Iberian Peninsula

By the mid-fifteenth century political unification was underway.

1492 last Muslim kingdom falls and Jewish population removed.

Iberians were urban (lived small centers).

Commoners coming to America sought to become nobles.

Iberian Peninsula

Strong patriarchal ideas, were reflected in the family life based on encomiendas.Slavery, political patterns followed them to the New World. Religion and the Catholic church were closely linked to the state.Early merchants of Portugal and Spain brought slavery and plantation agriculture on early colonized Atlantic islands.

Conquest

First conquest period 1492-1570 established the lines of administration and economy.

The Caribbean was a model for Spanish actions in Latin America. Establish colonies, natives were distributed as laborers, diseases destroyed populations.

Conquest

Conquest was not a unified movement

Mexico and South America were the main targets. Hernan Cortes led an expedition in Mexico where he fought the Aztecs with the assistance of Indian allies. 1535 under Spanish control.

Francisco Pizarro began the conquest of the Incas and most of Peru became under their control by 1540.

2nd ConquestSpanishto adopt to New World conditions.

Central plaza for state and church buildingsRoyal administration, professional magistrates staffed the administrative structure; laws incorporated Spanish and American experience.Spanish women and African slaves came over.Ranches and sugar plantations replaced gold searches. Soon most of the Natives had died or been killed.Bartolome de las Casas began the struggle for justice for Indians.

The Conquerors

Process regulated by agreements between leaders and their governmentsLeaders received authority in return for sharing the spoils.Men joining expeditions also got a cut. People looked at this as a chance for personal fortune and Christian glory. “New Nobility”

The Conquerors

Conquerors triumphed because of their horses, better weapons, and ruthless leadership combined with European disease and Indian disunity.

Effective and ruthless leadership.

Internal divisions and rivalries within Indian Empire

Nomadic tribes offered the stiffest resistance.

The Conquerors

Brought about the question of morality. Was conquest, exploitation, and conversion justified?

Saw Natives as barbarians. De Las Casas defended the Indians, recognized them as humans, and argued that conversion had to be accomplished peacefully.

Exploitation of Indians

In Mexico and Peru nobility presided over taxation and labor demands.

Slavery was prohibited. In place the government awarded encomiendas to conquerors who used their Indians as a source of labor and taxes.

Exploitation of IndiansHarshness of these conditions led to population decline.The crown not wanting any new American nobility, modified the system.Colonists granted land, no labor. State continued to extract labor and taxes from Indians. Indians culture remained resilient and modified Spanish forms to Indian ways.