Spanish America

Spanish America refers to the lands in the Americas that were ruled by Spain during the time of its colonization from the 15th to the 19th centuries. During this time, Spain called its lands in the Americas and the Philippines "The Indies" because Christopher Columbus thought he had reached Asia when he sailed west. In 1524, after the conquest of the Aztec Empire, Spain created the Council of the Indies to control these lands.

Spain learned from earlier mistakes and did not give explorers too much power. The Catholic Monarchs who started the colonization were very strict about religion, linking the Catholic Church closely with the king's rule. This close relationship between church and state lasted until the 1700s when new kings made changes.

Spain managed its empire using its own officials and sometimes worked with local leaders. They kept costs low by having few officials who were paid little. Trade rules were meant to keep everything closed to Spain only, but in practice, many goods came from Europe, and much of the silver from the Americas ended up in the hands of European merchants. Officials often worked with these merchants and sometimes forced local people to help, gaining profits for themselves.

History

See also: La Isabela and Hispaniola § Post-Columbian

The Spanish conquest was helped by diseases like smallpox, which were common in Europe but not in the New World. These diseases reduced the numbers of local people, sometimes causing shortages of workers. As a result, the colonists began what became known as the Atlantic slave trade.

One of the most famous conquistadors was Hernán Cortés. He led a small group of Spanish soldiers, along with many local allies and translators, to conquer the Aztec Empire between 1519 and 1521. This area later became the Viceroyalty of New Spain, which is now Mexico. Another important conquest was the Inca Empire by Francisco Pizarro, which became the Viceroyalty of Peru. The Spanish conquest of the Maya began in 1524 but took almost two hundred years to complete because the Maya people resisted strongly.

After conquering Mexico, stories of cities filled with gold, like Quivira and Cíbola in North America and El Dorado in South America, led to many more expeditions. However, most of these trips did not find the treasures they hoped for. It was not until the mid-1500s, with the discovery of silver mines in places like Potosí (Bolivia) and Zacatecas (Mexico), that the colonies began to bring in significant wealth for Spain. By the late 1500s, silver from the Americas made up one-fifth of Spain’s budget.

Eventually, the amount of silver from the Americas doubled or even tripled the world’s total. Official records show that at least 75% of this silver was sent to Spain, while no more than 25% went to China. Some historians think that because of smuggling, about half may have gone to China. In the 1500s, around 240,000 Europeans traveled to the Americas.

Spain continued to build settlements in the New World. These included New Granada in the 1530s (later the Viceroyalty of New Granada, now Colombia), Lima in 1535 as the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru, Buenos Aires in 1536 (later part of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata in 1776), and Santiago in 1541.

Florida was settled in 1565 by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, who created St. Augustine. Not long after, he destroyed a nearby French settlement and its people.

The explorer Ferdinand Magellan died in 1522 while leading the first expedition to sail around the world. Another commander, Juan Sebastián Elcano, finished the journey. Spain wanted to protect its claims in the Moluccan islands, leading to a treaty with Portugal in 1525 that set the world’s dividing line.

Spain also claimed the Philippines, which was an important trading place. In 1565, Miguel López de Legazpi created the first permanent settlement there, and trade with China began. Spain controlled several Pacific islands later on, including Guam, the Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, and Palau, until 1898.

See also: Arauco War

In the 1700s, Spain worried about Russian and British activities in the Pacific Northwest and sent several expeditions to strengthen its claims there.

Spain took the Louisiana territory from France in 1762 but gave it back in 1801. France then sold it to the United States.

Most of Spanish America became independent between 1808 and 1833 in the Spanish American wars of independence.

The late 1890s marked the end of Spanish rule in America. This began with uprisings in Cuba (1895) and the Philippines (1896) and ended when Spain lost to the United States in 1898.

Organization and administration of empire

The Spanish empire in the Americas was a new territory under the rule of the kingdom of Castile. The Spanish king did not have to share power with any local governments or churches. The king wanted to keep firm control over these new lands. To do this, Spain created a complex system of leaders and rules. This system helped the king collect taxes, keep order, and make laws for the local people groups.

In the 1700s, new kings made big changes to improve how Spain managed its lands. They wanted to make the government stronger, protect Spain’s lands, and limit the power of the church and local leaders. These changes helped Spain keep better control over its faraway territories.

Ordering colonial society – social structure and legal status

See also: Slavery in the Spanish New World colonies

Codes set rules for people's status in both daily life and religious matters. Spaniards, whether born in Spain or in the Americas, held the best jobs and power. Laws and the Catholic religion kept class and race rankings in place. Everyone had to follow the crown's rules and be Catholic. The crown worked hard to spread Catholicism, teaching it to local people and African slaves who had not yet learned it, and bringing them into the Christian community. Catholicism is still the main religion in Spanish America today.

The crown also controlled who could move to the Americas, not allowing Jews, some hidden followers of Judaism, Protestants, or foreigners. They used a special office, the Casa de Contratación, to check people before they could travel.

Life in the colonies was divided into two main groups: the República de Indios, for local people, and the República de Españoles, for everyone else including Spaniards, Africans, and people of mixed races.

Local men could not become Catholic priests or serve in the military, and they were under the protection of the crown. Local communities had their own ways of managing things and protecting their lands. Missionaries helped protect local people from unfair treatment.

After the Spanish took over from local rulers, they kept many of the old local ways of organizing people. Local noblemen kept some special rights and helped the Spanish government manage things. These noblemen were important for keeping order and peace.

In the República de Españoles, rules were made to keep certain people in power and others in lower positions based on class and race. Marriages and church records kept track of people's racial backgrounds. Over time, people of mixed races became common, but some groups had more rights than others.

Punishments for crimes depended on a person's race and class. People who were not white often faced harsher punishments. Special rules protected certain groups, like church members and soldiers.

Wealthy Spanish men had special protections and were judged by special courts. Local noblemen had their own courts and support systems. Trade and business were controlled by groups of merchants from Spain.

Overall, the social system kept wealthy Spanish men in power, while local people and mixed-race groups had fewer rights and opportunities. Later on, tensions grew between those born in Spain and those born in the Americas, changing the balance of power.