THE conquest of america it was one of the greatest undertakings carried out by Spain in its history. The arrival of the shipment of Christopher Columbus in America, in 1492, initiated a process that led to the domination of indigenous peoples and was the culmination of a long process of Atlantic exploration throughout the 15th century.
Colombro's initial objective was to reach Asia – called the “Indies” – however, the expedition of Columbus resulted in the arrival of Europeans to the American continent and started the process of occupation and colonization.
THE conquest of spanish america occurred mainly through the violence, which was highlighted in reports at the time. The initial friendly contacts were soon overtaken by the Spaniard's ambition to conquer and explore, mainly in search of precious metals.
With the arrival of the Spaniards in 1492, Isabel of Castile and Fernando de Aragon, also known as the catholic kings, made use of their influence – gained after years of struggles against Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula – with the Catholic Church and, thus, the
Treaty of Tordesillas, of 1494. The endorsement of the Catholic Church during the 15th century was extremely important because the decisions decreed by the Pope were above the decisions of kings. The Treaty stipulated an imaginary line about America. Thus, the discovered lands west of the line were named as Spain's possession and the discovered lands east of the line was named as Portugal's possession.In the lands that were considered Spanish by the Church, there were two great civilizations: aztecs and incas. These civilizations were known for their advanced lifestyle, having a wide knowledge of numerous subjects, in addition to having large constructions and forming extremely complex and organized.
You Spanish had spent centuries fighting Muslims on the Iberian Peninsula in a process called Regain. Thus, they saw in the expeditions to America a new reconquest, since the native peoples were not Christians.
Regarding the conquest of America, it is important to consider that there was almost no funding from the Crown for the expeditions, which, in generally, were financed by bankers interested in the financial return of these expeditions if metals were found. precious. However, authorization from the Crown was necessary for an expedition to be carried out. Today, it is known that numerous expeditions were carried out clandestinely. Every expedition authorized by the Crown had the obligation to pay a fifth of tax (the collection of 1/5 or 20%) of all the wealth obtained.
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Causes of Conquest
History tells us of the victory of the Spaniards over the natives at the expense of their extermination. In most cases, the Spaniards struggled in extremely adverse scenarios, as they were considerably outnumbered by the natives. Despite this, there are reasons that help to understand the victory of the Spaniards:
Illnesses: the contact of natives with diseases brought by Europeans was deadly. Smallpox, in particular, decimated entire villages and tribes in an epidemic and withering manner;
weapons superiority: the weapons used by the Spaniards were notably superior, as the metal armor of the Spaniards guaranteed important protection, in addition to the use of swords, crossbows, harquebuses, etc.
alliances: the conquest of the Incas and Aztecs was only possible because countless other peoples conquered by the Incas and Aztecs allied with the Spaniards in the hope of freeing themselves from their tormentors.
Violence
In the early years, Spanish colonization took place only in the Caribbean islands, with the establishment of cities and alluvial mining. Quickly the native populations of the Caribbean were almost completely decimated, as the report tells us:
“On these lambs so docile [the natives], so qualified and endowed by their Creator, as it was said, the Spaniards they hurled at the same instant like cruel, long-hungry lions and tigers, forty years now, and still today, they do nothing else there but to tear, kill, afflict, torment and destroy that people by strange cruelties (as I will do to you see later); so much so that of the three million souls that were on the Spanish island and that we have seen, there are today not even two hundred people of its natural inhabitants. The island of Cuba, […], is today as deserted. The islands of São João and Jamaica, both very large and very fertile, are desolate.”|1|.
In various parts of America, however, there was resistance from the natives, who struggled to survive. Others, on the other hand, chose to flee. In addition, many Spaniards tried to defend the natives, denouncing the violence committed. Bishop Frei Bartolomé de Las Casas was the greatest name in the defense of the Indians against Spanish violence. Even so, the mortality was gigantic and it is estimated that around 80% of the original native population died during the century of conquest.
|1|LAS CASAS, Bartolomé de. Paradise Destroyed: The Bloody Story of the Conquest of Spanish America. Porto Alegre: L&PM, 2011, p. 27-28.
by Daniel Neves
Graduated in History