South America: Iberian Invaders

The Inca civilization thrived in the altiplanos (valleys or basins) of the Andes Mountains and were known for their administrative expertise, as well as their ability to colonize and build.  Their empire was vast [wwhearth], yet control was concentrated from a small, tightly woven, elite sector.  When the Spanish arrived (along the northwest and west coasts), a takeover at the top administrative levels was enough to take control of the empire. 

Meanwhile Portuguese armies invaded the areas along the east coast of Brazil, taking over the lands and the local population.  The Treaty de Tordesillas [smtorde] was a line (running north/south near 50^o west longitude) drawn by the Pope to divide the world between Spanish and Portuguese rule (the Spanish ruled the west and the Portuguese the east).  Portuguese settlers built plantations along the east coast, which is quite tropical (much like Middle America's Rimland).  However, with most of the local population of South America concentrated in the west, there were few Amerindians to act as a labor force.  The Portuguese found their labor force in the same source region as many other colonizers of the New World - in Africa [mgslave].

[The text of the above was written by Scott Girhard, San Antonio College from his online course GEOG 1301 World Geography. Used with permission.]