America has been discovered
When the Spaniards arrived on the American mainland around the years 1500, they were confronted by two major civilizations. One was the Aztec Empire in Mexico with a population of at least 13 million people, and the Inca Empire in Peru with at least half of the Aztec population. There was also the Maya territory in the Yucatan peninsula.
The Incas formed many different tribes and created a genuine imperial system with a hereditary dynasty of absolute Incas, along with a system similar to aristocratic socialism. All the land was state owned and most workers received food in exchange. Their old age was well taken care off by the system they created.
The Aztec empire, on the other hand, exercised harsh militarism against its people ordering them to pay for their own way with heavy tribute to Tenochtitlan, with food, goods, or textiles. They believed that the earth and the sun was responsible for their existence, and the only way to continue existing would be by performing rituals where human beings would be scarified with their blood to nourish the earth and the sun. During these rituals, they used a “sacrificial knife” and perforated the chest of a human to remove the heart. Due to this ritual, it is explainable why so many people in the valley of Mexico welcomed the Spaniards and became allied with European Invaders in Peru.
Before 1500s, worldwide racial segregation prevailed. The Negroid remained concentrated in sub-Saharan
Africa and a few pacific
Island; the Mongoloid in
Asia and the
Americas; the Caucasoid in
Europe,
North Africa, the
Middle East and
India; and the Australoid in
Australia. After 1500s the pattern had altered all over, but the greatest change occurred in the
Americas, where the native population declined dramatically in the century following the first contact with the Europeans.
Although, in
America the Aztec and Incas Empire collapsed suddenly around 1521 and 1532 respectively, the European impact around the world remained limited until the 1600s, but grew thereafter. Once it was clear that there was a new world, (around 1521), many great series of voyages were executed by English, French and Dutch navigators, who in search for alternative routes to Asia, reveled another continental land-mass with a continuous coast from the Caribbean to the Artic, and opened the way for the European exploration and settlement of eastern North America.
During this time,
Portugal already possessed several archipelagos in the
Atlantic and the Gulf of
Guinea, some fortresses in
Morocco, and a few trading stations in
West Africa. In 1498,
Portugal sent a caravel to
India to trade spices using a new route, ending up in
South America, Brazil. At this time, to cease conflicts between Spaniards and Portuguese, a line was used to divide what belonged to
Portugal and what belonged to
Spain.
Brazil, occupying the right side of the line, was
territory of Portugal. Few dared to challenge the validity of this treaty of Tordesillas, apparently enhanced by the Union of Portugal and
Spain in 1580.
The Conquest of Mexico by Hernan Cortez from 1519 to 1521 and
Peru by Francisco Pizarro in 1531 laid the foundation of a huge Spanish Colonial Empire in the
Americas. By 1535, when the Spanish Crown had established a vice regal government in Mexico and Lima became the Capital of Peru, all the major centers of indigenous population in the former Aztec and Inca empire lay in Spanish hands. The area of both new empires combined was at least four times the size of
Spain, and it had a population seven times higher. The richness in Mexico Aztec and Inca Peru was enough to keep the Spaniards in one place, but greed made the crown to order them to conquer new territories and establish interim government all over. This way
Spain was advancing with new viceroyalties in
New Granada in 1739 and
Rio de La Plata in 1776 and new military government in
Texas in 1718 and
California in 1767.
These new advances did not generate money, for it was mostly inhabited, but it demonstrated the power of
Spain.
In
Peru, a city called
Potosi, and in
Mexico a city called Zacatecas became the largest producers of silver in the world, and by 1560 silver was the most important export to
Europe.
In other parts of the continent colonization was slower. The Portuguese only settled the Atlantic coast of
South America after 1549 for fear that the French might do so. By 1600s the coast of
Brazil had become filled with profitable sugar plantations and mills while the center of
Brazil was inhabited by natives.
Brazil imported labor from
Africa, taking at least 40% of all slaves that left that continent. Only by 1690
Portugal decided to expand its territory and take what was left from the natives, while discovering that in the interior of the land there were enormous gold deposits, hence, the population moved to the center of the country and a new wave of colonization took place.
Meanwhile, in
North America an abundance of European Settlements were taking place. Looking at a map from South to North following the East coast, the English claimed
Jamestown in 1607,
Annapolis in 1708,
Philadelphia in 1682,
New York in 1626 to 1664, the Capital of Rode Island Colony in 1636,
Plymouth in 1620, Bay Colony in 1630,
Portsmouth in 1653, Penobscot in 1628, etc…
The Atlantic seaboard of
North America at first attracted few Europeans who came mostly for fishing and fur, due to the bad climate and poor soil. The settlement truly began with the foundation of
Arcadia (
Nova Scotia) by the French. Then, it speeded into
Virginia and
Massachusetts Bay by the English and of
New Amsterdam (later
New York) by the Dutch, and gradually the European pressed mainland.
