Created: 2013-10-17 01:49:44

Updated: 2014-07-14 11:57:43

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Introduction
As noted in the previous sections, the incursion of the Europeans into the region resulted in a massive demographic
disaster for the native people wherever contact was made. Indeed, the intolerance of the Europeans meant not only
that they did not recognize the culture and civilisation of the native people, but it meant also that this intolerance
resulted in attitudes that promoted open murder, rape and torture of the native peoples in the Caribbean, Mexico and
Peru. Historians have, for a long time, considered the disaster of contact between the native peoples and the
Spaniards and while there was an exchange of cultural aspects between the two colliding groups, the nature and end
result of the exchange had always been to the detriment of the native people.

The task of the historian is not only to uncover the evidence of the particular historical issue but also to question the
motives behind why it happened the way it did. Therefore, in this section, we will seek to understand why the earliest
European contacts (which were those made by the Spanish) were as disastrous for the native people as they were.
Critical to our understanding of this topic is the idea that the nature of the contact was perhaps decided long before
the Spaniards arrived in the Americas.

In this context, we note two main reasons. Firstly, the attitudes of the Spaniards in the Caribbean, Peru and Mexico
were based on their frenzied search for God, glory and gold. This meant that in the attainment of these ends, they
were pre-disposed to the most ruthless tactics regardless of the consequences for the people that separated them
from these objectives. Secondly, we will note that the Spaniards who came into the region were those very familiar
with the most savage aspects of warfare and intolerance. They were men who had been hardened in the Spanish
wars against the Muslims in Europe and who had, by the end of the Reconquest, already shaped their blood thirsty
desires and murderous intent.

Ultimately then, the exploration of the Americas and the Caribbean served only the opportunity for the Spaniards to
transfer their barbaric attitudes of intolerance and greed to new regions. To understand these related points, it will be
necessary for us to understand the motives that underlay the Spanish conquest of the New World and to do so we
need to understand also the tools that allowed them to achieve their voyages of exploration, conquest and destruction
which brought them into contact with the native peoples of the Caribbean, Mexico and Peru.

The basis of Spanish exploration

While it was true that the search for gold was uppermost in the minds of the Spaniards who invaded the Americas and
the Caribbean, one must also understand that their actions were usually underpinned by ideas. In this sense, we
must realize that the Spanish greed for gold was underpinned by certain economic theories. These theories centered
on ideas of economic well being for the nation and the ways through which this well being would be achieved. Firstly,
one has to note the primary economic idea or motivation of bullionism which underlay the idea of wealth creation for
the Europeans, in general.

The idea of bullionism basically was that the wealth of a nation depended on the amount of gold (bullion) it physically
controlled. This meant that the more gold the nation possessed the better off it was. Additionally, the concept of
bullionism indicated that the amount of gold in the world was fixed and, as such, it was in the nations best interest to
quickly secure this gold before it was discovered by others. This meant that there was a sense of urgency associated
with voyages of discovery. This arose as not only were new lands to be discovered but also new sources of gold in
these lands would also be found. This would then, ultimately, benefit the nation. Bullionism, therefore, actively
encouraged the exploration voyages of the Spaniards into the New World.

Secondly, the ideas of early mercantilist thought were also occupying the minds of the Spaniards. This idea was an
extension of the earliest bullionist theories as it recognized that wealth lay not only in the raw gold that was stolen
from the new lands chanced upon, but wealth also lay in the related trades and services that were necessary for
exploration and subsequent colonization. In this sense, the Europeans realized that trade was also very important in
wealth creation and that by building extensive colonies and controlling the various trade routes, a nation could quickly
increase its well being beyond that created by securing raw bullion. Trade opportunities and the idea of controlling the
trade routes to the riches of the east (which were all associated with mercantilism) was, therefore, another important
factor that motivated the early European explorers. As the historian, Eric Williams (1964, p.5) summed it up:
Behind the voyages of Columbus lay the urge to the East with its fabled stories of gold and spices
popularised by the famous travelogues of Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta and the persistent legend of Prester
John. The disruption of the conventional Mediterranean-cum-overland route by the Turks, followed by the
domination of the Mediterranean by the Italian cities of Venice and Genoa, stimulated the desire to find a
westerly route to the East.

Thirdly, we note that in order to secure their mercantilist ends it was necessary for the Europeans to secure the lands
and services which formed the basis of their commerce. As a consequence, therefore, the idea of creating colonies
became important and colonialism became another by-product of the urge to expand and create wealth. Related to
colonialism, and reflective of the fact that the interloping nations like Spain were Catholic states, was the idea of
religion. In this context, the need to spread the faith meant that new areas would need to be colonized in order for the
salvation message of Christianity to be delivered to the native peoples.

