The Age of Discovery

Western Civilization II Marshall High School Mr. Cline Unit Three AC * The Age of Discovery

• Background of the Conquistadors

• At the end of the 15th century, Spain was finally successful in ridding the Iberian peninsula of Muslim rule.

• This victory came at the end of nearly 800 years of fighting, and was named the Spanish Reconquista.

• Once the Reconquista was complete, and there were no more infidels to fight, Catholic Spain needed somewhere else to purify.

• Soon, she set her sights on converting the inhabitants of the New World to her precious faith, and for this task, she sent many of the warriors of the Reconquista.

• Oddly, the explorers sent to do her bidding are not known to history as missionaries or even evangelists.

• Instead, history gives them the name conquistador or conqueror.

• This alone tells us a whole bunch about their dealings with the new world. * The Age of Discovery

• Background of the Conquistadors

• As we discuss these dealings, we'll highlight Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro, arguably the two most famous conquistadors of Spain.

• We'll also discuss the encomienda system, a doctrine of sorts that Spain enacted over the Americas they ravaged.

• Hernan Cortes

• Let's get the ball rolling with Hernan Cortes.

• Known in most history books as simply Cortes, this conquistador was born into a noble family.

• He was a charismatic leader who quickly climbed the ranks of the Spanish military.

• Upon the request of some higher ups, Cortes was chosen to lead an expedition into Mexico. * The Age of Discovery

• Hernan Cortes

• His mission was to establish a Spanish colony in mainland Mexico.

• Although only accompanied by 600 men, Cortes quickly conquered the area of Tobasco and founded the town of La Villa Reca de la Vera Cruz.

• Unlike many of his contemporaries, Cortes took great interest in the social customs and traditions of the locals he encountered.

• One such custom was the practice of polytheism or the belief in many gods.

• According to Aztec tradition, one of these gods would one day return to the earth.

• Oddly, this god was to be of light skin, with light eyes and red hair.

• In other words, they were looking for a god who looked European. * The Age of Discovery

• Hernan Cortes

• Many historians believe this may be why the Aztec people were originally accepting of Cortes. They thought he was a god, and this really worked in Cortes' favor.

• On a side note, if Cortes was so interested in spreading Catholicism, don't you think he would have cleared up the whole mistaken-identity-deity-thing? Hmmmm.

• By 1519, Cortes attacked the city of Tenochtitlan, taking the Aztec leader, Montezuma, captive.

• All pretenses of evangelism and friendship vanished as each side traded victories.

• Although the conquistador and his men were greatly outnumbered, they had one secret weapon. They carried the advantage of germs and diseases, which the natives had no immunity towards.

• In the end, the Aztec people succumbed to Cortes, his men, and his diseases, like measles and small pox. * The Age of Discovery

• Hernan Cortes

• In 1521, the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was captured and destroyed.

• In its place, the Spaniards built Mexico City.

• As the Aztecs' capital was buried, so was their ancient culture and civilization.

• Francisco Pizarro

• Similar to Cortes, Francisco Pizarro did his part to ravage and pillage for Spain.

• Unlike Cortes, Pizarro was not of noble birth, a fact that makes his success as a military leader very rare, if not also admirable.

• Despite his lack of formal training or a rich dad to pave his way, Pizarro is thought to be one of the most brilliant military strategists of his time, participating in expeditions all over South and Central America.

• Pizarro was the embodiment of everything conquistador. * The Age of Discovery

• Francisco Pizarro

• By the 1520s, he had received the title of Governor and Captain General.

• These positions of esteem gave him complete authority over the regions he explored and conquered for Spain.

• Although these titles brought real prestige, the thing which gained Pizarro his place in history was his journey into the area of Peru and the Incan Empire.

• Just like the Aztecs, the poor Incans mistook the invading Pizarro for a deity.

• Taking advantage of the Incans trust, Pizarro captured the Incan ruler, Atahualpa, and held him for ransom.

• After the Incans coughed up the ransom, Pizarro executed, rather than returned, their ruler. (I'm guessing, just guessing, Pizarro skipped over the 'Thou shall not lie' part of the Bible in his morning reading that day!) * The Age of Discovery

• Francisco Pizarro

• However, by the time the Incans came to their senses, things had gone from bad to worse.