The French Advanced down the St Lawrence and by 1662 the
Mississippi, creating a chain of fortified post all the way to the
Gulf of Mexico and founding
New Orleans in 1718. The English spread out around the rich fur hunting grounds of
Hudson Bay.
During this period, all wars among the European states involved
Americas, with
England gaining first the Dutch colonies along the
Hudson (1664) and then French Canada in 1763.
By 1700s many Europeans lived in
North America, but by 1820 the population soared to at least 8 million people, compared with just half of that of Spanish American.
The Spaniards in
America relied at first on Indian labor (the word Indian must be the result of a trip supposedly to
India, that in return gave the discovery of the new land, and the inhabitants were, therefore called Indians).
They worked in ranching and mining, and very soon a mestizo population was emerging especially in
Mexico and
Peru. The British, however, who wanted land for plantations, exterminated the natives in sight. At this time the Spanish Colonies had at least 7 million Indians compared to less than half a million on the British Colonies.
In
Virginia and later the
Carolinas, tobacco was introduced as a cash crop, and a viable solution was to import labor from
Africa, as the Portuguese have been doing in
Brazil. By 1820 at least 2 million Africans lived in
North America compared to half a million in
Spanish America.
During this period each mother country kept close eyes in their colonies. The colonists were satisfied at first because they felt secure from natives uprising.
Britain’s victory over
France in 1763 however, encourage the elites soon come to resent the continuing tax demands to pay for something the mother nation was involved. In 1776 they demanded their independence and the colonies of
Latin America followed suit after 1808.
Napoleon invasion of
Spain and
Portugal in 1808 enabled these countries’ American Colonies to gain independence.
The revolt begun in
Argentina in 1810 and in
Venezuela in 1811, helped by the decision of
Great Britain and the
United States to oppose intervention,
Spain felt helpless and lost total control over
South America. In the north, early rebellions in
Mexico were suppressed, but in 1823 a Republic was proclaimed, and a last Spanish attempt at reconquest in 1829 met with defeat.
Brazil, on the other hand, made its transition peacefully.
Portugal’s King sent his son to rein
Brazil in 1822 along with a new constitution. His name was Don Pedro I. His power lasted until 1889 when
Brazil replaced the empire with a
Federal Republic.
Independency was nothing more than a political movement confined to the colonial aristocracy, who desired a transfer of authority without social change.
Latin America, at least half a century after independency was dominated by military dictators who ruled in the interests of the privileged classes and squandered their assets on repeated territorial disputes. Mexico lost most, forfeiting vast territories to the United States; but it was also the first state to introduce social reforms after the election of the Indian Benito Juarez as President in 1861.
Someone to Remember…
Simon Bolivar became known as the liberator for his role in the emancipation of
South America from Spanish rule. After Participating in several unsuccessful revolts, he and his army defeated the Spanish at Boyaca in 1819 and organized the
Republic of Gran Colombia. In 1821, he defeated the Spanish near Carabobo, ensuring Venezuelan independence. Between 1822 and 1824 he also helped free
Ecuador and
Peru.
Southern Peru became a new republic, named
Bolivia in his honor.
In Summary, in 1783 American independency is officially recognized, and in 1803
America purchases
Louisiana from
France for 25 million Dollars. In 1820
Missouri compromise bans slavery north of 36 degrees. In 1845
Texas in annexed to the
U.S. In 1846
Oregon was acquired. In 1848 we have the Mexican cession. In 1854 we have the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In 1860 Abraham Lincoln is elected to the presidency. In 1861 Civil war begins. In 1863 we have the emancipation of the slaves, and in
April 26 1865 the South surrenders and reconstruction begins.
Napoleon Invasion of Portugal and
Spain in 1808 stimulates independence movements in
Latin America. The battle of Boyaca in 1819 leads to the independence of
Colombia. Battle of Carabobo in 1821 finally secures Venezuelan independence.
Brazil Declares
Independence in 1822.
Mexican Republic declared in 1823. In 1879 there is a war of the Pacific (
Chile,
Bolivia, and
Peru). 1910 start of Mexican Revolution.
Milton Laene Araujo
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