HS 201-005
Paper #1
Sept. 8, 2010
Spanish and English had similar motivations for exploration of the New World, such as gaining land, goods from the natives, and gold. However, their motivations also differ greatly. The Spanish conquistadors also gained slaves from the native people, as well as spreading the word of Christianity. The English settlers came to the New World to get away from the religious oppression in England and to practice religion freely, and to grow tobacco to send back to England. The Spanish gained much more land quickly because, upon landing in places like the Caribbean and Brazil, because of their conquering and enslaving of the natives. The English came to the New World much less prepared, having loads of ships carrying rich, upperclassmen who were not capable of survival in unsettled lands. The New World helped Spain gain most of the power in Europe, starting with expeditions to the Caribbean, and settled in Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba. Along with enslaving the tribes, the Spanish explorers brought disease from Europe, which helped in wiping out many of the Native Americans, making it easier to become dominant over them This also allowed them to use the enslaved natives to help grow crops and mine gold. The Spanish began conquering more of the New World, from northern Mexico to southern Chile. . Hernan Cortes began this with a march into Mexico after being convinced by the governor of Cuba that there was gold to be had belonging to the Aztecs. This also brought silver, textiles, and jewelry also came with the conquests. Many of the explorers were also on the search for land, as many of them were wealthy landowners or landless soldiers with the motivation of a better life with more land. They also used this conquest to spread the religion of Catholicism to the natives, erecting crosses and performing sermons for the natives, hoping to convert them to Catholicism from their sometimes morbid