counter-Reformation and the expansion of its domain:
Both territorially and intellectually. To counter the progress made by the Reformation,
the Roman Catholic Church after the Council of Trent (1545-63) adopted a propagandistic
position in which art was to serve as a means of extending and stimulating the public’s
faith in the church. To this end the church adopted a conscious artistic program whose art
products would make an openly emotional and sensory appeal to the faithful. The
Baroque style had dramatic and illusory effects which were used to stimulate piety and
devotion and convey an impression of the splendour of the divine. Baroque church
ceilings therefore dissolved in painted scenes that presented vivid views of the infinite to
the observer and directed the senses toward heavenly concerns.

(Michael Church’s ceiling – Vienna)

2nd The consolidation of absolute monarchies:

Accompanied by a simultaneous crystallization of a prominent and powerful middle class,
which now came to play a role in art patronage. Baroque palaces were built on an
expanded and monumental scale in order to display the power and grandeur of the
centralized state, a phenomenon best displayed in the royal palace and gardens at
Versailles. Yet at the same time the development of a picture market for the middle class
and its taste for realism may be seen in the works of the varied schools of 17th-century
Dutch painting.

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(Hall of Mirrors – Versailles – France)

3rd A new interest in nature and a general broadening of human intellectual

horizons:
Instigated by developments in
science and by explorations of the
globe. Theses simultaneously
produced a new sense both of
human insignificance (particularly
abetted by the Copernican
displacement of the Earth from the
centre of the universe) and of the
unsuspected complexity and
infinitude of the natural world.
The development of the 17th-century
landscape painting, in which
humans are frequently portrayed as
minute figures in a vast natural
setting, is indicative of this changing
awareness of the human condition.

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Architecture
This is distinguished primarily by richly sculpted surfaces. Baroque architects freely
moulded surfaces to achieve three-dimensional sculpted classicism. A Baroque facade
often concentrated in these elements: curved walls, columns, blind arches, statues, relief
sculpture, all around a central entrance.

Painting
Baroque painters were obsessed with light. It was not just the figures that needed to be
realistic, but also their surroundings, as well and their place in the overall picture. Baroque
painters supplement Renaissance perfection of form and figure with a consciousness of
how light reacts to different materials, different surfaces and in different contexts.
As a result, Baroque painters put just as much effort into depicting an accurate landscape
or interior scene as they did into creating realistic figures. Indeed, this emphasis on the
background became so popular that some Baroque painters abandoned human figures
altogether, focusing entirely on how light played off a bowl of fruit or a landscape at
sunset. This exploration of new themes was not limited to backgrounds.

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