Missionaries and Colonial Impact

Missionaries

• Missionaries, mainly from Franciscan, Dominican, and Jesuit orders, played a key role in Spanish colonization.
• Their primary goal was converting Indigenous people to Christianity.
• They acted as intermediaries between Indigenous populations and colonial officials.
• Their efforts sometimes protected Indigenous people but also contributed to cultural suppression.

Diego de Landa

• Diego de Landa was a Spanish Franciscan priest involved in the Yucatán colonization.
• He studied Mayan culture and language but also aggressively suppressed Mayan religious practices.
• In 1562, he famously burned Mayan books and idols.
• His actions resulted in significant loss of Mayan history and culture, despite also documenting Mayan culture as seen in his Relación de las cosas de Yucatán.

Viceroyalties

• Viceroyalties were large administrative divisions established by the Spanish crown to rule American territories.
• Initially, the Viceroyalty of New Spain (Mexico) and the Viceroyalty of Peru were created.
• Each viceroyalty was led by a viceroy, who represented the king and held significant political and military power.

Antonio de Mendoza

• Antonio de Mendoza was the first viceroy of New Spain, appointed in 1535.
• He aimed for a stable government, balancing the interests of the crown, Spanish settlers, and Indigenous communities.
• He supported the development of New Spain's economy.

Francisco de Toledo

• Francisco de Toledo was a viceroy of Peru instrumental in reforms during the 1570s.

Tomé de Sousa

• Tomé de Sousa was the first governor-general of Brazil.
• He established Salvador, the colonial capital of Brazil, and helped organize Portuguese administration and economic control.
• He encouraged sugar plantations to become a major part of Brazil's economy.

Philip II

• Philip II was king of Spain from 1556 to 1598.
• He oversaw Spain's global empire during its peak and enforced strict Catholicism.
• He worked to strengthen Spanish control over its territories and suppressed Protestantism in his American colonies.

Siglo de Oro

• The Siglo de Oro, or "Golden Age," was a period of flourishing Spanish art, literature, and culture during the late 16th and 17th centuries.
• It was fueled by Spain's wealth from its empire, reflected in art, painting, architecture, and other cultural outputs.

English Settlements

• English settlements in the Americas differed from Spanish colonies, primarily focusing on the eastern coast of North America.
• These colonies often emphasized small-scale farming, religious dissent, and trade networks, building contrasting economic and social structures compared to Spain's large-scale operations.

Silver Boom

• The discovery of silver in the Americas, particularly in Bolivia and Mexico, generated a significant economic boom in the 16th and 17th centuries.
• This influx of silver became central to the Spanish colonial economy and contributed to Spanish global influence.

Amalgamation

• Amalgamation was a silver refining process introduced in Spanish silver mines during the mid-16th century.
• It used mercury to extract silver from ore, increasing productivity but also posing severe health risks for miners due to mercury toxicity.

Mita

• The mita system was a labor draft system based on pre-Columbian practices, primarily in Peru.
• Indigenous people were required to work for a set period, often under harsh conditions in mines.
• This system was a form of forced labor used in the Spanish colonial economy.

López de Quiroga

• López de Quiroga was a powerful silver mine owner and merchant in the Potosí region.
• His success demonstrated the wealth and social influence of private individuals involved in mining during the Silver Boom era.

Gold Mining

• Gold was a crucial resource in different parts of Spanish America and Brazil, fueling the wealth of Spain and Portugal.
• Gold discoveries, especially in Brazil during the 1690s, attracted settlers and laborers, which had a substantial impact on local economies.

Sugar Production

• Sugar plantations in the Caribbean and Brazil became a dominant sector of the colonial economy due to high demand and large-scale production needing substantial labor forces.

The Safra

• The safra was Brazil's annual sugarcane harvest.
• It was a critical period, requiring significant amounts of labor provided largely, though not exclusively, by enslaved workers.

Ranches

• Ranches were established in the grasslands of the Americas to raise livestock, becoming a vital part of the colonial economy, providing food and materials for local use and export.

Pirates

• Pirates frequently attacked Spanish ships and coastal towns, targeting valuable cargo, especially silver, in the Caribbean region.
• This constant piratical threat significantly impacted Spanish shipping and influenced Spanish defensive strategies.

Fleet System

• The fleet system, or flota, was a Spanish convoy system used to protect merchant ships from pirates.
• It involved organized groups of ships sailing together across the Atlantic, intended to safeguard valuable cargo like silver, though this system was relatively inflexible.

Overland Transport

• Overland transport was crucial in the Americas due to the geography.
• Goods frequently had to be moved by land from ports to interior cities.

Mexico City

• Mexico City became the capital of New Spain, the largest and wealthiest city in Spanish America, reflecting and impacting cultural, economic, and political aspects of the region.

Lima

• Lima, the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru, was a significant center of Spanish colonial power in South America.
• It was a major hub connecting Spanish territories in the Americas with Asia through trade routes.

Salvador de Bahia

• Salvador de Bahia was Brazil's first capital.
• It served as a critical port for the Portuguese colony, particularly for the transatlantic slave trade and sugar production; it had a significant enslaved African population, which significantly influenced the local cultural landscape.

Zacatecas

• Zacatecas was a major silver mining town in New Spain, contributing substantially to Spain's wealth.
• It attracted Spanish settlers and Indigenous laborers, shaping the economic and population composition of the region.

Seaports

• Important seaports like Veracruz, Havana, and Portobelo facilitated trade and military activities between Spain and its American colonies.
• They were essential hubs for moving goods, people, and silver.

Intellectual Life

• Colonial intellectual life was influenced by various cultural and intellectual traditions, including those from Spain, Indigenous people's, Africa, and Europe.
• The Catholic Church played a dominant role in this context, with universities and missions.

Oaxtepec

• Oaxtepec, or areas similar to it in central Mexico, was a region for agricultural experimentation by the Spanish.
• The Spanish adapted European crops by implementing agricultural practices, reflecting their effort to manage resources for colonial benefit.

Local Government

• Spanish American local government was structured around cabildos or municipal councils.
• These councils, often composed of local elites and indigenous communities, handled daily governance, including tax collection and public order.

Cochineal

• Cochineal, a red dye produced from an insect, became a significant export commodity from Mexico, which was very valuable in Europe.
• Indigenous peoples were often integral to the processes of cochineal production and use.

Jesuits

• Jesuit missionaries played critical roles in education and conversion activities in Spanish America.

Franciscans

• Franciscans were prominent in missionary work throughout Spanish America, particularly in Mexico and the southwestern United States.
• Their activities were crucial in promoting Christianity, but also facilitated the suppression of native religions.

Indians in Mexico City

• Indigenous peoples lived and worked in Mexico City, contributing to the urban economy and labor force.
• Despite discrimination, Indigenous communities maintained aspects of their culture and established social networks within the urban environment.

Chiapas Revolt

• The Chiapas Revolt represented resistance to Spanish policies related to forced labor and taxes by Indigenous populations.
• The revolt underscored the resistance towards Spanish colonial authorities; though suppressed, it symbolized indigenous dissent.

Pueblo Revolt

• In 1680, the Pueblo Revolt in present-day New Mexico was a significant uprising of Pueblo people against Spanish colonial rule.
• The revolt involved challenging Spanish attempts to impose Christianity and labor practices.

Poma de Ayala

• Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala was a significant Peruvian Indigenous chronicler and noble, known for the illustrated manuscript El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno.
• This work criticized Spanish colonial injustices and highlighted the impact of Spanish colonization on Indigenous lives and perspectives.