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Spanish colonization in the Americas
Spanish colonization in North America
Spanish colonization in the Americas
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The Colonial Era consisted of Europeans making settlements on the North American Continent. All thanks goes out to Christopher Columbus during his voyage because he brought together Europe, Africa and America and the completion of the voyage by Magellan who also played a part in being the first person to circumnavigate around the world. With Columbus and Magellan leading the way, Portugal and Spain were able to become their own colonizing nations. There was an obvious difference when it came to the reasons for the conquest between the two countries. Portugal started with sea routes and trading ports in Africa and in the East. The Spanish on the other hand was in search of Gold. The wealth in America made Spain the most powerful. Spain and …show more content…
Portugal were later split between West and East, this paper will focus more on colonizing in the west because Portuguese decided to focus on navigation and geography while the Spanish continued to expedite and colonize. This paper will discuss how Spain colonized/attempted to colonize New Mexico, Texas and California describing the ups and downs of colonizing while discussing the first and only successful revolt in opposition to European invaders, answer why Mexico wanted its independence and how it led to the Mexican-American War and the Gold rush. Since Portugal created a port in every country, they were able to sail all the way around Africa and open up the trade route to China because of Magellan.
They formed a commercial empire, using their trade bases. Colonization continued to be coastal until the slaves arrived on the first land. Portuguese wanted the territory to be able to run without the crown, so the crown spreaded the control to different levels of government powers. Portugal continued to get more land in the New World that clouded the line of demarcation - the line in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean dividing Portugal and Spain. Portugal had little to no luck finding gold so they began to search for other resources and enslaved Indians for labor. They soon colonized Brazil, in which it was mainly used for its resource of red dye and sugar that Europe had a high demand for. The slavery of Indians was problematic being that they were dying from diseases brought by Europeans, so they decided to import more Africans instead. Portugal dramatically changed African slavery because they sent slaves to new destinations with Angola being the hot …show more content…
spot. In contrast, the way Spain granted land differed from the Portuguese system. The Spanish crown maintained all control of its territories. The Spanish had a cumbersome system, which required the approval of Spain for each and every decision. Spain was searching in Mexico and Peru for gold, in fact Spain had more gold and silver than the New World. Spain set up its new government system to control its American colonies to make profit and to Christianize them. Eventually, the Treaty of Tordesillas came about and divided the territory between east and west, meaning all newly discovered land to the east would belong to Portugal and the land to the west belongs to Spain. Spain was given all of Americas except for Brazil which Portugal has along with Asia and Africa. In the West, New Mexico was the first center of colonization.
There were two phases to get New Mexico colonized, failed conquest and Santa Fe Colony. With the motivation of gold, Juan de Onate was the first to try to conquer New Mexico. He set up an oppressive regime. Since he failed to find gold, he was called back to Mexico by 1606. Missionaries complained about his mistreatment towards the Indians because it made it hard for them to convert them to Christianity. Next, Spain set up its new colony, Santa Fe, in New Mexico. Now, there were only two thousand Spanish and ten times that of pueblos in New Mexico, which led to a revolt in 1680. The revolt consisted of churches being burned and priests being tortured. The surviving Spanish fled to El Paso and did not return until the 1690’s. This was the first and only successful revolt in opposition to European
invaders. Determined to overcome that failure, Spain decided to send explorers to Texas for wealth and to spread Catholicism. Fray Damian Massanet convinced Spain to colonize East Texas and convert people to catholic. Many missions were built but they all failed because Native Americans died from diseases. Joes de Escandon led Spain’s conquest to South Texas. He sent people to settle the lands between Rio Grande and Nueces settlements. In 1682, the Spanish established its first successful mission in Texas. The mission was called “Isleta Del Sur”. Even Though Spain were unable to find riches in Texas, they still decided to colonize Texas because Spain did not want the French to settle Texas. In the 18th century, Spain colonized California. At first, the Spanish only focused on the wealthier parts of the empire until they noticed that the outsiders were starting to become interested. It lead them to officially making their presence known in California. The Spanish explored California while still on the search for gold, they were looking for an island with Amazon-like women who they knew used gold weapons. The colonization of California led to 21 missions being built which had its own pros and cons. They provided the presidios with food and gave Spanish a secure position with California but on the negative side, it exposed the Europeans to diseases like the small pox. All in all, California