Spain in The Americas: Life Under Spanish Rule Define the following: Pueblos- Missions- Presidio- Plantation-
Life Under Spanish Rule Why did the Spanish set up missions?
Spanish Colonial Society Social Structure Native Americans Mestizos Who belongs where? Creoles Peninsulares Enslaved Africans
Spanish Colonial Society Social Structure What was the distinction between a Creole and a Mestizo? Why do you think Mestizos ranked higher than Native Americans in Spanish colonial society?
A Priest Speaks Out Bartolomé de Las Casas was one of the first settlers in the Americas. He participated in Spain’s conquest of the native Caribbean population. Representatives of the Spanish government gave him enslaved Native Americans. Some time after joining the priesthood, however, de Las Casas began to feel guilty for the wrongs done to the native peoples, and he returned his enslaved people to the government. For the next 50 years, he journeyed between America and Spain, working for better treatment of the Native Americans. He refused to perform priestly functions for any Catholic slaveholder. After he was forced out of the Americas by those who opposed him, he continued writing for freedom on behalf of oppressed Native Americans.
Bartolomé de Las Casas Las Casas's reports convinced Spanish leaders to pass the New Laws in 1542. These laws forbade enslaving Native Americans. What do you think made him speak out about how the Native Americans were treated by the Spanish? He suggested that they be replaced by enslaved Africans—a suggestion he bitterly regretted later. Why did he later regret his recommendation regarding enslaving Africans to the Spanish King?