Time Period 1491 - 1607
Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)
Encomienda system established (1512)
Conquistadors and other leaders (encomenderos) received grants of a number of Indians, from whom they could exact "tribute" in the form of gold or labor. The encomenderos were supposed to protect and Christianize the Indians granted to them, but they most often used the system to effectively enslave the Indians and take their lands.
Main topic
1519 - 1540
Hernan Cortes invades Mexico (1519)
Francisco Pizarro invades Peru (1532)
Highly advanced South American civilization that occupied present-day Peru until it was conquered by Spanish forces under Francisco Pizarro in 1532. The Incas developed sophisticated agricultural techniques such as terrace farming, in order to sustain large, complex societies in the unforgiving Andes Mountains.
The rise of the Atlantic slave trade (1525)
The first record of a slave trade voyage direct from Africa to the Americas is for a ship that landed in Santo Domingo, on the island Española (Hispaniola), in 1525.
Ld seven hundred men to Mexico to take the Aztec Empire and rob it of everything. The leader of the Aztecs, Moctezuma, believed that Cortes was a God and allowed him to enter the capital unopposed. On June 30, 1520, the Aztecs drove the Spanish out of the capital. In August 13, 1521, the Spanish laid siege to the city. A combination of disease and death led to the end of the Aztecs.
Spain authorizes Coronado's conquest (1540)
This letter, written on behalf of King Charles V of Spain by Francisco Garcia de Loaysa, the president of the Council of the Indies, authorizes Coronado to explore the northern lands (present-day New Mexico) in the search for wealth and resources. Loaysa writes in hope that "through your excellent efforts you will bring the natives of that province under our sway and dominion and will bring them into the knowledge of the holy catholic faith."
Francisco Coronado's expedition (1540)A Spanish soldier and commander; who was the first European to discover the Grand Canyon. In 1540, he led an expedition north from Mexico into Arizona; he was searching for the legendary Seven Cities of Gold, but only found Adobe pueblos.
The Treaty of Tordesillas was signed by Spain and Portugal, dividing the territories of the New World. Spain received the bulk of territory in the Americas, compensating Portugal with titles to lands in Africa and Asia.
This treaty aimed to settle the conflict over land.
Christopher Columbus and Colombian Exchange (1492)
Famous sayings
"Following the light of the sun, we left the Old World.
" Christopher Columbus
For the execution of the voyage to the Indies, I did not make use of intelligence, mathematics or maps.
Italian explorer, who while sailing for Spain's Ferdinand and Isabella, accidently discovered the New World. He had set out to find a route west to Asia from Europe, and, upon landing in the present-day Bahamas, he at first believed he had reached the Indies.
His discoveries made him a celebrated hero upon his return to Europe.
He would make three more journeys across the Atlantic—in 1493, 1498, and 1502.
Columbian Exchange
The Columbian Exchange was the flow of goods between the Americas, Europe, and Africa that followed Columbus's widely advertised "discovery" of the New World.
While Europeans had never seen tomatoes or potatoes in the Old World, Native Americans had never seen apples, or cows.
Crops that were introduced to the Old World as a result of the Columbian Exchange included tomatoes, potatoes, cacao, maize, and tobacco.
1550 - 1587
Las Casas on subjugation of the Indians (1550)
his tract, contains the arguments of Bartolomé de Las Casas, the Bishop of Chiapas, Mexico, and Juan Gines Sepulveda, an influential Spanish philosopher. Las Casas' efforts to end the encomienda system of land ownership and forced labor culminated in 1550.
when Charles V convened the Council of Valladolid in Spain to consider whether Spanish colonists had the right to enslave Indians and take their lands.
Tobacco arrives in Europe (1555)
With tobacco, English settlers finally found a New World commodity that worked well in the mercantile system. Spanish explorers already had great success with gold and silver finds and the French created a vibrant market for furs in Europe.
The name of the first permanent Spanish settlement in North America, established 1565 in modern day Florida.