Spanish Exploration • Three reasons for exploring the new world. – Searching for the Northwest Passage. – Searching for the “City of Gold.” – Spread Christianity. Northwest Passage • A route through North America for shipping goods directly to the Far East (China, Japan, etc.) • Whichever country found the route could claim its exclusive use. A “City of Gold” • City called “El Dorado,” meaning “The Golden Place.” • Streets paved in gold, houses with gold roofs, and ruled by a king who was always dressed in gold. • Supposed to be somewhere in the Andes Mountains. Spread of Christianity • Goal of the Spanish empire was to spread Christianity to all the “heathens” of the world. • Missionaries believed they were bringing a superior religion and superior culture to all new peoples they came into contact with. Conquistadors • Explorers were in search of fame and fortune rather than any sense of scientific discovery. • Normally were nobles looking for a name and place in Spanish society. • Came to Latin America with heavy military advantage over Native peoples. Hernando Cortes, Conquistador • Commissioned to explore, trade, and search for slave captives to use in Cuba. • Instead, his goal was to conquer Mexico. • After landing on the gulf coast, he founded his own city and burnt his ships so his men would have no choice but to obey him. • Justified war with the Aztecs by calling them an “ungodly people” with an “absolute ruler.” Hernando Cortes, Conquistador continued… • Aztec legend said that Quetzalcoatl, a white-skinned god, had left the Aztecs in the 10th century but would return to reclaim his authority. • In 1519, the Aztecs believed this Quetzalcoatl was Cortes. • Aztec leader Montezuma began lavishing the Spaniards with gifts. Hernando Cortes, Conquistador continued… • Cortes captured Montezuma and made him his prisoner. • War ensues. The heavily armed Spanish, with advanced weaponry and the smallpox virus, defeated the Aztecs rather easily. Francisco Pizarro and the Incas • Pizarro, another Conquistador, came upon the Incan Empire in 1530 as they were in the middle of a brutal civil war. • Pizarro weasels his way into the action, and with advanced Spanish weaponry takes control of the empire. Spanish Colonization • First enslaved the native people. – Haciendas – slave ranches, not unlike U.S. cotton plantations. • Brought smallpox, measles, typhus, and influenza. – Destroyed native populations, led to importation of Africans as slaves. The role of Christianity • Disadvantages – Often was done by force. – Destruction of native artworks and religious rituals. • Advantages – Equipped Native people with writing systems.
