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The Mayans created a highly accurate calendar and built huge Pyramids in the city of Tikal, with the tallest standing over 230 feet high. The Maya made delicate artwork. The Mayans relocated to the Yucatan peninsula and built a magnificent city called ChiChén-Itza. Although the Spanish conquered most of the Maya, the Maya continue to exist today as a distinct culture.
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The Olmecs were the earliest known large Mesoamerican civilization. They lived in the tropical lowlands of the modern day Mexican states of Veracruz and Tabasco. The Olmec created gigantic stone heads, beautiful and intricate artwork. The Olmec built three major cities: La Venta, San Lorenzo and Los Cerros. The Olmec disappeared due to overpopulation, warfare, and environmental degradation.
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In Medieval Europe the Catholic church had the most power and decided they wanted to take over the Holy lands, this was the beginning led by the Crusades.
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Before the Crusades, Europe had a feudalist system. Most of the people were peasants who worked and lived on Manors owned by nobles. In 1200 CE it changed to a trading economy because of the Crusades.
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The Aztecs used the natural resources around them to build and grow the things they needed. The Aztecs were good at building things like cites and pyramids and made chinampas to grow crops on. The Aztecs were located in Mexico near Mexico City. The Aztecs died out about 100 years after they met the Spanish.
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When Marco Polo was 17 year old, he joined his father and uncle on a journey to the East.
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Although they lasted over 200 years, during the Crusades, Europe wasn't able to take over the Holy Lands
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Marco Polo started his journey back to Venice by ship in 1293 and had a crew of several hundred passengers.. He brought with him ivory, jade, jewels, porcelain and silk. The journey home lasted 2 years and only 18 survived this journey.
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While Marco Polo was in prison in Asia, a prison mate from Pisa inspired him to write a book about his travels. He named the book "The Description of the World": or "The Travels of Marco Polo" was one of the most popular books in his time.
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Renaissance mean Re–birth. This was a time of renewed interest in Greek and Roman was of thinking, which led to Europeans increased study of arts, sciences, mathematics, writings, and technology.
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The Incas created an elaborate road system spanning 15,000-20,000 miles, and built aqueducts, canals, terraces, bridges, temples and huge buildings in the capital city of Cuzco and throughout the Inca Empire. They created a fancy accounting system called quipu which consisted of knots on strings. The Inca also had a sophisticated and productive pyramid-like government system which used labor as currency and ruled over 10 million people. The Inca Empire was the largest in Mesoamerica.
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Capturing this fortress was the start of their wish to control the global gold market. Here they set up trading posts and collected gold and silver.
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Prince Henry's funding for scientists from all over Europe led to the discovery of the Madeira Islands.
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Prince Henry's funding for scientists from all over Europe led to the discovery of the Azores Islands.
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After fifteen failed voyages, Portugal finally ventured pass Cape Bojador on the northern coast of the Sahara.
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The Printing Press was one of the major inventions of this time. It was inspired from the Chinese Stamping Block and made it much faster to make books. Before the printing press, books were handwritten and expensive, now they could be mass produced and they were more affordable.
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The Marriage of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella unifies Catholic Spain. Now they can compete for global power and against Islamic rule.
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Bartolomueu Dias makes it around the tip of South Africa and onto the East coast, farther than any one before him. He named this cape the "Cape of Storms".
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Columbus makes it to the island of Hispaniola. Thinking he landed in India, the natives were called "Indios" by him. When he returned to Spain he was awarded for.
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Hernan Cortés arrived in present day Mexico and met a tribe that had been conquered by the Aztecs called the Totonacs and they became allies. After reaching Tenochitlán, the conquistadors met with Montezuma, the Aztec leader, and after he realized that the Spaniards were after riches, Cortés took him hostage. While Cortés was away, Montezuma was killed in a riot that had broke out after the Spanish killed a group of Aztec nobles. Then a smallpox outbreak erupted which killed 40% of the Aztecs.
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Francisco Pizarro, his conquistadors and priest invaded the Inca during civil war between two brothers fighting to become the next Inca Sapa.
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The Spanish conquered the Inca Empire and destroyed it within hours because there were no true Inca King to rule anymore and the Inca people dispersed.
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Thomas Hobbes believed that the only true and correct form of government was the absolute monarchy. He argued very forcefully in his writing: Leviathan. Hobbes's philosophy was that human beings are, at their core, selfish creatures, therefore, they needed a government which would keep them in control.
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John Locke was one of the the most influential political philosophers of the modern period. He wrote the Two Treatises of Government where he defended the claim that men are by nature free and equal which went against the belief at the time, which was that all people were naturally subjects of the monarchy and the divine king had power over all people.
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The Declaration of Independence is official statement written by Thomas Jefferson declaring the freedom of the thirteen American colonies from Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4th, 1776.
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Declaration of the Rights of Man was the French Declaration and demand for human rights such acknowledging that all men are born free and equal. This declaration also states that people have the right to change their government if it doesn't protect these rights. These beliefs inspired the French Revolution.
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San Domingue (present day Haiti) island was controlled by 45,000 whites who oppressed 450,000 African slaves to work 3000 plantations. Toussaint L-Ouverture learned about the Enlightenment ideas and led the first successful slave revolt and gained freedom from France in 1803.
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Bolívar had recently defeated the Spanish in Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. Napoleon elected his brother as ruler of Spain and many of the people in the Americas were not happy; Simon Bolívar was one of them. He joined a revolutionary group and expelled the Spanish from Venezuela.
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Spain still held substantial territory, Bolívar formed a new state, Gran Colombia, made up of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. In June 1821, Bolívar, led an army of 6,500 men and won an issential battle at Carabobo. The year after, Antonio de Sucre, Bolívar's foremost
general, defeated the Spanish at Pichincha in Ecuador. Then, Bolívar marched his army into Quito. Now Gran Colombia had been liberated, and Bolívar became president. -
José de San Martín was a Criollo military leader who led the rebellion against Spain to liberate Argentina, Chile, and Peru.
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Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a priest and key figure in the Mexican War of Independence. His speech, “Grito de Dolores”, which called for the end of Spanish colonial rule. Peasants joined his rebellion but when he retreated the Spaniards decapitated him and put his head on a pole to put fear into the rebels. However it had the opposite effect because this only fueled peasants to continue fighting for their independence from Spain. It took 11 years to free Mexico.
