Search results
Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like Describe the Spanish EMpire, What was the hiearchy like and who was able to exert power in the government of Colonial spain?, What was the main commodity produced on Spanish "haciendas" and how was the distribution of labor divided up between Indians and Spaniards? and more.
Quiz yourself with questions and answers for Spanish Empire and Colonial Government - practice test, so you can be ready for test day. Explore quizzes and practice tests created by teachers and students or create one from your course material.
People also ask
How was government divided between Indians and Spaniards?
What is the imperial title in medieval Spain?
Which countries were ruled by Spanish colonists?
What was the cultural legacy of the Spanish empire overseas?
Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like who oversaw the height of the spanish empire, what did his empire include, who was included in the spanish armada and more.
The Spanish Empire, [b] sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy [c] or the Catholic Monarchy, [d] [5] [6] [7] was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. [8] [9] In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It achieved a global scale, [10] controlling vast portions of the Americas ...
- Overview
- Treaty of Tordesillas
- Conquistadores and Spanish colonization
- The Spanish Golden Age
- What do you think?
The Spanish gained an early foothold in the colonies, quickly becoming the most powerful European power in the New World.
Columbus’s colonization of the Atlantic islands inaugurated an era of aggressive Spanish expansion across the Atlantic. Spanish colonization after Columbus accelerated the rivalry between Spain and Portugal to an unprecedented level. The two powers vied for domination through the acquisition of new lands.
In the 1480s, Pope Sixtus IV had granted Portugal the right to all land south of the Cape Verde islands, leading the Portuguese king to claim that the lands discovered by Columbus belonged to Portugal, not Spain. But in 1493, Spanish-born Pope Alexander VI issued two papal decrees giving legitimacy to Spain’s Atlantic claims over the claims of Portugal. Hoping to salvage Portugal’s holdings, King João II negotiated a treaty with Spain. The Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 drew a north-to-south line through South America. Spain gained territory west of the line, while Portugal retained the lands east of the line, including the east coast of Brazil.
Columbus’s discovery opened a floodgate of Spanish exploration. Inspired by tales of rivers of gold and timid, malleable native peoples, later Spanish explorers were relentless in their quest for land and gold. Spanish explorers with hopes of conquest in the New World were known as conquistadores. Hernán Cortés arrived on Hispaniola in 1504 and participated in the conquest of the Island. Cortés then led the exploration of the Yucatán Peninsula in hopes of attaining glory.
In 1519, Cortés entered Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec/Mexica Empire. He and his men were astonished by the sophisticated gardens and temples in the city, but they were horrified by the practice of human sacrifice. Above all, the Aztec wealth in gold fascinated the Spanish explorers.
Hoping to gain power over the city, Cortés took Moctezuma, the Aztec ruler, hostage. The Spanish then murdered hundreds of high-ranking Mexica during a religious festival, but the people of Tenochtitlán quickly retaliated. Cortés and his people fled for their lives.
Following his defeat, Cortés slowly created alliances and recruited tens of thousands of native peoples who resented Aztec rule. Only by playing upon the disunity among the diverse groups in the Aztec Empire were the Spanish able to capture Tenochtitlán. In August 1521, Cortés claimed Tenochtitlán for Spain and renamed it Mexico City. The Spanish also brought smallpox, which took a heavy toll on the people in Tenochtitlán. Illness played a much greater role in the city’s downfall than violence.
Cortés was also aided by a Nahua woman called Malintzin—also known as La Malinche or Doña Marina, her Spanish name—whom the natives of Tabasco gave him as tribute. Malintzin translated for Cortés and, whether willingly or under duress, entered into a physical relationship with him. Their son, Martín, may have been the first mestizo—person of mixed indigenous American and European descent. Malintzin remains a controversial figure in the history of the Atlantic World; some people view her as a traitor because she helped Cortés conquer the Aztecs, while others see her as a victim of European expansion. Regardless, without Malintzin’s help, Cortés would not have been able to dismantle the Aztec Empire.
Another conquistador, Francisco Pizarro, made his way to the Spanish Caribbean in 1509, drawn by the promise of wealth and titles. He participated in successful expeditions in Panama before following rumors of Inca wealth to the south. Although his first efforts against the Inca Empire in the 1520s failed, Pizarro captured the Inca emperor Atahualpa in 1532 and executed him soon thereafter. In 1533, Pizarro founded Lima, Peru. Like Cortés, Pizarro had to combat not only the native peoples of the lands he was conquering but also competitors from his own country—a Spanish rival, Diego de Almagro, assassinated him in 1541.
By 1600, Spain had reaped substantial monetary benefits from New World resources. Gold and silver began to connect European nations through trade, and the Spanish money supply ballooned, which signified the beginning of the economic system known as capitalism. The new riches ultimately created mass inflation and economic distress. However, Spain gained creative capital from their new global reach. These developments catapulted Spain into the Golden Age, or Siglo de Oro.
Riches poured in from the colonies, and new ideas poured in from other countries and new lands. The Habsburg dynasty—who ruled over the territories of Austria, the Netherlands, Naples, Sicily, and Spain—encouraged and financed a blossoming Spanish Renaissance culture, both in the colonies and in Spain.
One of this period’s most famous works is the novel The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, by Miguel de Cervantes. This two-volume book—1605 and 1618—told a colorful tale of a hidalgo, or gentleman, who reads so many tales of chivalry and knighthood that he becomes unable to tell reality from fiction. With his faithful sidekick Sancho Panza, Don Quixote leaves reality behind and sets out to revive chivalry by doing battle with what he perceives as the enemies of Spain.
Spain also produced impressive art at this time. Las Meninas, The Maids of Honor, painted by Diego Velázquez in 1656, is one of the best-known paintings in history. Velázquez painted himself into this imposingly large royal portrait—he’s shown holding his brush and easel on the left—and boldly placed the viewer where the king and queen would stand in the scene.
How did native people shape the course of Spanish conquest?
Why did many conquistadores fail to establish colonies in the New World? What factors lead to their demise?
How did the Golden Age of Spain communicate similar ideals to that of the Spanish colonization project?
[Notes and attributions]
Jun 13, 2022 · The apparatus of colonial government in the Spanish Empire consisted of multiple levels, starting with the monarchy and Council of the Indies at the top and moving down to the viceroy, audiencias, mayors...
Key terms. The Spanish colonial caste system. A diagram illustrating the Spanish caste system. The Peninsulares had the most power, but were a small group. The Native Americans and African slaves had the least amount of power, but had the largest population. A diagram illustrating the Spanish caste system. Core historical themes.
