Where did we come from?
3.1 Explain the reasons that first brought Europeans to the Americas.
The first Europeans to set foot in North America were probably a group of Vikings led by Leif Eriksson. They left Greenland around the year 1000 CE and briefly settled in Newfoundland in modern Canada. For a few years, there was a Viking settlement although it did not last long. The exploits of Leif Eriksson were recorded in stories called sagas.
By the time of Columbus, who lived 500 years after Leif Eriksson, no Europeans knew of the existence of the American continent.
By the time of Columbus, who lived 500 years after Leif Eriksson, no Europeans knew of the existence of the American continent.
Columbus & the european rediscovery of the americas
European exploration
After Columbus' first voyage to the Americas in 1492, the Spanish decided to send people to permanently live in the islands in the Caribbean. In 1493, 1200 men joined Columbus for his second voyage. These included men who would be needed for a colony including craftsmen, farmers, soldiers and priests. They built the first European town in the Americas on Hispaniola and called it Isabela, after the queen of Spain. In the beginning, their main aim was to find precious metals such as gold and silver but they were not successful.
For the next thirty years, Spanish ships explored the coastline of Central and South America looking for riches and for a sea route to East Asia. Portuguese ships also began to explore the Americas and Pedro Cabral landed in Brazil in 1500. During this time, the Spanish continued to build towns on Hispaniola, Cuba and Puerto Rico.
In 1511, a Spanish expedition led by Vasco Nunez de Balboa was chased out of Columbia by its indigenous inahabitants. They escaped to Panama where Balboa became the first European to see the Pacific Ocean.
In 1519 Ferdinand Magellan left Spain on an expedition to sail around the world. He successfully sailed around the bottom of South America but was killed in the Philippine Islands in the Pacific Ocean. However, his fleet continued and returned to Spain in 1522. This first circumnavigation of the globe was a huge achievement that faced many challenges including disease, storms, shipwrecks and rebellions. Of the 265 sailors that left Spain in 1519, only 18 survived the journey around the world.
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Ferdinand Magellan
3.2 Examine the impact of the arrival of the Europeans on the indigenous inhabitants of Mexico and Central America up to 1600.
The people who lived in mexico and central america at the time of the european arrival
Human beings first arrived in the Americas about 15.000 years ago. At the time of the first voyage of Columbus, there was a mixture of advanced and relatively undeveloped civilizations. The total population of the indigenous peoples of the Americas in 1492 was about 50 million people. Approximately 23 million lived in South America and around 13 million lived in North America excluding Mexico. This means the population of Mexico and Central America in 1492 was around 15 million.
The greatest civilization at the time was the Aztec. There were approximately 6 million Aztecs, many of whom lived in its great capital of Tenochtitlan which was built in the same place as modern Mexico City. At least 250,000 people lived in Tenochtitlan. Further south, about 5 million Maya lived in the Yucatan Peninsula, Belize and Central America.
On the Caribbean islands, there were two main groups. The Taino (or Arawak) lived on the larger islands of Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. The Carib lived mainly on the islands of the Lesser Antilles. Unlike the Aztec and Maya, the Taino and Caribs did not build large cities. Instead they lived in villages controlled by a Chief. It is very difficult to know how many Tainos and Caribs lived at the time of the first European arrival but it was probably about one million.
The greatest civilization at the time was the Aztec. There were approximately 6 million Aztecs, many of whom lived in its great capital of Tenochtitlan which was built in the same place as modern Mexico City. At least 250,000 people lived in Tenochtitlan. Further south, about 5 million Maya lived in the Yucatan Peninsula, Belize and Central America.
On the Caribbean islands, there were two main groups. The Taino (or Arawak) lived on the larger islands of Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico. The Carib lived mainly on the islands of the Lesser Antilles. Unlike the Aztec and Maya, the Taino and Caribs did not build large cities. Instead they lived in villages controlled by a Chief. It is very difficult to know how many Tainos and Caribs lived at the time of the first European arrival but it was probably about one million.
disease, invasion, & exploitation
The arrival of the Europeans led to the death of millions of Taino, Aztec and Maya. One estimate is that the total indigenous population collapsed from around fifteen million to around less than two million in the first decades after Columbus' first voyage. The main causes of death were diseases brought by the Europeans that killed the indigenous people because they did not have immunity. These diseases included smallpox, typhus, cholera and measles. Other causes of the high death rate were wars of invasion and forced labour.
The Conquistadors and the spanish conquest of latin america
In 1517 a Spanish expedition led by Francisco Hernandez began to explore the Yucatan Peninsula where they fought against Maya who lived in stone-built towns. Both Hernandez, and a larger expedition led by Juan Grijalva came across gold and other signs of wealth. This led to the expedition of Hernan Cortes, the first and greatest of the conquistadors (see the Aztec video).
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encomienda
As soon as they arrived in the Americas, the Spanish looked for ways of exploiting the labour of the indigenous people for farming and mining. Slavery was forbidden by Spanish laws, so a system called encomienda was created. Under this system, a Spaniard was given a grant of land and control of all the indigenous people living on it. In return for protecting these people, the Spaniard had the right to use their labour. The treatment of the workers was often harsh. In 1520, against the wishes of the King of Spain, the encomienda system spread from the Caribbean islands to Mexico.
new spain and the the first spanish towns
After the fall of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1521, the Spanish built towns and created government systems in the Americas. Some of the new towns included Granada in present day Nicaragua, Trujillo in Honduras, San Salvador in El Salvador and San Cristobal de las Casas and Merida in Southern Mexico. No Spanish towns were established in Belize.
