Mexico & Caribbean colonization

Exploration & Colonization of Mexico & the Caribbean

*identify the reasons people wanted to move to this region *explain the causes and effects of exploration in the Caribbean and Mexico

Colonization

the action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area.

Migration

People have been moving or migrating throughout all of history.Many cities in North America have been influenced by migration.

Mexico: Pre-Colonization

Historians believe that for about 2,700 years—from around 1200 BCE to 1500 CE—the native people of Mexico built very elaborate civilizations. The oldest of these groups were known as the Olmecs. They built their civilization in southeast Mexico. Look at the map to the right to see locations of Olmec villages, towns, and found artifacts.

The Maya

The Mayan civilization was created in southern Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula from the years 250 to 900 CE. This group was very powerful and created many cities, temples, and courts. Religion was a central part of Maya culture. Many priests and nobles were the rulers of their cities. Look at the map below to see the location of the Mayan empire. What physical features do you recognize?

The Aztecs

Around 1200 CE, 300 years after the disappearance of the Maya, a group called the Aztecs created a powerful civilization in central Mexico. They created a structured class system with an emperor in charge. Priests and military officials were at the top of society, while farmers, soldiers, and laborers were at the bottom.

Exploration & Colonization+

Columbus's voyages began a long trend of Spanish exploration and colonization of the Caribbean islands. In 1493, people from Spain created the first settlement in the Caribbean on the island of Hispaniola. It was called Santo Domingo. The main reason that people came to the Caribbean was in search of gold.

The Columbian Exhange

When Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas, he began exchanging goods and enslaved people. Recall that in a previous lesson, you learned about the movement of products and ideas. The Columbian Exchange was a movement of enslaved people, animals, and plants between Europe and the Americas

Effects of Colonization

Spread of Disease

Spread of Religion

Change of Culture

All Done Folks!

Religion was another item that drastically changed when Europeans colonized this region. In Europe, the main religion was Roman Catholic. Europeans believed that the native people needed to be saved and forced them to change their practices. The image shows an example of natives in Mexico being baptized. The settlers destroyed temples, statues, and many other religious items important to natives.

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Religion was not the only part of native culture that was lost when colonization began. The main languages of the Caribbean Islands and Mexico changed into the language of the European nation in charge. Additionally, the ethnicity of the next generation was altered. As Europeans settled in the territory they conquered, they also created families with native peoples. This led to the development of new groups of people who had both European and native ancestry. The image shows a Spanish man, his native wife, and their child.

One of the great achievements of the Maya was their calendar. Centuries before other parts of the world, they could accurately measure the days in a year. They observed the night sky and predicted the movements of the moon and stars. For many years, the Mayan calendar was used in addition to more modern calendars to predict things like weather events. In fact, the Mayan calendar had predicted events all the way up to 2012.

Obsidian is a black glass substance that was formed from volcanoes. The Olmecs used it for carving, and it is still sold to many tourists today

The Olmec carved large stone heads from a single boulder to honor the rulers of their civilization.

Maize, or corn was grown to help feed people. This is one of the first documentations of growing corn in history.

While many items were passed on purpose with the Columbian Exchange, some things—like disease—were brought by accident. Europeans came across the Atlantic Ocean with diseases like smallpox, influenza, malaria, and yellow fever. Without advanced medicines, up to 75 percent of the native population died shortly after the arrival of European conqueror