Journal Entry History

The Americas before the Colonial Encounter History 111 – World History since 1500

Spring 2022

Jorge Minella (jminella@umass.edu)

Introduction – Lecture Parts

 Native Latin American Civilizations.

 Guiding Typology.

 Mesoamerica and the formation of the Aztec Empire.

 The Andes and the formation of the Inca Empire.

 Brazil and the Caribbean.

Guiding Typology of Native Societies

 Concentrated Sedentary.

 Segmented Sedentary.

 Semi-Sedentary.

 Nomadic.

Guiding Typology of Native Societies

 What is the use of the typology?

 Make sense of territory.

 Understand the patterns of colonization and Native reaction to colonizers.

 Late fifteenth century: ~60 million people, half of it under Aztec or Inca rule.

Mesoamerica  Concentrated sedentary / Segmented sedentary.

 Monumental architecture.

 Regional trade networks.

 Astronomy: agriculture and religion.

 Social stratification.

 Ritual sacrifices.

 Writing systems.

Ruins of Teotihuacan.

The largest structure is the Pyramid of the Moon.

Ruins of Tikal, Guatemala.

Mexica – Aztec Empire

 1320s – Mexica founded Tenochtitlan.

 1428 – Initiated expansion.

 Tribute network and military harassment of neighbors.

 Tlaxcala resistance.

Andes  Concentrated sedentary / Segmented sedentary.

 Monumental architecture.

 Regional trade networks.

 Astronomy: agriculture and religion.

 Social stratification.

 Rare ritual sacrifices.

 No writing system; knotted strings (khipu) to keep records.

The Kingdom of Cusco

 1438 – Initiated expansion.

 Pachacuti, the world changer.

 Formed the Tawantinsuyu Empire.

Pachacuti, the 9th Inca.

Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu)

 Sophisticated centralized administrative structure.

 Road network.

 Labor tribute and tax: mit’a.

 Mandatory public service.

Brazil and the Caribbean

 Semi-sedentary societies.

 Difficult to know their pre-colonial histories.

 Noticeable differences among the many groups.

 De-centralized chiefdoms.

Caribbean and Circum-Caribbean

 Social stratification: elites and commoners.

Elites

Commoners.

 Intensive agriculture, still for subsistence.

 Some trade of ‘luxury’ goods among elites of different groups.

 Social stratification apparent in village organization, personal ornaments, and privileges.

Brazil  Main language groups.

Tupi; Gê; Carib; Aruak.

 Tribes organized in villages or sets of villages.

 Lack of social stratification.

More communal approach to land and resources.

 Subsistence agriculture, hunting, and gathering. No trade.

 Migration

Brazil

 Socially peaceful villages.

 Frequent wars.

19th century depiction of a Tupi village during war, based on Jean de Léry’s 16th century description.

Ferdinand Denis. Attaque d'un village fortifié = Angriff auf ein befestigtes Dorf. Paris [France]: Firmin Didot frères et Cie, 1846.

Concluding thoughts

 Mesoamerica and the Andes

 Concentrated sedentary and segmented sedentary societies.

 High population density.

 High levels of social stratification.

 Political centralization.

 Northern North America, Brazil, the Caribbean, and Circum-Caribbean Zone.

 Semi-sedentary.

 Lower density.

 Political de-centralization.

 How did these pre-colonial characteristics shape conquest and colonization? What about world history?

19th century depiction of the foundation of Rio de Janeiro (1565). Antonio Firmino Monteiro. Biblioteca Nacional (Brazil)