REVIEW

Principal Problems involved in the

conquest and initial colonization

The exploration and identification of

territory and what was in it. They
found everything important on two
continents within seventy-five years
 Principal Problems involved in the
conquest and initial colonization

They had to conquer and control the

Amerinds. They did not do things to sustain
Indian population, and there was a 90%
reduction in Indian population by 1650.

The pandemics of deadly diseases made

both conquest and control easier.
 Principal Problems involved in the
conquest and initial colonization

They had to create institutions that would

provide an orderly life in America for
Spaniards and permit effective metropolitan
control over the colonies.
 Principal Problems involved in the
conquest and initial colonization
In places where there are large Amerind populations,
they had to change Indian behavior.
They made the Indians adopt European ways of
doing things. This involved which crops were grown,
the husbandry of domestic animals, clothing,
architectural styles. And much more. In essence, they
had to change the Amerind population into quasi-
Europeans, but they were often frustrated by the
persistence of Amerind ways
 How Battles Were Won

This was partly related to the Aztec and other

Amerind social structure which was very
hierarchical. When the leader was killed, the
other tends to give up.
 How Battles Were Won
The Spanish took advantage of the Aztecs and
other Amerinds superstitious and believed in
bad portents or omens.
 How Battles Were Won
The Amerinds did not have Spanish
individualism. The Amerind (Indians) were not
as egotistical as the Spanish, who were most
reluctant to give up the ghost.
 How Battles were Won
The Spanish had physical advantages such as
war dogs, horses, firearms, steel swords, and
armour. Being charged by a horse was
frightening.
 How Battles Were Won
The Spanish had better war tactics and
technology. They knew how to win battles, in
Europe and America.
 How Battles were Won
The Spanish had psychological advantages.
If the Amerinds had realized how little
difference Spanish arms meant, they would have
done better. The Spanish engaged in
psychological warfare and, also, never showed
weakness.
 How Battles were Won
The Amerinds were vastly outnumbered.
The invaders numbered in the millions, for
millions and millions of microbes carrying
diseases to which the Amerind had no
immunity attacked Amerind populations
and weakened and killed them. Disease
was decisive.
 The Spanish Colonial System
The distance between Spain and the new
world encouraged the evasion of orders. The
ordinary problems of human ambition came
into play; the colonists often thwarted the
Crown. The wealth of some parts of the
empire meant that many people were trying
to get wealth and cared little for the empire.
 The governing system always faced the
following problems
Generalizations
there were differences among colonies as to
wealth.
For Example: New Spain was wealthy
whereas Paraguay was poor
The Crown enterprise in Spanish America
was huge and spent a lot of money
Generalizations
There were restrictions in terms of office;
the Crown did not like to keep people in
office too long. It wanted to keep officials
from getting too embedded in local areas.
The spanish mixed legislative, judicial, and
executive functions. There was no thought
of the separation of power.
 Generalizations
The Crown tried to keep the ultimate
authority in Spain
Example: The use of the Residencia
Spain was the court of last appeal. The
Crown encouraged direct communication
from colonists, making a great virtue out
of this. It encouraged American officials to
spy on each other. Some did.
Generalizations
The crown gave a very large degreeof
indpendence to revenue officials
e.g: accountant and treasurer
The viceroy could not really control the
royal officials.
Generalizations
The system had numerous guarantees
against Americanism. It used peninsulares
(Spaniards born in Spain) as opposed to
criollos (Spaniards born in a colony)in the
great offices. Peninsulares were in the
majority in inferior offices to. The Crown
assumed that the peninsulares were
intrisically more loyal/
Generalizations
Spain used mercantilism for its economic
policy. Mercantilism was based on the
belief that only precious metals were wealth
thus, the way to increase wealth was
toacquire more precious metals through
warfarem theft, and trade.
Generalizations
Itwas policy to control the conquistadores.
The Crown took the most of their polotical
power while leaving them economic power.
The claim of being a conquistador was
recognized by the king as reason forfavors
byt the Crown would not allow rivals to its
power.
Generalizations
The whole system of control was held
together by paperwork, documentary
cement, a veritable flood of documents.
There was too much to keep track of and a
tremendus amount of lying.
Ways to Categorize the System
The political-military system
- This included administration, courts,
officialdom, the tax system, and the militia.
Ways to Categorize the System
The Ecclesiastical System
Ways to Categorize the System
The Social System
- This was part of the others. It included the noble
titles, legal class divisions, censorship, and the
educational system.
Ways to Categorize the System
The Economic system
- it was part of the whole system of control.
It was part of the way to hold the empire
together, to favor Spain and the upper
classes. The economic system enormously
reduced the ability of the lower classes to
attack the system.
FOLK CATHOLICISM
 LATIN AMERICAN
REVOLUTIONS
CAUSES of
the Revolution

EFFECTS of
the Revolution

LEADERS of
the Revolution
 PROBLEMS OF THE AGE OF
THE SPANISH EMPIRE ENLIGHTENMENT

CAUSES of Latin American

Revolutions
THE THE
AMERICAN FRENCH
REVOLUTION REVOLUTION
 THE AGE OF ENLIGHTENMENT
Before the Age of Enlightenment, kings were placed on the throne by
God. Only God can remove them.

