3.1 Spanish Exploration and Colonial Society

Key Objectives

• Identify main Spanish American colonial settlements of the 1500s and 1600s.
• Discuss economic, political, and demographic similarities and differences between the Spanish colonies.

Spanish Expansion

• During the 1500s, Spain expanded its colonial empire:
  • To the Philippines in the Far East.
  • Areas in the Americas, later becoming part of the U.S.
• Spanish sought gold, silver, and conversion of Native Americans to Catholicism.
• Established a patriarchal society with Spanish at the top, Native peoples and Africans below.
• Introduced devastating diseases killing many natives, more than by warfare.

Colonial Labor Systems

• Encomienda System: Assigned native workers to Spanish colonists for labor and conversion to Christianity but led to exploitation.
• Repartimiento System: Replaced encomienda; mandated native labor pools for Spanish overlords.

Spanish Florida - St. Augustine

• 1513: Juan Ponce de León claimed Florida for Spain.
• 1565: Pedro Menéndez de Avilés established St. Augustine after defeating French at Fort Caroline.
• St. Augustine became the oldest European settlement in the Americas.
• Local Timucua natives displaced and devastated by disease.
• Religion used as a tool for cultural dominance, forcing Catholicism on natives.

Challenges in Spanish Florida

• 1586: English pirate Sir Francis Drake attacked and destroyed St. Augustine.
• Spanish built Castillo de San Marcos (1672-1695) to protect from further raids.

New Mexico - Santa Fe

• Late 1590s: Juan de Oñate explored the American Southwest.
• 1610: Established Santa Fe, capital of New Mexico.
• Spanish missionaries aimed to convert Pueblo peoples.
• Cultural clash as Pueblo resisted complete conversion to Catholicism.

Pueblo Revolt

• 1680: Pueblo, led by Popé, revolted against Spanish, killing over 400 settlers.
• Spanish fled, later returned in 1692 to reassert control.
• Conflict seen by some Spaniards as a battle against the Devil, framing it religiously.

Important Figures & Events

• Pedro Menéndez de Avilés: Founded St. Augustine, defeated French at Fort Caroline.
• Popé: Led the Pueblo Revolt against Spanish settlers.
• Castillo de San Marcos: Spanish fortification to protect St. Augustine.

Cultural Impact

• Spanish colonization led to cultural transformations and impositions on native populations.
• Disease spread and forced religious conversions severely impacted native communities.

For further exploration, review multimedia resources on Castillo de San Marcos and the illustrations by Jacques le Moyne de Morgues.