Spanish Expansion in the Atlantic

I. Introduction

A. Questions

1. What dynamics led to Spanish colonization of the Caribbean?
2. What were the initial perceptions by Europeans of America and of its inhabitants?

B. Possible dynamics from before 1492:

Map of Atlantic Explorations [note: pdf rotated making Atlantic distances seem shorter than they are]

1. Reconquest (religious expansion)
2. Trade: Portuguese posts along African coast (gold, ivory, slaves)
3. Settlement and colonization (Atlantic Islands)

II. Exploration and Trade

A. Finding a Route to Asia [covered in Bakewell reading]

1. Underestimated distance to Japan (Cipangu/Cipango)
2. Favorable contract from Isabella and Ferdinand

B. Encounter of two Worlds (European Representations)

1. Columbus Log

2. Mixture of expecting the familiar and the fantastical

3. Paintings: America : dichotomies

“America” (and Vespucci) by Jan van der Straet (1575)

4. Dichotomy of noble or barbarous savages

Taino – Carib

Canib ("people of the Khan" according to Columbus) become Cannibals

III. Spanish Settlement

A. Early Colonies

1. Tordesillas Demarcation (1494) with Portugal
2. Gold economy: tribute, forced labor, slaves
3. 1490s: Spanish Monarchs sending their own administrators to Hispaniola who put down native rebellions and get labor for settlers

B. Religious concerns

1. Settler justification: teaching them to be civilized and hard working, necessary to become Christians
2. Missionaries, early 1500s, protest conditions: they cannot do their job: Dominican friar Montesinos 1511 sermon
3. Requerimiento (1512): dichotomy between obedient and disobedient vassals: "just war" captives could become slaves

IV. Conclusions

A. settlement over trade in Spanish expansion
B. Goals and challenges of colonization: administration, labor, religion: will be ongoing

Maps of Columbus's first voyage: atlantic, caribbean

I.D. Terms:

Tordesillas Line (1494)
Hispaniola
Santo Domingo (first Spanish capital in Americas)
Taino
Carib
Montesinos (1511)
Requerimiento (1512)

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