Despite the staggering decline in Indian populations, Spanish colonization was a success by the one measure that most mattered in the sixteenth century: precious metals. By 1650, over 181 tons of gold and
16,000 tons of silver had been shipped from the Americas to Spain. By 1585, a quarter of the empire’s revenue came from American gold and silver.
At first, Spain’s rivals did little to oppose Spanish colonization of the New World. In 1497 and 1498 King Henry VII of England sent Captain John Cabot to explore the New World. Cabot visited Newfoundland and the northeastern coast of the continent. His explorations formed the basis for later British claims in North America, but they were not followed up for many decades. In 1524 Giovanni da Verrazano made a similar voyage for France, coasting the continent from Carolina to Nova Scotia. Some ten years later the Frenchman Jacques Cartier explored the St. Lawrence River as far inland as present-day Montreal. During the sixteenth century, fishermen from France, Spain, Portugal, and England exploited the limitless supplies of cod and other fish they found in the cold waters off Newfoundland. They landed at many points along the mainland coast from Nova Scotia to Labrador to collect water and wood and to dry their catches, but they made no permanent settlements until the next century.
There were many reasons for this delay, the most important probably being the fact that Spain had achieved a large measure of internal tranquility by the sixteenth century, while France and England were still torn by serious religious and political conflicts. The Spanish also profited from having seized on those areas in America best suited to producing quick returns. Furthermore, in the first half of the sixteenth century, Spain, under Charles V, dominated Europe as well as America. Reinforced by the treasure of the Aztecs and the Incas, Spain seemed too mighty to be challenged in either the New World or the Old World.
Under Philip II, who succeeded Charles in 1556, Spanish strength seemed at its peak, especially after Philip added Portugal to his domain in 1580. But beneath the pomp and splendor (so well-captured by such painters as Velazquez and El Greco) the great empire was in trouble. The corruption of the Spanish court had much to do with this. So did the ever-increasing dependence of Spain on the gold and silver of its colonies, which tended to undermine the local Spanish economy. Even more important was the disruption of the Catholic Church throughout Europe by the Protestant Reformation.
•••-[Read the Document Letters of Patent Granted to John Cabot at myhistorylab. com
Horses, absent from the Americas for nearly 110,000 ye: returned aboard Spanish ships. They awed Native Americ: at first and played a crucial role in European conquests. “After God,” the Spanish wrote, “we owpvictory to the horsi
Columbian Exchange The Western Hemisphere—the Americas—has for many thousands of years been separated from the rest of the world by two great oceans. This has meant that its plants, animals, and even bacteria and viruses evolved differently. Columbus's voyage thus inaugurated an exchange, as plants and animals native to the Americas (such as corn and turkeys) were transmitted to the "Old World,” and those from Europe, Africa, or Asia (bananas and horses) found their way to the Americas. The intersection of two worlds also resulted in an exchange of technologies and diseases.
World History
