1. Influence on Latin America
Social Studies
Latin America

3. Language
• As the Spanish and Portuguese conquered
indigenous people, they spread their
language.
• The Spanish language is still in use in the lands
claimed and ruled by Spain. This includes most
of Central and South America as well as the
Caribbean Islands.
• Portuguese is the official language of Brazil.
• Portugal rules Brazil from 150ss until 1822.

4. Language
• Because Brazil is such a large country in area
and population, almost as many people in Latin
America speak Portuguese as Spanish
• Europeans spread their language across Latin
America
• Spanish and Portuguese were the official
languages
• They were the languages of government,
business, and power.
• To be successful, people in these regions had
to know these languages.

5. Languages
• Other languages did not die.
• The indigenous people of Central and South
America moved into mountains and jungle.
• Many of their languages were preserved.
• Quechua, language of the Incas, is still spoken by
10 million people in western South America.
• African languages survived in some places.
• Haitian Creole is a blend of French and African
languages
• However, Spanish and Portuguese are still the
official languages especially in relation to
government, business and culture.

6. Religion
• Replaced polytheism with the Catholic Religion
• The Catholic Church played a role in expanding
the Spanish language as well as the religion
• During the colonial period, the governments of
Spain and Portugal paid for missionaries to go to
the new world.
• Church outposts were where Indians learned the
Spanish language and the Spanish way of life.
• Over time, the Spanish language and Catholic
religion led to a new culture in Latin America.

7. Religions
• Priests, friars, and monks set up missions all
over Latin America.
• Their job was to convert the indigenous
population.
• They also ministered to the Europeans who
moved to the area.
• The governments of Spain and Portugal
supported the missionaries with money to
build churches.
• The governments sometimes supported
with protection from the army.

8. Religions
• The indigenous people were often
forced to say they were accepting Christianity.
• Sometimes they accepted Christianity easily
and other times they rebelled against it.
• However, many continued to practice their
own traditional beliefs.
• Some people mixed their traditional beliefs
with beliefs of the Catholic Church.

9. Today
• Spanish is the primary language of Latin
America.
• Portuguese remains the official language of
Brazil.
• Catholicism is still the most widespread
religion in the region.

10. Q1: Which two countries contributed
most to the languages of Latin
America?
A. England and Spain
B. Spain and Portugal
C. France and Portugal
D. England and Portugal

11. Q2: Spanish and Portuguese are
important to Latin America
because they are____________?
A. The only official languages
B. The two main spoken languages
C. Spoken by everyone in Latin America
D. Understood by government workers and
businessmen

12. Q3: What is the most common
religion in Latin America?
A. Creole
B. Aymara
C. Quechua
D. Roman Catholic

13. Q4: How did the Spanish government
have an influence on the spread of the
Roman Catholic Church in the New
World?
A. The Catholic Church controlled Spain
B. Spanish royalty didn’t support the Catholic
Church
C. It paid to build missions to bring Christianity
to the native population
D. Churches from other parts of the world did
not send missionaries to the New World