US History
Fort Burrows
3.2 Spain Builds an Empire
Spain’s conquest, exploration, and colonization of the Americas brought wealth to some and tragedy to others.
Vocabulary:
conquistador (kahn KWIS tuh dorz) – Spanish conqueror
pueblo – towns
presidio – a fort built to protect pueblos or a mission
mission – religious settlement set up to convert Native Americans; ran by
Catholic priest and friars, and paid for by the Spanish government
peninsulare – born in Spain, 1st class or highest in their society (conservatives)
creole (criollos ) – born in America to Spanish parents, 2nd or middle class
mestizo – mixed race between Spanish and Native Americans, 3rd or lowest class
encomienda (ehn koh mee EHN dahz) – land grants that include the right to
demand labor and/or taxes from Native Americans
plantation – a large estate farmed by many people; slaves, sharecroppers, etc
viceroy – a person sent by a king to govern a province or country
reform – to improve by correcting an abuse
Setting the Scene:
“What a troublesome thing it is to discover new lands. The risks we took, it is hardly possible to exaggerate,” Bernal Diaz. He was one of many conquistadors that marched into the Americas in the early 1500s. When asked why they traveled to the Americas, Diaz responded, “We came here to serve GOD and the King (oh yea) and also to get rich.”
The conquistadors made Spain one of the richest nations in Europe. Spanish colonists followed the conquistadors and created a vast new empire in the Americas.
Spanish Conquistadors
T Conquest of the Aztecs –
V The Aztecs called themselves MEXICA (meh SHEE kah), from which the
modern day name of Mexico came from
V Aztec religious writings said a white-skin would come from the East to lead
the Aztecs
V 1519, Hernán Cortés was accepted as that god and welcomed by the Aztec
king Moctezuma (mokt ah ZOO muh)
V Eventually, the Aztecs figured out what was going on, but too late
V Cortés took their gold, killed their king Moctezuma and destroyed their
capital, Tenochtitlan
V Cortés wrote,“After God we owe this conquest of New Spain to Doña Marina.”
V Doña Marina, Indian woman that gave information to Cortés and served him faithfully as interpreter, negotiator, secretary, confidant and mistress. She bore Cortés a son whom he acknowledged. Baptized Martin Cortés, he is the 1st “Mexican,” mestizo, whose name and history we know. / La Malinche or Doña Marina and Hernán Cortés in the city of Xaltelolco, in a drawing from the late 16th century History of Tlaxcala.
T Conquest of the Incas
V 1532, Francisco Pizarro (pee SAR oh) sailed on the Pacific coast side of
South America with 200 soldiers
V he captured and killed the Inca emperor Atahualpa (ah tuh WAHL puh)
V with no leadership, Pizarro, controlled the Inca empire
T 5 Reasons for Spanish Victories
V #1 reason, more superior military equipment
V steel armor, guns, cannons, etc
V Indians had bow/arrows, spears, clubs, and feet
V sky dogs – allows army to move quickly, also Natives had never seen such a
creature; FEAR
V slow to begin fighting due to possibly being gods
V Indians were tired from constant fighting with other tribes
V DISEASE; chicken pox, measles, influenza
List the order of events in sequence leading to the conquest of the Aztecs and the Incas
1) ______
2) ______
3) ______
4) ______
5) ______
6) ______
7) ______
8) ______
9) ______
10) ______
Exploring the Spanish Borderlands
After conquering South America, the Spanish moved further North; the area between present day California and Florida. 1513, Juan Ponce de Leon (PAWN suh day LAY awn) traveled through Florida looking for the fountain of youth.
