The mighty empire of Spain had conquered many places during its command for the benefit of their country. The benefits were riches, laborers, crop, land, and missionaries. The areas in which Spain colonized were South America, the Caribbean, and the American Southwest. They colonized these areas to make them their own. Spain wanted to gain a profit and expand their culture through exploring, sending the word of God through missions, and conquering empires for gold.
Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, began imperialism for Spain. He discovered a new world for Spain, and therefore he opened a door for close to three hundred and fifty years of imperialism. The reign of Spanish Imperialism began with King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella funding Columbus’s trip to Asia. The point of the voyage was to find an all-water route to Asia, which held many treasures such as spices and gold. Instead, he found a whole new world, Guanahani, known today as San Salvador.
He explored the new world, in which he found the natives, “Indians” he called them, believing he had reached India. An excerpt from Christopher Columbus’s diary shows the expressions from the Indians as they arrived. “And also to see the villages, and I soon saw two or three, as well as people, who all came to the beach calling to us and giving thanks to God. Some
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He had the King, Atahualpa, of the Peruvian empire murdered so this ensured Spanish control over South America. He accomplished this by imprisoning the king and allowing him to order a ransom. The payment was in gold and silver is the equivalent of fifteen million U.S. dollars in today’s world. This, of course, took a year to collect. Then Pizarro discontented, ordered the king to kill his brother, another king himself. Desperate, the king obeyed and murdered his brother. For this, Pizarro executed the king bringing down his empire with