Unit 4 Quiz

Unit 4 Quiz:

A Day - Wednesday / B Day - Thursday

Study:

Unit 4 Vocabulary

1. region – an area where the people share similar cultures and characteristics

2. Latin America – the region made up of all of the countries of Central (Middle) America and South America; (all countries south of the United States)

3. climate – the average temperature and rainfall for most of the year

4. natural resource – anything we use that is not man-made

5. Panama Canal – the man-made waterway that was built to connect the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean

6. conquistador – conquerors from Spain who took over areas of Latin America

7. indigenous – native; the original (first) people, plants, or animals in an area

Cortes and the Aztecs

Hernando Cortes was a conquistador.  The conquistadors were conquerors from Spain who took over areas in the New Land.  After hearing about a rich and powerful Indian tribe, Cortes sailed to Mexico in 1519.  He would soon come in contact with the powerful Aztecs.  The Aztecs were a very powerful Indian tribe in central Mexico.  The Aztec Empire controlled many of the surrounding tribes.  They charged the other tribes taxes and used many of the men as slaves.  Cortes used this to his advantage.  Before invading the Aztecs, he recruited men from these surrounding tribes.  These Indians were happy to help Cortes, because they hated the Aztecs.

            When Cortes and his men arrived in central Mexico, the Aztecs were amazed.  They had never seen light-skinned men before.  They had also never seen large ship or horses.  They assumed that these men were gods.  Montezuma II was the leader of the Aztec Empire.  He welcomed these men, and gave them gifts of gold.  The Aztecs treated Cortes and his men like royalty. 

            Cortes realized that he could take advantage of the situation, so he kidnapped Montezuma.  Montezuma was later killed in prison.  Cortes knew that, without a leader, the Aztecs were weak and easy to conquer.  Cortes also had guns and canons, which were superior to the weapons of the Aztecs.  After about two years of fighting, Cortes gained control of the Aztec Empire.

            Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Aztec empire.  Cortes and his men destroyed this city.  In its place, Cortes built a new city, making it look like the large Spanish cities.  He called it Mexico City.  Spain controlled Mexico for the next 300 years.  Mexico City is now the capital of Mexico.

Pizarro and the Incas   

        

            Francisco Pizarro was the cousin of Hernando Cortes.  He was also a conquistador.  He heard about an extremely wealthy tribe south of Mexico.  In 1532, he landed on the western coast of South America.  He encountered a tribe called the Incas, who lived in the Andes Mountains.  This was the Inca Empire, the richest empire in South America.

            After arriving in South America, Pizarro learned that two brothers had recently fought over control of the Inca Empire.  After the death of their father, Atahaulpa and Huascar battled over control of this rich and powerful empire.  Atahualpa defeated his brother and locked him in prison.  Pizarro did not have many men, so he needed a good plan to conquer the Incas.  He sent a message to Atahualpa, saying that he wanted to meet him and congratulate him on his victory over Huascar.  Atahualpa agreed to meet with Pizarro.

            However, this was a part of Pizarro’s plan.  He actually set a trap for Atahualpa.  On his way to meet with Pizarro, Atahualpa was captured.  Pizarro demanded a ransom of a room full of gold and a room full of silver in order to release Atahualpa.  Pizarro threatened to kill Atahualpa if he did not get the money.  The Incas agreed to his demands.  They gave Pizarro and his men 24 tons of gold and silver.  However, after receiving the gold and silver, Pizarro went back on his word and killed Atahualpa. 

            Like his cousin Cortes, Pizarro had far better weapons than the Incas.  So without their leader, it was easy for Pizarro to conquer the Incas.  Pizarro continued to take all of the Incas’ gold and send it back to Spain.  He also built the city of Lima, which is now the capital of Peru.  Pizarro was later killed by some of his formers Spanish partners.  Spain controlled that area of South America for the next 300 years.

Aztec/Inca Videos

If you need information for your journal entries, here are the videos that we watched in class:

Cortes and the Aztecs

Pizarro and the Incas



Impact of Location in Latin America Essay

You will be assigned one of the following countries: Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, or Cuba.  Write a two-paragraph essay explaining the impact of that country’s location.

1^st paragraph – Describe the location, climate, and major natural resources of one of the following countries: Mexico, Venezuela, Brazil, or Cuba.

2^nd paragraph – Think about the climate zones and locations of the natural resources in the country.  Where do you think most of the people live in the country?  Why do you think people would choose to live in that area?

I have given you some EXAMPLES below.  Use these examples to help you, but please do not copy my work!!!  Please let me know if you have questions.  The first draft is due Wednesday (A) and Thursday (B).

EXAMPLES (1st Paragraph)

Location: " Cuba is southeast of the United States.  It is east of Mexico.  Cuba is in the northern part of the Caribbean Sea.

Climate: "The climate of Cuba is tropical.  In Cuba, it is very warm for the majority of the year, and it rains very often."

Natural Resources: "Cuba's major natural resources are .........."

EXAMPLES (2nd Paragraph)

      "I believe most of the people in Mexico live in the ________ part of the country.  I think most people live there because it has a __________ climate.  In this type of climate, ..............  Also, I think many people live there because of all of the __________ resources in the area."

WELCOME BACK!!!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable break, and you all are ready to have a fantastic year!!!  Your first quiz of the year is next week  Make sure you are studying your map of Latin America.  You are responsible for the following countries: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Haiti, Mexico, Panama, and Venezuela.

You are also responsible for the following physical features: Amazon River, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Pacific Ocean, Panama Canal, Andes Mountains, Sierra Madre Mountains, and Atacama Desert.