Spain ’ s Empire in the
Americas
Europe Looks Outward
(1000-1720)
Ch. 2, Section 2

Lesson Objectives w
Describe how the Spanish were able to defeat the empires of the Aztecs and
Incas w
Identify Spanish explorations in areas that later became part of the United
States. w
Explain how society was organized in
Spain ’ s empire in the Americas.

Key Terms & People w   w   w   w   w   w   w   w
Conquistador - soldier-adventurers
Hernando Cortês - Spanish conquistador who took control of Mexico from the Aztecs
Montezuma - leader of the Aztecs
Plantation - large farms worked by laborers who worked on the property
Encomienda - land grants that included the right to demand labor or taxes from Native Americans
Bartolomê de Las Casas - a Spanish priest who fought against the ecomienda system
Mission - a religious settlement
Peninsular -

Background w
Even though Christopher Columbus never realized that he had reached a new region of the world, his voyages did give Spain a head start on it ’ s European rivals in colonizing the
Americas w
We will now learn how Spain explored and colonized the lands that it had claimed.

Spanish Conquistadors w
By the early 1500 ’ s, the Spanish had a firm foothold in the America ’ s w
From Spain ’ s island colonies in the
Caribbean, conquistadors set out to explore and conquer a world unknown t them w
They hoped for riches and glory for themselves and Spain

Cortés and Pizarro w
In 1519, Conquistador Hernando
Cortés sailed from Cuba to Mexico with more than 500 soldiers w
The first Native Americas he met, presented him with lavish gifts of gold

Hernando Cortés

Cortés and Pizarro w
On November 8, 1519, Cortés marched into the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán. w
As the Spaniards moved closer, more
Native Americans who had been captured by the Aztecs joined them, tired of their brutal life being controlled by the Aztecs

Cortés and Pizarro w
The Aztec leader, Montezuma, met with
Cortés and tried to get him to leave by offering him gold. w
The plan backfired. Cortés took
Montezuma hostage and claimed all of
Mexico for Spain. w
The Aztecs would, however, soon rebel, and force the Spaniards to flee the country.

Tenochtitlán

Montezuma

Cortés and Pizarro w
Cortés would return to Mexico about a year later with a much larger force, recapture Tenochtitlán, destroy it, and build a new capital city, Mexico City . w
Mexico City served as the capital of New
Spain w
Cortés used the same tactics to subdue the Aztecs in South America that another conquistador, Francisco
Pizarro , used.

Francisco Pizarro

Cortés and Pizarro w
Pizarro landed on the coast of Peru in 1531 to search for the Incas, who were said to have much gold. w
In 1532 he led about 170 soldiers through the jungle into the heart of the Incan empire. w   He then took the Incan leader Atahualpa hostage. w   Although a huge ransom was paid to free him, he was executed anyway. w
In November 1533 the Spanish defeated the
Incas and captured their capital city Cuzco.

Why Were the Spanish were
Victorious w
How could a few hundred Spanish defeat
Native American armies many times their size? w
Technology - The Europeans had armor, muskets, and cannons w
Horses - which Native Americans had never ever seen before w
Division among themselves - In Peru, where the
Incans were conquered, a Civil War had just ended and in Mexico, many other Native Americans hated the Aztecs and joined the Spanish.

Checkpoint Question
How were the Spanish able to defeat the
Native Americans?

Checkpoint Question
How were the Spanish able to defeat the
Native Americans?
Technology, Horses, & Inner Turmoil

Spanish Explorers in North
America w
The Spanish did not limit themselves to the exploration of Central America w
In 1513, Juan Ponce de León sailed north from
Puerto Rico to investigate reports of a large island w
He found beautiful flowers there, and named the place la Florida w
He was the first Spaniard to set foot in what is now the United States.