* However, after the age of Enlightenment,

people realized that:

* Government is based on a contract

between the ruler and the ruled.

* Government exists to protect the citizens natural

rights of life, liberty, & property.

* If the government violates the natural rights of

the people, the citizens have a right to revolt
CAUSES against that tyranny.
 PROBLEMS IN THE
SPANISH EMPIRE
Political Disempowerment
(deprived of influence or importance) :

Spanish colonies were run by the

Council of the Indies, a group appointed
by the King that met in Spain and sent its
directives across the Atlantic. (Directives
are orders or demands
of the Colonists in the Americas).

Those directives were carried out

by the viceroys, officials
appointed by Spain to govern the
colonies.
 PROBLEMS IN THE
SPANISH EMPIRE
* Economic Disempowerment:
Spain had the first right to colonial goods and resources. Excluding all
competitors, economic policy was set for Spains maximum benefit.

Spanish Colonies
in the Americas

Spain

So, these are the poor colonists in the Americas! Whats it to me?
THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION

* The success of the American Revolution

showed others that colonies could succeed
in overthrowing their more powerful
mother countries.

CAUSES
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION
* The Enlightenment leads
many European writers to
criticize the absolute monarchy
and espouse democratic ideas

* The people of France grow

disgusted with treatment from
King Louis and Marie
Antoinette

* The people storm the

palaces and overthrow the
monarchy (king and queen).
 There was an influence of the
ideas developed during the Age
of Enlightenment

The successful revolutions

in the American colonies
and the French Revolution
Spain demanded control of
trade with its colonies
Miguel Hidalgo S
of Mexico B A
O N
L M
I A
V R
A T
R I
Dom
N Pedro of Brazil
LEADERS Toussaint
Simon Bolivar, liberator of LOuverture of
Southwest South America Haiti
H M
I O
D R
A E
L L
G O
O S
 EFFECTS of
Latin American
POLITICAL INTERNATIONAL
Revolutions
ECONOMIC
POLITICAL Effects:
THE CAUDILLOS
* By 1830, nearly all Latin American
countries were ruled by caudillos.

WHY?

* The upper classes supported

dictatorship because it kept the lower
classes out of power.
* The lower classes did not have experience
with democracy. So, dictatorship seemed
normal.
 INTERNATIONAL Effects:
THE MONROE DOCTRINE

The American continentsare henceforth not to be

considered as subjects for future colonization by any European
powers. - James Monroe, 1823
 WHY was the
Monroe Doctrine Important?
* After the War of 1812 with England,
America realized the first war for freedom
may not be the only one. They wanted to
prevent possible follow up wars for other
new nations in the Western Hemisphere.

* The U.S. had political and

economic interests in keeping
Europe out of the Western
hemisphere. From 1823 on, it
would be the U.S. backyard.
* Though the U.S. did not have the muscle to back up
its threats, Great Britain agreed to support the Monroe
Doctrine due to its new favorable trading position in
Latin America.
ECONOMIC Effects of the
Revolutions:
ONE-CROP ECONOMIES
* Now that trade was not restricted to the
Latin Americans mother country, the U.S.
and Great Britain became the new Latin
American countries major trading
partners.
* A colonial economy continued - Latin
America mainly exported cash crops
and raw materials while importing
manufactured goods.
 AN IMBALANCE OF TRADE
* As the imbalance of trade grew, Latin American countries
took out large loans from the U.S., Britain, and Germany to
build infrastructure.

* When the countries could not pay back their loans, foreign
lenders gained control of major industries in Latin America.
 THE QUESTION OF LAND
DID THE SOCIAL PYRAMID CHANGE? NO!
* Once the Spaniards were expelled,
the new governments seized their lands * Only the creoles could
and put them up for sale, BUT afford to buy them.

* Thus, the creole replaced the

peninsular at the top of the social
pyramid

* But other classes

remained at the bottom of
the social pyramid.
King and council decided
on laws and viceroys Dictatorship of the
carried them out Caudillos

Latin American countries were

Unequal trade able to trade as they wished.
relationship with Spain Sold cash crops and imported
benefiting manufactured goods which led
to debt.

