Spain and the Americas

1
Spain and the Americas

• J.A.SACCO

2
Causes of Exploration?
Leads to Colonization

• Religious freedom
• Find gold/silver
• Establish empires for the mother nation
• Government persecution
• Expand a nations economy abroad
• Second chance in life

3
Spain vs. Portugal

• Early Exploration/Colonization led by two
  nations- Spain and Portugal
• Conflict prevented by Pope Alexander VI in the
  Treaty of Tordesillas (1493)
• Spain Portugal

given claims to Brazil and trade routes east
given claims to New World
4
Treaty of Tordesillas
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The Conquistadores

• Who were the conquistadores?

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Hernando De Soto (1539-1541)

• Mississippi River
• In search of riches

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Hernan Cortes (1521)

• Destruction of the Aztec empire
• Seeking slave labor for Cuba/riches of the region
• Built capital of New Spain over the ruins of
  Tenochtitlan

We Spaniards know a sickness of the heart that
only gold can cure.
8
Francisco Pizarro (1533)

• Overthrew the Incas in Peru
• Seeking riches in region
• Took King Atahualpa hostage-later executed

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Francisco Coronado (1540-1542)

• SW of what was to become the United States-Grand
  Canyon

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New Spain
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Effects of Spanish Colonization

• Columbian Exchange

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Effect of Spanish Colonization

• Disease
• Large supply of silver
• Built presidios- forts for protection/also
  served as trade posts

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Effect of Spanish Colonization

• Missions to spread Roman Catholicism/Eur. Culture
• Led by Franciscan priest Junipero Serra
• Built missions in San Diego/San Francisco
• Teach the Pueblo people Catholicism and European
  culture
• Often used violence to those who resisted those
  teachings

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The Encomienda System

• New social system established by the Spainish
  based on the feudal system of the Middle Ages

What is the feudal system?
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The Encomienda System

• Title of encomendero given as a reward to
  control Native American villages.

Native Americans
Encomendero
Encomendero protect Native Americans/convert to
Christianity
Pay to encomendero part of what is produced
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The Encomienda System and Social Status

• Social Order

Peninsulares
Criollos
Mestizos
Labor
Sp. Born-high govt and church positions
Born in colonies of Sp. Parents. Wealthy but
not become Peninsulares.
Mixed Sp.and Nat. Amer. Merchants,
artisans, Shopkeepers. Mostly poor.
Nat.Amer. and African ancestry. Provide labor.
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Government in Spanish America

• Council of the Indies
• Advisory board of King
• Special court- audencia were administrators and
  lawmakers
• Organized around viceroyalties- each governed by
  a viceroy

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Economy of Spanish America

• Not based on gold but silver
• Climate very dry- not grow crops but could raise
  large herds of cattle and sheep
• Huge ranches called haciendas/ led by a vaqueros
  (cowboy)

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The encomienda process illustrated in the map
above a. triggered extensive demographic and
social change. b. ended American Indian
resistance. c. changed American Indian beliefs
on the environment. d. led to the development of
a huntergatherer economy.
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The most devastating impact of the Spanish
conquest and exploration was a. American Indian
resistance and conflict. b. the subjugation of
American Indians. c. the forced conversion of
natives to Christianity. d. the spread of deadly
epidemics.
Which of the following Spanish imperial goals
were least advanced by the conquest and
exploration illustrated above? a. Enlarging the
Spanish empire b. Gaining new sources of
wealth c. Shifting from feudalism to
capitalism d. Converting natives to Christianity