He then sailed to an island he named Hispaniola present-day Dominican Republic and Haiti. As a devoted Catholic, Columbus had agreed with Ferdinand and Isabella prior to sailing west that part of the expected wealth from his voyage would be used to continue the fight against Islam.
Today they highlight the difficult task of historical work; while the letters are primary sources, historians need to understand the context and the culture in which the conquistadors, as the Spanish adventurers came to be called, wrote them and distinguish their bias and subjective nature. Another Italian, Amerigo Vespucci, sailing for the Portuguese crown, explored the South American coastline between and Unlike Columbus, he realized that the Americas were not part of Asia but lands unknown to Europeans.
The exploits of the most famous Spanish explorers have provided Western civilization with a narrative of European supremacy and Indian savagery. What does this letter show us about Spanish objectives in the New World? How do you think it might have influenced Europeans reading about the New World for the first time? The Columbus landfall accelerated the rivalry between Spain and Portugal, and the two powers vied for domination through the acquisition of new lands.
In the s, Pope Sixtus IV had granted Portugal the right to all land south of the Cape Verde islands, leading the Portuguese king to claim that the lands discovered by Columbus belonged to Portugal, not Spain. The resulting Treaty of Tordesillas in drew a north-to-south line through South America; Spain gained territory west of the line, while Portugal retained the lands east of the line, including the east coast of Brazil.
What does it reveal about the state of geographical knowledge, as well as European perceptions of the New World, at the beginning of the sixteenth century? Inspired by tales of rivers of gold and timid, malleable natives, later Spanish explorers were relentless in their quest for land and gold. He and his men were astonished by the incredibly sophisticated causeways, gardens, and temples in the city, but they were horrified by the practice of human sacrifice that was part of the Aztec religion.
Above all else, the Aztec wealth in gold fascinated the Spanish adventurers. The Spanish then murdered hundreds of high-ranking Mexica during a festival to celebrate Huitzilopochtli, the god of war. The traditional European narrative of exploration presents the victory of the Spanish over the Aztec as an example of the superiority of the Europeans over the savage Indians.
However, the reality is far more complex. Far from being unified and content under Aztec rule, many peoples in Mexico resented it and were ready to rebel. The Spanish also brought smallpox into the valley of Mexico. In either case, she demonstrates one way in which native peoples responded to the arrival of the Spanish.
By this and other means, native people helped shape the conquest of the Americas. One such explorer, Francisco Pizarro, made his way to the Spanish Caribbean in , drawn by the promise of wealth and titles. He participated in successful expeditions in Panama before following rumors of Inca wealth to the south. Although his first efforts against the Inca Empire in the s failed, Pizarro captured the Inca emperor Atahualpa in and executed him one year later.
In , Pizarro founded Lima, Peru. Everywhere they traveled, they brought European diseases, which claimed thousands of native lives as well as the lives of the explorers. In , de Soto himself died during the expedition. The surviving Spaniards, numbering a little over three hundred, returned to Mexico City without finding the much-anticipated mountains of gold and silver. He presided as governor over the province of Nueva Galicia, where he heard rumors of wealth to the north: a golden city called Quivira.
Between and , Coronado led a large expedition of Spaniards and native allies to the lands north of Mexico City, and for the next several years, they explored the area that is now the southwestern United States. During the winter of —41, the explorers waged war against the Tiwa in present-day New Mexico. Rather than leading to the discovery of gold and silver, however, the expedition simply left Coronado bankrupt.
Spain attracted innovative foreign painters such as El Greco, a Greek who had studied with Italian Renaissance masters like Titian and Michelangelo before moving to Toledo. Native Spaniards created equally enduring works. The exploits of European explorers had a profound impact both in the Americas and back in Europe. Colon offered an alternative to go west across the Atlantic to reach China and India. This Western route was the only option possible for Spain. Why did the Portuguese and Spanish explorers sail in different directions to find a route to Asia?
World History. David Drayer. Feb 5, Explanation: As the power of the Islamic empire of the Ottoman Turks grew access to Spain and Portugal via the silk road became more restricted.
Related questions How do I determine the molecular shape of a molecule? What is the lewis structure for co2? What is the lewis structure for hcn? How is vsepr used to classify molecules? The treaty did not consider any future claims made by the British, French, and other European superpowers of their respective times.
More significantly, however, the Treaty of Tordesillas completely ignored the millions of people already living in established communities in the Americas. Of course, by that time, Christianity had not spread broadly in the Americas. This meant that unless the land was already claimed by a Christian European ruler, by the terms of their treaty, Spain and Portugal could claim practically any land they managed to conquer in the Americas.
The resulting conquest and colonization proved disastrous for civilizations, such as the Inca, Taino, and Aztec, along with thousands of other communities throughout the Americas.
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Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives. For thousands of years, this area was populated by groups such as the Olmec, Zapotec, Maya, Toltec, and Aztec peoples. Cultural traits that define the region include the domestication of maize, beans, avocado, and vanilla, and a common architectural style.
Learn more about the rich cultures and lives of these early civilizations.
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