Warm Up - GRAB A BOOK
• Turn to page 975. Read the passage by Bernal
Diaz, The True History of the Conquest of
New Spain.
• Answer the 3 Analyzing Primary Resources
questions at the bottom of the page.
• THERE IS A SPACE ON THE SECTION
2 QUIZ WORKSHEET FOR YOUR
RESPONSES
The Spanish/Portuguese
Colonization of the Americas
Chapter 16 Sections 1&2
Pages 386-393
EQ: How do the Spanish & Portuguese set
up and control their vast new empires?
In the Beginning
• The players: Portugal and Spain
• 1492: Columbus sails the ocean blue…for
Spain…4 voyages.
• A subsequent wave of exploration from
Spain and Portugal to the New World
begins…And within 30 years, flotillas
(Spanish fleets) sail on a quest to colonize
and conquer the New World…begins in
Caribbean and spreads from there
• What was the Spanish motivation???
• GGGG !!! Gold, God and Glory…and GREED
Why was it so easy to conquer and colonize
the New World?
• 1. Superior military technology
– Spanish had horses (an animal which “scared” natives), guns,
cannons, armor to protect from Native spears and arrows
• 2. Crumbling empires in the New World
– Each civilization (except the Maya which had vanished) was
divided internally and the Spanish took sides
• 3. Disease
– As you know, European diseases killed many natives
• 4. Religious beliefs (Very Superstitious…writings on the
wall)
– Many Aztecs and Incas believed it was the end of the world
when the Spanish arrived
The Governing of Spanish Latin America
• The Spanish divided their
territory up into 5 colonies
(viceroyalties)
– Viceroyalties of New Spain,
New Granada, Peru, La Plata
and Cuba/Hispaniola
• These colonies were ruled by
viceroys (who came only
from Spain) and laws were
written for the colonies by
the king’s advisors, the
Council of the Indies
• The role of the church was
quite important. The
Catholic Church established
a goal to Christianize all the
“heathens” of the empire.
Geography of a Spanish Town
• Every Spanish
settlement had to be
built this way
• Why?
• Each settlement was
built around 4 main
elements
– 1. A Catholic Church
– 2. A market place
– 3. A military garrison
– 4. A government
office (town hall)
Economy of Spanish Latin America
• Economic development: Spain closely managed their economic
trade. The colonies could only send goods back to Spain and laws
forbad trade with other countries (early on, this changed later).
• The plantation economy was established and the conquistadors
became wealthy estate owners > they were granted encomiendas,
the right to demand tribute or labor from native on their land
• Still, with so many natives dead from disease the Spanish had to
find a way to put labor on their plantations > slave trade from
Africa
Social Aspects of Spanish Settlement
• A distinct social structure emerges
• 1. Peninsulares – Native Spanish who hold highest
positions in the colonies
• 2. Creoles – Spanish born in the colonies who owned
the land (plantations) and mines (limited by the
Peninsulares)
• 3. Mixed groups - Mestizos (mix between Spanish
and native) and Mulatto (mix between Spanish or
native and African)
• 4. Any full blooded native or African was in the
lowest class (mistreated slaves and natives)
• THIS SOCIAL SYSTEM explains the roots of
discontent that will lead to revolutions in the late
18th/early 19th centuries and issues that exist today
The Portuguese and Brazil
• Portugal and Spain had an
immediate dispute over New
World territory > The pope settled
this in 1493 by drawing a line
down the middle of the Atlantic
• Then, in the Treaty of Tordesillas
of 1494 another line was drawn a
few hundred miles west
• This line gave Portugal control of
a large portion of eastern South
America, present day Brazil
The Portuguese and Brazil
• The Portuguese system was
different…
– There was no instant wealth
from gold or conquering of
civilizations
– Early settlements were coastal,
but later shifted inland into
plantation agriculture supported
by slaves (SUGAR)
– There was a slow push into the
Amazon interior as many eager
settlers attacked small native
groups and claimed land to
create cattle ranches
– The Portuguese traded with
EVERYBODY…not like the
Spanish
Activities…whatever not finished is
homework…
• Intro LA Revolutions Poster Project
• Guided Worksheet & Quiz: Chapter 16
Section 2 (Pages 386-393)…becomes
homework if you do not finish today!
DON’T FORGET THE WARM
UP…Pg 975.