European Conquest of Latin America and the

Caribbean

Latin America

A term used to identify the areas of South of the US whose official languages are Spanish, Portuguese, or French (derived from Latin): Mexico, South America, Central America, and certain islands in the Caribbean.

Common Usage in the USIn the US, when people use the term “Latin America,” they are often only talking about countries where people speak Spanish or Portuguese (i.e. Mexico, Brazil, etc.) and not French speaking areas (Haiti).

European Conquests

Starting in the late 1400’s, various European countries, including Portugal, Spain, and France, began claiming land and establishing settlements throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

ColoniesThese settlements, which stayed under the control of the mother country (the country that claimed the land), are known as colonies.

Why colonize?European nations wanted colonies for many reasons.

3Gs:-God-Glory-Gold

Hispaniola-The island of Hispaniola (modern day Haiti and Dominican Republic) is located in the Caribbean.

Settlement of the Island● In 1492, Columbus, working

for Spain, landed on the island of Hispaniola. He set up the first European establishment in this part of the world.

● Later, the island was colonized by both the French and Spanish.

● The Spanish part was called Santo Domingo. The French part, Saint-Domingue.

What’s Next

Over the course of the next several days, we are going to explore the reasons for and impact of the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804).

HomeworkRead “The Creation of Saint

Domingue (P1)”, pages 1-10.

Highlight/Underline any key points in the reading.

Answer study guide questions 1-11.

Unfamiliar TermsAbolition: putting something to end by

law (most often used to refer to the end of slavery)

Indigenous Population: the people who are originally from an area; native inhabitants

Subsistence agriculture: crops that are grown to meet people’s basic needs (compared to growing crops to make a profit.)

Unfamiliar Terms (Cont’d)

Fugitive slaves: runaway slaves

Deforestation: to cut down or clear away trees (often used when people are concerned about the number of trees that have been cut down)