Spanish Conquest, Atlantic Trade & American Impacts
Atlantic Trade & Spanish Conquest of the Americas
The voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492 and the subsequent establishment of a Pacific route linking the New World to China (after the Spanish established a colony in the Philippines in 1571) marked the beginning of what some call the ‘first globalization’. Spanish control over much of the New World initially gave them the resources to establish a vast empire encompassing many peoples speaking different languages.
Pre-European Americas & First Contact
Prior to European arrival, North and South America were populated with peoples who had constructed diverse social and economic systems, ranging from hunter-gatherer societies to highly developed agrarian ones. The Native American ancestors had migrated into the Americas during the last Ice Age when Alaska was linked to Siberia, thousands of years before the agricultural revolution in Eurasia.
The Inca Empire, which hadn’t developed a written language, incorporated conquered peoples into its culture. Initially, some perceived the Spanish forces, led by Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro, as gods, offering gold in the hope they would leave.
Spanish Conquest: Technology and Disease
Although the Aztecs (also known as the Mexica) were formidable warriors who had conquered neighboring peoples and ruled through practices like large-scale human sacrifice, the Spaniards possessed a significant technological advantage. Furthermore, the Spaniards unwittingly introduced the smallpox virus in 1520. The ensuing epidemic killed over half the residents of Tenochtitlán, a devastation the Spanish exploited. Similarly, smallpox decimated the Inca population long before Pizarro’s arrival.
Global Impact: The Columbian Exchange
The conquest of the Americas initiated a global exchange of natural products and foodstuffs, notably the transfer of New World foods to Old World agrarian economies – an event known as the Columbian Exchange. Corn, potatoes, tomatoes, chilies, and other foods spread rapidly throughout Eurasia.
The Great Dying: Indigenous Population Collapse
Diseases to which Europeans had developed immunity over centuries proved deadly to Native Americans (and later, Pacific Islanders) who lacked such immunity. Smallpox epidemics marked the start of a devastating, century-long demographic catastrophe known as the ‘Great Dying,’ which nearly eradicated Native American populations.
Labor Exploitation in the New World
The enslavement of Indigenous peoples proceeded despite debates within the Catholic Church concerning their souls and rights. Indigenous people were compelled by the Spaniards to work in fields and mines under systems like the encomienda, theoretically in return for food, shelter, and Christian instruction.
Encomienda and Repartimiento Systems
Following the population decline from the Great Dying, the encomienda system was supplemented by the repartimiento. This system forced Indigenous communities into designated towns, often laid out in a grid pattern familiar to the Spanish, to provide coerced labor.
Economic Impacts: Silver and Spanish Fortunes
The European arrival in America was accidental; Columbus sought a faster sea route to Asia to gain wealth. The Great Dying coincided with extensive plundering (saqueo), shaping the initial Spanish economic approach in the New World post-conquest.
Potosí Silver and Spain’s Paradoxical Poverty
This approach changed dramatically with the discovery of vast silver deposits, particularly near Potosí (in modern-day Bolivia). Enormous quantities of silver subsequently flowed out of the New World to Spain. Despite this immense wealth, the Spanish Crown declared bankruptcy multiple times, largely due to the costs of financing wars and repaying loans. As historian David Landes noted, Spain paradoxically remained relatively poor despite the influx of American wealth. Instead of investing the riches, the Crown primarily spent it on luxury goods and costly wars.