Start ||| The Philosophical Europe ||| The Political Progress ||| European Witness ||| EU News Blog ||| Special Homages: Meister Eckhart / David Copperfield

THE MAKING OF EUROPE / EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY

From Hutton Webster's, Early European History (1917); edited for this on-line publication, by ELLOPOS

XXIII. GEOGRAPHICAL DISCOVERY AND COLONIZATION

Em. Macron, Rediscovering the Path to Europe

» Contents of this Chapter

Medieval Geography   * Aids to Exploration   * To the Indies Eastward—Prince Henry and Da Gama   * The Portuguese Colonial Empire   * To the Indies Westward: Columbus and Magellan   * The Indians   * Spanish Explorations and Conquests in America   * The Spanish Colonial Empire   * French and English Explorations in America   * The Old World and the New

Page 23

THE SPANISH COLONIAL EMPIRE

SPAIN IN THE NEW WORLD

The wonderful exploits of the conquistadores (conquerors) laid the foundations of the Spanish colonial empire. It included Florida, New Mexico, California, Mexico, Central America, the West Indies, and all South America except Brazil. [28] The rule of Spain over these dominions lasted nearly three hundred years. During this time she gave her language, her government, and her religion to half the New World.

[28] The Philippines, discovered by Magellan in 1521 A.D., also belonged to Spain, though by the demarcation line these islands lay within the Portuguese sphere of influence.

INTERMARRIAGE OF SPANIARDS AND INDIANS

The Spaniards brought few women with them and hence had to find their wives among the Indians. Intermarriage of the two peoples early became common. The result was the mixed race which one still finds throughout the greater part of Spanish America. In this race the Indian strain predominates, because almost everywhere the aborigines were far more numerous than the white settlers.

Previous / First / Next Page of this Chapter

THE MAKING OF EUROPE / EARLY EUROPEAN HISTORY: Table of Contents

url: www.ellopos.net/politics/european-history/default.asp

IN PRINT

Cf. The Ancient Greece * The Ancient Rome
Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium) * Western Medieval Europe * Renaissance in Italy