SPANISH CONQUEST OF THE NEW WORLD.   Term Paper ID:28743 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Discusses the 5 conquistadores who explored the New World after Columbus & claimed lands for Spain. Adverse effects on native populations. Type of society established by conquerors.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Discusses the 5 conquistadores who explored the New World after Columbus & claimed lands for Spain. Adverse effects on native populations. Type of society established by conquerors. Paper Introduction: This paper is a brief examination of the Spanish conquest of the New World. Since the initial discovery of the Americas by a Spanish-financed expedition led by Christopher Columbus, the New World exerted a fascination for Spain, who saw this unexplored territory as the potential source of great wealth and power. More than any other European encroachment, the Spanish conquest of the Americas represents domination, cruelty, and subjugation on a massive scale. The conquisdatores, starting with the first five men to hold this title, saw their role as one of justified mastery over the native population. Their legacy continues to echo throughout the Western hemisphere. The Spanish conquest of the New World began with an apparently minor act, when the Spanish court commissioned an Italian captain to find a western route to the riches of the Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. In 1518,Cortes persuaded Velasquez to give him command of an expedition to takecommand of Mexico, which had been discovered the year before. More than any other European encroachment, theSpanish conquest of the Americas represents domination, cruelty, andsubjugation on a massive scale. Caciques gave Cortes token of goodwill, including 2 women. During the sixteenth century, five Spanish conquistadores followedColumbus to the New World, exploring it and claiming it for Spain,establishing Spanish domination throughout most of what came to be known asMexico, South and Central America, and Cuba. In 1492, Christopher Columbus,financed with Spanish money, discovered what turned out to be a completelyunknown new land, and the riches and power that it introduced enabled Spainto become one of the three most important European influences in thedevelopment and dominance of the New World. Since the initial discovery of the Americas by a Spanish-financedexpedition led by Christopher Columbus, the New World exerted a fascinationfor Spain, who saw this unexplored territory as the potential source ofgreat wealth and power. P. Cortes spelled the great chief's name "Mutezuma,"in an effort to record the correct phonetic sound. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1956.Nobles, Gregory H. The next level were the mestizos, those of mixed Spanish and nativeIndian descent, black slaves from Africa, and freed slaves. Nobles writes, "Conquistadores would have this order readto the Indians before battle and then commence the attack with assurance(in their minds, at least) that they had offered an alternative to war"(44). They were alsointimidated by the Spaniards' strength. The Last of the Conquistadors: Junipero Serra (1713- 1784). The Spanish conquest of the New World began with an apparently minoract, when the Spanish court commissioned an Italian captain to find awestern route to the riches of the Indies. The conquisdatores, starting with thefirst five men to hold this title, saw their role as one of justifiedmastery over the native population. Works CitedAron, Paul. This was the means by which Christianity wasfirst spread across the Atlantic. Their legacy continues to echothroughout the Western hemisphere. The Spanish grip on the New World had thegreatest impact in oppressing the native population and others whom theconquerors considered inferior. New York: Grossman Publishers, 1971.Diaz del Castillo, Bernal. Diego Velasquez, who first came to the New World in 1493 withColumbus' second expedition, participated in the conquest of Hispaniola.He was subsequently sent by Columbus' son, Diego, to conquer Cuba andbecome its first Spanish governor. In the 153 s, the discovery of silver andgold mines throughout New Spain made the new territories especiallyvaluable to the homeland. Above thesewere two classes of white Mexicans, the criollos, or Creoles, those whowere born in New Spain of pure European descent, and, above them all, thepeninsulares, those whites born in Spain, many of whom comprised thenobility in the new society. However, because the class consistedof relatively few conquerors, the Spanish had little success in wiping outthe native culture. Cortes set sail on February 19, 1519, despite the revocation of hiscommission; Velasquez had become (rightly) fearful of Cortes' ambition.Cortes led his men forward under a pair of banners emblazoned with thewords, "Comrades, let us follow the sign of the holy Cross with true faith,and through it we shall conquer" (Diaz 33). American Frontiers: Cultural Encounters and Continental Conquest. Edited by A. New York: Hill and Wang, 1997.