The Spanish and the
Native Americans
US History
Spanish and the Native
Americans
• Main Idea:
• Spanish rule in the Americas had terrible consequences for Native
Americans.
• Why It Matters Now:
• The destruction of Native American cultures created social
problems that continue today.
Key Terms and Names
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Viceroyalty
Encomienda
Hacienda
mission
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Popé
Plantation
Bartolomé de Las Casas
Columbian Exchange
Spanish Colonies in the Americas
By 1700, Spain controlled much of the Americas.
Two major steps to Govern the colonies:
1. Divided into two provinces:
• New Spain
• Peru
Each province was called a viceroyalty, the top
official was called the viceroy
2. Built new roads to transport goods and people
• Moved soldiers quickly
• Improved the economy, materials could be moved to
the coast and sent more efficiently to Spain.
Life in Spanish America
Encomienda- was a grant of Native American Labor.
Cortes received a grant of over 100,000 Native Americans to work on
his estate.
Hacienda- Large estates created to provide food for the colony.
Usually became large farms where Native Americans worked to grow
cash crops, like sugar cane, coffee, and cotton.
Life in Spanish America
Spanish
Creoles
Mestizos
Native
Americans &
Enslaved
Africans
The Role of the Church
Missions- settlements that included a church, a town, and
farmlands.
• The goal: to convert Native Americans to Christianity.
The presence of the missions also increased Spanish control
over the land.
Sugar Plantations Develop
The Spanish forced the Natives to work on plantations.
Plantations- Large farms that produced cash crops.
Sugar cane- Brought to the
Caribbean from Europe.
Tobacco
Coffee
The Abuse of Native Americans
Many Spanish treated the Native Americans as nothing more than beasts of burden.
“[The Spanish] do nothing but command. They are drones who
suck the honey which is made by the poor bees, the Indians.”
-Fray Toribio de Benavente, Catholic missionary
Bartolomé de Las CasasReceived an encomienda, but faced a dilemma: How could a person serve God and
Enslaved Natives at the same time?
Gave up his encomienda, fought against the abuse of Native Americans, and earned
the title “protector of the Indians”
The Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange- The movement of
plants, animals, and diseases between eastern
and western hemispheres.
Diseases:
• Smallpox
• Measles
• Influenza
• Malaria
Estimates that 20 million Natives were killed
by European disease in the first century after
contact.
Positive Benefits:
• European livestock was brought to the Americas, and thrived:
Cattle, pigs, horses
• Crops from the Americas were brought to Europe:
Potatoes, corn, tomatoes, peanuts, tobacco