Spanish Colonization Of Christopher Columbus

Under the monarchy of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, Spain was provided with many advantages in its conquest of the Western Hemisphere. Spanish monarchs supported several explorers ' expeditions and one of them was Christopher Columbus. In 1492 Columbus was on the look out for a better, cheaper, and faster route to Asia in order to acquire better trade goods, expand Spanish empires, and spread Christianity. It was also his last chance to sail and prove to the Spanish monarchs that he was capable of finding riches for them. Instead, he sailed west where he ran into the Western Hemisphere and discovered new lands and new people, where he thought he found India.

Native Americans were described by Columbus as timid, unknowledgeable

The Spanish brought firearms, explosive and steel weapons, of which the Native Americans had not used or seen before. As they saw the Spanish come in with these, they feared them and hid from them. The Spanish also brought horses, pigs and cattle all in which provided superiority against the Indians. The Natives did not have domesticate animals, so the impact of seeing men on horses had a vast psychological effect on them. Although the Natives outnumbered the Spanish, they were not immune to diseases such as smallpox and measles to which the Spanish brought along with them. As a result, the number of Native Americans decimated due to the natives becoming ill and dying off before they could even attack. Due to the native Americans being semi-nomadic and lacking significant fortification, helped the Spanish by easing conquering. One major important aspect was having experience, the Native Americans were always civilized with one other in contrast to the Spanish. The Spanish have a long history of warfare with other rivals over religion or territory, and this gained them enough experience to be prepared and armed for the unexpected.

Religion played an important role in colonizing the Western Hemisphere. The goal of the Spanish monarchs was to convert the Natives to Christianity. This goal became facilitated when the Spanish came to know that the "Native American religion was not that different from popular spiritual belief in Europe (pg. 9)". An example of this is Hernán Cortés, who became welcomed by the Aztec emperor since they probably believed he was their returning God. In return, Cortés received gifts of silvers and gold and ultimately Cortés conquered the Aztec