Spanish Colonization of the Americas (New Spain / APUSH Period 1 / Colonial America)

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In the first part of my lecture series on European colonization of the Americas, I take a look at the Spanish colonists, their goals, and their relationship with the Indians that they encountered. The Spanish were motivated by God, Glory, and Gold, seeking to create an empire in the Americas and to evangelize the Native American population. While many Spanish colonists looked at the Indians as sources of cheap labor to exploit through the encomienda, Bartolomé de las Casas led a movement to abolish this system of labor, wanting to create a climate more friendly to the Catholic Church's efforts to evangelize them. Priests set up missions throughout New Spain in order to convert Native Americans to Christianity.
The content of this lecture spans the end of APUSH Period 1. In most APUSH textbooks, this content will be found in Chapter 1 of most textbooks.
For more APUSH Colonial America lectures, check out my Colonial America Playlist: • Colonial America (APUS...
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