Spain and the New World, c1490–c1555
25 eLearning modules · CPD Certified · SCORM
Between 1490 and 1555, Spain played a central role in the exploration and colonization of the New World. Following Columbus’s 1492 voyage, Spain rapidly expanded its empire across the Americas. Spanish conquistadors, like Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro, conquered vast indigenous empires such as the Aztecs and Incas. Spain established colonies, spreading Christianity and extracting wealth, especially gold and silver. The encomienda system exploited native labor, reshaping social and economic structures. This period marked significant cultural exchanges, conflicts, and demographic changes due to disease and conquest, profoundly transforming the Americas and consolidating Spain’s global power.
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What this lesson contains
Spain, c1490
Columbus and Sponsorship
Columbus’s First Voyage, 1492
The Bahamas and the CaribbeanPreview not available
Impact of Contact with NativesPreview not available
Rivalry with PortugalPreview not available
Columbus’s other voyagesPreview not available
Effects of Spanish SettlementPreview not available
Development of an Imperial PolicyPreview not available
Balboa and the Conquistadors, 1513–28Preview not available
The conquest of CubaPreview not available
The Voyage of MagellanPreview not available
Expedition to Mexico, 1519Preview not available
Key Events of the ConquestPreview not available
Cortes’s actions, 1523–28Preview not available
Consequences for the AztecsPreview not available
Pizarro and PanamaPreview not available
Pizarro’s arrival in PeruPreview not available
Pizarro’s Conquest of PeruPreview not available
Discovery of Silver in Bolivia and MexicoPreview not available
Governing the EmpirePreview not available
The Foundation of La Paz, 1548Preview not available
Silver and Gold: Spanish Empire's WealthPreview not available
The Impact of Trade: Spanish EmpirePreview not available
The Government of the EmpirePreview not available