Native Spaniards at the top

of the social ladder, Creoles at the top of
followed by creoles, and the ladder with the rest
with the rest of the of the population at the
population at the bottom bottom.
 Latin America
Independence
A Summary
 Latin America did not get as much help as
United States.
It began during the Napoleonic wars and
ended at a time when European nations
were exhausted from those wars and not so
inclined to get involved.
Generalizations:
There was a contest between
monarchialism and republicanism. Most
conservatives wanted to stay with what they
knew, monarchy, but some wanted a
republic just as some wanted a republic just
as some liberals desired monarchy. The
issue was complicated by the fact that no
European royal family wanted to replace the
Bourbons.
Generalizations:
In almost every country but specially the
larger ones, there was the issue of whether
there should be a strong central government
or whether sovereignty should be split
among the national government and the
various states. Centralism versus federalism
was not a simple issue.
Colonial
Latin
America
 The Native Population was
Wiped Out
Some estimate that the population of Mexicos
Central Valleys was around 19 million before
the arrival of the Spanish: it had dropped to 2
million by 1550. Thats just around Mexico
City: native populations on Cuba and Hispaniola
were all but wiped out, and every native
population in the New World suffered some
loss.
 The main culprits were diseases
like smallpox.

The natives had no natural

defences against these new
diseases, which killed them far
more efficiently than the
conquistadors ever could.
 Native Culture was Forbidden
Under Spanish rule, native religion and
culture were severely repressed. Whole
libraries of native codices (theyre different
than our books in some ways, but
essentially similar in look and purpose)
were burned by zealous priests who thought
that they were the work of the Devil.
 THE SPANISH SYSTEM PROMOTED
EXPLOITATION:
Conquistadores and officials were granted
encomiendas which basically gave them certain tracts of land
and everyone on it.

In theory, the encomenderos were supposed to look after and

protect the people that were in their care, but in reality it was
often nothing more than legalized slavery. Although the
system did allow for natives to report abuses, the courts
functioned exclusively in Spanish, which essentially excluded
most of the native population, at least until very late in the
Colonial Era
EXISTING POWER STRUCTURES
WERE REPLACED
Before the arrival of the Spanish, Latin
American cultures had existing power
structures, mostly based on castes and
nobility.
 EXISTING POWER STRUCTURES
WERE REPLACED
These were shattered, as the newcomers killed off
the most powerful leaders and stripped the lesser
nobility and priests of rank and wealth. The lone
exception was Peru, where some Inca nobility
managed to hold onto wealth and influence for a
time, but as the years went on, even their privileges
were eroded into nothing. The loss of the upper
classes contributed directly to the marginalization of
native populations as a whole.
NATIVE HISTORY WAS REWRITTEN:

Because the Spanish did not recognize

native codices and other forms of record
keeping as legitimate, the history of the
region was considered open for research
and interpretation.
What we know about pre-Columbian
civilization comes to us in a jumbled mess
of contradictions and riddles.
 NATIVE HISTORY WAS
REWRITTEN:

Some writers seized the opportunity to paint

earlier native leaders and cultures as bloody
and tyrannical. This in turn allowed them to
describe the Spanish conquest as a
liberation of sorts. With their history
compromised, it is difficult for todays
Latin Americans to get a grasp on their past.
COLONISTS WERE THERE TO
EXPLOIT, NOT DEVELOP:

The Spanish (and Portuguese) colonists

who arrived in the wake of the
conquistadores wanted to follow in
their footsteps. They did not come to
build, farm or ranch, and in fact
farming was considered a very lowly
profession among the colonists.
COLONISTS WERE THERE TO
EXPLOIT, NOT DEVELOP:
These men therefore harshly exploited
native labor, often without thinking about
the long-term. This attitude severely stunted
the economic and cultural growth of the
region. Traces of this attitude are still found
in Latin America, such as the Brazilian
celebration of malandragem, a way of life
of petty crime and swindling.
 Printed Images
disseminated preconceptions and
misconceptions about the New World to
eager European audiences

Early impressions shaped European

understanding of Native American peoples,
their histories, and their lands
 Consequences for
Native people

1. The Aztec and Inca civilizations (art, religion,

language, way of life) were destroyed
2. The Indians were robbed of their land, their gold
and silver
3. Millions of native peoples died from over-work,
European disease or were massacred
4. The colonizers needed so many slaves to work in
America that they began to raid Africa for slaves
 Effects for Europe
Europe became very rich on the gold, silver and
valuables they stole. Slavery was also a source of
great wealth.
New goods like tomatoes, turkeys, chocolate,
potatoes, coffee and rum
War broke out between European countries over the
American colonies
Migration (movement) people began to leave Europe
to live in the new world. Even people from non
conquering countries like Ireland migrated to the new
world