THE Spanish colonization in America it was characterized by the modification of the political, economic and religious structure of the societies that inhabited that territory.
The Spaniards introduced a new religion, language, economic and social organization to the American continent.
For their part, they took a series of unknown products to Europe, such as potatoes, corn and chocolate. Furthermore, the boundaries of the known world were stretched and changed forever.
Spanish colonization in America
After the conquest, it was necessary to occupy American territory. After all, kings needed to dominate more regions and markets to legitimate their existence. Likewise, there was a desire to expand the Catholic faith.
Political power guaranteed the spread of the faith, while the Catholic Church legalized the appropriation of territories. For its part, the bourgeoisie financed the taking of other people's property in the name of the king.
THE Capitulation it was the instrument that allowed the execution of those interests. In this document, the duties of each of the parties that participated in the occupation of the new domain were established.
Thus, details such as the capital to be employed, the basic conditions of the expedition were specified, and it was defined how much money would be contributed by the Crown and by individuals.
Economy of Spanish Colonies
Upon settling in America, the Spaniards came across organized populations governed by long-established laws.
Thus, in addition to its own rules, such as the order, the settlers used local customs to take advantage of indigenous labor, such as the mit.
order
THE order it was an institution in force in the kingdoms of Castile and was adapted in the Indies (America).
The encomienda allowed the I order, a Spanish nobleman, to collect taxes in the form of work or material goods from a particular indigenous population. In exchange, the I order should evangelize them, take care of them and defend them.
At orders they were hereditary but not perpetual. The abuses committed by many order it led several religious orders to protest to the king.
In fact, the Spanish Crown tried to abolish it fifty years after its institution, generating revolt in various parts of the Viceroyalties.
The indigenous population itself rebelled against this system, as was the case with the revolt led by the indigenous Bartolina Sisa (1750-1783), in current Bolivia.
Mita
In the Viceroyalty of Peru, mainly, the settlers take advantage of the mit, an Inca creation, in order to guarantee the work of the indigenous people for their purposes.
The myth consisted of a work performed by the male population for the Inca. Generally, it was a question of helping to build temples and paths. In return, they received protection and offerings to the gods.
The Spaniards used this same idea throughout the territory of the Viceroyalty of Peru. In this way, the indigenous tribes were confined to the reductions and received the catechism there. In order to pay for these costs, they had to perform the myth.
This generally consisted of employing part of the population in the exploration of silver mines for a year.
Although work in the mines was regulated and should only be carried out for three weeks, the fact is that the harsh working conditions killed many indigenous people who were employed there as the hand of constructions.
See too: Incas
Spanish American Administration
To control the vast territory they had conquered, the Spaniards initially created two Vice-Kingdoms, directly linked to the Crown: the Vice-Kingdom of New Spain and the Vice-Kingdom of Peru. The Captaincy General of Cuba, Captaincy General of Puerto Rico and the Captaincy General of Santo Domingo were also established.
It is important to emphasize that these territories were considered as an extension of the Spanish kingdom, hence the name “viceroyalty”.
The metropolis had the following institutions to administer the colony:
Hiring House
Responsible for registering all people who went to and settled in the Indies (America). Likewise, they noted the goods, provided the pilots with navigation maps and still exercised justice. Initially, it had its headquarters in Seville and, later, in Cádiz.
Council of the Indies
Helped the king to make decisions regarding his domains in America in terms of justice, economy and even during the war.
Royal Audience
These were the courts of justice established in the Viceroyalties and which judged the crimes committed by its inhabitants.
Vice-Kingdoms and General Captaincies
With the Enlightenment reforms undertaken by King Charles III (1716-1788), in the 18th century, the viceroyalties were split into four and more Captaincies General were created.
The aim was to find a way to improve colonial administration.
Viceroys: territories of great extension and population, were the most profitable for the Spanish Crown. They were ruled by a viceroy. They were: Vice-Kingdom of New Spain, Peru, Nova Granada and Prata.
General Captaincies: were established in areas of greater conflict with the indigenous population or that were the target of pirate attacks. They were: Guatemala (which included the current countries of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Costa Rica), Cuba, Venezuela, Chile, Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico.
Political Positions in the Spanish Colonies
The colonies were administered by officials appointed by the sovereign himself.
- Viceroy: was the highest office within this structure and held by a noble or nobleman directly appointed by the King. It had maximum authority and some Captaincies General depended on it.
- Captain General: title used by whoever was in charge of the Captaincies General.
- governors: helped the viceroy or the captain general to administer the territory.
- cabildo: they were a kind of council formed by owners and prominent men in society, including the clergy, and met in a building with the same name.
Society in the Hispanic Colonies
Colonial society in Spanish America was marked by skin color. Over time, due to interracial unions, the place of birth would be more important than the degree of miscegenation. So we have:
Chapetones
So called the newly arrived Spaniards in the Hispanic colonies. They held high positions such as Viceroy, Captains General, Governors, Alcades or Intendentes (mayors), bishops and archbishops, superiors of various religious orders.
However, their prerogatives were not hereditary, as if they had children born outside the metropolis, they would be considered criollos and did not enjoy the same social status as their parents.
Criollos
They were the children of Spaniards born in America. They could not occupy high positions, but they participated in the Cabildo and had a comfortable social position.
Creoles performed various activities and were professionals such as lawyers, merchants, but also order, mine explorers, farmers, etc.
Unlike the meaning in Portuguese, the word criollo, in Spanish, does not represent a black person. Indicates those whites who were born in America and not the Kingdom of Spain.
Enslaved Blacks
Enslaved Africans were brought in by English and Portuguese traffickers who had the participation of Spanish investors.
Enslaved people were used as labor to replace the indigenous population decimated in the Caribbean and forced to work in sugarcane, tobacco, cocoa, cotton plantations, among others crops.
Black slavery was not homogeneous in Spanish domains in America. It was used extensively in the Caribbean region, but with less force in the Viceroyalty of Peru, for example.
On the other hand, its presence is hardly felt in the Rio de la Plata region.
Indigenous
Spanish colonization meant the disappearance of the old way of life of native peoples.
The economy was reoriented towards the foreign market and the indigenous people worked especially in the silver, gold and mercury mines, but they were also employed in domestic service and in agriculture.
Over time, the original language was replaced by Castilian and the religion became Catholicism. Likewise, a belief develops that mixes pagan practices with Christianity.
Even with all these changes, some customs remained and others merged creating a new way of thinking and living. Others, unfortunately, were lost forever.
mestizos
This was a society where skin color determined its place in the social hierarchy.
According to colonial customs, the union between a Spaniard and an indigenous person gave rise to the mestizo. Despite this, mestizos were accepted because they were raised in a culturally white environment.
Over time, indigenous peoples, whites, blacks came together and generated children. This led to the emergence of people who did not fit into any of the categories mentioned above.
Thus, a series of specific words emerged for each of these unions. We can mention: mulatto, turn-back, moorish, wolf, wild boar, coyote, cambujo, call, etc.
It was a way of establishing new categories, but still the status of each mestizo was ambiguous and depended on how white their skin was and their customs.
Countries Colonized by Spain
There are many territories that were occupied by the Spaniards in America. Let's see:
Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Panama, Honduras, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Mexico.
In addition, the Spaniards populated some Caribbean islands that later passed into the hands of other settlers such as Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guadalupe or São Cristóvão e Neves.
Likewise, a large part of what is now called the United States was part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain and encompassed the current states of California, Texas, Florida, Nevada, Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Texas, Oregon, New Mexico, Washington, and parts of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.
