Introduction
Under the Treaty of Tordesillas, Spain was able to hold its colonies in the New World. The country was able to colonize most of the Americas; including both north and south America. Such success was unprecedented. Colonial Spain had different reasons for venturing into the New World. Many other European countries were doing the same, but each was especially driven by its unique goals. Ultimately, colonial Spain held the biggest colony in the Americas. It consisted of the Caribbean Islands, half of South America, most of Central America, and vast territories in the North (Blade, 2000). Spanish colonial acquisitions were based on three main reasons; consolidating wealth, power, and spreading the Christian religion.
Search for Wealth
The main reason for the colonization of the new world is the search for undiscovered wealth. Ventures such as those undertaken by Christopher Columbus were fueled by exaggerated tales of unlimited wealth. There were few, and over-exploited, resources across the European continent. The promise of unlimited wealth across the ocean attracted colonial powers such as Spain to seek out such riches. As a result, the colonial power handled its acquisitions as a source of wealth. It had superior weapons, and easily conquered vast territories in such of the local wealth.
Spain acquired a lot of wealth from American Mines in the sixtieth and seventeenth centuries. They found a lot of gold and silver when they conquered the Aztec and Inca Empires (Blade, 2000). This only demonstrated that there was still a lot of wealth in the colonies, and the Spanish authorities were motivated to obtain more from the Americas. Under the Bourbon Dynasty, immigration to the new world was encouraged as a way to increase production of wealth from the new territories.
Power
The American colonial period was a volatile period. The move to seek out new territories was greatly influenced by the need to gain more power and influence in a volatile world. In the present world, countries set up military bases in different parts of the world, in the colonial period, monarchs colonized new worlds. It is a way to remain in power by spreading a state’s influence across different regions. Colonial Spain handled its acquisitions are sources of power and influence in the world (Blade, 2000).
There was stiff competition from other countries such as France and England to be the dominant states. It is referred to as the colonial period because it the most important method of becoming a powerful nation at the time. Spain successfully obtained vast territories in the new world, and become one of the most powerful countries in the world (Blade, 2000).
Colonial Pulpits
Spain and France had the same religious motivation for colonizing North America. Both Spain and France sent missionaries to North America with the goal of converting the Indians to Catholic Christianity. The role and influence of religion in the colonial period surpassed the modern-day role played by the same institution (Ewen, 2003). In this case, the Spanish colonialists aimed to convert locals in their territories to catholic Christians. This was done with the support of the Vatican.
In many ways, the church had a great influence in the exploration of the new world. Consent from religious leaders, the catholic church, was required before exploration missions were commenced. For most part, the process of spreading the Catholic faith to the indigenous population was a success (Ewen, 2003).
*Blade, M. K. (2000). Spanish Colonization of New Spain: Benevolent? Malevolent? Indifferent? OAH Magazine of History, 14(4), 54-58.
*Ewen, C. R. (2003). From Colonist to Creole: Archaeological Patterns of Spanish Colonization in the New World. Historical Archaeology, 34(3), 36-45.