1. SPANISH COLONIALISM (The Basics)
AP European History
SPANISH COLONIALISM (The Basics)

2. SPANISH EXPLORATION
Developed gradually, rulers became interested only in the 1490s
Columbus convinced the Spanish crown to finance his voyage to E. Asia
Columbus believed he could reach E. Asia by sailing west

3. SPANISH EXPLORATION
Columbus used the calculations of Ptolemy in estimating the distance
However, Ptolemy thought the earth’s circumference was about 16,000mi
This was actually about 9,000mi short
It is not so surprising then that Columbus really thought he had reached the East Indies when he arrived in the Americas

4. SPANISH EXPLORATION
Columbus’s voyages inspired Spain to sponsor other New World ventures
Many soldiers were available for hire in 1492, the last year of the Reconquista
Much like the Crusades, the prospect of unlimited land and military adventure appealed to men of all social classes
These men would become the Conquistadors

5. Notable Spanish Explorers
Christopher Columbus, 1492; Americas
Vasco Nunez de Balboa, 1513; first to look out from the east shore of Pacific Ocean
Magellan, , led an expedition to circumnavigate the globe

6. Notable Spanish Explorers
De Soto, , explores area of Southeast U.S.
Vespucci, 1497; first to realize the Americas were not Asia
Ponce de Leon, 1513; first European to explore Florida, looking for the Fountain of Youth

7. Notable Spanish Explorers
Hernan Cortez, 1519; conquers the Aztecs
Pizarro, 1530s; conquers the Inca Empire
Coronado, 1540; explores the American Southwest; Seven Cities of Gold

8. Spanish Conquests
After Cortez and Pizarro conquered the areas of Peru and Mexico the Spanish marched into other areas of S. America and North America
They claimed land as they went, converting natives to Christianity, and searching for gold
By the end of the 16th century, they built a massive colonial empire in the New World

9. Spanish Colonialism
Disease may have helped the Spanish to defeat natives, but it also hindered the economic development of the colonies
Mines and plantations were set up
Encomienda system – forced labor
These required large workforces
This is how the slave trade came to the Americas

10. Spanish Colonialism
African slaves were more expensive than finding natives to work
However Africans were more resistant to diseases

11. Spanish Silver Silver mines were a mixed blessing
Spanish galleons proved lucrative targets for pirates and European rivals
Silver flowed out of Spain as fast as it came in due to wars and imports
This influx of silver caused a period of inflation which badly hurt the Spanish economy

12. Spanish Colonial Society
Politicians, military leaders, soldiers, and plantation and mine owners were European
Workers were Amerindian or slaves
Peninsulares and Creoles
Few women came from Spain, so many Spaniards in the Americas took natives for wives/mistresses
Mestizos and mulattoes = castas
Traditional patriarchal societies continued
Creoles=people of Spanish blood born in the Americas

13. COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE