| Spain and France in the New World (1492-1688) |
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Sections:- Christopher Columbus and the "Enterprise of the Indies"
- Cortes and the Destruction of the Aztec Empire
- A Crisis of Conscience: Bartolome de las Casas
- Early Spanish Exploration of North America
- Hernan de Soto Explores the Southeast
- Coronado Explores the Southwest
- Jacques Cartier Explores the St. Lawrence for France
- New Mexico
- New France
- PowerPoint
- Historiography
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| Historical Context
Christopher Columbus left Spain in search of an Atlantic trade route to Asia in August of 1492. The Spanish monarchs, observing the Portuguese success at trade with the Orient, were eager to establish lucrative enterprise of their own. Conquest, conversion, and commerce were the principle aims of the Spanish Empire, not colonization. Columbus died believing he had found the Atlantic trade route. In fact, the islands he describes below are modern-day Cuba and the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Though he did establish the first European foothold in the Americas, Columbus never found the treasures he insisted were there. In fact, the fort and force he describes leaving in the letter below were decimated before he returned.
Attached Documents
In this letter from Columbus to King Ferdinand of Spain, he describes what he believes are vast resources of gold and spices, shares his impression of the "Indians" living on the islands, and alludes to the utility of these islands to the Spanish Empire.
The illustration below accompanied a published account of Columbus's travels. It depicts King Ferdinand directing the exploration.
Questions to Consider:
1. According to Columbus's letter, what attractive resources were available in the islands?
2. How does Columbus describe the rapport between the "Indians" and his men?
3. Columbus repeatedly describes the natives as "timorous" in his letter. Why does he emphasize their vulnerabilties to the King?
4. What does Columbus bring back with him and why?
5. Based on Columbus's observations, what kinds of activities relating to the islands might have been most interesting to the Spanish?
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| Historical Context
In the years preceding the invasion and conquest of the Aztec empire by a Spanish force led by Hernan Cortes, the people of this great and powerful nation were filled with a sense of dread. Emperor Montezuma II received a series of signs, including comets and visions, which were interpreted as omens of destruction. In 1519, these dark prophesies came to fruition when Hernan de Cortes, in defiance of Spanish authorities, crossed from Cuba and made his way up the coast of the Yucatan in search of gold. Cortes and his men met and were cordially greeted by a diplomatic envoy sent by Montezuma from the impressive Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. Cortez demonstrated his weapons and his novel creatures, horses, to the messenger, who returned to Montezuma with a rather foreboding account of the Spanish strangers. The Aztecs believed that Cortes may have been the god Quetzalcoatl, who was to return to Tenochtitlan to regain his kingdom. Meanwhile, Cortes made his way toward the city, vanquishing those who refused to join him against the Aztecs and sinking his ships to discourage mutiny amongst his men. Upon arriving, the cautious Aztec nobles fed Cortes and his men and offered gifts. After months in the city, mutual paranoia led Cortes to imprison Montezuma and eventually open war broke out between the Spanish and the Aztecs. After a devastating outbreak of the European disease smallpox, the weakened Aztecs were vanquished in a siege of their capital in 1520.
Attached Documents
The Aztec Account of the Conquest of Mexico was found by a Mexican anthropologist. According to this account, Montezuma treated Cortes and his men with deference, only to be imprisoned by the conquistador.
The illustration of a smallpox victim below comes from the Florentine Codex, a many volume collection of writings as drawings detailing Aztec society and the invasion. The Codex was compiled about 10 years after the conquest.
The photo of a young smallpox victim is a stark reminder of the painful and disfiguring effects of the deadly disease that ravaged the New World after the arrival of Europeans.
Questions to Consider:
1. According to the Aztec account, how does Montezuma treat the Spanish strangers? Why does he behave as he does?
2. Who do you think the person referred to as "The Sun" is? Why do they call him this?
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Bartomlome de las Casas was a sixteenth century Spanish priest who, after witnessing the atrocities of genocide committed by Spanish colonists and conquerors in Cuba, joined the priesthood and embarked on a life-long mission to promote the human rights of New World peoples. He was a tireless anti-imperialist who actively opposed the encomienda system, by which colonists were legally allowed to use Indians for slave labor, ostensibly in return for "protection."
Attached Documents
The following excerpt from the widely circulated The Devastation of the Indies, de las Casas gives a chilling account of the violence incurred by natives at the hands of greedy Spaniards. Though later historians condemned his writings as exaggerations contributing to the "Black Legend" of Spanish brutality, modern scholars believe that de las Casas was relatively accurate in his estimations of casualties.
This 1656 English translation of The Devastation of the Indies was published shortly before the British invasion of Spanish-held Jamaica.
The third document is a painting of Bartolome de las Casas.
Questions to Consider:
1. Do you think that de las Casas felt respect, pity, or both for the Indians? Explain your answer.
2. Why do you think the other colonial powers, like the English, would circulate negative accounts of Spanish colonization practices?
