spanish america

Spanish America or Hispanic America are the names given to Latin American countries that were colonies of the Spanish empire. Currently, these countries are distributed in South, Central and North America.

Colony

The process of colonization of the Americas begins in 1492, with the arrival of the squadron of the Italian navigator Christopher Columbus. In search of an alternative route to the Indies, Columbus lands in the Caribbean.

The territorial limits that would give rise to Spanish America began to be drawn two years after discovery, in 1494, with the signing of the Treaty of Tordesillas. This agreement provided for the division of all new discovered and undiscovered territories between the kingdoms of Portugal and Spain.

After the conquest, Columbus himself was appointed governor of the new territories, but through mismanagement, he ended up being deposed in 1500.

In 1517, Spanish explorers ended a war against Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula and set out to occupy discovered territories in America.

In the so-called “New World”, Spanish colonists found precious metals and these became the economic base of the colonies. Obeying the colonial pact, all the wealth taken from the colony was sent to the metropolis.

Indigenous and African Slavery

The evangelizing spirit of the Catholic religion also led explorers to want to get new souls for the Church. The indigenous people were catechized and most of them abandoned their customs and others mixed their religions with Christianity.

In theory, it was forbidden to enslave the indigenous people. However, in practice, natives were captured from their communities and distributed among the settlers to work in the mines. This practice existed among the Andean peoples and was called mita .

The colonizers brought diseases unknown to the indigenous people, such as smallpox, typhus, measles and flu that caused a large number of deaths.

The Spaniards had an infinite warlike advantage in comparison with the native peoples and knew how to make alliances that played the indigenous tribes against each other.

In addition to sturdier swords and gunpowder, they took horses to the new continent and gained an intense advantage on the battlefield.

In this way, the indigenous people succumbed to the colonizers. Entire empires were destroyed, like the Mayans, Aztecs and Incas.

African slavery in Spanish America did not occur homogeneously. In the Caribbean, entire populations were decimated and replaced by black Africans.

However, in Andean America, the use of indigenous and black Africans is recorded, according to the task they should perform and the place where they should work.

Colonial Society

Colonial society was shaped through violence and miscegenation. As there were few women born in Spain living in the colonies, the men united with indigenous people. Some marriages between indigenous nobility and officials were performed with the aim of strengthening local alliances.

For this reason, there was a mixture of Europeans with Indians and, later, with blacks. The latter in a smaller proportion than in Brazil.

Spanish American society was basically divided into:

• Chapetones :they were the colonial elite, controlled the colony and held high administrative positions.
• Criollos :came just below. They were the children of Spaniards born in the colony and were part of the nobility, and were also large landowners.
• Blacks and Indians: were at the base of the social pyramid.

Indigenous people would become marginalized, but many would maintain their ancestral customs.

Colonial Administration

The metropolis controlled the colonies through the Casa de Contratación, which had its headquarters in Seville and later in Cádiz. There was also the Council of the Indies, which was responsible for the colonial administration and which was represented in the colonies by the chapetones .

Likewise, there were the cabildos , also called municipal councils. These councils represented the metropolis and controlled policing, tax collection, and justice.

The heads of the cabildos they were chosen by the crown itself and were often for life. The people did not participate in the cabildos , but they were called when there were important decisions to make.

This situation was recorded when Napoleon invaded Spain in 1807 and King Ferdinand VII was arrested by French troops.

In the 18th century, Spain administratively reorganized its colonies in America. Therefore, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, Captaincy General of Guatemala, Captaincy General of Cuba, Captaincy General of Venezuela, Captaincy General of Chile, Viceroyalty of New Granada and Viceroyalty of Rio of Silver.

Independence of Spanish America

The emancipation of the colonies in Spanish America took place between 1808 and 1829. The uprisings were inspired by Enlightenment ideas, the example of the liberation process of the United States and the desire to get rid of the high taxes levied by the Crown.

The success in the independence process was obtained after many wars throughout the territory. The revolutionaries also had the support of England, which was interested in new consumer markets and raw material suppliers.

After emancipation, the Viceroyalties and Captaincies-General were fragmented into many territories and gave rise to several countries such as Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Cuba, Santo Domingo, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Mexico.

Likewise, the Spaniards were in Puerto Rico and a large part of the territory that is now the United States, such as the states of California, Texas, Florida, among others.

Read more :

• Discovery of America
• Latin America
• First Peoples of America
• Simón Bolívar