Indeed, the spread of the faith was especially strong in 1492, as in that year the Spaniards were able to succeed in
defeating the Muslims who had previously occupied much of Europe and who had been holding out in their last
stronghold at Granada. The fall of Granada in 1492, therefore, marked the end of the Spanish Reconquest and the
consolidation of the belief that Christianity was the religion of preference for empire building. With the fall of the
Muslim stronghold of Granada and the expulsion of its Muslim population, Spain now had the resources available for
the sponsorship of voyages of exploration. These resources consisted of financial capital, ships, armaments and men
who were no longer deployed in the battle against the Moors. As a result, these resources were now re-deployed
towards the voyages of exploration in the Caribbean and later in Mexico and Peru.

Although, these ideas were all powerful reasons underlying the motivation for Spanish exploration, the exploration of
itself would not have occurred had there not been available the necessary technological and nautical advancements
necessary for exploration. These advancements, which facilitated exploration, were many and a brief summary of
some would serve the purpose of emphasizing how important they were in the facilitation of the Spanish invasion of
the Americas and the Caribbean.

Firstly, we note that during the fifteenth century wealthy patrons of exploration emerged. A noteworthy example of this
type of patron was Prince Henry the Navigator, son of the King of Portugal. He used his wealth and influences to
establish a school through which seamen were trained and advances made in nautical technology. With his
encouragement and support, therefore, developments emerged in ship design that gave ships the ability to travel
further, faster and safer on the high seas.

Additionally, the invention and use of more sophisticated and accurate nautical devices, such as the quadrant (from
about 1456), allowed navigators to draw maps more accurately and locate their positions by use of the compass
instead of just the stars. Adventurers were now properly equipped to undertake longer and more hazardous voyages
of exploration.

Setting up colonies in the new world

Spanish conquest and discovery of the New World meant that huge new areas of land, previously unknown to
Europe, were now open for colonization. This meant much rivalry by the other European powers for the areas now

controlled by Spain. Indeed, Spain herself had been able to receive this large land area only after the intervention of
Pope Alexander Borgia. The pope had been central in the resolution of the disputes over land rights in the New
World between Spain and her Iberian partner, Portugal. According to the settlement which was given in a written
Papal Bull (Known as the Treaty of Tordesillas), all the lands found to the east of an imaginary line located 370
leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands (off the coast of Senegal in West Africa) were to be given solely to Portugal.
All lands found west of this line would go to Spain.

This division, while it solved the issue for Spain and Portugal, caused much resentment among the other European
seafaring nations and it resulted in open warfare amongst the Europeans in the Caribbean. Indeed, historians have
referred to the Caribbean during this period as the cockpit of Europe. This term was an appropriate one as the
cockpit is a reference to the small arena in which game birds were placed to fight to the death.

In a similar fashion, the ships of many of the European countries often fought to the death in the geographically small
region of the Caribbean. It seemed that the only way to effectively control the areas discovered in the region was to
effectively occupy them through the setting up of settlement colonies. In this context, we note the nature and type of
colonies set up by the Spanish in the region and the purposes for which they were used in the eradication of the
native peoples. Initially, the Spaniards sought to set up colonies that were engaged in gold extraction. However, the
lack of sufficient quantities of gold led to the development of settlements that focused on agricultural crops and huge
cattle ranches.

The Spaniards initially set up a colony on Hispaniola which by 1502 was reduced to about 300 settlers. Although, the
numbers increased to over 8,000 by 1509, we note that at the same time the numbers of the neo-Indians had
drastically plummeted due to the overwork, abuse and diseases that the Spaniards had brought with them. The
Spaniards then sought to move on to colonise other islands in the region beginning with Jamaica and Puerto Rico in
1509 and extending to Cuba in 1511. Although, other subsequent Caribbean islands were occupied by the Spaniards,
we note that the shift of Spanish colonization was made to Mexico and the surrounding areas in 1518 when the
Caribbean failed to produce the quantities of gold required.

Regardless of the territories occupied by the Spaniards, some similar characteristics were observed. These
characteristics stemmed firstly from the fact that Spain was always a weak colonising power. This meant that she
often did not have enough manpower and support systems to properly maintain her new colonies. This meant that
the colonists were often left to fend for themselves for very long periods and were also very poorly supervised from
the metropole. This fact allowed many of the abuses that were propagated on the native peoples to continue for
extended periods of time.

This is not to say that many of these abuses were not sanctioned by the Spanish Crown, however, the total absence
of a strong metropolitan control meant that both institutionalized and arbitrary methods of colonization and
exploitation were allowed to occur in these territories. To properly understand this point, we turn to an understanding
of the labour systems instituted by the Spaniards in their colonies and the nature of the colonies themselves.