Chapter 4
Spain Builds an Empire
Lesson 3: Life in New Spain
The Search for Gold
• Esteban was a sailor and former slave who told
the story about the rich kingdom of Cibola
located north of Mexico.
• He had survived a shipwreck off the coast of
Texas with Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, a
conquistador.
• They had been exploring the Southwest region
of the US.
• They searched, but never found Cibola.
Lesson 3: Life in New Spain
The Spanish Explore the North
• Juan Ponce de Leon landed in the Florida
peninsula in 1513.
• Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca explored Texas in
1528.
• Francisco Vasquez de Coronado explored the
American Southwest in 1540.
• Hernando de Soto became the first European
to reach the Mississippi River in 1540.
Lesson 3: Life in New Spain
Society in New Spain
• By the end of the 1500s, most of the fighting between natives and
conquistadors N & S of Mexico City had ended.
• Spanish colonists moved to these lands.
• A new society, or group of people forming a community, was
forming.
– Peninsulares were people born in Spain. They were at the top of
colonial society. They were wealthy and powerful. Some owned
plantations, or large farms with many workers. Some peninsulares
received encomiendas (They were granted control of all the native
peoples on an area of land. The peninsulares were supposed to care for
the native peoples and convert them to Christianity. In return the native
peoples had to give the encomienda owners a share of their crops and
other gooods.
• Creoles were people of Spanish background born in the Americas.
– Mestizos were people of Spanish and Indian background. They were the largest group.
» Indians and Africans held the lowest positions in this society. They had no Spanish
ancestors.
Lesson 3: Life in New Spain
Society in New Spain
Peninsulares
Creoles
Mestizos
Indians and Africans
Lesson 3: Life in New Spain
More Changes for Native Peoples
• Many encomienda owners put native peoples to work as farm
workers, miners, and servants. For many it was a form of slavery.
They were forced to work long hours with little food and no pay.
• Roman Catholic missionaries ran encomiendas. A missionary
teaches his or her religion to others who have different beliefs.
• Priests built missions, or religious settlements, throughout New
Spain.
• The purposes of these missions was to teach the native peoples
about Christianity.
• Missionaries also taught farming practices such as raising cattle
and sheep.
• Natives were treated cruelly on some missions.
Lesson 3: Life in New Spain
More Changes for Native Peoples
• Bartolome de Las Casas was a priest who
spoke out against the mistreatment of Native
peoples under the care of the church.
• Las Casas persuaded Spain to pass laws in
1542 saying that Native peoples must be paid
for their work. However, these laws were not
enforced and were later canceled.
Lesson 3: Life in New Spain
Slavery in the Americas
• The Spanish first brought enslaved Africans to the
Caribbean island of Hispaniola in 1512.
• The Spanish needed the enslaved Africans to
replace the native peoples who were dying in
large numbers from disease and overwork.
• The African peoples on the encomiendas and
plantations also died from overwork and
mistreatment.
• The profits from colonial plantations created
great wealth for Spain and helped to make Spain
one of the most powerful countries in the world.
Lesson 3: Life in New Spain
Vocabulary Review
• Expedition
• Colony
• Conquistador
• Encomienda
• Missionary
journey made for a special
purpose
settlement far away from
the country that rules it
Spanish conqueror
granted someone control
of Indians on an area
of land
person who teaches his or
her religion to people of
different beliefs