Intros During the period of 1450 to 1800, empires began to form across the globe, most notably the Spanish and the Ottoman empire. After the Battle of Tours, in which the French won, Christianity began to spread across all of Europe, competing against Islam from the Arab nations. As Christianity continued to spread, Christopher Columbus set sail, hoping to find spices in India, but arrived on the shores of the New World, the beginning of Age of Exploration. During this age, Spanish conquistadors colonized the indigenous populations, forcing them into a rigid labor system and hierarchy.
In the years between 1350 and 1519 the aztec empire ruled the lower half of mexico. The capitol of the empire was Tenochtitlan, currently mexico city, on the lake Texcoco. They were disliked by many because they were tough warriors who pushed people out of there way. The capitol of their empire was tenochtitlan, current day mexico, on the lake texcoco. They were disliked because people saw them as fierce warriors and fanatical followers of the aztec gods.
The Aztecs' morals and the devoted Spaniards would be the downfall of the Aztec Empire in 1521. Tenochtitlan was a marvelous Aztec capital with beautiful architecture and impressive markets. With outstanding temples made of stone, the city surrounded by rivers, and advance trading routes. This great city that took years to build in addition maintained over # civilians would have declined in a questionably short amount of time.
In The Requerimiento by Juan López de Palacios Rubios, natives in the new world were told, “We ask that … you acknowledge the Christian church as the ruler and superior of the whole world, and as superiors that you agree to let the Christian priests preach to you … (The Priests) shall not compel you to become Christians unless you yourself wish to be converted. But if you do not do this … we shall forcefully enter into your country and make war against you.” The Spanish conquistadors allowed natives to choose whether or not they wanted to convert to Christianity, However if they did not, then the Spanish turned them into slaves. The True History of the Conquest of New Spain by Bernal Diaz del Castillo openly stated that a reason for Spanish exploration was, “To serve God and his majesty, to give light to those who were in darkness.” The Spanish viewed non-Christians as unintelligent people because they believed in a different God.
Nowadays, different news stations have been focusing on one side of the story. For instance, the incident in Anaheim in which a teenage boy was arrested due to a confrontation with an off-duty police officer. In the Hispanic news, the teenage boy was viewed as the victim and in the English news, he was portrayed as the aggressor. Both parties, emphasized on the facts they had, and they were both ideological. Like the famous phrase, ‘there are two sides to a story,’ and it was Zinn’s purpose to write about the other side of the US history.
The desire for precious metals and wealth was the primary cause of the Spanish’s harsh treatments upon the
A majority of conquistadors were trained soldiers who had fought for Spain in other wars. Although most of them were professional soldiers, they were not very organized. In the New World, they were like mercenaries, meaning they were concerned with making money at the expense of ethics. They were allowed to join any expedition they wanted and could leave whenever they wanted.
The conquistadors worked to convert the American Indians to their religion because a major factor of Christianity
Religion in the Aztec Empire: The Aztecs had a polytheistic religion with the worship of a pantheon of all powerful gods. The religion they followed permeated into every aspect of their lives. Everyone from the lowest peasants and commoners to the most royal of emperors observed this religion very seriously. Priests presided over rituals and sacrifices, and were supposed to be celibate and refrain from alcohol. It had a large and ever increasing pantheon.
As with most of the New World, the Spaniards motives in Colombia were self-serving. They were interested in the acquisition of territory, the expansion of power, the accumulation wealth, and the subjugation of the native people through conversion to Catholicism. The Spaniards organized and calculated colonial tactics in Latin America directly contrast the turbulence and instability that has plagued Colombia since the onset of its colonization. Colonization of Colombia happened in increments, rather than all at once, and the effects of this disjointed colonization have lasted for four centuries Colombia was discovered in 1499 by Alonso de Ojeda, but the process of colonization did not begin until 1525, when Rodrigo de Bastida established
Columbus reportedly traded pieces of his ship for gold, and was given a golden mask by a native chief. He later said in court (believing he had reached India) “There are many spices, and great mines of gold and other metals…”. After learning of the untapped natural resources and potential for wealth, European nations created an exploration frenzy, with constant voyages to the new world. The nations which sponsored these expeditions would give the explorers a cut of all the gold they found, which helped motivate conquistadors to make the long and treacherous journey to the New World. These explorers knew gold would bring wealth and power to them and their country, in addition to achieving tremendous glory for both.
The Spanish colonized to expand their empire economically through resource
The Spanish empire wanted to come and expand their religion and get money as well of their purpose towards the reason why they migrated to the New World. Bernal Diaz del Castillo, who was one of the Spanish conquistadors, on the reason of Spanish motivations towards the New World stated that, “We came to serve God and to get rich, as all men wish to
The Spanish exploration and colonisation made both a positive and negative impact on Latin America. The arrival of the Spanish explorers to the new world made a big change and they are the reason Latin America looks the way it does today. However these people were ruthless and were the tyrants of the new world. One of Spain’s major foreign policy objectives since the advent of democracy has been to increase its influence in Latin America. Spain has had interest in this area due to historical ties and a common linguistic, cultural and religious heritage (Countrystudies.us, 2017).
More land meant fresh natural resources and more space for people to live. The nation also wanted to trade and find new trade routes to India, as well as Africa and the Americas. But most importantly, they wanted gold, wealth, and fame. There was gold in the Americas, and other riches in Asia, and the Spanish wanted it. King Charles agreed and Magellan was given five ships and about two hundred and fifty men, most of which were Spanish.
