Spanish Colonization of North America In 1492 when Christopher Columbus discovered the New World, Spain had discovered its next easy conquest. With North America added to its territory Spain had surpassed ancient Rome as the largest empire. Exploiting the land, labor, and minerals Spain quickly conquered and settled most of South America, the Caribbean, and the Southwest. Spain used its new wealth to help finance their war in Europe. With promises of riches and many natives to convert to Christianity the Spanish sent conquistadors who brought with them not only superior military technology but also diseases like smallpox, scarlet fever, and the bubonic plague decimating native populations like the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas. These Spanish conquistadors, who were poverty-stricken nobles predominantly from the west and south of Spain, were then awarded encomiendas, land grants that included the right to force native populations into slavery as long as the convert them to Christianity (Shmoop Editorial Team, 2008). The Spanish Monarchy governed North America using viceroyalties and audencias, royal mediation courts. The church also played a part in governing the New World and large areas like what is known today as Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, and California was under control of Dominican, Franciscan, and Jesuit missionaries with the goal of converting the natives to Catholicism. Since North America was being used to fuel the income needs of wars over in Europe the Spanish
labor. Eventually, this had lead to Spain’s failure and resulted in a time of "rapid inflation
The time period between the 1600s and 1700s was a time of a major change in the land of the New World. The colonization of Europeans into the North America had considerable impacts on the Native American lives. European empire at the time, such as the French, England and Spanish empires, often fought against each other for power and control. After the European tried to colonized, the Native American suddenly found themselves dealing with European power politics. The arrival of Europeans into the New World meant new political relationships for both the European and the Native Americans. Each side had thing to gain and loss in this kind of relationship, especially military alliances and new trade goods. European power politics and rivalries were a major factor in the development of European and Native American relations because they created relationships of mutually beneficial relationships of trade and alliances.
The English had a much larger population in their colonies than the Spanish, in fact, in 1700; there was a total population of 250,000 in the English colonies compared to 4,500 in the Spanish. A larger population in the colonies meant there was more manpower for work and, in addition, a greater wealth development. This led to a greater distinction between the English and the Spanish, which was the mass level by which slaves were used in colonial society. The Spanish too had similar ways of acquiring cheap labor services by establishing the Encomienda system. This system, unlike the English, exploited the Indians for personal profits rather than slaves imported from Africa. As English colonies, particularly in the south, focused on establishing an agrarian society; the Spanish did not focus as much on maintaining an agriculture based society. In marked contrast to England’s compact, densely populated settlements on the Atlantic, Spain established far-flung inland networks of fortified trading posts and missions. Unlike the English, they were unable to attract large numbers of colonists, and thus enlisted Native Americans as trading partners and military allies. The Catholic nation had far greater success in converting natives to Christianity than their Protestant counterpart. By 1700, Spanish missionaries, traders, and soldiers were spreading their influence beyond the range of England’s colonies; to
Before the English ventured to Roanoke Europeans explored and settled the New World. The Spanish were the most successful in settling the New World. They conquered most of Central and South America. Their main objective was to convert all of the Indians to Christianity. “Spain’s claim to posses the Americas was based on discovery, conquest, and settlement, but even more important, it was founded on the sacred enterprise of extending the Catholic faith to (in Spanish eyes) “barbarous” native peoples” (Horn 12).
Although the Spanish and the British started colonizing the new world relatively at the same time their colonization efforts we’re extremely different but had some overlapping similarities. The differences include the two nations different reasoning to explore the New World, their relationship with the Natives, and it types of governments that they attempted to set up. Although some of these differences might not seem as if they are very important, they helped one nation do you better than the other one when it came to colonization efforts.
The Spanish were the first European country to establish significant colonies in the Americas. By the 1570s, the Spanish had established roughly 200 cities and towns in the New World. They had also built many cathedrals, as well as the first universities in the Americas. New Spain refers to Spanish colonies in North and Central America and the Caribbean. At its height in 1795, New Spain included Mexico, Panama, several Caribbean islands, and most of the United States west of the Mississippi River. In these territories, the Spanish started large projects to get all available resources.
During the 15th through 17th centuries, advancements in technology and the desire for new resources spurred the exploration of the New World for both Spain and England. Spain's interest in exploration soon surpassed the rest of the countries in the Old World and the nation began to claim the majority of territory in Central and South America. Spain sent conquistadores to assert their dominance in the New World through violent conquest which resulted in difficult relations with native populations. Although the English did not settle in North America until the early 17th century, well past the period of the Spanish conquest, their methods of colonization were more successful in the long term. The English were able to find economic success
Slavery, like Portugal, was crucial for Spain. Unlike Portugal Spain used Native Americans as their slaves. (Mainly because of geography) Spain also believed in Encomienda. Which is basically there way of “giving back” to Native Americans, they would teach Native Americans their religious views and in return Native Americans would be forced to work to death. So it would appear that converting people (slaves) to Catholicism was an important reason why they went to the “new world”. Needless to say relations between Spain and the Native Americans spoiled just like the relationship between Portugal and Africans did. A lot of Native Americans believed that Spain gave them nothing. Most if not all of Spain’s economy was based on mining silver and gold and sugar plantations. At the time of this colonization and for the next 200 years Spain is extremely rich.
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.
During the sixteenth century Spain had control over land in the Caribbeans and America that was ten times the size of Spain. One of the most famous conquerors was a man by the name of Cortes. His first target was the Aztec Empire one of the richest empires in America. After a very bloody battle Cortes successfully conquered the empire “converting” its people to Christianity and taking their gold. From this Cortes became on of the richest men in the world. This event inspired many others to do the same with many choosing the life of a conquistador to find their riches in the new world. The amount of conquistadors started to make Spain worry if they were to try and rule New Spain and that they were killing more Indians instead of converting
The colonisation of North America by the Europeans became one of the most crucial points for the native North Americans. The differing experiences of contact between both cultures had overwhelmingly disastrous impacts on the normal way of life. From such contact arose the issue of land disputes, in turn resulting in massacres and frontier wars which could have otherwise been unnecessary. The factors stated above provide a suitable stimulus for a discussion in regards to the varying encounters of the Indigenous North Americans.
1. Where and why did Spain establish colonies in North America, and how did native peoples resist colonization? Spain established colonies in Central America, the Caribbean islands, and Mexico to increase their wealth and power. The native people resisted colonization by trying to fight back.
North America was a region in the world that was new to many especially the settlers who’d later live there. For thousands of years this region was unknown until men from other countries began traveling from sea to see this part of the world they never knew about. These people who came to what is now known as the United States of America sought to establish a new life. Before the English, Spanish and French colonies stepped foot on North America there were already Indian tribes who inhabited the land. Soon after reaching this land colonist began to settle in and began working and living. Each colony struck an alliance with the native tribes who lived near them. At the same time the colonists weren’t on good terms. The primary role of the Indians
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
The Spanish Empire originated during the Age of Discovery, after the voyages of Christopher Columbus. The Spanish people colonized a great amount of land in South America, as well as some land in North America. They invaded the land of the native americans, treating them in an unfriendly and violent manner when they arrived. The effects of colonization on the native populations in the New World were mistreatment of the natives, harsh labor for them, and new ideas about religion for the spaniards.