Spain

Spain as a Major Colonial Power

When most people think of colonization one of the first powerful countries to be thought of is Spain. Spain conquered a majority of the Western Hemisphere during colonial times. Spain overthrew some powerful Native civilizations that had been around for centuries! With the help of conquistadors, the spread of Christianity, and some brute force Spain established itself as a powerful contender in the New World.

Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus first tried to convince the King of Portugal to sponsor his voyage to find a new route to East Asia, but he failed. He then took his idea to Spain and convinced the Spanish King and Queen, Isabella and Ferdinand, to sponsor his voyage in the name of Castile and Aragon. So Columbus set sail in 1492 in the name of Spain to find a new trade route to East Asia. However, when his ship docked with land it was not in what he assumed to be India, but in the Caribbean of the Americas. And so, Spain had the first connection with the New World giving them a head start in the Colonization of America.

Cortez Conquers the Aztec NationCortez landed in Mexico in 1504 but really began his conquest in 1519. He surged towards the Aztec capital joining forces with native civilizations that were wanting to abolish the Aztec power. Cortez was very smart about the way he went about conquering the Aztecs. He recognized that they had made a lot of enemies and he capitalized on the chance to ally himself with some indigenous forces, and he recognized that the nobility in the Aztec culture had most of the power so he would kill the nobility and establish conquistadors in their place when he conquered a portion of the Aztec empire. Cortez would marry off the conquered noble women to other conquistadors and intertwine noble blood with European blood. By the time Cortez and his conquistadors reached the Aztec capital of Technochtitlan it only took them thirty days to overtake it with the help of small pox, indigenous powers, good strategy, and technology.

Pizarro Conquers the Inca EmpireWhen Pizarro arrived in Peru the Inca Empire was already weakened from a recent civil war. The Spanish arrived in the Inca Empire in 1528. When the natives first saw the Spanish conquistadors they thought they were gods. However, the Inca didn’t know if they were gods that should be welcomed or ones to flee from. Eventually Pizarro met with the Inca King Atahualpa, but after Atahualpa had a couple meetings with Pizarro’s other officers. When Atahualpa and Pizarro met in the city of Cajamarca, the conquistadors told the Inca their demands, and when their impatience grew too great the Spaniards attacked the Inca massacring Atahualpa’s unarmed men and taking him captive. After the capture of Atahualpa it wasn’t long before the Spaniards’ better weapons and the spread of disease led to the fall of the Inca Empire.