Discovery and Colonization of the Americas, 1492–1542

The Discovery of America

In the late Middle Ages, a series of conditions associated with the Renaissance led to the discovery of the Americas: the growth of trade, the development of navigational instruments, and improvements in mapmaking.

In 1486, Christopher Columbus presented his project to reach the Indies to the Catholic Monarchs. In April 1492 the Capitulations of Santa Fe were signed (a contract by which the Crown agreed to finance the enterprise and to compensate Columbus for the benefits to be derived; Columbus received multiple titles).

The journey began on August 3, 1492, under the command of Christopher Columbus with the aid of the Pinzón brothers and Juan de la Cosa. The nao Santa María and the caravels Pinta and Niña made landfall on October 12, 1492, on the island of Guanahani (later called San Salvador).

When Columbus returned to Spain, the Catholic Monarchs quickly asked the pope to confirm their sovereignty over the discovered lands. The papal bull Inter Caetera (1493) granted Castile rights to those territories.

Columbus made three more voyages accompanied by Crown officers, friars, and settlers. Their aims were colonization and the evangelization of the indigenous peoples, carried out by religious orders such as the Dominicans and Franciscans.

Subsequent voyages beyond Columbus completed knowledge of the West Indies: explorers discovered more of the American coast, the mainland, and the islands. In 1500, Juan de la Cosa made the first known map of the new continent. A Portuguese expedition discovered Brazil, and the Italian Amerigo Vespucci recognized and described the southern coast.

Later, the New Laws were enacted to protect the indigenous peoples.

Conquest and Colonization of America

An Atlantic map of the Americas was completed between 1508 and 1516. Alonso de Ojeda charted the Venezuelan coast; Juan Ponce de León reached Florida; and Vasco Núñez de Balboa (in 1513) confirmed the existence of the Pacific Ocean. In 1516, Solís explored the mouth of the Río de la Plata. Between 1519 and 1522, the expedition begun by Ferdinand Magellan and completed by Juan Sebastián Elcano achieved the first circumnavigation of the globe.

Between 1519 and 1521, Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec Empire. Between 1531 and 1532, Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro conquered the Inca Empire.

American resources became a vital source of income for the Spanish monarchy: mining, trade, and agriculture provided wealth and raw materials. The settlers received land and a group of indigenous people as an encomienda to evangelize and instruct, but these indigenous people were often forced into hard labor. Rural estates developed into two main models: plantations (dedicated to the production of tropical export crops) and haciendas (grain cultivation or livestock for local consumption).

Mining ownership belonged to the Crown, which transferred operation to private managers in exchange for a 20% levy on production. The mita system was used in the mines: indigenous workers were drafted on a rotational basis to work in the mines for wages.

Changes to indigenous ways of life, forced labor, and the spread of new diseases produced a demographic catastrophe. Decades later, this labor shortage contributed to the importation of African slaves.

From 1511, following complaints by some Dominican friars, debates began in Castile about the methods of colonization and the rights of indigenous peoples. Nevertheless, abuses continued until 1542, when the New Laws were formally enacted to limit certain exploitative practices.

Key Voyages and Events

• 1486–1492: Columbus obtains support and signs the Capitulations of Santa Fe.
• 1492: Columbus's first voyage; landfall on Guanahani (San Salvador).
• 1500: Juan de la Cosa produces the first map of the new continent.
• 1508–1516: Atlantic mapping—Ojeda, Ponce de León, Balboa, Solís.
• 1519–1522: Magellan and Elcano complete the first circumnavigation.
• 1519–1521: Hernán Cortés conquers the Aztec Empire.
• 1531–1532: Pizarro and Almagro conquer the Inca Empire.
• 1542: Promulgation of the New Laws to address colonial abuses.