Spanish In America

While reviewing for the AP test, I realized that I had forgotten many of the policies of the early colonizers of the Americas. So, I decided to write a brief overview of the motivations, social structure, and political structure of the Spanish colonies. 

Background

The Spanish colonies in North America often were the most populous and had some of the most natural resources. Their conquests stretched from the Andes Mountains to Florida and parts of the southwestern US. After news of the poor treatment under conquistadores, the Spanish government shifted their governing policies. Instead of conquistadores running the land, lawyers and bureaucrats would take over. The Catholic Church also influenced the colonial governments who often justified their treatment of the native people through their faith. 

Goals and Justification 

At the time of Spanish colonization, the majority of European countries adopted mercantilist policies which stated that the number of resources and wealth in the world was fixed. This encouraged countries to hoard wealth and to establish colonies all over the world in order to gain access to more, limited resources. The Spanish colonizers hoped to bring back gold and silver to the crown. At the same time, the Spanish justified their actions by saying that they were bringing the natives to god and freeing them through conversion. Some people saw no contradictions in these two goals. However, others did. Bartolome de Las Casas documented his views on the treatment of natives in A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies. Casas freed his own slaves and preached against the cruel treatment of Spanish rule. He argued that Indians were not barbarians as the Spanish had shown them. He believed that the crown did not have the right to take away their land or freedom. The Spanish government passed the New Laws in 1542 which prohibited using Indians as slaves. They also got rid of the encomienda system which gave the original settlers authority over Indian lands and the right to use natives for forced labor. The Spanish Government replaced this with the repartimiento system which gave Indians freedom and the right to wages. However, they were still forced to provide a fixed amount of labor each year. By the end of the sixteenth century, the Spanish colonies relied heavily on forced wage labor carried out by slaves or natives. 

Social Structure 

The majority of Spanish in America were young, single men who were laborers, craftsmen, government officials, and priests. Although there was a decline in native populations due to wars and disease brought over by colonists, the Spanish did not need to import African slaves for labor. They used Indians to mine gold and silver, boosting the wealth of the crown. Spanish landlords also used Indian labor on haciendas which were large scale farm. 

On top of the social hierarchy were the peninsulars who including people of European descent. These people were considered to have the largest amount of power and authority. This class was in charge of government and economic affairs. 

Just under the peninsulars are creoles who are the children of people who were born in Spain. The made up the majority of landowners. 

Mulattoes or Mestizos were people who were identified as having mixed ancestry. 

Below the Mulattoes were the indigenous people, African Americans, and slaves. These people enjoyed little rights. 

Political Structure

The Spanish Colonies were ruled by high ranking officials who were supposed to represent the King. They were often made up of nobility. The first administrative body was the audiencias which were in charge of carrying out justice. They also used viceroys who were a part of the nobility or clergy who chiefly represented the king and had military and political power. The colonial governments also levied taxes. One tax was the Quinto real, the royal fifth. This was a tax on mineral goods.