When the Spanish arrived in the Americas, they encountered rich indigenous cultures like the Mexica and Inca Empires. These native civilizations were devastated by disease and policies that caused their populations to decline dramatically. However, their legacies helped shape the new culture that emerged in Latin America through the convergence of indigenous, Spanish, and African traditions and the exchange of goods and ideas. The Spanish also sought to spread Catholicism, which ultimately became the primary religion of the region though it blended with local cultural practices and characteristics.

1. WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE
PRESENTATION BY: DENISE MITCHELL

2. CREATING A CULTURE: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEW WORLD
CULTURE
WHEN THE SPANISH ARRIVED IN THE NEW WORLD, RICH CULTURES CONVERGED TO BEGIN CENTURIES OF A NEW TRADITION.
INDIGENOUS, SPANISH, AND AFRICAN CUSTOMS, SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS, AND TRADITIONS MELDED TOGETHER TO CREATE A NEW
CULTURE THROUGH THE EXCHANGE OF GOODS AND IDEAS. WHILE NOT UNIQUE TO LATIN AMERICA, THIS IMPACT DEFINED AN
ENTIRE REGION AND CREATED A LEGACY THAT CONTINUES TODAY. (HTTP://WWW.PBS.ORG/KCET/WHEN-WORLDS-COLLIDE/)

3. THE FIRST AMERICAN EMPIRES: THE MEXICA AND INCAN
EMPIRES
LONG BEFORE THE COLUMBUS SAILED ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, SOPHISTICATED EMPIRES THRIVED IN THE AMERICAS. THE DEVASTATION WROUGHT BY OLD WORLD
DISEASES AND POLICIES CAUSED CIVILIZATIONS TO COLLAPSE AND POPULATIONS TO DRAMATICALLY DECLINE. HOWEVER, THE LEGACY LEFT BEHIND BY THESE NATIVE
CIVILIZATIONS HELPED TO SHAPE THE CULTURE OF LATIN AMERICA. THIS LESSON ASKS STUDENTS TO ACT AS SPANISH HISTORIANS WHO ATTEMPT TO RECORD THE
ACHIEVEMENTS, HISTORY, AND FALL OF THE MEXICA AND INCA EMPIRES. (HTTP://WWW.PBS.ORG/KCET/WHEN-WORLDS-COLLIDE/)

4. THE SPANISH EMPIRE AND RELIGION
THE SPANISH ZEAL FOR CATHOLICISM DRAMATICALLY AFFECTED THE REIGNS OF THE 16TH CENTURY SPANISH MONARCHS. THE CRUSADER
MENTALITY PUSHED THE SPANISH INTO NUMEROUS BATTLES, BOTH INTERNALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY, WHICH DEFINED THEIR PRESENCE IN BOTH
EUROPE AND THE NEW WORLD. ULTIMATELY, THESE EFFORTS WOULD DRAIN THE VAST RICHES THAT FLOWED FROM THE AMERICAS AND BRING
ABOUT THE DECLINE THE SPANISH EMPIRE. (HTTP://WWW.PBS.ORG/KCET/WHEN-WORLDS-COLLIDE/)

5. NEW WORLD CATHOLICISM
AFTER THE DISCOVERY OF THE NEW WORLD BY COLUMBUS, SPANISH FORCES CAME TO THE NEW WORLD TO CONQUER AND
CONVERT THE INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS. WHILE POLITICAL DOMINANCE CAME EASILY TO THE SPANISH, SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY
CAME MORE SLOWLY. CATHOLICISM ULTIMATELY BECAME THE PRIMARY RELIGION OF LATIN AMERICA, BUT IT TOOK ON MANY OF THE
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LOCAL CULTURE. (HTTP://WWW.PBS.ORG/KCET/WHEN-WORLDS-COLLIDE/)

6. FIN
(END)