offered ports with San Francisco Bay and San Diego Bay, which were in the ideal situation to open the United States to trade with Asia. California also offered more resources including tracts of lumber, a range of mineral deposits, and acres of land and good for agriculture. As the end of the 18th Century was approaching, New Spain’s rebellion against its government was at an all times high because of the change needed socially, radically and politically. It is safe to say that class structure soon led to a revolt. People were denied rights because of their ethnicity. Peninsulares were the only class allowed to work government jobs. Creoles were one hundred percent unhappy with their class status. But beneath were the Mestizos and the Mulattoes who were denied wealth and status. Father Miguel Hidalgo was the leader who planned the revolt. He took the time to teach the Indians how to fight and to make weapons. He gave the “Grito de Dolores” speech that called for better treatment of the Natives. He expressed that it was time for them to get back the freedom that they have lost. The battle happened at Guanajuato between his men and the Spanish Soldiers. The Spaniards were killed and Hidalgo was executed soon after. After Hidalgo, Jose Maria Morelos continued to fight for their freedom and finally achieved it in a total of 11 years. Once Mexico received its independence, they had two types of government with one being a government with an emperor and the other with a republic where the people choose their own officials. Since Spain ruled them with an emperor, it was easy for them to choose that type of government because that is what they were most used to. Following Mexican independence, The Mexican-American War came about. It was a conflict between the United States and Mexico from April 25th 1846 to February 2nd 1848 with two phases, the rebellion and the occupation. It was started because of the annexation of Texas, which to Mexico was an act of war. Mexico felt like Texas was stealing territory, even though Texas was independent of Mexico. They felt like Texas would be that one rotten apple that would spoil the others, meaning they felt Texas would encourage New Mexico and California to rebel. President Polk knew there would be a chance of war so he tried to prevent it by offering to pay thirty million dollars for California and Mexico, which his offer was refused because Mexico was about to lose Texas and they did not want to add to that list of loses. Among all of this, they also could not decide on a border because one side wanted Rio Grande while the other side wanted the border to be Nueces River. Americans thought that Mexico was the brick wall between them and their “Manifest Destiny” being that it was their God-Given fate to take over everything from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Mexico knew that they would be pretty much out of luck if they did not make peace with America. So they decided to sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, which forced Mexico to hand over New Mexico and California to the United States for fifteen million dollars. By the end of the Mexican- American War, the United States was able to finally reach its Manifest Destiny. Later, the Gadsden Purchase took place where the United States paid a sum of ten million dollars to Mexico for land in Arizona to be able to build railroads. Two weeks prior of signing the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo that ended the Mexican-American War, gold was discovered in California. James Marshall who is a carpenter for John Sutter saw flakes of gold at the mill house that he was building. Sutter knew that once the news surfaced that his mills would never be completed and that his crops would be trampled, but basically he just wanted to be able to continue farming. The California gold rush large mining companies were taking over and they replaced the independent miners. California’s population grew tremendously, two hundred and fifty thousand more to be exact, when President Polk confirmed the news to the world where the gold was located. California was filled with fortune-seekers, with few finding wealth and many leaving the same as they arrived. There were three main routes used to come to California which was sailing around South America, Panama to the Pacific Coast and traveling on trails to North America. Enough gold was found to pay for the Mexican-American war a trillion times. The Gold rush fever became the American dream. In Conclusion, the Portuguese and Spain was divided by the Treaty of Tordesillas into west and east Portuguese focused on navigation and geographical observation while the Spanish continued to colonize in the west. They first tried to colonize New Mexico but the oppressive regime that Juan de Onate setup failed. So, they decided to establish a new colony, Santa Fe, which resulted in a revolt. Next, Spain colonized Texas, which happened because Spain did not want the French to settle Texas. Lastly, the colonization of California which landed them in the ideal situation to open the United States to trade with Asia. Later in the 18th Century, Spain rebelled against its own government because they disliked the structure of the classes and they wanted to get back their freedom. It took Mexico 11 years to receive its independence. Mexican Independence led to the Mexican-American war that started because of the annexation of Texas but signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 that forced Mexico to hand over California to the United states ended it. The United States finally received its Manifest Destiny after the war. Soon After, Gold was found in California and it forever transformed America's idea of success.
