The Discovery Of The New World - 1075 Words

Since the arrival of Columbus to the New World in 1492, it began a new era for the Spanish Empire. During this time Spain successfully conducted the Reconquista back home and were power hungry for more land to conquer to keep the momentum going. The early explorations would lead to bigger conquest and fortunes for the Spaniards. After the reunification of Spain with Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, they financed the expedition for the Genoese explorer, Christopher Columbus, for trading routes to the Asian markets. Instead Columbus found new land in which he called the island Hispaniola. The discovery gave Spain to expand their empire even furthermore. Spain was capable to explore and conquer lands is because of the Reconquista of their†¦show more content†¦The Spanish Empire had permission from the Pope to Christianize the natives in the New World. One way to convert the natives into Christianity is through the usage of the encomienda system. The overall goal for the Spani sh empire was to send people to the New World and start settlements for others to continue the trip. The queen stated the need of encomienda, â€Å"associate with them, by which means they will help each other to cultivate and settle and increases the fruits of the island† (Queen Isabella, 23). The queen wanted the Spaniards and local natives to work together as a way to build a close relationship. The cooperation between the two parties would increase the chances of survivals especially for the Spaniards. Furthermore, the relationship with the natives included treating them as equal and not as inferior to the Spaniards. The only reason there was peace between the Spaniards and the natives is that the Spaniards were ordered to have a settlement and cooperating with the natives would increase their chances for survival in the unknown New World. That peace started to disappear when the Spanish Crown ordered for the settlers to start making a profit for the Empire. From that poi nt on, settlers started to exploit the natives for economic profit. That is when the Spaniards wanted to make some money for themselves and for the Crown, which lead to the conquest of the Aztecs and Incas in the near future. The actual conquest of the