Economic Exploitation of the Americas

Question 1

Colonial rationale: Missionaries vs. Conquistadors

Answer 1

rationale: “Africans have no souls” versus “Native Americans are ‘noble savages’ with souls, therefore they are much more suitable for conversion to Christianity”; natives are protected under the king; missionaries set up independent communities to protect them from violence and disease

Question 2

Readiness of natives for conversion

Answer 2

The natives were very receptive to ideas of Christianity. They admired the European lifestyle and desired to emulate them

Question 3

“The Black Legend”

Answer 3

depiction of brutality of Spanish Conquistadors in the Americas. An image that Spain would try for hundreds of years thereafter to diminish

Question 4

Bartolome De Las Casas

Answer 4

Conquistador that sailed with Colomubus on the 3rd voyage. Appauled by the treatment of the natives –> contempt inspired him to become a monk in the Dominican Order. Spend the rest of his life trying to explain the atrocities in the Americas to the European court -> warned the King that if he didnt take action to protect the natives, God would punish the Spanish. Also claimed the adovacated religous conversion was essential to combat the Protestant movement.

Question 5

Disingenuous efforts of conversion

Answer 5

missionaries said they were going to the Americas to convert the natives but it was a farce and they exploited the natives

Question 6

Encomiendas

Answer 6

Provisional trusteeships given by the Crown to conquistadors

Question 7

Audiencias

Answer 7

royal judicial oversight; - Responsibility – make sure system of encomiendas was not too burdensome

Question 8

New Law of 1542

Answer 8

and were created to prevent the exploitation of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas by the Encomenderos (large enterprise landowners) by strictly limiting their power and dominion.

Question 9

Trial of Juan Ponce

Answer 9

The legal account of Juan Ponce who abused his power as encomendero and harassed his laborers. This was evidence of the fact that the encomiendas were systems of abuse and extortion.

Question 10

Silver mines at Potosi and Zacatecas

Question 11

Quinto

Answer 11

Spanish royals took 20 percent of all silver output, also maintained monopoly over mercury

Question 12

Mercantilism

Answer 12

“favorable trade balance between gold and silver, Spanish Crown will insist that all trade across Atlantic between Crown and colonies
all trade between colonial base and own colonies, no open trade “

Question 13

Royal monopoly of silver industry

Answer 13

By utilizing mercantilism, the flota system and the quinto, the spanish were able to monopolize the silver production

Question 14

Mercury mines at Huancavelica

Answer 14

One example of how the Spanish crown maintained a monopoly over silver production in the Americas. By controlling the flow of mercury, which was used in a purification process while extracting silver from ore, the crown was able to ensure it continued to recieve its share of wealth being extracted from the Americas.

Question 15

Flota System

Answer 15

Another way the crown managed to maintain a monopoly over silver production - through transport of the goods across the Atlantic. Monopoly over transport: (1) Sevilla–> Santo Domingo–> Vera Cruz–> Mexico City–> Zacatecas (2) Sevilla–> Santo Domingo–> Panama–> Lima–> Cuzco–> Potosi

Question 16

Repartimiento vs Mita System

Answer 16

The repartiment system was the system of forced labor on the indigenous people of Spanish America. Workers were paid either low wages or none at all and served for weeks or months at a time. The Mita system was also a form of forced labor used on the Inca’s by Spanish Conquistadors. They were required to work in the mita system from age 15 to 50. Under Spanish rule, the mita system forced workers to work in the mines, where workers often died from poor working conditions and being overworked

I think you got the mita system confused with the repartimiento system… The mita system was of incan origin, it was created to keep track of able incans who were capable of being used for public service and projects, eg. road building. later, the spanish took the mita system and turned it into an institution akin to slavery, called the repartimiento system

Question 17

Inquisition in the Americas

Question 18

Syncretism of Religious iconography

Answer 18

Christians used iconic images that the native population was familiar with as a way of conveying their own religion to them; familiar symbols and images were effective in preaching.

Question 19

Virgin of Guadalupe

Answer 19

Depicted with indigenous physical features (darker complexion) that made her more familiar to the native population—in effect, more acceptable. This was an example of Christian missionaries taking images known to the inhabitants and using them to fuse with symbols of their own religious figures.