Paraguay And The Spanish Conquistadors

There were initially two to ten million natives in the United States prior to European contact. Those numbers dwindled down drastically in the years that Europeans came and started colonizing. The Europeans came to explore the New World in search of land, spices, gold, God and glory. Among these colonists were the Spanish and they colonized most of the southwest of the United States. Evidence of their settlements can still be seen today in the missions scattered across the land. These missions were started with the purpose of converting the Native Americans to Christianity. Now, imagine living your entire life with a particular set of beliefs, based on your ancestors and culture, and a group of foreigners come and proclaim that your views are all wrong and that you must follow their beliefs for the salvation of your soul. This is exactly what the Spanish did to the Natives. The relationship between the two parties were strained and rife with tension due to the conversion of the natives and the constant abuse doled out by the Spanish. This subsequently led to the disintegration of native life and culture.

For decades, the history of Latin America has been shrouded in a cover of Spanish glory and myth that misleads and complicates the views of historians everywhere. Myths such as the relationship between natives and conquistadors, and the individuality of the conquistadors themselves stand as only a few examples of how this history may have become broken and distorted. However, in Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest Matthew Restall goes to great lengths to dispel these myths and provide a more accurate history of Latin American, in a readable and enjoyable book.

Every artist's dream is to create something that leaves a lasting impression. The Last Conquistador follows the story of a sculptor who does exactly that. John Houser spent nearly a decade painstakingly crafted a 34-foot tall equestrian statue featuring the infamous Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate y Salazar. Following in the footsteps of his father who assisted in the carving of Mount Rushmore, Houser's fantasy of leaving his mark in one of the largest bronze equestrian statues in the world finally became a reality (Valadez). However, what an artist attempts to express and what message is truly received may not be one and the same. While the Hispanic elite of El Paso praised (and funded) the magnificent piece, the Acoma were horrified by the towering symbol of oppression and genocide looming overhead. This film not only provides a window into the conflict and controversy surrounding Houser's work, but also showcases several aspects of Texas political culture and highlights the dismissive attitude toward Native American culture that is still prevalent today.

1). The Nations of Europe sought to expand their empire because they were on the verge of overpopulation.Between 1550 and 1600 the population grew from three million to four million people. Also, England and Spain were at a war for power. The Spanish attempts at colonizing the New World had been extremely successful, for they had gained both wealth and power. The English did not see such success, as their ships would crash, be lost to the seas, or their colonization efforts would cease to be useful. Through the Spaniards control over the Americas they had gained a massive naval army, noted as the Spanish Armada. The Spanish attempt to invade England in 1588 failed which lead to the beginning of the fall of the Spanish empire in the New World.

I am writing to you today in hopes of expanding Spain’s influence into the American territory of Mexico and Florida. I would like to sail to these new lands in hopes of finding resources such as: Cotton, Silk, Spices, Vegetables, Tobacco, Gold, Sugar, the list could go on and on. I know we will find these resources in these lands because of the Columbian Exchange which was created by fellow explorer Christopher Columbus. Exploring these new lands could strengthen Spain’s ties with the American colonies and could possibly be allies in trade and in war. We may face hardships like unpredictable weather and lack of territorial knowledge but I am prepared to take necessary precautions so that everything will go smoothly. This will also give Spain

The Conquest of Mexico and the conversion of the peoples of New Spain can and should be included among the histories of the world, not only because it was well done but because it was very great. . . . Long live, then, the name and memory of him [Cortés] who conquered so vast a land, converted such a multitude of men, cast down so many men, cast down so many men, cast down so many idols, and put an end to so much sacrifice and the eating of human flesh! —Francisco López de Gómara (1552)

How the conquest of the Spaniards led to an impact on one of the world’s largest empires.

As a new and mysterious world awaits to be discovered, daring conquistadors leave their home country of Spain in a journey of exploration. Two men by the name of Narvaez and Cabeza de Vaca set sail to thwart the untrustworthy Cortez who, behind the backs of Narvaez and Cabeza de Vaca, sailed to the New World with half of Narvaez’s crew in search of treasures. However, the journey would prove to be treacherous as the conquistadors would have to encounter hostile Native Americans and strange terrain they have never seen before. Throughout the expedition, future encounters between the Native Americans and conquistadors were heavily influenced by the personalities of the individuals and past experiences the Native Americans faced.

1. Briefly discuss (but in detail) the similarities/differences between the initial Spanish colonization of the Caribbean and the Yucatan. In your discussion include the initial reaction of the Taino and Maya to the presence of the Spanish and the rational for the Spanish conquest.

What must have the native peoples, such as the Incas and Aztecs, thought when they saw white men arriving onto their land aboard massive ships? The Spanish conquistadores conquered many regions in the Americas for Spain. In the Spanish language, ?Conquista? means to conquer or a conquest, and ?Conquistadores? is referring to the conquerors, specifically from Spain. Latin America richness in culture and history is strongly associated with this Spanish presence (Davies 172). The Spanish conquistadores changed the Latin American people?s lives significantly, and the impact they left can still be appreciated today. Their influence has produced culturally benefitting results.

The Spanish Conquistadors affected the world immensely. Beginning in 1519, Leader Hernan Cortes created and led the group of soldiers under the idea they would conquer all of the land. When the Aztecs had conquered land, the settlers had grown to oppose Aztec ruling. As a result of this, Cortes found it easy to make allies with people who felt the same way he did. Cortes started by attempting to conquer Tenochtitlán by cutting off food and water supply. This tactic was successful, for at the time smallpox spread and killed thousands of people. Tenochtitlan was conquered and the Spaniards looked to conquer Peru next. Under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro, the Inca empire was weakened significantly. Cuzco, the Incan capital, was captured

Cuban insurgents considered the victory theirs, but it was obvious it was the Americans. Even the British correspondents who had once derided their American cousins esteemed differently. Spanish forces consolidated and resisted at Fort Canosa, then an American siege of the city happened, which was aided by Cuban forces. A much deadlier enemy came upon the Americans; malaria and yellow fever, which caused more deaths than Spanish bullets. Despite the Spaniards’ advantage in numbers and weaponry, because of the deaths of the disease, American forces pushed inland. The Spanish fleet only lasted hours on July 3.

In order to answer this question you have to look at the Spanish conquistadors they were oppressed by. The Aztec invasion was conducted by a conquistador names Hernan Cortes. The Aztecs did not fully resist the Spanish in every possible way for several different reasons. To begin, the Aztecs condoned sacrificing their neighbours and their own as a tribute to their gods; this was not popular among many people of Mexico. This savage tribute system permitted Cortes to act as an emancipator. Furthermore, the Spaniards also brought with them several diseases mainly polio and small pox into Mexico in which the Spanish had grown resistance to, but the Aztecs have not been in contact with the diseases before. The Aztec population was rapidly reduced

Because the Indians and Spanish lived in different areas in Latin America, the Indian culture and society did not change significantly. Or did there society change?

1. Three arguments’ that Juan Gines de Sepulveda used to justify enslaving the Native Americans were for gold, ore deposits, and for God’s sake and man’s faith in him. 2. Three arguments that Bartolome de las Casas gave in attacking Spanish clonial policies in the New World were the Indians eating human flesh, worshiping false gods, and also, he believed that the Indians were cowardly and timid. 3. For comparisons that Sepulveda used, in lines 1-7, to express the inferiority of the Indians was their prudence, skill virtues, and humanity were inferior to the Spanish as children to adults, or even apes to men. Comparisons he used to dismiss the significance of the Indians