• Along with a veritable smorgasbord of diseases, Pizarro also had firearms on his side.

• The conquistador also rallied the Incans' native enemies to join him in the fight.

• After rounds of battle, the Incan people finally succumbed to Pizarro.

• The conquistador's men, firearms, and diseases finally brought this ancient people to their knees in the year 1532.

• The Encomienda System

• After going over Cortes' and Pizarro's dealings with the native inhabitants of the New World, you'll probably not be surprised when I tell you the survivors the conquistadors left behind didn't fare all that well. * The Age of Discovery

• The Encomienda System

• The Spaniards continued to exploit the native survivors, using them as abused workers in service of the Spanish throne and their own pocket books.

• The general attitude of the conquistadors toward the natives was one of disdain.

• Seeing the native inhabitants as savage and pagan, the Spanish government enacted the encomienda system in the New World.

• Within this system, the Spanish crown gave a person, usually an explorer or a conquistador, natives to care for and almost own.

• Ironically, the encomienda system was not a grant of land, but a grant of people. However, the conquistadors also helped themselves to the land.

• Theoretically, this whole thing was to protect the natives from other tribes and to teach them the Catholic faith. * The Age of Discovery

• The Encomienda System

• Since the basis of this system was formed from religious motives, its primary purpose was to indoctrinate these lost pagans into the Catholic faith of Mother Spain.

• However, we need to remember that men like Pizarro took total authority over the lands they conquered.

• Although the encomienda system did have its roots in religion, these men were across the sea from Spain, and they behaved however they pleased.

• By the time the system was in the hands of the conquistadors, it had degraded into nothing more than systematic oppression and exploitation.

• Under the encomienda system, the natives were required to pay tribute to the Spanish conquistadors in return for protection and wait for it...religious instruction!

• As if losing their land and freedom wasn't enough, the natives were now stripped of their culture and religion. * The Age of Discovery

• The Encomienda System

• Adding insult to injury, they had to foot the bill for this abuse!

• Although the encomienda system was replaced by a set of new laws in the mid-16th century, the term still signifies the exploitation of the Americas.

• Even with the repeal of the encomienda system, the damage to the native populations was done.

• Through their dealings with the conquistadors, their ancient empires were destroyed, and their cultures were nearly erased.

• Their populations were devastated by war and imported disease, while their survivors were forced into back breaking slavery.

• Other Conquistadors

• Cortes and Pizarro, although perhaps the most famous, were not the only conquistadors to ravage the New World. * The Age of Discovery

• Other Conquistadors

• Although they are normally referred to as explorers, the name conquistador also fits the bill.

• There was Balboa who is credited with being the first European to glimpse the Pacific.

• Along with Coronado who explored the area of New Mexico.

• To this we can also add Juan Ponce de Leon who sought the fabled Fountain of Youth, and Hernando De Soto who was the first European to stand upon Florida.

• The Las Casas Family Tree

• Throughout time, there have been courageous men and women who have stood up against the oppression of others.

• They are heroes who have faced ridicule, sacrificed wealth, and even risked life to end the suffering of others. * The Age of Discovery

• The Las Casas Family Tree

• Throughout time, there have been courageous men and women who have stood up against the oppression of others.

• They are heroes who have faced ridicule, sacrificed wealth, and even risked life to end the suffering of others.

• Although merely human, they have stepped out in bravery to right a wrong and to free the oppressed from the yoke of cruelty.

• We can certainly include among these men Bartolome de Las Casas, a man who dedicated his life to the defense of the native people of the Americas during the Age of Exploration.

• Las Casas was a Spanish clergyman who stood against the atrocities visited upon the inhabitants of the New World.

• Ironically, Las Casas' own family played a role in the ravaging of the Americas, and it was this that would forever change his course in life. * The Age of Discovery

• The Las Casas Family Tree

• To explain, Las Casas' father explored the New World with the famous Christopher Columbus.

• In fact, history shows the elder Las Casas and Columbus were very close.

• Through this alliance, the Las Casas family grew very wealthy and was even given an encomienda on Hispaniola.

• An encomienda was a grant given by the Spanish Crown to an explorer of the Americas, giving them the right to demand payment and forced labor from the native inhabitants.