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| Historical Context
Juan Ponce de Leon was a Spanish aristocrat and soldier who traveled to Hispaniola on Columbus' second voyage to the New World in 1493. He rose to become governor of Puerto Rico and, in 1513, he became the first European to lead an expedition to the North American mainland. Ponce de Leon and his crew were searching for the Biminis, islands rumored to be rich with gold and the mythical Fountain of Youth, when they landed somewhere north of St. Augustine, Florida in 1513. He named the peninsula, which he believed was an island, La Florida, Spanish for "flowery place," in observance of the Easter season. He is also credited with discovering the Gulf Stream. Ponce de Leon returned to Florida in February 1521 to establish a colony, but was mortally wounded by Native American warriors. He died that summer in Cuba.
Attached Documents
The map below traces the route traveled by Ponce de Leon in 1513.
The following photo shows the modern landmark of the spring believed to be the Fountain of Youth by the Spanish. People can still visit the spring today and drink the water. This site stands near the spot where the Spanish landed and erected a fort.
The third document is a portrait of Ponce de Leon.
Questions to Consider:
1. What do you think motivated Ponce de Leon to try to establish a colony in Florida?
2. Though Ponce de Leon's colony in Florida was unsuccessful, he is still remembered by history. What do you think was significant about his contribution?
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In 1539, Spanish Conquistador Hernan De Soto landed near present-day Tampa, Florida with an army of 700 spurred by accounts of the legendary cities of gold published by previous Spanish explorers. De Soto's three year expedition was characterized by brutality to Native populations and perpetual conflict with the various tribes of the Southeast. He and his men depended on Indian captives as guides, who led the Spanish on a futile search for magnificent wealth with false promises of riches at remote points. After repeated clashes with large Indian forces, De Soto's army was reduced by half, and De Soto himself succumbed to disease in 1542 in present-day Alabama. The surviving remnants of his army were forced to float down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico on rafts. Though the De Soto expedition failed to discover treasure, the penetration of South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Arkansas constituted the most extensive Spanish effort to explore the interior of North America at the time. Perhaps more significantly, the Spanish unknowingly introduced foreign diseases into the Native population who fought them off. Thus, the unseen effects of the invasion continued to take the lives and undermine Native American societies long after the expedition's departure.
Attached Documents
The map below shows De Soto's winding route through the southeastern United States.
The 1853 painting, The Discovery of the Mississippi by De Soto, A.D. 1541 by William H. Powell was the last of eight murals to be painted for the Rotunda of the United States Capital building. The choice of Congress to commission a painting depicting conquistador and imperialist Hernan de Soto reflects the American expansionist impulse of the mid-ninetieth century.
Questions to Consider:
1. What events in the early and middle nineteenth century paralleled the commission of Powell's mural depicting Hernan De Soto? Why do you think this subject matter was embraced during this time?
2. How does Powell depict the Native Americans who encounter De Soto? How does this contrast with the artist's depiction of the Spanish (consider the postures, positions, and expressions of the painting's subjects, as well as the objects they carry with them)?
3. What is most notable about De Soto's expedition? In what ways was it similar to previous Spanish exploration of North America, South America, and the Caribbean?
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| Historical Context
One year after the start of the DeSoto Expedition, the Spanish launched another effort to discover and exploit the riches of North America that were described in previous accounts. In 1540, Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led his army of 300 Spanish and 800 Indians through the Southwest in search of Cibola, the mythical land that was supposed to be home to seven cities of gold and treasure. Coronado's force clashed with and quickly vanquished the Pueblo, but the explorer gained virtually nothing in the way of fortune. Despite great hardship, he continued as far north as Kansas before turning back. Because the Spanish measured wealth in terms of quickly procured gold, silver, and jewels rather than potentially bountiful farmland and settlement opportunities, Coronado's expedition was considered an utter failure and his reputation was damaged. Furthermore, the fruitlessness of the expedition led Spain to abandon all interest in the area for the next half century. Depite these set-backs, Spain had managed to establish the most extensive European empire in the New World by the first half of the sixteenth century, concentrated mostly in Mexico and the Caribbean.
Attached Documents
Coronado's report to Viceroy Mendoza on the progress of his expedition to Cibola highlights the bitter disappointment of the conquistadors in what they found in the Southwest. In this letter, Coronado described the hardships encountered by his men, a battle with the Pueblo, and the modest reality of the legendary "Seven Cities." Note the conquistador's distress in learning the prior descriptions of the area were grossly inaccurate.
The map below outlines the route of Coronado's expedition.
Questions to Consider:
1. What is the overall tone of Coronado's letter to the Viceroy? Is he victorious, apologetic, determined, or desparate? What circumstances do you think affected his impression of the expedition?
2. Do you think the Spanish were justified in their attack of the Indian village? Why or why not?
3. The Spanish invaders repeatedly assure the Indians that they come in peace with the purpose of converting them to Christianity. Based on Coronado's letter, was this the true priority of the force? Does Coronado focus more on material or spiritual concerns?
