1. Spanish & Portuguese Colonies
World Studies

2. I. Spain built an overseas empire
Conquistadors (Spanish fortune hunters) want precious metals and stones
Cortes conquered the Aztecs
Pizarro conquered the Incas
What factors contributed to Spanish success in the conquest of the Americas?

3. Cortez and Montezuma

4. Inca and Conquistadors

5. Others explored the southern part of the modern USA in search of wealth
By mid-1500s controlled from California through South America
Divided into 5 provinces to keep more strict control

6. The Catholic Church played a large role in the colonies
Kept an eye on Spanish settlers
Converted Americans
Encouraged them to give up traditional culture
Encouraged loyalty to the Spanish king

7. II. The Economy of Colonies
Colonists could only sell raw goods to Spain and could only buy finished goods from Spain
Sugar was grown on large farms, plantations
It was hard to find enough workers
Land owners were granted encomiendas, the right to demand labor from the Americans
Any who refused to work were killed

8. Bartolome de las Casas was a priest who spoke against encomiendas
Wrote reports to the king about how awful it was
A law was passed making them illegal
Americans were still treated very poorly
Slaves were brought from Africa to fill the need for workers

9. Bartolome de las Casas

10. III. Social Structure
Peninsulars – those born in Spain; held the highest positions
Creoles – American-born Spaniards; owned most of the plantations
Mestizos – mixed American and European
Mulattoes – mixed African and European
Full blooded Americans and Africans were at the bottom with the fewest rights

11. Colonial cities were very European

14. IV. Brazil
The Portuguese controlled Brazil due to the Treaty of Tordesillas
Brazil had very little silver or gold
Used slave labor (American and African) to clear land for sugar
Still weren’t able to profit nearly as much as Spain