We explain what the conquest of America was, what countries carried it up and how was the colonization process. In addition, pre -Columbian civilizations.
What was the conquest of America?
It is known as the conquest of America to the process through which different European kingdoms, especially Spain, They seized large parts of the American territory and submitted their native inhabitants . This process began in 1492 with the arrival of the first Spanish navigators to the continent and their conquest of the Antilles; made commonly known as the “discovery of America.”
During the 16th century, The Spanish crown financed hundreds of expeditions and managed to impose itself on the different American states and cultures . The two conquests that were key in this process were that of Mexico by defeating the Aztec empire in 1519, and that of Peru by imposing on the Inca Empire in 1531. The Spaniards managed to submit the two most powerful empires and that allowed them to consolidate their power in the continent.
After the conquest, Spain carried out a colonization process of America. The goal was Incorporate the territories conquered to the Spanish Empire . To do this, they founded cities, installed permanent population in them and created a complex system of government authorities.
This was possible by The demographic fall of the indigenous population mainly caused by diseases brought by Europeans and by submission to Spanish domain with the consequent disintegration of their political, social and economic structures.
In parallel and in later centuries, Other European expansionist kingdoms appropriated portions of the American continent . Among them, Portugal, who occupied the territory of the current Brazil, and the United Kingdom, France, Holland, Denmark and Russia, which territories were disputed in northern America.
American populations prior to the conquest
When the European expeditionaries arrived in America at the end of the 15th century, The continent was inhabited by hundreds of cultures . Some of them were sedentary and had a centralized state political organization, with social stratification and complex economies. Among the most outstanding sedentary societies are the Azteca, Anasazi, Toltec, Teotihuacana, Zapoteca, Olmeca, Tairona, Maya, Chimú, Nazca, Moche and Inca cultures.
Other societies inhabited the space in a nomadic or seminomada manner, taking advantage of existing natural resources and living autonomously in the various regions of the continent. Among them, we can highlight the Apache, Mohicana, Esquimal, Siux, Kalinago and Taína cultures, in the north and central America, or the Tupi, Araucana, Guaraní and Pampa cultures in the south of the continent.
The attitude of native populations against Europeans
Since the arrival of the Spaniards to the continent, American populations had different attitudes in front of European foreigners. The great empires, such as Inca and Azteca, opposed the conquest of their territories and fought different battles against the Spaniards.
Other sedentary populations, such as the Tlaxcaltecas, associated the Spaniards against the great empires or against enemy societies, under the promise of obtaining privileges or benefiting from defeating a common enemy.
On the other hand, nomadic or semi -were populations managed to resist for a longer time and remain free of the European yoke. Among these, are the Mapuches, the Comanches or the Qom, among others.
Spanish conquest of America
During the 16th century, the Spaniards managed to conquer much of the American continent. However, the conquest had different characteristics in the different regions.
In the areas controlled by the great empires, such as the Inca Empire and the Aztec Empire, The Spaniards managed to impose themselves quickly by eliminating the highest imperial authority and take advantage of the imperial political and administrative structure to exercise control over the territory and submit local populations.
In turn, to achieve the conquest of these empires, the Spaniards They sought the help of some indigenous peoples submitted by the American empires . These societies, called “Friends” Indians by the Spaniards, were an essential factor in the success of Spanish expeditions.
In addition to becoming allies for battles, they served as guides of territory, as sources of knowledge about local reality and as interpreters for communication between Spaniards and native inhabitants.
On the other hand, in the areas where there were no large states with centralized power and hierarchical societies, The Spaniards found greater difficulties to conquer and control the territories . Nomad or seminated American societies were not previously subjected by a central power and managed to resist Spanish domination for longer.
Some regions of the American continent managed to stay free for centuries . For example, Araucanians in the current Chilean territory or the Pampas in the current Argentine territory.
The arrival of Europeans to America
An expedition commanded by Christopher Columbus arrived on October 12, 1492 at the Antilles. December 5, 1492 Columbus arrived on the island of the Spanish (currently, the Haiti countries and the Dominican Republic) and established the first European colony in the New World.
It was the construction of a fort, called Christmas. However, the fort was destroyed by Taíno indigenous people as resistance to the Spanish usurpation of their lands.
Then on various trips, The Spaniards were exploring and establishing small colonies . Between 1499 and 1519, they were able to occupy the entire archipelago of the Antilles (the Islands of the Caribbean Sea). The island of Cuba was constituted as the center of organization of conquest expeditions. From there, the conquest expeditions that went to the “Tierra Firme” departed, that is, to the rest of the American continent.
Spanish conquest of Mesoamerica
In 1517, an expedition that departed from Cuba explored the Yucatan Peninsula, in which he found the Mayan civilization, with its cities and its wealth. Two years later, Hernán Cortés was sent under the command of an expedition to the region and learned, through a shipwreck that had learned the Mayan language, about the existence of the Aztec empire.
From there, Cortés’ expedition was conquering peoples for the Mesoamerican territory. In your advance, The Spaniards found that many peoples paid tribute to the Aztec empire and were unhappy with their domination . Thus, the Spaniards got allies among the native peoples to face the Aztecs.
