Spanish Empire With support from the Spanish monarchy (King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella), Spain began to set up empires in the New World. The conquistadores set out with three things in mind: 1. Glory (they wanted fame for themselves and their country) 2. God (they wanted to spread the Christian faith) 3. Gold (they wanted wealth for themselves and their country) Cortes (1519) - conquered the Aztec empire in Mexico - conquistadores established themselves as the new rulers of Mesoamerica, looted all the gold and silver they could find and built Mexico City on the ruins of Tenochtitlan Pizzaro (1531-1532) - following rumors of large amounts of gold and silver, found the Incas in the Andes Mountains and took over the empire after months of war

The Spaniards set up a system in the Americas that allowed them to become very wealthy and powerful. Encomiendas: titles to large estates or land grants with the right to extract tribute from the renters for the land Under the encomienda system Spain - kept tight control over its colonies - allowed these colonies to function independent of the throne, but still established an elaborate hierarchal system - controlled trade through one or two mines and focused on mining for gold and sliver The Spaniards spread this empire to North America, settling in St. Augustine in 1565, making it the first European settlement in North America. In order to mine for gold and silver, the Spaniards enslaved the native people. - the treatment of native Americans was very harsh - they demanded tribute from the tribes

- spread of diseases (smallpox, influenza, typhus) was the leading cause of death - some Spaniards worked with the Native Americans and intermarried (mestizos) - Spanish did bring new crops, domestic livestock and horses Columbian Exchange: world-wide redistribution of plants, animals and diseases that resulted from initial contacts between Europeans and Native Americans. Social Consequences: - political and spiritual leaders died and left traditions and cultures in disarray - subsistence cycles were destroyed - family life was devastated Native Americans were at a huge disadvantage and lost hundreds of thousands of people due to this exchange. The Europeans had a huge advantage over the Native Americans and went about the process of settlement.