...ything and everyone that were there. At times they would work with the Natives at other times they would be at war with the natives. The Spanish had been engaged with the natives longer and over time felt the best way to control them would be to convert them or put them into same locations where they could “keep an eye on them”. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680 was proof that no matter what they tried, when one man, country, or society tries to oppress another, war is almost always inevitable.
In the 17th century, Europeans were eager to colonize in the newly discovered world. Europe was willing to invest time, resources and money into expanding their power. Powerful nations such as Spain, France and Britain settled there by this time and subtly encouraged Europe to do the same. Europe sent people overseas to two sections, The Massachusetts Bay Colony and the Chesapeake Colony. At the beginning, every aspect influenced their colonies success such as social, political, economic, and geographic.
They formed many colonies that became very successful and were able to provide for themselves as well. Spain, France, and Great Britain all colonized North America seeking money and trade. Spain differed in their strategy to colonize because it was more religiously motivated than France and Great Britain. France’s colonial strategy was to create trade, and tried to avoid cultural centers, or large populations, which made it very hard to enforce what they wanted done. Many of France’s colonies were either dispersed from wars or were sold. Great Britain’s colonial strategy was to create colonies that were able to thrive, to create trade, and extend their empire. Many of the colonies were able to thrive and sustain life without the need for much help. They were able to create trade through their colonies producing goods and shipping them back overseas to them. Also, the number of colonies Great Britain had made it easy to extend their empire in North
In 1419, Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal began the period of time known as the “Age of Exploration”. Europe’s leading superpowers, France, Spain, Portugal, Holland, and England, all competed for colonization in unknown territories. Samuel de Champlain colonized along the St. Lawrence River in 1608, Henry Hudson of Holland established Albany in 1609, and Spain established colonies in Mexico and Mesoamerica. In 1607, England established its first colony in North America around the Chesapeake Bay, and nearly a decade later established a second colony in present-day New England. Both New England and the Chesapeake were founded by the British around the same time; however, both colonies developed a different economy, government, and many other ways of life.
When they found the “new world” is too weak to resist the invasion of European, they started to establish the colony in America. Bartolomé de Las Casas used to be a priest who explored America on Hispaniola and Cuba. But after he witnessed the colonists enslave and mistreat Indians, he changed his mind and start to protect the Indians. He free his Indian slaves in 1514, and start to against Spanish mistreat them (Foner, p.7). After that, he made the effort to liberate the Indian slaves, and he had backed to Spain several times want to make the King reduce the heavy labor of Indians. Finally, Spain published New Laws in 1542, which indicate that Indians no longer be enslaved (Foner, p.7).
Beginning in 1492, Spain had been the first European nation to sail westward across the Atlantic Ocean and colonize the Amerindian nations of the Western Hemisphere. The empire that came from this exploration extended from Virginia on the
It wasn’t until the Indians were being mistreated that the retaliations began. The Spanish were quicker to mistreat the Indians than the English. Their rule, as per Columbus, was predominately using the Indians as workers, planters, builders, and basically slaves. Pretty quickly, the Spanish began to bully the Indians to do their dirty work and also convert them to the preferred Christian religion. According to Taylor, the English and the Spanish were similar in their treatment of the Natives. Both wanting them to change beliefs, used whatever force they deemed necessary. The English, in particular had troubles with the Powhatan Indians and the Spanish with the Pueblo Indians. This forced conversions and brutality is what later caused extreme problems and conflicts between the Natives and the
After the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus, European Nations competed in a race against one another to claim pieces of the new land. Before Columbus found this land, the sea separating the New World from Europe seemed endless, and mundane. The Europeans were only interested in the land to the East. But with the New World as a new hat thrown into the ring, the Europeans tossed aside their old toy to go play with a new one. This time period of conquest over the New World was known as the Age of Exploration, and by the 1700s, they kept their pickings. A New World meant more land to build homes and plant crops, and more money to be earned by buying out new houses and selling new crops grown in foreign soil. Spain claimed Mexico, and the Southwest portions of what would be known as America. France got their hands on most of present-day Canada, as well as Louisiana. The Dutch set foot on land they called New Amsterdam, however, The English, who had settled their first colony in Jamestown, Virginia, drove the Dutch out and claimed New Amsterdam for themselves, later renaming it New York. The English claimed more land as time passed, and eventually they had formed 13 different colonies in the Eastern part of America. The English Colonies were separated into 3 different regions. The New England Colonies (Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire), the Middle Colonies (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware), and the Southern Colonies (Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia). The New England Colonies were the earliest of the 3 regions, founded by English Settlers seeking religious freedom. The Middle Colonies were also founded by settlers seeking religious freedom. The Southern Colonies,...
