Spanish Colonial Empire in America
Overseas Expansion and the Colonial Empire
The Discovery of America
Castile and Portugal, possessing skilled maritime expertise and island enclaves, pioneered Atlantic exploration. Portugal, more advanced, sought the route to the Indies and spices by skirting the African coast, while Castile held only the Canary Islands. Portugal rejected Columbus’s proposal, but Castile accepted. After signing the Capitulations of Santa Fe, Columbus was named admiral, viceroy, and governor of the lands he discovered. His first voyage from Palos (Huelva) with three ships (the Pinta, Niña, and Santa María) and a hundred sailors reached Guanahani (renamed San Salvador in The Bahamas) on October 12, 1492. He also landed on Juana (Cuba) and Hispaniola (Santo Domingo). His second voyage in 1493, with a larger fleet, took a shorter route and explored the Lesser Antilles. On his third voyage, he reached the Orinoco River’s mouth, but the Catholic Monarchs arrested him, stripping him of his rank due to the expedition’s cost and the islands’ chaotic state. Meanwhile (1497-1499), Vasco da Gama returned with Indian spices. Columbus’s fourth voyage, unsupported by the crown, explored Central America seeking a route to the Spice Islands, which he never found. He died in 1506. Portugal protested Castile’s American claims, granted by Pope Alexander VI. The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) established a line 370 leagues west of Cape Verde; lands west belonged to Castile, and lands east to Portugal. From 1499, private expeditions to India were authorized, with little effect except Vasco Núñez de Balboa’s 1513 discovery that America was a continent after crossing the Isthmus of Panama.
Conquest and Colonization
The conquest of America (16th-18th centuries) occurred in three stages:
- West Indies Conquests (1502-1519): Cuba and Hispaniola were subjugated, followed by other islands. The Spanish then moved to the mainland, founding Panama (1519).
- Continental Conquests (1519-1549): Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico (1519-1521), and Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire (1531-1535).
- Interior Conquests (1550-18th century): The conquest of America was completed, the Pacific explored, and the Philippine Islands conquered (1565-1571) by Miguel López de Legazpi.
Large empires with docile, sedentary populations were conquered and used for labor in lands and mines (Zacatecas in Mexico, and Potosí in Bolivia). Mexico and Peru became the principal centers of Spanish dominion. Surprise and technological superiority were decisive. Some natives viewed the Spanish as gods, and emperors Montezuma (Aztec) and Atahualpa (Inca) were captured. Conquests were driven by private conquistador initiatives, often marked by infighting.
Government and Administration
To control American commerce and metals, Spain organized an administration. Initially assigned spontaneously, the Laws of Burgos (1512) established the encomienda system, assigning groups of Indigenous people to an encomendero responsible for their Christianization, sustenance, instruction, and oversight, effectively making settlers into overlords. Forced labor recruitment followed, reaching abusive levels and prompting protests. The New Laws (1542) suppressed encomiendas and forbade abuses, but discontent among encomenderos led to a compromise with reduced charges. The monarchy organized American administration based on the Castilian model. The House of Trade and the Council of the Indies (1524) controlled American affairs. Viceroys (from the 18th century) governed New Spain and Peru, followed by governors and captain-generals (provinces), magistrates, presiding municipalities (or councils), and audiencias (courts) with governmental functions.
Spain’s Impact on America
After the conquests, trade flourished. Precious metals and agricultural products flowed to Spain. Abundant gold and silver caused price inflation, harming the peninsular economy. New crops like potatoes, tomatoes, cocoa, tobacco, and corn arrived. America also imported European crops (grapes, olives, sugarcane), livestock (horses, cows, sheep), and manufactured goods, as well as enslaved Africans. The Crown and Castile monopolized trade through the House of Trade in Seville (1503). Spanish immigrants, mainly Andalusians, arrived in America (until the 18th century), and the Crown tried to prevent ethnic or religious minorities and intermarriage with Indigenous women from populating the Americas. The discovery of America transformed worldviews and cultural values in Spain and Europe.