PEOPLE

Christopher Columbus

. Genoese explorer in service of Spain, "discovered" America in 1492

. Led four voyages to New World, establishing first permanent European colonies in America and establishing Spanish domination of Western Hemisphere

Hernán Cortés

. Spanish conquistador and conqueror of Mexico

. Attacked Aztecs in 1519, defeated them in 1521

. Ruthless with both natives and his own troops

Moctezuma II (a.k.a. Montezuma)

. Last Emperor of the Aztecs

. Initially tried to use arrival of Spanish to own advantage

. Later defeated by Cortés; died in captivity, 1520

. Now seen by some as heroic last native ruler of Mexico

Francisco Pizarro

. Conquistador and conqueror of the Inca Empire

. Toppled Inca empire in 1532

Queen Isabella of Castile

. Queen of Spain, wife of King Ferdinand

. Funded Columbus's journey to New World

. Decreed Spain would receive 20% of all income from colonies established there

Junipero Serra

. Franciscan friar, father of California's mission system

. Missions were first major European presence on North American Pacific coast

EVENTS

1492 Arrival of Columbus

. First sustained interaction between Indians and Europeans

. Beginning of European conquest and domination of Americas

1501 Start of Encomienda System

. Spanish began employing Indians as slaves on wide scale

. Slaveowners were supposed to Catholicize and protect slaves

. System was widely abused

1521 Fall of Aztec Empire

. Defeat and collapse of second-largest pre-Columbian empire in Americas

. Hernán Cortés led Spanish conquistadors and Indian allies in successful attack on Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan

1532 Conquest of Inca Empire

. Very small Spanish force led by Francisco Pizarro defeated large Inca army

. Spanish conquest aided by devastating effects of smallpox epidemic, which killed 200,000 Inca, including king, designated heir, top generals and administrators in 1525

1540 Jesuit Order Founded

. Order of Catholic priests founded by Ignatius Loyola

. Set up missions in New World

. Sought to root out heresy and convert Indians to Christianity

1545 Silver Discovery in Bolivia

. Silver mine at Potosí began producing huge financial windfall for Spanish

. Spanish Crown received one-fifth of all mining proceeds

1565 Founding of St. Augustine

. City of St. Augustine founded in Florida

. First permanent European settlement in what became the United States

1680 Popé Rebellion

. Pueblo Indians in New Mexico, led by Chief Popé, rebelled against Spanish rule

. Spanish forces needed twelve years to put down Pueblo rising

. Led to the end of encomienda system in New Mexico in 1717

1848 Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo

. Ended Mexican-American War

. U.S. annexed New Mexico, California, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, parts of Colorado and Wyoming

. U.S. landmass increased by a third

GROUPS

Conquistadors

. Led Spanish conquest of Western Hemisphere

. Mostly poor nobles from south and west of Spain

. Hoped to spread Catholicism and obtain wealth in New World

. Greatly aided by spread of smallpox and other diseases

Franciscans

. Catholic missionary order

. Led by Junipero Serra in California

. Founded series of missions California, stretching from San Diego to Sonoma

Mestizos

. Mixed-race inhabitants of Spanish New World

. Of Spanish, Indian, and African descent

. Were often discriminated against, barred from official postings

Criollos

. American-born descendants of full Spanish ancestry

. Ruled New World on behalf of Spanish Crown

. Cultural differences with Spain widened as time went on

. Rebelled in nineteenth century and eventually drove out Spanish, taking over independent rule of Latin America

CONCEPTS

Catholicization

. Spanish desire not only to extract riches but to spread Catholicism among "heathens"

. Provided moral rationale for Spanish conquest of Western Hemisphere

. Often conflicted with economic incentives

. Missionaries flooded into New World, establishing schools and missions

Columbian Exchange

. Exchange of goods, plants, diseases, and peoples between Eastern and Western hemispheres

. Spread of European diseases in Americas devastated Indians, who died by the millions

. Potatoes, corn, tomatoes, tobacco among agricultural products introduced to Europe for first time

PLACES

St. Augustine, Florida

. Settlement founded by Spanish in 1565

. Oldest city in the United States

Tenochtitlan

. Capital of Aztec Empire, built in middle of lake at site of modern-day Mexico City, Mexico

. At its peak, larger than any European city

. Largely destroyed by Hernán Cortés in 1521