World History Journal WEEK 2

Conquest and Early Colonization of the Americas History 111 – World History since 1500

Spring 2022

Jorge Minella ([email protected])

Introduction - Colonialism  Spanish and Portuguese maritime

expansion.

 Toward Asia.

 Main goal: trade.

 But colonization in America later.

 Colonialism.

 Transfer of population to a new territory;

 To live as permanent settlers;

 While maintaining political allegiance to their country of origin.

Spanish Galleon. Fragment of A Naval Encounter between Dutch and Spanish Warships, Cornelis Verbeeck’s oil on panel, c. 1618/1620.

15th Century Side-Effects of Exploration

 The Spanish in the Canary Islands, 1430s.

 Enslavement of locals.

 Sugar plantations.

 The Portuguese in São Tomé, 1480s.

 Uninhabited island.

 Import of enslaved Africans.

 Sugar plantations.

 Testing models of colonization.

First Contact and Conflicts in the Caribbean

MAP 16.2 European Voyages of Discovery, c. 1420–1600. Textbook page 575.

1492 – 1519: Castilian Disappointment, Caribbean Disaster

 Cultural Clash.

 How to obtain wealth?

 Conquer land and people.  Indigenous enslavement.

 Encomienda.

 Forced conversion to Christianism.

Encomienda

 System of coerced labor.

 Native communities allocated to Spanish encomendero.

 Who could exploit native labor and demand tribute.

 Goods.

 Agricultural surpluses.

 Gold and silver.

Caribbean Catastrophe

 Catastrophic model.

 Needed extreme violence.

 Eventually undermined Spanish goals.

 Lack of labor force.

 90% of Caribbean Natives died in less than a century.

 Mostly disease.

 Overwork and enslavement.

 Forced dislocations.

 Violence and killings.

 Different colonial models.

Part of the Codex Kingsborough (c. 1550), an indigenous Mexican complaint against an abusive encomendero

The Fall of the Aztec and Inca Empires

Conquistador Companies

 Private expeditions authorized by the Crown.

 Higher rank commoners.

 Conquest as opportunity.  Bounty.  Encomiendas.  Noble titles.

Early 20th century depiction of Diego de Almagro’s conquistador company. Expedición de Almagro a Chile. Fray Pedro Subercaseaux, c. 1900.

Fall of the Aztec

 Rival native groups joined conquistadors.

 Emperor Moctezuma II held hostage and killed.

 Disease.

Depiction of Cortes’ conquistador band and Tlaxcalan allies. Codex Azcatitlan, mid-16th to mid 17th centuries.

Fall of the Inca

 Civil war.

 Atahualpa vs. Huascar.

 Deception and treachery.

 Atahualpa captured and killed.

 Despite immense wealth given to conquistadors.

Early 17th century representation of Atahualpa and Pizarro’s meeting. Poma de Ayala, Nueva Crónica y Buen Gobierno, 1615.

What Explains Conquest

 Effects of disease (smallpox, mainly).

 Circumstances and timing.

 Resentment against the Aztec led to native allies.

 Inca in civil war.

 Spanish tactic of seizing and killing the leadership proved effective.

20th century artwork depicting the transformation of Tenochtilan into Mexico City. Roberto Cueva del Río, 1986.

The Portuguese Coastal Colony

First Decades: Brazilwood Trade

 Wealth?

 Trade with Tupis.  Brazilwood for tools

and trinkets.

 Portuguese focused on Asia.

Map of Brazil in the Miller Atlas, 1519. Brazilwood trees represented.

1530s – Change to Captaincies

 Promote colonization.

 Assigned to “Donatary Captains” as possessions.

 Most failed.

 Lack of resources or interest.

 Poorly informed decisions.

 Indigenous resistance against forced labor.

 Lack of royal oversight and support.

Governorate General and Sugar

 1549 – formation of the Governorate General, based in Salvador, Bahia.

 Pernambuco.  Sugar.

 Large landed property.

 African captives.

 Model: plantations in Atlantic Islands.

Late Colonization of the Interior

 No precious metals until late 17th century.

 Profitable sugar production on coastal areas.

 Fierce indigenous groups.

 No wealthy native empires.

 Bandeirantes, 17th century.

Local Realities and Global Importance: Silver and the Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange

 Alfred Crosby (1972)

 “the massive interoceanic transfer of animals (including humans), plants, and diseases” started after 1492.

 Global change, impact in everyday life.

 Intentional exchanges.

 Unintentional exchanges.

Global Impact of Spanish American Silver

 Unprecedent amount of silver into the market.

 Global trade boost.

 Facilitated wage labor.

 Funded wars.

Local Impact of Spanish American Silver

 Spanish investment in the mines.

 Enslaved Africans working in the mints and refineries.

 Natives subjected to draft labor to work underground.  Mita and Repartimiento: harsh rotational labor draft imposed to the

indigenous communities.

Local Impact - Potosí

 10,000 mita laborers.  Brutal labor regime.

 Formed a large urban center.

 Driving force of Spanish South America’s colonial economy.

 Silver to Castile.

Mining in Potosí, an engraving from Theodoor de Bry in Historia Americae sive Novi Orbis, 1596.

Recap

 The Caribbean and the encomienda.

 Conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires.

 Brazil’s different path.

 Columbian Exchange and silver mining.