Immediately following the war with Spain, the United States had both the political will to pursue imperial policies and the geopolitical circumstances conducive to doing so. But the way in which these policies would manifest was an open question; was the impulse to actively remake the world in America’s Anglo-Saxon image justified? Hence, there were several models of American imperialism at the turn of the twentieth century. In the Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Samoa, the United States asserted unwavering political control. In Cuba, and later throughout most of the Caribbean basin, the economic and political domination of customarily sovereign governments became the policy. Ultimately, the United States was able to expand its territory
The immediate cause of the European voyages of discovery was the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks in 1453. While Egypt and Italian city-state of Venice was left with a monopoly on ottoman trade for spices and eastern goods it allowed Portugal and Spain to break the grip by finding an Atlantic route. Portugal took the lead in the Atlantic exploration because of the reconquest from the Muslims, good finances, and their long standing seafaring traditions. In dealing with agriculture, The Portuguese discovered Brazil on accident, but they concentrated on the Far East and used Brazil as a ground for criminals. Pernambuco, the first area to be settled, became the world’s largest sugar producer by 1550. Pernambuco was a land of plantations and Indian slaves. While the market for sugar grew so did the need for slaves. Therefore the African Slave start became greatly into effect. Around 1511 Africans began working as slaves in the Americas. In 1492, Columbus embarked on his voyage from Spain to the Americas. The Euro...
The Spanish rule had effectively started to take over in 1598 when a man by the name of Juan de Onante began his invasion on the indigenous people. Onante was able to set up the first Spanish colony which consisted of soldiers and women and children. The land that he invaded was inhabited by the Natives but when they had the first colony the Spanish began to segregate the natives into two groups the “Barbaros” and the “Pueblos”. The Spanish colonization had over 100 communities spreading over hundreds of miles. Although, they were lumped into ‘...
The Colonial Age, an era of America settlement and the starting foundation of this country, shaped what we know as America now. The Colonial Era is where the enlightenment of economic control emerged, cultural and social diversity, and the formation of strict religion. Many nations came to America to establish wealth, and some came to flee from religious persecution. The first known colony established was Jamestown, also referred to as the New World. Here many events took place that set the foundation. Farming was essential
The idea of exploration and colonization eventually led to beginning of slavery system in Europe. The Europeans started to treat original inhabitants of the land as lower human beings and decided to use them for hard labors. The slave trade initiated by Portugal expanded quickly among Europeans and “the Portuguese base at Elmina became an infamous link in the chain that brought millions of [Africans] to the Americas . . . by 1700s, 30,000 slaves were passing through Elmina each year” (Andrews 9). The idea of slavery started in the Renaissance and continued even after Renaissance period. At first, slave trade was a small business that only involved a small amount of people in Africa. Although Vasco da Gama was not slave trader, he was involved with the Portuguese who made profits from slavery. The slavery system was devastating result of colonization to Africans, but their contributions changed the lives of Europeans during the Renaissance. The slave trade reduced the labor costs and workers to complete hard tasks. As a result, these changes help Europeans to spend their money on other important missions like trades and conversions. Slavery was only beneficial to Europe while damaging many small African communities. However, without slavery, the industrial world of Renaissance period could not have experienced significant
The conquest of Mexico began when Hernando Cortes first arrived in South America. When he started his first movement of the conquest, some people looked at him as a great leader or a God and others saw him as a simple man. His conquest brought the Spaniards and Indians happiness and sorrow at the same time. The differences between the Spaniards and the Indian accounts were vast and varied from writer to writer, for a man's deeds could be bad and good.
Scholars have debated not only the nature of Iberian colonialism, but also the impact that independence had on the people of Latin America. Historian Jaime E. Rodriguez said that, “The emancipation of [Latin America] did not merely consist of separation from the mother country, as in the case of the United States. It also destroyed a vast and responsive social, political, and economic system that functioned well despite many imperfections.” I believe that when independence emerged in Latin America, it was a positive force. However, as time progressed, it indeed does cause conflict.