SPANISH EXPLORATION AND COLONIZATION OF THE AMERICAS Also Known as “The Encounter”

Causes of Spanish Exploration and Colonization of the Americas  God, Gold, Glory- What do you think this means?

More Causes  The Crusades  Ottoman control of Middle East  Renaissance  Scientific Revolution  The Reconquista  The Protestant Reformation  New Technology

Columbian Exchange From Old World to New WorldFrom New World to Old World wheat sugar bananas rice grapes horses pigs cattle sheep chickens smallpox measles typhus corn potato beans peanuts squash pumpkin tomatoes avocados chili pepper pineapple cocoa tobacco quinine (a medicine for malaria)

Positives for the Spanish American foods introduced into Europe  healthier people  population explosion Benefitted from the encomienda system Mercantilism- colonies exist for the benefit of the mother country  Forced colonies to provide valuable natural resources, then manufactured goods and sold the goods back to the natives and colonists Learned valuable information from the natives (ie. How to build canoes, what foods were safe to eat, etc.) Population migration from Europe to the Americas

Social Class Pyramid of Latin America Under Spanish Rule

Latin American Social Class System  Peninsulares Spanish officials sent to govern Latin American colonies. They controlled government completely.  Creoles American born Spanish gentry, They owned most of the land but were treated like second class citizens, and were denied political rights.  Mestizos Spanish/Native American- denied basic political, economic, and social rights due to their mixed heritage. Mulattoes Spanish/African- denied basic political, economic, and social rights due to their mixed heritage  Native Americans & Slaves Lowest social class. They had no rights and were often treated poorly and used as a labor source by the plantation owning Creoles.

Negatives for the Native Americans  Millions of Native Americans died of diseases introduced by the Europeans  Overworked under the encomienda system  many more die  Transatlantic slave trade  Destruction of native empires (Aztec, Inca), culture, and language  Forcibly converted to Christianity  Racist Social class system

What did the drastic reduction in the Native population lead the Spanish to do?

Slave Ship

Middle Passage

Mercantilism

Negatives for the Spanish As a result of the introduction of massive amounts of silver and gold into Europe, inflation skyrocketed. Because some people had a lot of money, but most people had very little money, those with money overspent and drove prices up. Success in the colonies made Britain, France, and the Netherlands jealous  competition over colonies