Spanish Empire Research Paper

The principal position of this paper is focusing on the ways Spaniards abused indigenous populations to benefit their own empire. Beginning in 1492 with the arrival of Christopher Columbus, Spanish exploration and settlement of the Americas spread rapidly through lands preoccupied by native people. Largely, the spread of Europeans had devastating effects on indigenous populations and their societies, ranging from epidemics to the enslavement of natives. The Spanish often exploited the natives as a cheap source of labor, and used up greater amounts of resources in an area than was necessary, depleting the availability of such resources to native tribes. Following Columbus, Spanish explorer Ponce de León reached land in Florida on the twelfth …show more content…
Cortez initially made alliances with native tribes, such as the Totonacs and later the Tlaxcalans, who had initially resisted Spanish advances with violence.2 These alliances, however, were based in deep hatred for the Aztecs who controlled their land by the natives, and the greed of the Spaniards. In November of 1519, Cortes and his army of natives reached Tenochtitlán, the capitol of the Aztec empire, they were met by the emperor, Moctezuma, and nearly a hundred of his servers. For several days, the Spaniards and unwanted natives were treated to luxuries of the city, fueling the Spanish greed.2 After negotiations with the Aztecs failed, Cortes took Moctezuma hostage and forced the Aztec people to bring him rations of gold and silver. 2 This later became known as the Encomienda system, in which Spanish rulers forced labor on native Americans for their own profit. After eight months, however, the governor of Cuba sent soldiers to capture Cortes for abusing his position. Cortes’ army crushed the impeding force and within the next year, he would go on to raid the cities surrounding Tenochtitlán, and eventually force the Aztecs into surrender after laying siege on their capital for eighty