While seeking gold, Francisco Pizarro led his troops to capture the great Inca capital at Cuzeo. Within a few years, Pizarro had conquered the entire Inca empire. The Spanish then began to create a vast empire. They called it New Spain. They established settlenents to serve as trading posts, missions to convert local Native Americans to Catholicism, and military bases.
EXPLORING THE BORDERLANDS OF NEW SPAIN Spain's empire in America extended well beyond the lands taken from the Aztec and Inca. Regions claimed by the Spanish explorers included the island of Puerto Rico, the coast of present-day Florida, and the coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico. The Spanish also explored what is now the southwestern United States. They were looking for cities of gold that were rumored to exist there. They traveled through unclaimed areas of Texas, Oklahoma, and as far north as Kansas.
SPANISH TREATMENT OF NATIVE AMERICANS California was among the last borderlands settled by the Spanish. To pay back settlers for their work, Spain established the encomicnda system. It gave settlers the right to tax Native Americans. and make them work. Most of the workers were treated as slaves. They were forced to work on plantations in New Spain. Many Native Americans died of disease and exhaustion. The priest Bartolomé de Las Casas spoke out against the encomienda system.
CHALLENGE ACTIVITY
Critical Thinking: Identify Cause and Effect Make a chart showing the causes and effects of Spain's conquests in the Americas.