The Azteca emperor, called Moctezuma, sought to negotiate with Cortés . To do this, he sent ambassadors with valuable gifts of gold and silver, and with the request that Tenochtitlán, his main city. However, The Spaniards rejected the offer and took the city . After an initial victory, the Aztecs rebelled and managed to expel the Spaniards.
Cortés got reinforcements, reorganized his troops and started a second attack on Tenochtitlán. The Aztecs resisted and faced the Spaniards in several battles until, in 1522, The city of Tenochtitlán was besieged and, without water or food, the Aztecs were definitely defeated . Since then, the Spaniards called the Mesoamerican territory “New Spain”, and Cortés became his governor and captain general.
Spanish conquest of the Andean region
After the conquest of Mexico, in Spain the voice was ran over the speed of the defeat of the great Aztec empire and legends appeared on the wealth of the continent. This led to Many others would like to be undertaken in the conquest of other American regions .
In 1523, Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro were associated in an expedition that left their exploration from Panama to the south. Upon reaching northern Peru, they learned of the existence of the Inca Empire. Pizarro decided to return to Spain and sign a capitulation (that is, a special treaty) with the Spanish crown. Finally, in 1531, he was able to undertake his expedition of conquest about the Inca Empire.
Upon contact with Inca society, The Spaniards discovered that the Empire was crossing a civil war for the succession of the throne . The two heirs in dispute were the Atahualpa and Huáscar brothers. Shortly after the arrival of the Spaniards in the region, Atahualpa managed to impose himself on his brother and sent a messenger with gifts in clothes and gold ornaments, with the aim of knowing the intentions of European strangers.
In response, Pizarro suggested to meet Emperor Atahualpa in the city of Cajamarca. Over there, The Spaniards held an ambush to the Incas and took prisoner to the emperor . Although the Incas sent the payment of a rescue in wealth to release him, Pizarro decided to kill the emperor for fear of reprisals.
Atahualpa’s murder had a destabilizing effect on the political structure of the empire and paralyzed the population. This allowed The Spaniards will take the city of Cuzco and definitely submitted to Inca society.
Spanish success reasons
The triumph of Spanish conquest campaigns in much of the American territory has several reasons:
- War superiority. The conquerors wore firearms and steel swords, had metal armor and used horses in battles. On the other hand, the native peoples were armed with arrows and spears with a stone tip and, as a defense, used leather and fabric protectors.
- Epidemics and diseases. The arrival of the Spaniards introduced unknown microbes in the American continent, which produced diseases and infections for which American populations had no defenses. Among the deadliest diseases suffered by the Americans were smallpox, tuberculosis and bubonic plague.
- Offensive strategies. The Spaniards took advantage of the rivalries that existed between the different American populations and associated with different populations with the aim of defeating their local enemies. In exchange for obtaining war support and important knowledge, the Spaniards promised privileges to indigenous bosses and leaders.
Portuguese conquest of the current Brazil
During the fifteenth century, The kingdom of Portugal had established itself as one of the expansionist colonial empires most important in Europe, by controlling important regions of Africa and Asia. With the Treaty of Tordesillas, they achieved control of a portion of the American continent.
The first Portuguese to arrive in America did so in 1500. It was an expedition under Pedro Álvarez de Cabral that was heading to Africa, but which was diverted by a storm and reached the Brazilian coast, at the height of Porto safe. Since then, Portugal took possession of the territory, submitted native nomadic natives and forced them to work as slaves in the exploitation of Palo Brazil (a tree whose cortex was used for fabric tincture).
The agreement between Spain and Portugal for continent control
As soon as they had news of the unexplored continent, the competition between Spain and Portugal emerged, which were the great expansionist powers of the period, on the right of each crown to expand to the west.
After the Pope’s arbitration intervention (Bula Inter fall of 1493), both crowns finally reached an agreement in 1494, called the Treaty of Tordesillas.
All lands located to three hundred seventy leagues west of the Cabo Verde archipelago would be explored by Spain, and all the territories east of that line could be colonized by Portugal. This agreement legitimized Portuguese colonization in Brazil. This way, Spain and Portugal distributed the world to explore, without taking into account the people who lived there .
Conquest of North America
The conquest of the American territory corresponds to a period after that of the rest of the continent. France and England sent expeditions during the 16th century with the aim of competing for the possession of American lands. However, the expeditions focused on finding a road that connected America with the East through the north end of the continent.
Although they did not find this interoceanic step, They developed commercial links with indigenous groups . They exchanged products brought from Europe for skins and other local products. The competition between France and England, to which the Netherlands joined, At first he focused on trade control . The land occupation was carried out late, only during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
During the seventeenth century, In the territory of current Canada, the French founded Montreal and Quebec and took possession of the region that reached the Mississippi River, which they called Louisiana and is currently in the United States. The Dutch founded the town of Nueva Amsterdam, which was later occupied by the English and renowned as New York.
Continue with:
- Impact of the discovery of America in Europe
- New Spain Viceroyalty
- Colonization of America
- Race day
References
- Bennasar, B., Blayau, N., Denis, M., and Jacquart, J. (2005). “The finding of other worlds.” Modern history. Akal.
- Friederici, G. (1973). The character of discovery and conquest of America. Economic Culture Fund.
- Raiter, B., Rizzi, A., Grau-Dieckmann, P. (2008). A story to think. Modern and contemporary. Kapelusz Norma.
