AMSCO

Spanish empire began with ambitious and skilled leaders ruled by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella

Conquistadores - explorers and conquerors

Spain rapidly expanded its wealth and power using labor provided by Natives and enslaved Africans

Spain’s initial supremacy in the Americas was primarily caused by the journey across the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean by Vasco Nunez de Balboa, the circumnavigation of the world by Ferdinand Magellan’s ships, the conquests of the Aztecs by Hernan Cortes, and the conquest of the Incas by Pizzaro

Conquistadores sent ships loaded with gold and silver back to Spain which increased the gold supply, making it the richest and most powerful kingdom in Europe

Spanish used the encomienda system to control the surviving Natives in which Spai’ns king granted natives who lived on a tract of land to individual Spaniads. These Natvies were forced to farm or work in the mines. The earnings of their labor were sent to the Spanish, who in turn, had to “care for the Indians.

The Portuguese used enslaved African labor and showed that using them was extremely profitable. The Spanish added them to the labor force to replace the Indians who were dying due to disease.

The Spanish imported them under the asiento system which required colonists ti pay a tax to the Spanish king on each enslaved person they imported to the Americas

Transatlantic slave trade - The transportation of African slaves to the Americas. Slave trades sent between 10-15 million enslaved people from Africa. Ended in late 1800s

Middle Passage - the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in which 15-20% of Africans died

African Resistance - Africans resisted to slavery by running away, sabotaging work, or revolting. They also maintained their religion, music, and folkways.

Spanish Caste System - Due to the combination of Natives, Europeans, and Africans, the colonies became ethnically diverse. Since most Spanish colonists were single men, many of them had children with native or African women.

Europeans and Natives held conflicting views such as, most Europeans were monotheists whereas Natives were pantheists. European women played little part in public like, while Native women made very important tribal decisions. Europeans used legal documents to establish land-owning rules while Natives relied on tradition

Europeans who colonized the Americas viewed Natives as people who were inferior and could be used for capital gain, converted to Christianity, and used as military allies.

Bartolome de Las Casas - Spanish priest who dissented from the views toward Native Americans. He became an advocate for Natives and persuaded the king to institute the New Lawe of 1542

New Laws of 1542 - Laws that ended Native slavery, stopped Native forced labor, and began thee end to the encomienda system. Many conservative Spaniards wanted to repel the New Laws.

Valladolid Debate - The debate over the role for Indians in the Spanish Colonies. Las Casas argues that the Natives were human and morally equal to Europeans so they should not be enslaves, while Sepulveda argued that Natives were less than human and that they could benefit from exploiting them.

English Policy - the English settled in areas with no large native empires that could provide labor. When English Colonists arrived, Spanish disease had already reduced the Native population drastically. Many English colonists came in families so marriage with Natives was less common. At first, the English and the Natives coexisted, traded, and shared ideas. The Natives taught the settlers how to grow new crops and hunt. They traded furs for many English goods such as iron tools and weapons. Peaceful relations slowly gave way to conflict. English saw Native culture as savage. English occupied the land and forced Native tribes to move away.

French Policy - The French viewed Natives as economic and military allies. The French maintained good relations with the tribes they encountered. They built trading posts throughout the St. Lawrence Valley, the Great Lakes region, and along the MS river. The French posed less of a threat to the NAtvies than other Europeans. In fact, the French assisted the Huron people in fighting their enemy, the Iroquois.

As European settlements began to grow, Natives responded to protect their cultures, THey did this by allying with one European power (ex - several tried in Emxico allied with the Spanish to help them win their freedom from the Aztecs) and migrating west, though this led to conflict with other Native tribes

Africans had a large impact on cultural traditions in the Americas. They led to rice becoming an important crop in some Southern colonies, they brought musical rhythms and styles that shaped the development of music and introduced the banjo to the Europeans. However, the Europeans justified slavery in many ways by using the Bible. Slavery became exclusive for Africans, so Europeans began to argue that the Africans were biologically inferior, which was similar to the way Sepulveda regarded the Natives