1.5 Europe and the Americas

• History
• Middelbare school
• havo, vwo
• Leerjaar 2

1.5 Europe and the Americas

1. Explain how the Spaniards ruled their colonies in the Americas

2. Explain how people, animals, diseases, ideas and products were exchanged between the Old World and the New World because of the Columbian Exchange

Viceroys were representatives of the Spanish king and ruled the colonies on his

behalf. They rewarded the conquistadores with haciendas: pieces of land on which they could build plantations, cattle farms or mines. 

The viceroys also gave them encomienda, the right

to have Indigenous people work on their land. 

Terrible diseases and hard work 

The conquistadores had killed thousands of Indians during the wars, but this was nothing compared to deaths that were caused by the viruses they brought. Diseases such as typhus, the flu, smallpox and measles were new to the indigenous people, the people who naturally existed in that place, so their bodies did not have immunity. Millions of people were contaminated and died horrible deaths. In some places the population dropped by a staggering 90%. 

The Indians that survived were subjugated as slaves for the Spaniards. After the wars, the Spaniards divided their American territories into the Viceroyalty of Peru and New Spain. Viceroys were representatives of the Spanish king and ruled the colonies on his behalf. The viceroy awarded the conquistadores with a hacienda. These were pieces of land on which they could build plantations, cattle farms or mines. The viceroy also gave them encomienda, the right to have the Indians do the hard work on their land.

the Indians were badly treated by the Spanish

Slaves 

Most Spaniards believed that the death of the Indians was a punishment from God. The Indians were not seen as equals to the Europeans because they were not Catholic, so they were not protected against abuse. 

The Spanish priest De Las Casas opposed this mistreatment by writing a letter to emperor Charles V in which he explained about the hard work the Indians had to do and the harsh punishments they received. He was successful. From that moment the Indians had to be treated better. But the misery did not end because the hacienda owners shipped in slaves from Africa instead to do the hard labour.

Source 2; the True History of the Conquest of New Spain, written by Bernal Diaz del Castillo, a conquistador.

'On his side Cuauhtémoc, ... took measures for the defence of his country with unequalled courage; he had obtained from his subjects a promise 'that they would never make peace, but either would die fighting or take our lives. ' The battle was remarkably long and bloody. When the greater number of them had already perished, the few who still remained stoically* resisted thirst, hunger, weariness and pestilence* in the defence of their country, and even refused the proposals of peace that Cortés repeatedly made to them. In this manner only did they die' 

(*stoically = calm, pestilence = diseases) 

Source 1; A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies, written by Fray Bartolomé de las Casas, a Spanish monk.  

'The cause for which the Christians have slain and destroyed so many, such infinite numbers of souls, has been simply to get, as their ultimate end, the Indians' gold for themselves. They have stuffed themselves with riches in a very few days, owing to the insatiable greed and ambition that they have had, which has been greater than any the world has ever seen before.' 

The Columbian exchange

 

After the voyage of Columbus, the contact between Europeans and the Native Americans grew and led to an exchange of goods, animals and plants, but also the outbreak of diseases. This mutual exchange of products between Europe and America is called the Columbian exchange. Horses were especially in demand by the Native Americans, once they got accustomed to them. Cows, goats, pigs and sheep were also brought by the Spaniards and supplemented the American livestock. The indigenous inhabitants of America did not have many domesticated animals. They used llamas, alpacas, dogs, turkeys and guinea pigs.

the llama is a typical indigenous animal to South America

The Spaniards also brought horses to America. Can you imagine Indians without horses?

The Europeans also discovered that the Native Americans grew crops such as tomatoes, peanuts, pumpkins, maize and potatoes. Products such as cacao and tobacco also became very popular in Europe. 

At the same time, Europeans brought crops to America, such as wheat and barley. They even transported crops from Asia to America, such as oranges, bananas, rice and sugar. They successfully planted these crops in order to make them flourish. The profit went directly to the colonists. The products were grown on huge plantations where slaves had to do the hard labour. In 1542, Bartolomé de Las Casas wrote a letter to the Spanish King Charles V, in which he asked for the protection of Native Americans. After this, slaves were instead taken from Africa. 

Europeans, Africans and native Americans had children together and because of this a melting pot of people developed in America.

Just some of the products that we would never know of, if America had not been discovered.

TIME TO WORK....

- Read par 1.4

- Make exercises 1.4 ( 1,2,5,9,10,12)

- Start to prepare the test