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With the Spanish firmly in control of the Caribbean and Florida, the French turned their colonial attention to commercial opportunities in the North. European fisherman had been enjoying commercial success in the Northern Atlantic since 1500, and they had established profitable relations with the Native American inhabitants of the area based on economic cooperation rather than exploitation for labor or conquest. Therefore, in 1534, when the French king, Francis I, commissioned Jacques Cartier to explore of North America in order to find a passage to Asia, the Northern tribal societies along the St. Lawrence River were eager to establish trading ties with the Europeans. The tribes were interested in the textiles, glass, and metals brought by the Europeans, and the French sought furs which had become scarce in Europe. Though Cartier was successful in establishing the first French imperial claim in North America and established a profitable trading arrangement with native peoples, he was unable to establish any permanent colonial settlement. Though relations with the French were characterized more by commerce than conquest, it should be emphasized that European diseases were still devastating to native populations and that the European claims to native lands still created tension.
Attached Documents
The maps below show Cartier's penetration of the St. Lawrence River, upon which future trading hubs and French settlements would be established.
Questions to Consider
1. Compare and contrast the intentions of the French with those of the Spanish. How are they similar? How did they differ?
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| Historical Context
As the sixteenth century drew to a close, the major imperial powers in North America, Spain and France, began to establish more substantial and permanent colonial settlements. Both societies grew their populations via European immigration, incorporating native peoples by conversion and intermarriage between European men and native women.
The failure of Coronado's 1539 expedition to discover the fabled cities of wealth in North America discouraged further Spanish interest in the area until the 1580's, when Franciscan missionaries entered the Southwest and gradually reignited Spanish hopes for wealth in "New Mexico." The Spanish used the mission system as the primary means of maintaining political control in North America until the 1800s.
NOTE: The Treaty of Paris(1764), which ended the Seven Years War, required France to cede all North American claims to Spain. This is reflected in the extent of Spanish colonial holdings on the 1770 map. Later, Spain sold much of the territory back to the French who, in turn, sold it to the Americans in the Louisiana Purchase.
Attached Documents
The map below shows the extent of the Spanish Empire in the New World.
Questions to Consider
1. Other than the pursuit of the elusive cities of gold, why do you think the Spanish ventured northward to establish settlements? Why do you think they interbred with Native American populations and compelled them to adopt European ways of living?
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Throughout the early sixteenth century, French traders strengthened their ties to Native Americans in present-day Canada and the Great Lakes region by living and intermarrying with them, as well as allying with the tribes against their traditional enemies. Jesuit missionaries introduced Christianity to Native Americans by encouraging them to incorporate it into their existing faiths.
In the last decades of the sixteenth century, French fur trade commandant Robert Sieur de La Salle traveled to the mouth of the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico, claiming the entire watershed for his country. The main activity of French colonists was commercial fur trading, and their settlements remained small compared to those of the Spanish.
Attached Documents
The 1688 map of New France and Canada show the extensive inland empire created by the enterprising fur traders.
Questions to Consider
1. How did the economic interests of the French shape their interactions with Native Americans?
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| | Below is a PowerPoint presentation which can be used the the classroom and incorporates the above material. |
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| The following article examines the role of the Africans in the Spanish settlement of the Americas. Forced into slavery by the Spanish and shipped to the New World, African men and women played a large role in the history of Spanish America. The author, however, does not simply examine the role of African slaves in Spanish America, but also focuses on the role of African conquistadors. The impact of these warriors is often overlooked in discussions of Africans in Spanish America, argues the author, however a wealth of historical evidence exists pointing to their significance.
Restall, Matthew. 2000. "Black Conquistadors: Armed Africans in Early Spanish America". The Americas. (57)2: 171-205.
Recent research into the effects of the settlement of the island of Hispaniola, originally settled by the Columbus expedition, has shed new light on the influence of such settlement on the indigenous people. The article below examines the health effects on the native people of Hispaniola that resulted from the original Columbus expedition and subsequent settlement of the island.
Cook, Noble David. 2002. "Sickness, Starvation, and Death in Early Hispaniola". Journal of Interdisciplinary History. (32)3: 349-386.
Ceramic archaelogical evidence has shed much light on the cultural lives of the Spanish settlers and indigenous people of the Americas. The evidence, argue the authors, is often misinterpreted, giving the mistaken impression that most ceramics found from this period are of Spanish design and creation. The authors posit that this is not actually the case, and that indigenous ceramic creations are also plentiful. This evidence can lead researchers to develop new understandings about the native peoples of the Americas.
Rodriguez-Alegria, Enrique et al. 2003. "Indigenous Ware or Spanish Import? The Case of Indigena Ware and Approaches to Power in Colonial Mexico". Latin American Antiquity. (14)1: 67-81.
The role of the Spanish in the Spanish American slave trade is often cited with little attention paid to the role of other Europeans. The Spanish American slave trade was largely impacted by the role of Italian merchants, as detailed in the article below.
Nader, Helen. 2002. "Desperate Men, Questionable Acts: The Moral Dilemma of Italian Merchants in the Spanish Slave Trade". Sixteenth Century Journal. (33)2: 401-422.
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