Globalization and Subjugation: Economic Shifts and the Encomienda System

From Mediterranean to Atlantic: The age of exploration shifted economic power from Mediterranean seaports like Venice to the Atlantic states.
New Trading Ports: Antwerp in The Netherlands became prosperous due to its central location to Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English trading routes. Amsterdam, London, and Bristol followed.

Spanish Societal Structure: The Spanish created a new societal structure in the Americas.
Encomienda System:
- Introduced by Columbus in the Caribbean and spread throughout Spanish settlements.
- Encomenderos (leading men) were granted land.
- Natives on the land became unpaid laborers for farming or mining.
- It was a brutal system justified on religious grounds.
Religious Justification:
- Spanish exploration was motivated by the spread of Christianity.
- Ferdinand and Isabella issued the Requerimiento, establishing the basis for the encomienda system.
- The Pope granted Spanish monarchs authority to claim lands and proselytize.
- Priests had the protection of the crown.
- Natives submitting to the system were granted protection; those who didn't could be subjugated or killed.

Forced Labor of Natives: Natives were subjected to forced labor on Spanish plantations under the encomienda system.
Search for Mineral Wealth: Colonizers initially sought mineral wealth but shifted focus to planting due to the warm climate in the Caribbean, South America, and North America.
Increased Demand for Goods: Goods like sugar and coffee, once luxury items, became cheaper and more accessible to the middle class, spiking demand.