Latin American History Flashcards
Grade 7 · Social Studies · Flashcards
Key figures, events, terms, and concepts in Latin American colonial history and independence movements.
Flashcards
- conquistador
- Spanish soldier-explorer who conquered Indigenous empires in the Americas during the 16th century.
- Hernán Cortés
- Spanish conquistador who defeated the Aztec Empire in Mexico (1519–1521) with a small force and Indigenous allies.
- Francisco Pizarro
- Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire in Peru (1532–1572), exploiting Inca civil war and disease.
- casta system
- Spanish colonial social hierarchy ranking people by race: peninsulares, criollos, mestizos, and Indigenous/African peoples.
- peninsulares
- Spanish-born colonists in the Americas who held the top political and religious positions in the colonial system.
- criollo
- Person of Spanish descent born in the Americas; wealthy but excluded from top offices, they led independence movements.
- mestizo
- Person of mixed Indigenous and European ancestry; formed a large portion of the colonial population.
- Simón Bolívar
- Venezuelan general called 'El Libertador' who freed Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia from Spain.
- José de San Martín
- Argentine general who led independence movements in Argentina, Chile, and Peru.
- Miguel Hidalgo
- Mexican priest whose 1810 'Grito de Dolores' started the Mexican War of Independence.
- Grito de Dolores
- The September 16, 1810 call to arms by Father Hidalgo that launched Mexico's independence war; still celebrated as Mexican Independence Day.
- Emperor Pedro I
- Portuguese prince who declared Brazilian independence in 1822 and became the first Emperor of Brazil.
- caudillo
- A military or political strongman who dominated Latin American political life after independence, often ruling by force.
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