Juan Ponce de León

Spanish Explorers in North
America w
Exploration along Florida ’ s west coast began in
1528, when about 400 Spaniards landed near the present-day city of St. Petersburg w
Finding no gold, they marched on into North
Florida w
They fell under attack from Native Americans and had to retreat to the sea using small boats, eventually ending up in, what is now, Galveston
Texas. w
The 80 survivors were led by Álvar Núñez
Cabeza de Vaca

Spanish Explorers in North
America w
Starvation and disease quickly reduced their numbers to 15 before the Indians enslaved them w
Soon, only 4 remained, including de Vaca w
After 6 years in captivity, they escaped and made their way to Mexico City w
In 1536, eight years after landing in Florida, the
4 survivors of the 400 man expedition returned to Spanish lands

Spanish Explorers in North
America w
The men returned telling stories told to them by the Native Americans of seven cities filled of gold to the North w
Spanish officials asked the men to head an expedition to find these cities, but only 1,
Estevanico, an African slave, was willing to go w
In 1539, he led a group into what is now
Western New Mexico w
When Estevanico was killed by Native
Americans, the others returned to Mexico City

Spanish Explorers in North
America w
Upon their return, the Spanish conquistador
Francisco Coronado set out with 1,100
Spaniards and Native Americans to find the city of gold. w
Although he never found the city, he did explore much of what is now New Mexico,
Arizona, Texas, and Kansas

Spanish Explorers in North
America w
While Coronado was making his way through the southwest, Hernando de Soto was searching for riches in the southeast. w
He traveled as far as North Carolina and as far west as Oklahoma w
He would end up dying in what is now
Louisiana in 1542, having found the Mississippi
River, but no signs of the golden city.

Checkpoint Question
What regions in the present-day United
States did Spaniards explore?

Checkpoint Question
What regions in the present-day United
States did Spaniards explore?
The Southeast (de Soto) and the
Southwest (Coronado)
Explorers Map

Colonizing Spanish America w
At first, Spain allowed the conquistadors to govern the lands they discovered and claimed for Spain w
However, this quickly proved to be very unsuccessful w
Spain had to create a formal system of government to rule it ’ s colonies

Harsh Life for Native Americans w
Within Spain ’ s vast empire, there was little place for Native Americas except as a source of forced labor w
Government officials granted settlers huge tracts of land to start mines, ranches, and plantations.

Harsh Life for Native Americans w
To help the Spaniards with work, the government granted encomienda ’ s w
The Spanish forced Native American ’ s to work in the gold and silver mines w
Many died as tunnels, unsafe, caved in w
Some Spaniards protested this cruel treatment

Harsh Life for Native Americans w
The Spanish priest Bartolomé de las
Casas traveled through New Spain working for reform for Natives w
Largely due to his efforts, the government reformed the system in the mid-1500 ’ s

Harsh Life for Native Americans w
Like other Europeans in the Americas, the
Spanish felt it was their duty to convert the
Native Americans to christianity w
They set up missions, run by Catholic priests and friars. w   A number of important U.S. cities got their start as Spanish missions in the 1700 ’ s

Trade in Humans w
As the death toll for the Native Americans continued to rise, Spanish colonists looked across the Atlantic Ocean for a source of labor w
In 1517, Spain brought about 4,000 Africans to the Caribbean Islands and forced them to work there. w
By the middle of the 1500 ’ s, the Spaniards were shipping about 2,000 enslaved African ’ s each year to Hispaniola alone

Society in the Spanish
Colonies w
A rigid social system based on birthplace and blood developed in the Spanish colonies w
At the top, the peninsular ’ s , which included almost all government officials w   Creole ’ s were colonists born to two Spanish parents - they also held important positions w
These were some of the wealthiest merchants and plantations owners w
Mestizo ’ s were people of mixed parentage
(people of Spanish and Indian blood) w
Could achieve success as ranchers, farmers, or merchants, but entrance entrance into the upper levels of society was impossible

Society in the Spanish
Colonies w
Below mestizos were mulattos , people of
Spanish and African heritage w
Native Americans and African Americans were held at the bottom of the social class, helping
Spain keep control of the America ’ s for more than 300 years

Review w
1. What part of the North American continent did conquistadors explore? w
2. How was the Spanish empire established in the America ’ s? w
3. What was the lasting accomplishment of
Bartolomé de Las Casas? w
4. How would you describe the lives of
Native Americans in “ New Spain ” ?