The discovery of the New World made by Christopher Columbus in 1492 is regarded as the onset of the Spanish colonization of the continent that after years became known as America. The vast undeveloped territories and greed attracted numerous adventurers – conquistadors. In this connection, the Royal Spanish court promoted and funded the realization of multiple expeditions to this continent. One of the main issues that affected the conquest and the subsequent establishment of New Spain was the opportunity to make the country richer due to the immense deposits of gold and silver that were detected there by the first conquistadors.
To reflect on the economic factor of the Spanish colonization, it seems appropriate to point out several historical facts. Having several colonies established in the Caribbean Sea, the Spaniards prepared an expedition to conquer the continental territories under the command of Hernando Cortes, an energetic conquistador who conquered Cuba. The troops of the conquistadors were usually composed of impoverished noble families, missionaries, and soldiers seeking their fortune in finding untold treasures. Cortes landed on the Gulf Coast along with 500 conquistadors (MacLeod 42). At that time, those places were under the rule of the mighty Aztec state that sooner was turned into Mexico. Despite the resistance of the local population, the Spanish conquistadors conquered almost the whole of Central and South America as well as some territories of North America. Most parts of the conquered lands were given to slave plantations.
Another prominent conqueror who can be compared to Cortes in his skills and actions is Francisco Pizarro, a former swineherd. Pizarro dreamed of conquering the Inca Empire and went to the Andes Mountains, leading 200 soldiers (Seaman 279). He captured the Great Inca Atahualpa and approximately 2,000 Indians. In response, Atahualpa offered a huge ransom for their freedom, namely, he offered to fill the entire room with gold. However, the implementation of this offer required some time, and after six months, Pizarro got tired of waiting. He executed Atahualpa and captured the capital of the Inca Empire – Cusco. As a result, each of his Spaniards returned to Spain with the gold of Incas, while Pizarro brought 250 kg of gold, 530 kg of silver, and the gold throne of Atahualpa (Seaman 282). Thus, previously populated solely by Incas, this territory was declared the Spanish colony – Peru.
In the 16th century, the dominance of the Spanish colonial empire was established in America along with those of England and Portugal, shaping a global market. The discovery and conquest of the American lands made Spain the richest power in Europe (Schwaller and Nader 12). Gold and silver, sugar, and all sorts of exotic fruits, spices, and precious woods arrived at Spain shipped by galleons, crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Various previously unseen plants and customs were borrowed from the Indian traditions and spread across Spain cities and towns. The market was full of new items such as tobacco or hammock. Furthermore, such useful herbal products as corn, red pepper, potatoes, cocoa, cotton, several kinds of beans, pineapple, tomatoes, peanuts, avocado, pumpkin, vanilla, and others increasingly enhanced the financial well-being of the country.
The profitability of the Spanish colonization was obvious not only in the Spanish cities but also in the conquered lands. In particular, the Spanish government focused its attention on profit-making based on the mining industry. According to Schwaller and Nader, “despite tragic losses at sea resulting from hurricanes and piracy, this colonizing machine was so efficient that by 1518 Spaniards had established twenty-seven Spanish towns and cities in the Caribbean” (9). This amount was quite sufficient to initiate mining manufacturers. If during the first stage of the conquest, the Spaniards seized the precious metals that were accumulated in previous times, then in 1530, they began systematic exploitation of the richest mines located in Mexico, Peru, and Bolivia that is known as Upper Peru today (MacLeod 282). For example, Potosi district mining was one of the richest deposits of precious metals that provided half of the world’s silver production in the middle of the 16th century. America’s mines were a true Eldorado: according to some estimates, from 1503 to 1560, 101 tons of gold and 577 tons of silver were delivered to Spain from the New World (Seaman 142). After the discovery of Potosi silver, this flow increased significantly, and over the next forty years, it has reached 6872 tons – it was twice as much as all the silver that was shipped to Europe before Columbus (Seaman 142). Since that time, the nature of Spanish colonization has revolutionarily changed. The conquerors abandoned the economic development of the conquered lands as everything the Spanish settlers needed was brought from Spain and Europe in general in exchange for gold and silver of the New World (Vives 57). One may note that the task stated by Spain in the context of acquiring new sources was completed. Thus, Pizarro looted approximately six tons of gold, Cortes – a little less than two tons, and Quesada – one-ton gold and a quarter of a ton of emeralds.
All newly conquered lands automatically became the property of the Spanish Crown. Several laws forbidding turning Indians into slavery were established. Officially, they were considered subjects of the King of Spain who had to pay a special tax called a tribute to serve labor service (Mahoney 89). Beginning from the first years of colonization, there was a struggle between the King and the conquistadors for power over the Indians and the ownership of the land. In the course of this struggle, a new form of exploitation of the Indians occurred in the late 16th century. This phenomenon of encomienda was initially introduced by Cortes in Mexico (Castillo 258). Encomienda did not give the right to own the land, while its owner received the right to operate communes of Indians who lived on the territory of encomienda.
