EARLY SPANISH SETTLEMENTS

THE SPANISH

Spain was the first group of European explorers to pursue colonization

First permanent colonies were founded by Spain

WHAT DID THE SPANISH WANT?

o WEALTH

o POWER & GLORY

o EXPAND BOUNDARIES

o SPREAD RELIGION (CHRISTIANITY)

o TRADE

BEGINNING OF COLONIZATION

Spanish colonization of the Americas began with the arrival in the Americas of Christopher Columbus in 1492

When Christopher Columbus visited the New World, he claimed land for Spain.

Soon, Spanish soldiers and settlers came to the New World.

FIRST AREAS SETTLED BY THE SPANISH

Cuba Hispaniola Caribbean Islands

(All by Columbus, of course)

• Spanish soldiers who came to the New World to help conquer and settle the Americas for

Spain.

• Some of their methods were harsh and brutal especially to the Native American population.

• With every Spanish explorer were conquistadors and members of the Catholic

Church to convert Native Americans.

CORTES: THE CONQUISTADOR

Hernán Cortés, a conquistador, led expedition to Mexico in 1519.

There they stumbled upon the advanced society of the Aztecs

The Aztecs had substantial wealth from trading and heavy payments of tribute from conquered peoples

the Aztecs were in control of most of present-day Mexico

Cortés and his army intended to convert the natives to Christianity

FIRST SPANISH CONQUESTS: THE AZTECS

CORTES CONQUERED AZTEC EMPIRE IN 1519 AND TOOK CONTROL OF MODERN DAY MEXICO

vs.

Hernando Cortés Montezuma II

CONQUISTADORS CONTINUED

Cortez and his men challenged the native forces

Spanish soon took Aztec emperor (Monctezuma)prisoner Battle erupted Moctezuma killed

Months of heavy fighting followed

Cortés eventually took city Defeated entire Aztec empire in August of 1521

After capturing the Aztec capital, the Spaniards destroyed the city, and built Mexico City on top of it

A Spanish explorer named Ponce de Leon reached Florida in 1513. He explored this land in the hope of finding a “Fountain of Youth”

De Leon never found the fountain, but he claimed what is now Florida, for Spain.

Spanish explorer: Juan Ponce de Leon

BATTLE FOR FLORIDA

Prior to the founding of St. Augustine, several earlier attempts at European colonization in what is now Florida were made by both Spain and France, but all failed.

The French exploration of the area began in 1562

In 1564, French pirates began attacking Spanish Ships in the Caribbean.

The Spanish quickly sent Pedro Menéndez de Avilés to go to Florida and establish a base from which to attack the French.

ESTABLISHING FLORIDA

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés sighted land on August 28, 1565

The colony of St. Augustine was established to protect Spanish treasure fleets

The 1565 founding of San Augustine makes the city the first permanent European settlement in what would later become the continental United States.

ST. AUGUSTINE GOVERNMENT Spain gained control of huge empire in

Americas

The Spanish King chose viceroys (royal officials who run a country, colony, or state in the name of and as representative of the Monarch) to govern American holdings .

MAN POWER?

Spanish drafted local Native Americans for labor in mines, on farms

Beginnings of Slavery

Disease, mistreatment took toll on native population

Slave labor soon became common practice in Americas

THE ENCOMEDIA SYSTEM

1. Spanish practice of securing an adequate and cheap labor supply = FEUDALISM• “granted” to deserving subjects of the King

2. Conquistador controlled Indian populations • Required Indians to pay tribute from their lands• Indians often rendered personal services as well.

3. In return the conquistador was obligated to• protect his wards • instruct them in the Christian faith• defend their right to use the to live off the land

4. Encomienda system eventually destroyed the Indian population.

ECONOMY

The colonial economy in St. Augustine was based on:

gold mining

silver mining

farming

THE END