• Home Page
  • Why Did The Spaniards Conquer The Civilization Of Native Americans?

Why Did The Spaniards Conquer The Civilization Of Native Americans?

Superior Essays
Show More
Starting in the late 1400’s, the Spaniards set out on explorations in the western hemisphere of the the world. The main goal of these explorations for the Spaniards was to find gold, which caused the Spaniards to become extremely greedy. During these explorations, the Spaniards ran into many civilizations of Native Americans. Soon afterwards, the Spaniards started to conquer the lands and take over the Native Americans. The Spaniard’s easily overwhelmed and conquered the Native Americans for three main reasons. The Native Americans were too friendly, the Spaniards had weapons, and the Spaniards were also driven by greed and violence.
One of the main reasons that the Spaniards took over so easily is that the Native Americans were too friendly. …show more content…
In 1492 Columbus said in his journal, “The islands are all extremely verdant and fertile, with the air agreeable, and probably contain many things of which I am ignorant, but I did not want to stay here, but visit other islands in search of gold.” This talks about how Columbus knew how valuable the islands of the Caribbeans were but yet he moved on because his mind was so set on gold. The greediness the Spaniards had gave them motivation to press on and take over more lands in hopes of finding gold. In 1590 Father Bernardino de Sahagun said, “And when they went into the great palace, the residence of the ruler, they repeatedly shot off their harquebuses. They exploded, sputtered, discharged, and thundered.” This talks about how Cortes and his men charged the Aztec palace with horses and guns and shot off the guns to show dominance and scare the Aztecs. This shows how the Spaniards used violence to try take the Aztecs by surprise and conquer their land. In 1542 Bartoleme de Las Casas said, “Their reason for killing and destroying such an infinite number of souls is that the Christians have an ultimate aim, which is to acquire gold, and to swell themselves with riches in a very brief time and thus rise to a high estate disproportionate to their merits.” In other words it says that the greediness for gold caused the Spaniards to be so violent and kill so many people. This furthers the point that the greediness caused the death of many Native Americans at the hands of the Spaniards.Due to the greediness of the Spaniards, it caused them to become violent against the Native Americans, ending in the loss of many Native American

Related Documents

  • Decent Essays

    The Juan Ponce De Leon's Case
    • 169 Words
    • 1 Pages

    The Juan Ponce De Leon's Case

    They tried what they could to get them off their land which started the killing of the native Americans. They then later started a rebellion and burned down homes and stole resources to him and his crew. Juan Ponce De Leon was scared for his, family and crews life so he started…

    • 169 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Compare And Contrast The Spanish French And Dutch Colonies
    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Compare And Contrast The Spanish French And Dutch Colonies

    The Spanish, French, and Dutch colonies in North America all interacted with the Native Americans during the 16th century. Spain’s extreme subjugating approach and views on freedom and religion differed from the accepting and collaborative views of the French and the Dutch. Although the French and Dutch had apparent positive approaches compared to Spain, oppression of the Native Americans occurred under the control of all three colonies. The Spanish were the first to colonize North America and their approach lacked moral compass.…

    • 708 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Decent Essays

    How Did The Conquistadors Affect The Americans
    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages

    How Did The Conquistadors Affect The Americans

    During the age of the conquistadors it was a race to see who could find and collect all of the land they could. Gaining new parts of the new world was did not only affect the people already living on the land it affected the people who were conquering the land. European colonization of the americas shaped global economies and societies by creating a drastic decline in the native population, generating new goods for overseas trade, and by creating new mixed cultures. When the spanish found the new lands they were determined to conquer the lands. They would stop for nothing.…

    • 431 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    English And Spanish Differences During The Age Of Exploration
    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages

    English And Spanish Differences During The Age Of Exploration

    The English had nothing to do with the Native Americans and lived separately from them. However, the Spanish wanted to take control of them and rule…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Jamestown Fiasco Essay
    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Jamestown Fiasco Essay

    Since the Native Americans did not know about God or have as advanced technologies, such as guns, the settlers deemed them as lesser people. Their success made the Europeans angry and jealous that they were not superior and then became concerned about fighting with the Indians than their own needs that they needed to set up so that they could survive there. The Indians were actually the only thing that were keeping the settlers alive and the constant guerrilla warfare that went back and forth between the two groups diminished the trust between both of them. They were constantly fighting with the Native Americans which was a poor idea because they were their main source of food.…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Native American Genocide Dbq Essay
    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Native American Genocide Dbq Essay

    Conquistadors from Europe in the old world. (Europe, Asia, Africa) Came to the New world (North and south America) looking for gold and glory and to convert others to Christianity. They took natives who lived in the new world as slaves, they slaughtered them, and treated them cruelly. The Europeans had caused the genocide of Native Americans, the mass killing of this religious and cultural group, and it was all on purpose.…

    • 570 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Imperialism Vs Spanish Colonization Essay
    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Imperialism Vs Spanish Colonization Essay

    To begin, English treatment of Native Americans mirrored the Spanish. English and Spanish settlers almost always brewed up contempt between themselves and the natives. The closer natives lived to foreigners, the more likely conflict grew. Both countries tried…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Native American Slavery Essay
    • 1539 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Native American Slavery Essay

