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Christopher Columbus was followed by many others explorers. Most of the explorers believed that there were mountains of gold in America, partly because as the Indians did not value gold as Europeans did they used it to produce cheap ornaments to decorate themselves. Once the Europeans realized that they could demand gold in exchange for trinkets (and violence) all wanted a piece of the pie. The truth was that yes, there was gold in the Americas, but not as much as the Spanish thought, there was however, a lot of silver and many works of art from cultures that predated even the Romans. The major cultures in Center and South America were the Incas (Peru, Chile, Ecuador, parts of Argentina and Colombia), the Olmec (Mexico), the Aztec (Mexico) and one which had already disappeared by the time of the conquests, the Maya (Mexico and Guatemala). Some of these were huge empires with complex civilizations, well developed infrastructures, including cities, and elaborate architecture, art and religions. The biggest cities were Cuzco, with about 200 000 people, capital of the Inca Empire (estimates range from 6 to 37 million people at its biggest), and Tenochtitlan, a city of 100 000 people, set in the middle of a lake, present day Mexico city, capital of the Aztec Empire, (5 million people just before the Spanish arrived). Like all empires they also had their enemies, who allied themselves with the Spaniards to bring their downfall.
When you have completed the task go to the next page. Next page Please refer to the lecture notes (available through Blackboard - only accessible to registered students) |
| Videos Documentary on Mesoamerican civilizations. Documentary on America before Columbus (some information about America after Columbus). |
Books Hale, J. (1984). Age of Exploration. Amsterdam: Time-Life Books Cabeza de Vaca, N. (Badelier, F. Translator)(1530/2007). The Shipwrecked Men. London: Penguin. Mann, C.(2006). 1491 New York: Vintage
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Audios and other websites History of Christianity - by Reformed Theological Seminary History 106B - Spring 2008: The Roman Empire. UC Berkeley
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