Voyages of Discovery
Who funded Christopher Columbus's first voyage to the Americas in 1492?
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
What was the capital city of the Aztec Empire?
Tenochtitlán
Who led the Spanish expedition that ultimately conquered the Aztec Empire?
Hernán Cortés.
What happened to the Indigenous population of the Americas after European contact?
It drastically declined due to disease, warfare, and exploitation.
What was the Columbian Exchange?
The transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Old World and the New World.
What was Columbus originally searching for when he set sail?
A faster trade route to Asia.
Name one staple crop that was cultivated by the Aztecs.
Maize/corn
What was the name of the Aztec emperor during the Spanish conquest?
Montezuma II.
Name one disease that decimated Indigenous populations after the Spanish arrived
Smallpox
Name one crop from the Americas that became a staple in Europe after the Columbian Exchange.
Potatoes or tomatoes.
What name did Christopher Columbus give to the first island he landed on in the Americas?
San Salvador.
What was the name of the floating agricultural islands used by the Aztecs?
Chinampas
Which European advantage helped the Spanish defeat the Aztecs?
Superior weapons, such as guns and steel swords.
What was the encomienda system?
A labour system where Spanish colonists were granted the right to demand labor or tribute from Indigenous people.
What domesticated animal introduced by the Spanish transformed transportation and labour in the Americas?
Horse
Which Spanish explorer was the first European to lead an expedition across Mesoamerica to reach the Pacific Ocean?
Vasco Núñez de Balboa.
What kind of social structure did the Aztec Empire have.
It was hierarchical, with the emperor at the top, followed by nobles, priests, warriors, artisans, and farmers, with enslaved people at the bottom.
How did the Spanish use alliances to their advantage during the conquest of the Aztecs?
They allied with enemies of the Aztecs, like the Tlaxcalans.
How did the conquest change religious practices in the Americas?
Indigenous religions were largely suppressed, and Catholicism was introduced and spread.
How did the Columbian Exchange affect the African continent?
The demand for labour in the Americas led to the transatlantic slave trade, involving many African people.
Who was the first European to realize that the Americas were not part of Asia, and what was his role?
Amerigo Vespucci; he was an explorer and cartographer
What was the primary purpose of human sacrifice in Aztec religious practices?
To ensure the continuation of the world by offering blood as nourishment to keep the sun rising and the universe in balance.
What was La Malinche's role in the conquest of the Aztecs?
She was an interpreter and advisor to Cortés and played a key role in communication between the Spanish and Indigenous peoples.
What was the long-term economic impact of Spanish colonisation on Spain?
An influx of gold and silver from the Americas enriched Spain but eventually led to economic instability due to inflation.
What were two negative effects of the Columbian Exchange on Indigenous peoples in the Americas?
The introduction of diseases like smallpox and forced labour systems like slavery.