Spanish Colonies

Question 1

What were conquistadors?

Answer 1

The conquistadors were early Spanish explorers who came to the New World to conquer the native people.

Question 2

What were conquistadors goal?

Answer 2

Their primary goals were to acquire wealth (Gold), spread Christianity (God), and gain (Glory) for themselves.

Question 3

List some examples of conquistadors.

Answer 3

Hernándo Cortés and Francisco Pizarro

Question 4

List and define the “3 G’s.”

Answer 4

Gold: The desire to find treasure
Glory: The desire to adventure
God: The desire to spread Christianity

Question 5

What were the Laws of the Indies?

Answer 5

The laws of the Indies were the social class system in the Spanish colonies.

Question 6

What were people grouped by in Laws of the Indies?

Answer 6

People were grouped by race and birth. (Spanish-born people at the top, American-born Spaniards next, then mixed-race and Indigenous groups below.)

Question 7

List the four groups people were broken into in Spanish colonies.

Answer 7

Peninsulares
Creoles
Mestizos
Indios/Native Americans (Last)

Question 8

Describe the four groups people were broken into in Spanish colonies.

Answer 8

Peninsulares (Top): Spanish-born people who moved to the colonies. They had the most power.
Creoles (2nd): People of Spanish descent born in the Americas. They had less political power than the Peninsulares.
Mestizos (3rd): People of mixed Spanish and Native descent. They had fewer rights than the Peninsulares and Creoles.
Indios/Native Americans (Last): Were not of any Spanish descent. They were usually at the bottom of the social structure.

Question 9

Who was Bartolomé de las Casas? What did he devote his life to?

Answer 9

Bartolomé de las Casas was originally a colonist but saw the wrong in his ways and went on to devote his life to advocating for Native rights