Chapter 2, Section 1
Spain Claims an Empire
G7 History – Miss Bowman
Section Objectives
1. To explain the competition between Spain and Portugal to claim foreign lands
2. To describe Spain’s conquest of Mexico and the Incan Empire
3. To explain the reasons for Spanish victories
4. To identify important Spanish explorers
Key Terms
Treaty of Tordesillas
missionary
mercantilism
Amerigo Vespucci
conquistador
Hernando Cortes
Montezuma
Francisco Pizarro
Additional Questions
1. Explain why Brazilians speak Portuguese today while other South Americans speak Spanish.
2. Which nation was given claim over Africa and India?
3. Did the agreement with the Pope give Portugal the right to claim lands in Europe?
4. Did the knowledge gained from explorations affect Spanish and Portuguese attitudes about the Line of Demarcation?
5. Why did European global exploration take place when it did, and not at some other period in history?
6. What were the main contributions of Vespucci, Balboa, and Magellan as explorers?
7. Why did the Incan Empire fall to the Spanish?
8. What was the most important reason for the Spanish success in conquering territory in the Americas?
Spain and Portugal Compete/Europeans Explore Foreign Lands
Why did Spain and Portugal want to control territory in the Americas?
How did the Treaty of Tordesillas affect Portugal?
Who were some of the important early European explorers?
The Invasion of Mexico/The Conquest of the Incan Empire
Why were the Spanish able to defeat the Aztec and the Inca?
How did the Aztec and Inca respond to the Spanish invasion?
Reasons for Spanish Victories
How did disease help the Spanish defeat Native Americans?
What were Spain’s military advantages?
How did the conquistadors rule the Native Americans they conquered?
Other Spanish Explorers
What lured Spanish explorers into North America?
Which Spanish explorers led expeditions through the southwestern US, California, and Florida?