Title: The Turning Point: European Conquests of the Americas (1492-1800)
Headings: The Turning Point: European Conquests of the Americas (1492-1800)
The Turning Point: European Conquests of the Americas (1492-1800)
Content: Many died from disease, exposure, starvation, and shipwrecks. But the potential material rewards could be glorious. So it’s not surprising that the first adventurers came to the Americas in search of riches. Upon arriving in the Americas, the Spanish and Portuguese sought precious metals or land that could be worked for profit, usually by slave labor. For example, Columbus and the Spanish settlers that followed him to the island of Hispaniola (today the Dominican Republic and Haiti) divided the land amongst themselves and virtually enslaved the indigenous Taino. Likewise, in 1519, the Spanish conqueror Hernan Cortez landed in Mexico seeking the rumored gold of the Aztecs. The emperor Moctezuma welcomed the Spaniards, but Cortez kidnapped the emperor and demanded treasure. Once Aztec nobles delivered the ransom, the treacherous Cortez killed Moctezuma and set about conquering central Mexico. Cortez repeated the pattern many conquerors followed, setting up a new nobility  (of Spaniards) to rule over the indigenous people by exploiting their land and commanding their labor. Like many “men on the spot” at key imperial junctures, Cortez acted on his own, without the approval of the Spanish crown.