• Yes, you heard that right. It was the royalty of Spain actually giving away the lives and freedom of the native inhabitants, while also making the inhabitants pay their oppressors. * The Age of Discovery

• The Las Casas Family Tree

• Although this practice seems absurd, we need to remember that many, if not most, Old World Europeans believed God had given them the New Worlds in order to rid it of all savage religion and heresy, and this was to be done by any means and at any cost.

• Las Casas Begins Reform

• Now, back to Bartolome Las Casas. Rather than following in the footsteps of his father, Bartolome chose the priesthood.

• Being a true lover of the Catholic faith, Las Casas became a master of Latin and religious studies, earning two degrees in these fields.

• In the early 1500s, Las Casas made his first voyage to his family's land in the New World.

• While there, he witnessed a massacre of a group of natives. * The Age of Discovery

• Las Casas Begins Reform

• In a move that made him extremely unpopular with his wealthy peers, Las Casas declared such treatment a mortal sin.

• Not being able to reconcile this with his Catholic faith, he put his money where his mouth was, renouncing all his family's land holdings in Hispaniola.

• Not being satisfied with just this, Las Casas used his family status to directly petition King Ferdinand of Spain for reform over the fair treatment of the natives.

• However, the death of Ferdinand in the year 1516 erased all the strides Las Casas had made.

• The Verapaz Experiment

• Fortunately, he would not give up, and in 1537 he was given permission to send a group of missionaries to the region of what is today Guatemala. * The Age of Discovery

• The Verapaz Experiment

• In this experiment, Las Casas worked to peacefully integrate with the native populations, and surprise, surprise...it worked!

• The region was peacefully brought under Spanish control without violence and bloodshed.

• The area was named Verapaz, which means true peace, and it still bears this name today.

• This success is known today as the Verapaz experiment, in which an area of the New World was peacefully integrated into Spain.

• Sadly, this experiment only lasted a short time, as greedy Spaniards soon invaded the area.

• By the 1540s, Las Casas had risen to bishop in the Catholic Church.

• Through this position, he was able to lobby for the New Laws of 1542 which limited the encomienda system and its abuses. * The Age of Discovery

• The Verapaz Experiment

• With these laws in hand, Las Casas returned to the Americas but was basically ignored by the wealthy encomienda owners.

• As Las Casas pushed for reform, he himself became in danger of being assassinated for his beliefs.

• Sadly, most of these laws fell by the wayside.

• The Valladolid Debates

• Frustrated, Las Casas returned to Spain. Exasperated, but not willing to stay silent, he soon found himself at the center of a series of academic arguments, which have become known as the Valladolid debates.

• These debates, held in the early 1550s in Valladolid, Spain, centered around the treatment of the natives of the New World.

• They pitted Las Casas against Sepulveda, a fellow clergyman who strongly disagreed with Las Casas. * The Age of Discovery

• The Valladolid Debates

• Using Aristotle's argument of natural slavery, or the idea that some were born to be slaves, Sepulveda argued that slavery of the natives was not only just, but was in keeping with the Catholic faith.

• He went even further by proclaiming Catholics had a moral duty to rid the world of pagan religions, again, by any means necessary.

• Las Casas countered these arguments by stating that the native inhabitants of the Americas were free men.

• Nature had made them free, and they deserved the same treatment as others.

• Again, Las Casas wasn't winning any popularity contests with the wealthy of Spain!

• Although no winner was crowned, history gives a slight nod to Las Casas.

• Although he was nearly 70 at the time of the debates, he was an excellent orator who was able to clearly articulate his views to his Spanish listeners. * The Age of Discovery

• The Valladolid Debates

• Along with these debates, Las Casas spread his beliefs through the written word.

• In the 1550s he published an account of the destruction he witnessed while in the New World.

• In this work, he shared graphic depictions of the abuses Spain had levied on the native inhabitants.

• Unable to stomach reading first-hand of these atrocities, many in Spain threw their support behind Las Casas and his efforts.

• Final Years

• In his later years, Las Casas didn't shrink away, but became even more radical in his beliefs.

• Near the end of his life, he held that each and every conquest visited upon the Americas by Spain was morally reprehensible. * The Age of Discovery

• Final Years

• He even went as far as to claim damnation for all who had participated in the pillaging of the New World, saying it was the natives, not Catholic Spain, who had the right to rise up and declare war.

• Las Casas' life came to end (of natural causes) in 1566.