This form of organization was implanted to meet the needs of the Spanish state. In particular, it was entrusted with the responsibility of Christianization of the population, the timely monitoring of payment of tribute, and the performance of labor service in mines. Besides, construction and agricultural works were also under the control of encomienda. With the establishment of encomiendas, the Indian community was included in the Spanish colonial system, and communal lands were declared as its inalienable property. At the same time, the formation of colonial exploitation was accompanied by the foundation of a strong bureaucratic apparatus of the colonial administration. It is essential to stress that for the Spanish monarchy it was a means of struggle against the separatist tendencies of the conquistadors and thus a valuable source of economic support.
The composition of people who crossed the ocean to see the new World changed significantly with time. Instead of impoverished families and soldiers, the American colonies began to receive nobles the key purpose of which was enrichment (Castillo 203). Precisely speaking, the noble and feudal character of colonization predestined the fact that both gold and silver shipped from American colonies fell mainly into the hands of the nobility in the form of accumulated treasures or were spent on support of the Catholic conspiracies in Europe and the military adventures of the Spanish conquistadors. This new direction of colonial exploitation had a decisive influence on the formation of the Spanish colonial system. The Spanish crown not only encouraged its citizens to move to the New World but also tried to control their migration, prohibiting them to do it without special permission. Before departure to America, the Chamber of Commerce that was established for the supervision of the Spanish-American trade carefully verified the fact that all passengers were specified in the respective lists and had the right to leave the country (Bolaños and Verdesio 137). Such the actions of Madrid, many historians attributed to the fact that now the metropolitan government was not interested in the outflow of the working population due to the shortage of workers (Bolaños and Verdesio 137). In this regard, the government sought to resettle not adventurers and treasure hunters but hard-working peasants, artisans, and merchants that can serve the Spanish kingdom and benefit its treasury.
Some of the researchers believe that the acquisition of overseas territories was crucial for the Spanish nobility. If other European countries experienced a decline of the nobility, there was the so-called revitalization of the Spanish one that, in its turn, led to the preservation of feudalism (Bruhn and Gallego 451). A wealth of the Spanish colonies, in particular, silver and gold were acquired primarily by owners of industrial enterprises as well as the noble gentry. It was a turning point when Spain lost its positions, staying behind the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and other European colonial empires (Bolaños and Verdesio 201). It was evident that Spain had to close almost all manufactories yet observed an unprecedentedly blossomed trade. The territories that were not involved in the trade with the colonies steadily fell into poor condition. The revenues from overseas holdings were not invested in agriculture as huge amounts of money were spent on conquest, accumulated in the form of jewelry, or flowed into the neighboring countries of Europe. Exporting the most of capital in the New World, Spain deprived the metropolis of resources needed to develop its industries and agriculture.
In conclusion, it should be emphasized that Spanish colonization made a great impact on making the Hispanic world. Referring to the colonialist aspect of the conquest, it is possible to note that the results were considerable. Many new towns and cities appeared on the conquered lands: Panama, New Mexico, Guatemala Quito, Buenos Aires, Asuncion, and others. Another most important achievement resulting from the conquest of America by the Spanish crown was successfully carried out as rich sources of precious metals were detected and declared as the property of Spain. According to approximate estimates, almost all gold and silver found in the New Spain lands were sent to the metropolis.
Works Cited
Bolaños, Alvaro Félix, and Gustavo Verdesio. Colonialism Past and Present: Reading and Writing About Colonial Latin America Today. Albany, State University of New York Press, 2012.
Bruhn, Miriam, and Francisco A. Gallego. “Good, Bad, and Ugly Colonial Activities: Do They Matter for Economic Development?” Review of Economics and Statistics, vol. 94, no. 2, 2012, pp. 433–461.
Castillo, Bernal Díaz del. The True History of The Conquest of New Spain. London, Hakluyt Society, 2012.
MacLeod, Murdo J. Spanish Central America; a socioeconomic history, 1520-1720. 2nd ed., Berkeley, University of California Press, 2010.
Mahoney, James. Colonialism and Postcolonial Development: Spanish America in Comparative Perspective. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Schwaller, John Frederick., and Helen Nader. The First Letter From New Spain:Tthe Lost Petition of Cortés and His Company, 1519. Austin, University of Texas Press, 2014.
Seaman, Rebecca. Conflict in The Early Americas: An Encyclopedia of The Spanish Empire’s Aztec, Incan, and Mayan Conquests. Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2013.
Vives, Jaime Vicens. An Economic History of Spain. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 2015.