The Impact of Columbus and Colonial Expansion on America
Item 6: Overseas Expansion and Colonial Empire Building
1. Discovery and Conquest: “Fair Titles”
Columbus was a Genoese sailor, probably (though there are other studies indicating that it was elsewhere). Little is known of his life before arriving in Portugal. He is said to have had a controversial and mysterious personality, was self-taught, and a great observer. He traveled extensively as a merchant, during which he learned how far the Indies were, hence the idea for the trip. He then performed a project and presented it to the Kings of Portugal, but it was rejected. He then presented it to the Catholic Monarchs, who asked the “wise of the Usal” to conduct a study of the project, which would be unfavorable because the dimensions of the land that Columbus had colonized were significantly lower than the reality. Despite this, the Catholic Kings approved the project by signing “the Capitulations of Santa Fe”, which listed the titles (viceroy, governor, admiral, …) that Columbus would hold for himself and his descendants. The objective of Columbus was to climb the social ladder.
– He also demanded a share of profits in case he discovered a new continent and was granted the right to take part in any expedition sent to the islands and benefits from these expeditions. Thus, a relationship was established between Columbus and the Catholic Monarchs that would lead to four trips:
– The first was relatively successful. He returned to Spain to fight with the crown to keep his titles, especially after the death of Isabel, which meant that the claims he made to Fernando went unheeded, especially with the crisis that opened after the death of Philip the Fair. Because of this, he had to use his influence at court for the rest of his trips. He died shortly after, believing he had reached the islands, even though it was known that he had discovered a new continent. The continuing demands of Columbus were found in the Columbian Lawsuits.
Another document is the Treaty of Tordesillas, by which the Kings of Castile and Portugal established an imaginary line to divide the zones of influence within the Atlantic. Everything discovered to the east would belong to Portugal, and to the west would belong to Castile. This treaty also preserved the African zone (which would largely go to Portugal). The Spanish could freely navigate the Portuguese zone but could not conduct scans. This treaty was favorable to Spain because it was backed by Pope Borgia, of Spanish origin.
Some historians believe that some indigenous beliefs ended the fighting spirit of the natives and facilitated the entry of the Spanish conquerors, although we cannot forget the great difference between this great empire and the subject peoples. In the American conquest, several stages can be distinguished:
a) The Discovery of Panama, which was conducted by Basque Balboa in 1513. He confirmed that the other side was the Pacific.
b) Conquest of the Aztec Empire, carried out by Hernán Cortés.
c) Conquest of the Inca Empire, carried out by Francisco Pizarro.
d) Exploration of the River of Silver, conducted by Pedro de Mendoza. The current Argentina.
e) The Conquest of Chile, carried out by Pedro de Valdivia.
2. The American Colonization
After the conquest, efforts were made to carry out administrative and colonial exploitation.
1. Administrative Organization: There are two types of organisms:
a) Metro: Those that are based in the metropolis. They are:
– Indian Council, a consultative body within the council system, created to carry out the Indian government. It consisted of a president, a chancellor, and several advisers. Issues that were questioned included war, military justice, administration, and the appointment of members, as well as military and territorial issues.
– Contracting House: It was created to monitor trade and human trafficking between Spain and America. Its duties were administrative and commercial. Later, it became the Indian File.
b) Indian: They are the viceroys, hearings, councils, and magistrates.
– Viceroyalties were the top representatives of real power here in America. At first, there were two: The New Spain (Mexico and Guatemala) and Peru, then others appeared like the River of Silver. The viceroy had absolute power, among its functions being to assent to and sign the agreements taken at the hearings. He was therefore the highest political and military power.
– Audiences: They were the clearest representation of the king’s justice. They were courts, where their role was advisory and sometimes exercised governmental functions. There are three types of hearings:
a. Viceregal Capital, chaired by the Viceroy.
b. Hearings of Some Provincial Capitals: Chaired by a governor.
c. First Instance having a judge.
– Councils: It is a local assembly in which the magistrates work. A corporation was formed by a mayor and several councilors who were responsible for managing and governing a municipality.
– Magistrates were royal officials; the judiciary had, especially political and administrative, were appointed directly by the king at the proposal of the viceroys.
2. Colonial Exploitation: To carry out this operation, bodies like the House Recruitment systems of mining, agriculture, etc., were introduced, along with references to slavery, particularly of blacks (a very profitable business), which gradually began to be introduced in America.
a) Mining, along with agriculture, were the two most important sectors of the American colonial economy. Crafts were developed not for lack of skills with the metropolis. Almost all the mines were owned by the crown, but sometimes the operation of these mines was leased to private individuals. Mining would be the most important activity, focusing on the extraction of gold and silver, which began in the mines of Potosí in Bolivia and Mexico. The system known as the mita was initiated, which consisted of forcing the Indians to work for a while in the mines, and they did not pay taxes but worked economically indefinitely, causing the deaths of many, especially with the amalgam technique used to separate silver from mercury. This led some advocates of indigenous peoples, such as the Dominican houses, to propose replacing indigenous labor with black slaves.
b) Agriculture was based on large colonial plantations in contrast to small indigenous properties. In these large plantations, the system of “mandates” was implemented, which granted a Spanish settler, called an encomendero, a property with a lot of Indians for their crops. He had to instruct the natives, teach them to read, and impart Catholic doctrine, but often this was not fulfilled, leading to the overexploitation of the Indians, resulting in many revolts.
Another operating system introduced by religious orders like the Dominicans and Jesuits were the “reductions,” where indigenous people had greater participation in the operating system and its benefits.
3. American Society: From the arrival of the Spanish in America, Indian society, their social structures, and cultural heritage were destroyed. Due to this phenomenon, Castilian social structures were imposed on indigenous peoples, and the typical social structure divided into estates also occurred in America. However, due to the diverse ethnic mix, society became more complex, proving to be a stratified society composed of ethnic groups that were closely related:
a) Creoles were descendants of Spanish colonists who were born in America and had little ethnic mix. Their social position was high, and they would later revolt against the Spanish.
b) Indians were marginalized; only the social elites of the major empires had access to greater social status.
c) Mixed: Mixed white and indigenous people emerged from the beginning of the conquest and were one of the main features of colonization.
d) Black America further complicated the ethnic mix, leading to the emergence of two groups.
e) Mulatto: Mixed white and black.
f) Zanuba: Mixture of indigenous and black.
g) Spanish Colonizers: Exercising positions in government and administration, many returned to Spain after their missions. This is why the natives attempted to control politics and the administration of the country and rebelled against the Spanish.
3. The Impact of America on Spain and Europe
a) The Implications for America: In general, historians are inclined to view the consequences for America as predominantly negative. The acculturation that occurred was based on the imposition of Spanish culture on the indigenous peoples. For example, this happened with Christianity, which destroyed indigenous polytheistic religions, resulting in a mixture of rituals and beliefs from ancient indigenous religions, Christian, and African rituals. At the economic level, all the riches of that land were exploited; at the social level, social structures were dismantled. However, it is certain that at the cultural, linguistic, and urban levels, the Spanish brought positive contributions to America.
b) The Impact or Consequences for Spain and Europe: The main consequence for the Spanish was that they found a major source of wealth based on the exploitation of gold and silver, which led them to become the hegemon of the sixteenth century. They also obtained new agricultural products such as tomatoes, tobacco, corn, potatoes, … For Europe, this influx of precious metals from America would cause inflation and a monetary loss of value of money, leading to a huge crisis throughout Europe, considered the first great crisis of capitalism, known as the Price Revolution.