Spanish Conquest of America: Territories, Governance, Economy
Spanish Exploration and Conquest of America
The exploration of new territories occurred mostly during the reign of Charles I. In 1513, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa crossed the Panama Isthmus and discovered the South Sea (Pacific Ocean). Between 1519 and 1522, Magellan and Elcano first circumnavigated the world, demonstrating that the globe was round. The conquest of the immense American territories was a rapid process (1520-1545).
- Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztec Empire (now Mexico), where he arrived with 11 galleons and 550 soldiers. The defeat of the Aztecs was possible thanks to the alliance of Spaniards with other tribes, rivals to the Aztecs. The capital of the empire, Tenochtitlan, was seized and its king Moctezuma was made prisoner (1521).
- Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire (now Peru), taking advantage of the internal conflict between the king, Atahualpa, and his brother, Huascar. The Spanish troops were significantly outnumbered, but they used modern weapons and cavalry to massacre thousands of Inca warriors and capture Atahualpa. For his release, a room filled with gold was asked for, which the Incas provided. Despite this, Atahualpa was accused of ordering the execution of Huascar and executed. Shortly afterwards, the Spaniards took control of the capital, Cuzco (1531).
Other conquests incorporated into the Spanish territories were the rest of Central America and South America (with the exception of Brazil), the south of North America (Florida, Texas, and California), and the Philippines in Asia. More than wars, disease was responsible for the lack of initial reaction to the new conquerors. The native population had dropped from some 32 million in 1520 to only five million by 1548—a decline due mainly to new European diseases, such as smallpox, measles, bubonic plague, and influenza.
Governing of the Indies
Governing the new territories was the responsibility of the Council of the Indies, created in 1524, which controlled affairs in the Americas and drafted the Laws of the Indies from Castile.
The administration was organized in viceroyalties (virreinatos), large territories controlled by a viceroy, who was a direct representative of the king. In the Indies, there were the Viceroyalty of New Spain and the Viceroyalty of Peru.
Economic Exploitation of the Indies
The first goal of the European explorers was to obtain gold and silver, so mining became the main activity of the colonizers. The exploitation of gold mines, and especially the rich silver mines of Zacatecas in Mexico and Potosi in Peru, was done through the paid, but forced, labor of the Indians. Other activities were agriculture, livestock farming, and trade.
- Agriculture was also practiced on large agrarian properties: the haciendas for land farming and the estancias or ranches for cattle farming. The workers were either Indians or black slaves.
- Trade with the West Indies was the monopoly of Castile. This trade was organized from Seville, where the House of Trade (Casa de Contratación), created in 1503, had a register of the cargo (in people and products) each ship carried. An inventory had to be made for every ship that went out and for every ship that returned.
The Trading of Products
Spaniards took crops from Europe (wheat, barley, oats, vines, and olives) and from Asia (coffee and sugar) to America. They also took animals that were unknown in the New World, such as horses, cows, pigs, and poultry.