Spanish Conquest (Part II) Summary

Conquistadors: Spanish soldiers, sought status and wealth through conquest.
Key forces: Around $600$ Spaniards, $200$ Cuban natives, and about $200000$ Native American allies.
Disease and reinforcement: Smallpox weakened the Aztecs. Spanish reinforcements arrived around $1521$ , helping the conquest after the $1520-1521$ rebellion.
Outcome: The Aztec empire rapidly collapsed due to disease, European weapons, and local allies.

Prelude: Diseases, spread through trade and early European contact, had already weakened the Inca Empire.
1524 expedition: Pizarro led an expedition toward the Incan Empire; the conquest was completed by $1531$ (a six-to-seven year process).
Spanish force: About $168$ men, $67$ horses, and recruited African mercenaries.
Inca weakness: A civil war erupted between two eldest sons after the ruler died. Half the population died from disease and internal conflict.
Atahualpa incident: The Spanish arrived with about $40000$ Inca warriors. Atahualpa was captured, held for ransom, then executed when the ransom was not paid.
Infrastructure and scale: The Incas had about $24000$ miles of roads and a sophisticated bureaucracy.

Wealth sources: Initially gold from remnants of empires; eventually, silver became the main source of wealth.
Major silver mines: $Potosi$ (Bolivia) and $Zacatecas$ (Mexico) produced vast amounts of silver.
Labor systems: Native labor and African mercenaries worked the mines.
Trade routes: Silver mined in the Americas was shipped to $Lima$ , then across the Pacific to the $Philippines$ . Chinese demand for silver was enormous.
Global impact: Large amounts of silver flowed to China, funding its markets and goods. However, inflation in Spain during the $16^{th}$ – $17^{th}$ centuries weakened Spanish power, despite the wealth.

Early exploration: In $1528$ , Florida and Alabama were explored. In $1539$ , Hernando de Soto explored the Southeast, including the Mississippi Delta; he died in $1542$ .
Coronado expedition: In the $1540s$ , Coronado explored toward the Great Plains. He saw vast plains and large buffalo herds but found no obvious wealth like gold.
Permanent settlements: Saint Augustine, Florida, was established in $1565$ as the first permanent European settlement in what is now the United States.
Presidios and missions: The Spanish later established 60 settlements along the Rio Grande. They created presidios (military posts) and missions to evangelize and maintain control.
New Mexico and California: By the $1630s$ , about $60000$ Indians lived in New Mexico; by the same period, only about $15000$ remained due to disease and raids.
Spanish colonial system: Featured forced labor and religious conversion. Missions were built in New Mexico, California, and Northern Mexico. The Alamo is an example of a presidio.

1598: Rising tensions led to open warfare in New Mexico. The Spanish seized corn and clothing, killing and raping resistors.
Revolt: 400 Spaniards were killed; about 1500 colonists and 500 Pueblo/Apache slaves fled to El Paso (about 300 miles away).
1680: Pope led a coordinated revolt involving around two dozen Pueblo villages. 21 missionaries were killed, churches desecrated, and Spaniards were driven out for about 14 years.
Aftermath: By $1696$ , Spain reasserted control but ended forced labor. The Pueblo were allowed to practice their religion and received protection from raids by Comanches and Apaches.
Long-term: The Spanish northern empire remained, but expansion slowed. Many Pueblo people intermarried with Spaniards, forming a mestizo population; however, many Pueblo maintained their traditional ways.

California settlement: Settlement slowed due to English raids elsewhere and other priorities. Missions and presidios were planned but expansion was limited.
French vs. Spanish colonization: The Spanish often forced assimilation and established missions. The French tended to live among Native Americans, converting them through assimilation rather than coercion.
Key takeaways:
- The Spanish built a vast mission-presidio network to control lands and convert populations.
- Native populations suffered greatly from disease, forced labor, and raids, though some cultural exchange occurred.
- The Southwest frontier stabilized later; long-term influence shaped demographics, culture, and religious life in the region.

$1519$ – $1521$ : Cortés and the fall of the Aztec Empire, aided by disease and allies.
$1524$ – $1531$ : Pizarro’s conquest of the Inca Empire; his force included $168$ men, $67$ horses, and African mercenaries.
$40000$ : Inca resistance at the fall of Atahualpa; he was captured, ransomed, and executed.
$24000$ miles: The Inca road network.
$Potosi$ and $Zacatecas$ : Major silver sources fueling Spanish wealth and global trade.
$1565$ : Saint Augustine, Florida, became the first permanent European settlement in what is now the United States.
Settlements: 60 settlements along the Rio Grande; 60 churches/friaries in New Mexico by the $1630s$ ; 3000 Spaniards in New Mexico by the same era.
$1680$ : Pueblo Revolt; $1696$ : Peace reasserted control and ended forced labor.
$1759$ : Context of the French and Indian War and shifting control in North America toward the English.