in 1493, the pope drew a line down a map and divided the world into two parts. spain controlled all...
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In 1493, the pope drew a line down a
map and divided theworld into two parts.Spain controlled all
new land west of the line and Portugal
controlled all land east of the line: Africa and
India. But in 1494, underpressure from Portugal, the pope moved
the line farther west to include Brazil.
Now, with the landofficially divided,
Spain and Portugalset out to rule
this “New World.”Soon the king ofSpain created
five provinces andsent a viceroy to
govern each province.
To encourage Spanish settlement, theking gave large areas of land to Spanish conquistadors. Their descendants formed a class of
wealthy landowners.
Spanish landowners needed millionsof farm workers and miners. The
Spanish forced Native American Indiansto work for them. The Spanish
landowners were cruel to their workers.
The Spanish called this system of forced labor the encomienda system.Under this system, a Spaniard hadto convert the Native Americans to
Catholicism and take care of their needs.
Spaniards did convert the American Indians to Catholicism but neglected
to take care of their workers.
At least twenty million Native Americans lived in Latin America when the Spanish
first arrived. Within 100 years, theNative population was down to 4 million.
Many Native American Indians diedfrom European diseases and the
hard, dangerous work in the mines and farms. But they also died because
the Spanish refused to let thempractice their customs and traditions.
They simply lost hope.
Some Spaniards triedto stop the mistreatment
of the Native people.Bartolome de las Casas
was a Spanish priest.He wrote to the kingand condemned the
cruel treatment of theNative Americans by
the Spanish. He suggested that the king use African
workers. Later, he regretted this idea.
Ultimately, a new class system developedin colonial Latin America. It was a
a system based on birth and ethnicity.Europeans prospered while Indians and
Africans suffered.
Peninsulares were born in Spain. Theyheld the most important government jobs
and owned vast tracts of land. Theygreatly prospered.
Creoles were people born in the Americasof entirely European ancestry. They
could not hold the most important government jobs but they inherited vast
tracts of land. These wealthy landownerslived comfortable and privileged lives.
Mestizos were people of mixed ancestry.They had European and Native Americanancestors. They were typically farmers
or craftsmen.
Native American Indians and Africanswere enslaved. They were mistreated
and forced to adopt the Christian religionand European languages.
Colonial Latin America
TreatyOf
Tordesillas The ColonialClass
System
Las Casas
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