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Spanish Colonization of Latin America. Colonization. God, Gold, Glory Spread of the Roman Catholic Religion Reason—Gold , raw materials, and cash crops. Conquistadors were generally men looking to gain fame by conquering others. Columbus and Early Settlements.
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Colonization • God, Gold, Glory • Spread of the Roman Catholic Religion • Reason—Gold, raw materials, and cash crops. • Conquistadors were generally men looking to gain fame by conquering others
Columbus and Early Settlements • In 1492 Christopher Columbus landed on the island of San Salvador in the Bahamas. Columbus also explored Cuba and Hispaniola on his voyages. • The Spanish settled in the Caribbean islands and used the islands as a base to explore the mainland
Cortes and the Aztecs • In February, 1519 Hernan Cortez left Cuba with 500 men and sailed to Mexico. • When he arrived, Cortez made alliances with enemies of the Aztecs and moved toward Tenochtitlan. • Some Aztecs believed that Cortez may have actually been their god, Quetzalcoatl • After much fighting, by August 1521, Cortez had defeated Montezuma and the Aztecs, establishing a Spanish presence on the mainland
Pizarro and the Inca In 1532 Francisco Pizarro led his third expedition into South America, looking for gold. Pizarro led 200 Spaniards and several South American enemies of the Inca against the 80,000 Inca. In 1533, Pizarro overthrew the government of Atahualpa and the Spanish took custody of most of South America
Reasons for Spanish Victory • Guns • Horses • Armor • Disease 5. Alliances with enemies of the Aztecs and Inca
Life during the Colonial Period • Encomienda—land grants given to nativesclose to a plantation owned by a Spanish landlord. The natives worked on the land, but gave most of what they grew or mined to the Spanish landlord • Mestizo—a person of mixed race, Spanish and native. Soldiers intermarried with natives on the mainland and the Caribbean. Mestizos were seen as better than natives, but not as good as Spaniards. A distinct social class structure was set up in Spanish colonies. 1) Pure Spaniards born in Spain 2) Pure Spaniards born in the Americas 3)Mestizos 4) Pure Natives
Life under Spanish Rule The Spanish were brutal toward natives. Thousands were killed in battle, from overwork, and from disease. Natives were forced to work for the Spaniards on plantations and in mines, where they looked for gold and silver. The Spanish were able to take control of all of the land of Mesoamerica, the western portion of North America, and all of South America except Brazil (which was granted to Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas). While they claimed all of the land, most of it was still uninhabited by the Spanish. Spain used the colonies to become the richest nation on earth.
