2.1 Portuguese Exploration and Spanish Conquest | U.S. History
After this lesson you will be able to…
- Learn how Portugal built a global trading network by colonizing islands and coastal posts.
- Understand how Portugal's sugar plantations led to the devastating transatlantic slave trade.
- Explore how Spain's unification and desire to compete with Portugal set the stage for Columbus.
- Discover how Columbus's incorrect calculations and Spain's FOMO led to his voyage.
- Analyze Columbus's letter as a biased marketing tool to secure further funding.
- Understand how the Pope divided the New World, shaping global languages and colonial ambitions.
- Learn the complex factors, beyond European military might, that led to the Aztec Empire's fall.
- Examine La Malinche's controversial but vital role as a translator in the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs.
- Learn about failed conquistador expeditions and how extracted wealth fueled Spain's Golden Age.
- Explore how Don Quixote and Las Meninas reflect the psychology of Spain's Golden Age.
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(0)This lesson unpacks the messy, often mythologized origins of early globalization — from Portugal's hub-and-spoke trading empire to Spain's calculated ...