Spain Builds an American Empire and stuff

Spanish Conquest in Mexico Hernando Cortes landed on the shores of Mexico and colonized several Caribbean islands Cortes and many other Spanish explorers who followed him were known as conquistadors or conquerors Rumors of vast lands filled with gold and silver led to many conquistadors traveling to Mexico, South America, and the US The Spanish were the first European settlers in Americas

Cortes Conquers the Aztecs Once he landed in Mexico he learned of the vast and rich empire known as the Aztecs At first the Aztec rulers thought that Cortes was a God wearing armor and agreed to give the explorer some of his gold supply Cortes was not happy with the amount and during that spring he killed many Aztec warriors and chiefs while they were celebrating a religious festival Aztecs obviously rebelled and drove Cortes out however he stayed back and later conquered the Aztecs Not only did Cortes and his men have better weapons but they also had a built up immune system that the Natives did not

Spain’s pattern of Conquest In building their new American empire the Spaniards drew from techniques used during the reconquista of Spain When conquering the Muslims, Spaniards lived among them and imposed their culture Same happened with the natives Spanish settlers and native women became common relationships and this mixed Spanish and Native American population became known as Mestizo In effort to exploit the land for its precious resources, Spanish forced Native Americans to work within the system known as encomienda. Under this system Natives farmed, ranched, or mined for Spanish landlords

Spain’s Influence Expands Spain’s American colonies helped make it the richest and most powerful nation of the 16th century Catholic priests had accompanied conquistadors from the very beginning of American colonization These priests worked to spread Christianity and pushed for better treatment of the Native Americans The Spanish government ends up abolishing encomienda Not only were the priests upset about the system but also the natives were fighting back At this point though that was the last thing on Spain’s mind since other European nations would begin to colonize in America

European Nations Settle N.A. 1494 the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed that divided newly discovered lands between Spain and Portugal Many other European countries ignored this treaty and built their own empires in the Americas Samuel de Champlain (from France) landed on Quebec, which became the base of France’s colonial empire in North America

English Arrive in North America In 1606 three ships pushed out of an English harbor and 4 months later reached the coast of Virginia The settlers wanted to find gold and were not worried about food and because of this 7/10 people died of hunger, disease, or battles

Puritans create “New England” Pilgrim: group of people who founded a colony of Plymouth to escape religious persecution in England Puritans: group of people who sought freedom from religious persecution Puritans did not want to separate from the Church of England. They wanted to "purify" it of practices they considered too Catholic. Pilgrims were also called Separatists. They wanted to break with the Church of England.

Struggles of North America English became hungry for more land and pushed farther west and collided with France French and Indian War: was a part of a larger conflict known as the seven year’s war British colonists defeated the French

1763  Treaty of Paris France --> lost her Canadian possessions, most of her empire in India, and claims to lands east of the Mississippi River. Spain --> got all French lands west of the Mississippi River, New Orleans, but lost Florida to England. England --> got all French lands in Canada, exclusive rights to Caribbean slave trade, and commercial dominance in India.

North America in 1763