----------------------- 7 Many of the Indians he first encountered were enemies of theAztecs and were willing to join a march against them. R. Gregory H. During this period, Mexicowas ruled by Spanish viceroys. This paper is a brief examination of the Spanish conquest of the NewWorld. He had declared hisindependence from Velasquez and paid allegiance only to the king in Spain,Charles I, better known as Charles V, Holy Roman emperor. The other major New World conquest by the Spanish was by FranciscoPizarro, whose perfect timing allowed him to take over the Incans empire inPeru just at the point at which civil war had weakened the great city. Among later missionaries to the New World was FrancisSolano, who was canonized in 1726, and "who traveled through Peru, Chile,and northern Argentina, playing the violin and, alone and singlehanded inhis efforts, baptizing some hundred thousand Redskins" (Englebert 6). Letter from Mexico. The Spaniards took the ruler hostage,which created an uprising, during which Montezuma was killed. The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico. Translated and edited by A. Pagden. Unsolved Mysteries of American History. New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1956.Englebert, Omer. Classranking began with native Americans, considered the lowest class and oftenturned in virtual slaves by the encomienda system, in which Spanish-bornpriests, nobles, and soldiers were granted large tracts of land andjurisdiction over whoever happened to live on the land. Cortes moved north and founded the city that would become Veracruz,burning his ships to avoid desertion. They also made the Church a very powerfulinstitution in the new society; by 1859, when the Church's assets werenationalized, the Catholic Church owned about a third of all property andland in Mexico. Translated by Genaro Garcia. The conquistadores had been accompanied from the beginning byCatholic missionaries, especially members of the Franciscan, Augustinian,Dominican, and Jesuit orders. Estimates range from thirty million tofour million, with those denouncing the conquest as immoral tending tofavor the higher numbers (to make the Spaniards look guiltier)" (34).Natives died not only from Spanish guns but also from smallpox, plague,dysentery, and syphilis, new diseases that were all introduced by theEuropean invaders. Although some later rulers tried to make Spanishdomination a more benevolent presence, most efforts could not be wellenforced from such a distance. At the time of Spanish conquest, the population of the whole regionwas estimated at about 6 million, a number it did not reach again until thetwentieth century. This subjugation continues to have animpact on what are now independent countries, nations with a proud heritagethat extends far beyond the time of Spanish domination but which continuesto cause suffering and social unrest. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1997.Cortes, Hernan. Among these was Malinche, who came to be christened Dona Marina andwho acted as guide, translator, and Cortes' mistress for the rest of thejourney inland. With him, came Hernan Cortes. Colonialism in Mexico lasted until 1821. Cortes began to conquer the natives and recruit them to his newcause, that of taking over the Aztec empire and its capital city,Tenochtitlan. These missionaries considered it theirsacred duty to convert the heathens to Christianity, and the currentprevalence of Catholicism through Central and South America is a testamentto their effectiveness. By 1523,Cortes had been named governor of New Spain, and the Aztecs had beenreduced to the lowest class in a new Spanish society. The name means,roughly, "Courageous Lord." In modern Spanish, the name has becomeMoctezuma; in English, Montezuma (Cortes 46 n). The classes, or castas, however, persisted. Helanded in 1532 with approximately 18 men and was able to take EmperorAtahualpa hostage and execute him, cementing Spanish control of an empirethat stretched from Ecuador to Chile and Argentina. The Spanish established an agricultural society with strict socialclasses, based on the European model. Bernal Diaz del Castillo, whosefirsthand record of the conquest of Mexico provides a remarkably balancedaccount, quotes Cortes as remarking, "It seems to me that the Indians areterrified at the horses and may think that they and the cannon alone makewar on them" (61). Paul Aron notes, "The preconquest population of Mexicois itself a major source of debate. These men - HernanCortes, Francisco Pizarro, Juan Ponce de Leon, Hernando de Soto, andFrancisco Vasquez de Coronado - carried with them a document drafted in theSpanish court in 1514, the Requerimiento, calling for the Indians to acceptCatholicism and the authority of the Spanish crown or be subjugated bythem. The expedition landed andsubjugated the town of Tabasco, then heard of the great Aztec empire andits ruler, Montezuma II. He then marched to Tenochtitlan,where Montezuma first welcomed him. Maudslay. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.

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