T An Ill-Fated Journey
V 1528, Panfilo Narvaez (nar vah EHS) with about 800 conquistadors landed in
present day Florida
V some returned to Spain, all but 4 of the others died
V great-gran-daddy de Vaca, del Castillo, Dorantes, and a slave from Morocco
named Estebancio; the 1st person born in Africa to walk on Texas soil
[ Note: Spanish interchange ‘V’ and ‘B’. You may also see Estavancio ]
T de Soto and Coronado
V Hernando de Soto explored Southwestern U.S. from Florida up to the banks
of Ole Man River (Mississippi River); he was looking for gold and found death
*** de Soto died of the ‘Fever’ ,his aid de Moscoso, sank de Soto’s body in the Mississippi River to keep his death a secret. He had claimed to the local Indians that he was immortal and like a god.
V 1540 – 1542, Francisco Coronado , (koh roh NAH doh)
went looking for the Seven Cities of Cibola
V traveling through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, & Oklahoma
V he never found the elusive city and returned home to Spain broke
Settling New Spain
Spain originally allowed the conquistadors to rule themselves and their new found lands. They proved to be poor rulers so, King Charles I (wife Joanna), 1516 – 1555, stepped in and created a strong system of government for his growing empire - New Spain and Peru. A viceroy was put in charge of each. A code was written - ‘Laws of the Indies’. This established three kinds of settlements: pueblos, presidios, and missions. Larger settlements could actually have all three types.
T Pueblos and Presidios
V pueblos were the centers of farming and trade
V Juan de Onate (ha wuon oh NYAH tay) founded the colony of New Mexico; using
Pueblo Indians as slaves, he built a settlement for future Mexicans
V the 1st presidio was built in 1565 in present day St. Augustine, Florida;
currently, still a town in America
¿¿ Did the Spanish actually have the 1st permanent settlement in America instead of
the English, 1607, Jamestown, Virginia ?
T Missions
V the Spanish believed that they had a duty to spread the Roman Catholic
faith, either by words or war
V they built the 1st mission in El Paso in 1659
V 1691, in Arizona, 24 all total
V West coast of California from San Diego to San Francisco
Society in New Spain
T Four Social Classes
V peninsulares – land owners, government officials, rich people
V creoles – wealthy, educated, farm or ranch owners, teachers, lawyers
V mestizos – farm workers, carpenters, shoemakers, tailors
V Indians – conquered people, poor, workers with no ownership in anything
T A blend of culture
V Spanish – language, religion, education; University of Mexico, 1551
V Indians – foods, ponchos, moccasins, adobe bricks
Harsh Life for Native America
T Hard Labor
V encomiendas allowed Spanish settlers to acquire needed workers for their
large farms and ranches; Indian slaves
V Indian mine workers made Spain rich with gold and silver, lack of food and
medicines
V Priest Bartolome de Las Casas wrote, “The Indians were totally deprived
their freedom… Even beasts enjoy more freedom when they are allowed to
graze in the field.”
V he asks the King of Spain to protect the Indians; a law was passed
prohibiting the enslavement of Native Americans and allowed them to own
cattle and grow crops
V of course, few officials of New Spain, enforced the laws
T The Atlantic Slave Trade Begins
V as more and more Native Americans died, the greedy Spaniards needed a
new source of labor
V trying to protect the Native Americans, Las Casas suggested using Africans;
a lasting and tragic impact on America
V Africans would not die from European diseases and were already accustomed
to hard work in their homelands … So It Would Be Okay! … NOT!!! ...
T The Slave Trade Spreads
V demand for slaves increased in New Spain, British colony of America,
Caribbean Islands, Portuguese colony of Brazil … each needing cheap labor
for large farms with labor-intense, large profit plants; sugarcane, cotton, etc
V estimates claim 10 million West Africans came to the Americas between
1500s and the 1800s; 500,000 in North American colony of U.S.A.
¿¿ Identify the reasons for the increased need of slave labor in the Americas. ______
1. How did conquistadors defeat two Indian empires ?
______
______
2. What area did the Spanish explore ?
______
______
3. In the code ‘Laws of the Indies’, Spain settled and organized its colonies how ?
______
______
4. What was life like for Native Americans under Spanish rule ?
______
______
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