    Furthermore, the Europeans carried extremely more advanced weapons than the Indians, which contributed to the lack of power for Native American tribes. Essentially, before the enormous trend of European colonists, Indians inhabited the majority of America and embraced the nature and land. After settlers came to America, violence began erupting because of conflicts between explorers and Indians regarding land rights. Consequently, this led to frequent wars and resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent Native Americans. Unfortunately, most of the war captives would later be executed or enslaved, where they would be forced to work till death.…

    • 1539 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Social And Economic Changes In The Atlantic World From 1492 To 1750
    • 1889 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Social And Economic Changes In The Atlantic World From 1492 To 1750

    As a result of new contacts among Western Europe, Africa, and the Americas, social and economic transformations occurred in the Atlantic world from 1492 to 1750. Many social changes occurred in these regions as a result of new contacts. Economic changes had great effects on West Europe, Africa, and the Americas during the time period, 1492-1750. The social and economic transformations that occurred were created by the initiation of European expeditions by Spain and Portugal.…

    • 1889 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Superior Essays

    Differences Between Europeans And Native Americans
    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Differences Between Europeans And Native Americans

    Since 1494 the Native Americans have been called savages and were treated unjustly by the Europeans. The Europeans assumed that they could go to America and take what they wanted, without caring whom was already living on the land. The Europeans also thought that they were superior over the Native Americans. The Europeans were much more advanced with their weapons compared to the Native Americans, and the Native Americans were frightened by the loud noises that the weapons created and the violence that followed it. Once America was invaded by the Europeans, the Native Americans lives were forever changed.…

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Cultural Differences Between Europeans And Native Americans
    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Cultural Differences Between Europeans And Native Americans

    To understand what exactly led to the eventual fighting between the Native Americans and European settlers, one must first learn the cultural differences between them. While, some Native American’s learned to “coexist” with new foreign settlers trading and interacting with them, other natives did not like these invaders and were eventually destroyed, usually by force. These new Europeans tried to bring their new way of life to the natives while these people just wanted to maintain their traditional and natural way of life. Native Americans wanted to live for their family, religion and becoming one with nature. They believed that all things were connected spiritually and that their actions could directly influence nature around them.…

    • 936 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Essay On The Spanish Conquistadors
    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Essay On The Spanish Conquistadors

    Trailblazers: The Success of the Spanish Colonies The fate of global civilization was radically changed when Christopher Columbus embarked for the New World in 1492, launching the leading European powers into a race for colonization and exploration. During this time, each country achieved varying degrees of success by employing different tactics to best conquer the uncharted territory of the Americas; for example, the French exploited the trade of beaver pelts to obtain territory and economic success (Kennedy & Cohen 99). Many of these European colonies grew into flourishing cities and centers of culture and newfound traditions. However, especially in the case of the Spanish conquest, each colony faced adversity when interacting with the indigenous…

    • 1115 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Spanish Conquistadors And Native American Diseases
    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Spanish Conquistadors And Native American Diseases

    This disease dominated during the encounters with the Spanish Conquistadores and the Native American populations, impacting almost every…

    • 1281 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More
  • Great Essays

    Summary Of Matthew Restall's Seven Myths Of The Spanish Conquest
    • 1559 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Summary Of Matthew Restall's Seven Myths Of The Spanish Conquest

    One reason for this was the enforcement of Spanish rule, and the dependency the conquest had on the Native peoples; Restall explains that “Spanish settlers depended upon native communities to build and sustain their colonies with tribute, produce and labor” (128). Being a conquistador meant striving to receive an encomienda, “a grant of native tribute and labor” - and this was the ultimate form of slavery for the Indigenous peoples. Furthermore, the second reason for the exploitation of the very victims of the Conquest was the need for survival; as Restall writes, “[Native peoples] tenaciously sought ways to continue local ways of life and improve the quality of life even in the face of colonial changes and challenges” (129). While it was common for Native peoples to demonstrate extreme resistance to the Spaniards when immediately encountered, there were other kinds of defensive strategies. One type of defensive strategy was done through the adaptation of Spanish culture as a way to ‘cover’ and preserve their original practices and systems.…

    • 1559 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
    Read More
  • Improved Essays

    Spanish Colonization Essay
    • 1274 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Spanish Colonization Essay

    The Spanish exploration of America brought many new foods, types of plants, and forms of wealth to the European world. The wealth brought to Spain from the Americas came at a cost that was paid for by the enslavement and the sufferings of Native Americans and eventually the Africans. The Spanish colonization from 1492 to 1700 was motivated by religious conversion of all peoples in America and the desire for wealth and profit that had a significant impact on the lives of Native Americans and Africans. First, colonization by the Spanish was motivated by religious conversion. Columbus first “discovered” America in 1492.…

    • 1274 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
    Read More

Related Topics

Ready To Get Started?
Discover
Company
Follow
©2024 Cram.com
Privacy Policy |  About Ads |  Site Map |  Advertise  | 
  • Cookie Settings