How Did Spain Become The Most Powerful Country In The New World

During the sixteenth century, Spain had become the most powerful country in both Europe and the Americas through its successes in the New World. The Spanish throne funded Columbus’ exploration that eventually led to the discovery of what will be known as the Americas. The Spanish Empire created the model for the colonization of the Americas through their conquest of the two most powerful empires in the Americas--the Aztec and the Incan. These conquests also provided the Spanish with tons of riches, thus pushing them towards the seat of power.

Spain’s journey to greatness began with Christopher Columbus. Columbus had believed that the world was a sphere; therefore, one could reach the East Indies by sailing westward instead of the traditional

route towards the east. After years of unsuccessful petitioning in Spain, England, and Portugal for support to test out his theory, the Spanish monarchs finally decided to take a small gamble and give Columbus the funding he needed. The Spanish throne realized that potential benefits of the situation greatly outnumbered the potential losses. So in 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed off into the west, leading a fleet of three ships, hoping to find a new route to Asia. Columbus ended up landing on an island in the Caribbean which he named San Salvador. Columbus’s discoveries led to a geographic revolution and propelled Spain into an Age of Exploration.
In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan, with Spain’s funding, circumnavigated the globe and contributed geographic information that the Americas and Asia were two separate continents, separated by the Pacific Ocean.

With this knowledge, most European countries turned their attentions from the East Indies to the New World. The Columbian Exchange that was created when Columbus first arrived in the Caribbean provided a steady connection between Europe and the Americas. Spaniards brought Christianity, iron technology, sailing ships, firearms, wheeled vehicles, and horses to the New World. Europeans also unintentionally brought diseases such as smallpox and measles that killed off many indigenous people, who Columbus inaccurately labelled as “Indians.” The Native Americans introduced the Europeans to miracle crops like corn, potatoes, and tobacco. The Natives spread syphilis to the Europeans who brought it back to Europe. Although the Spanish gained quite a lot of goods and ideas from the Columbian Exchange, they didn’t find the riches they had hoped for. What really provided Spain with the riches they desired and pushed it into the seat of power as the most powerful country in both Europe and the Americas was its conquest of the Aztec Empire and the Incan

Empire.
The conquest of the Mexica Empire (also known as the Aztec Empire) began with Hernan Cortes.

Nineteen year old Hernan Cortes first arrived in the New World in 1504. A few years later, he fought in the conquest of Cuba. In 1519, Hernan Cortes requested and received permission from the governor of Cuba to conduct his exploration of the “interior of the mainland” to “investigate rumors of the fabulously wealthy kingdom” (The American Promise 36). When Cortes landed on the Yucatan Peninsula with his exploration crew of 600 men, he luckily met a generous local chief who gifted him a young girl named Malinali. The Spaniards referred to Malinali as Marina. According to The American Promise, page 36, Marina served as a translator for the Spanish since she “ spoke several native languages, including Nahuatl, the language of the Mexica.” Montezuma, the emperor of the Mexican people, sent people bearing gifts such as food and gold to the men. This gift of gold and riches from the emperor confirmed the Spaniard’s belief that the Aztec Empire was indeed the empire from the rumors. Cortes marched towards Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Mexican Empire. Once they arrived in Tenochtitlan, Montezuma was very welcoming and provided them with more luxurious gifts. Cortes proceeded to take Montezuma hostage with the intention to use him as a puppet “through whom the Spaniards could rule the Mexican empire” (The American Promise 36). There was a calm before the storm in the form of an

uncomfortable “peaceful” period. Things began going downhill when one of Cortes’ men slaughtered many Mexican noblemen, leading to a full blown rebellion in which Montezuma was killed. Cortes and his men retreated to Tlaxcala in 1520, where they strategically awaited backup and allied with other indigenous tribes, enemies of the Mexica, before attacking Tenochtitlan. When Cortes attacked in 1521, he successfully defeated the Mexican people and conquered Tenochtitlan with more advanced military technology, deadly European diseases, and thousands of Indian allies.
The riches and gold obtained from the conquering of the Aztec Empire wasn’t enough for Spain’s incredible hunger for wealth. Spain’s success in Mexico spurred a search for other “Mexicos” in the New World. Francisco Pizarro found the next greatest thing for Spain, the Incan Empire. In 1532, Pizarro and his men went to Peru and captured Atahualpa, the emperor of the Incan people, and held him hostage. Pizarro demanded a ransom for the return of Atahualpa. The Incan people gave Pizarro gold and silver worth 50 years of mining in Europe. Despite ransom being paid, Pizarro still murdered Atahualpa. The discovery of the Incan Empire (and treasure) in Peru “proved that at least one other Mexico did indeed exist, and it spurred the Spaniards’ search for others” (The American Promise 37).
With all the land conquered, the Spaniards created a colony which they called New Spain to show “how the New World could serve the purposes of the Old World” (The American Promise 39). The Spanish monarchy employed a system of encomienda to govern New Spain. Because of the belief that Indians were inferior to the Spanish, the Spaniards enslaved the Natives and forced them to do hard labor. The most important treasure from the New World was “not gold but uncompensated Indian labor” (The American Promise 40). The Spaniards believed in a society of inclusion, so they tried to convert the Native Americans to Christianity. Their policy of being a society of inclusion extended into their personal lives by promoting Hispanicizing the population. The Spaniards encouraged marriages between Spanish men and Native American women. Mainly only poor, young men from common backgrounds came over to the New World, so there was a shortage of Spanish women in New Spain. Many Spanish men wed Native American women and produced interracial children known as Mestizos.