In 1535, a new government, called New Spain was created to rule the areas Spain had conquered. This was called the Viceroyalty of New Spain and it was governed from Mexico City, which had been built on the site of Tenochtitlan.
In 1535, a new government, called New Spain was created to rule the areas Spain had conquered. This was called the Viceroyalty of New Spain and it was governed from Mexico City, which had been built on the site of Tenochtitlan.
3.3 Explain the reasons that first brought people from Britain and Spain to Belize.
the territory of belize in the year 1500
Although the large classic cities such as Caracol and Xunantunich had been abandoned, there was still a large Maya population in Belize at the time of the European arrival in the Americas. Many Maya lived in trading villages situated on the major rivers. The largest village was probably Tipu, on the Macal River in the present day Cayo District.
the british enter the caribbean
By the middle of the 1500s, Spain was extracting large quantities of gold and silver from mines in Mexico and South America. These precious metals were transported back to Spain in convoys of ships. Spain used this wealth to pay for wars in Europe, including wars against England. England responded by supporting privateers and pirates in their attacks against Spanish settlements and convoys. In the early 1600s, the British established permanent bases on some of the smaller Caribbean islands such as Saint Kitts, Barbados, Antigua, Tortuga (near Hispaniola) and Montserrat. In 1655, Britain captured Jamaica from Spain. At first, these settlements were used as bases to attack the Spanish. Later, they were used for agriculture and forestry. This led to the importation of enslaved people from Africa.
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spanish motives for contact with belize
Within a few decades of Columbus' arrival in the Americas, there were regular visits to Spaniards to the present day territory of Belize. However, there was no permanent Spanish government and no Spanish towns were constructed. The main motives for these visits were to explore, the spread Christianity, to trade and to try to control the Maya.
The spanish entradas
The first Europeans in Belize were Spanish explorers and priests. In 1525, Hernan Cortes crossed the Maya Mountains and the Sarstoon during an expedition to Honduras, where there was already a Spanish settlement. In 1531, Alfonso Dávila travelled along the New and Belize Rivers but seems to have limited contact with the Maya.
The first attempt by Spaniards to control the Maya in Belize resulted from a military expedition let by Alonso and Melchior Pacheco in 1543. Northern Belize was granted as an encomienda to various Spaniards, but the Maya strongly resisted, with a rebellion centered on Tipu. A military expedition led by Juan Garzón in 1567 was only partially successful and Tipu remained a strongly independent Maya town for more than a hundred years.
The first attempt by Spaniards to control the Maya in Belize resulted from a military expedition let by Alonso and Melchior Pacheco in 1543. Northern Belize was granted as an encomienda to various Spaniards, but the Maya strongly resisted, with a rebellion centered on Tipu. A military expedition led by Juan Garzón in 1567 was only partially successful and Tipu remained a strongly independent Maya town for more than a hundred years.
spanish churches
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The Spanish were Catholics and believed it was their mission to convert the indigenous peoples to Christianity. Catholic priests arrived in the Americas with Columbus' second voyage and they became one of the most powerful groups in New Spain. There is archaeological evidence that Catholic churches were built in several Maya villages in Belize, including at Tipu and Lamanai.
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the british in belize
The first strong evidence for British presence in Belize when a Spanish priest, José Delgado was captured at Manatee Lagoon by a man called Batholomew Sharp, a well known pirate. This happened in 1677 but it is possible that there were British settlements in Belize as early as 1642, The first British settlers may have come from other British territories in the Caribbean such as Roatan, near Honduras and Providence Island, near Nicaragua.
In 1670, Britain signed the Treaty of Madrid with Spain promising to end piracy. This would have forced many of the British to look for alternative ways of making a living, including extracting and exporting timber. Former pirates began to extract logwood from Honduras and the northern Yucatan Peninsula and the first known exports of logwood from Belize occurred in 1680.
In 1670, Britain signed the Treaty of Madrid with Spain promising to end piracy. This would have forced many of the British to look for alternative ways of making a living, including extracting and exporting timber. Former pirates began to extract logwood from Honduras and the northern Yucatan Peninsula and the first known exports of logwood from Belize occurred in 1680.
3.4 Describe the impact of Spanish and British activities throughout the territory of Belize on its indigenous inhabitants up to 1821.
The Spanish attempts to govern the Maya in Belize were not successful, even though evidence from human burial sites indicates that many converted to Christianity. After the arrival of the British, the Spanish policy was to move the inhabitants of the Maya villages of Belize to Guatemala. In 1697, most of the people of Tipu moved to Lake FLores in Peten, Guatemala, and the village was abandoned in 1707.
Meanwhile, the British had begun to raid Maya villages looking for slaves to work in the logwood camps. This led to the relocation of most of the Maya of southern Belize to the highlands of Guatemala. After this, the Maya did not totally disappear from Belize. As the British expanded their logwood cutting to new areas, this led to conflict.
Meanwhile, the British had begun to raid Maya villages looking for slaves to work in the logwood camps. This led to the relocation of most of the Maya of southern Belize to the highlands of Guatemala. After this, the Maya did not totally disappear from Belize. As the British expanded their logwood cutting to new areas, this led to conflict.