Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabela of Castile:

monarchs of Christian kingdoms; their marriage created

the future Spain; initiated exploration of New World.

encomiendas

grants of estates Indian laborers made to Spanish conquerors and settlers in Latin America;established a framework for relations based on economic dominance..

Hispaniola:

1st island in Caribbean settled by Spaniards by Columbus on his second voyage.

Bartolomé de las Casas:

Dominican friar who supported peaceful conversion of native American

population; opposed forced labor and advocated Indian rights.

Hernán Cortés:

led expedition to Mexico in 1519; defeated Aztec empire and established Spanish

colonial rule.

Moctezuma II:

last independent Aztec ruler; killed during Cortés's conquest.

capital of New Spain built on ruins of Tenochtitlan.

New Spain:

Spanish colonial possessions in Mesoamerica in territories once part of Aztec imperial

system.

Francisco Pizarro:

began conquest of Inca empire in 1535.

Francisco Vácquez de Coronado:

led Spanish expedition into the southwestern United States in search

of gold.

Pedro de Valdivia:

Spanish conqueror of Araucanian Indians of Chile; established city of Santiago in

1541.

mita

forced labor system replacing Indian slaves and encomienda workers; used to mobilize labor for

mines and other projects.

Colombian Exchange:

biological and ecological exchange that occurred following European arrival in

the New World; peoples of Europe and Africa came to the Americas; animals, plants, and diseases moved

between Old and New Worlds.

Huancavelica:

greatest mercury deposit in South America; used in American silver production.

rural agricultural and herding estates; produced for consumers in America; basis for wealth

and power of the local aristocracy.

Casa de la Contratación:

Spanish Board of Trade operated out of Seville; regulated commerce with the New World.

consulado:

merchant guild of Seville with a virtual monopoly over goods shipped to Spanish America; handled much of silver shipped in return.

galleons:

large, heavily armed ships used to carry silver from New World Colonies to Spain; basis of

convoy system utilized for transportation of bullion.

Treaty of Tordesillas:

concluded in 1494 between Castile and Portugal; clarified spheres of influence

and rights of possession; in the New World Brazil went to Portugal and the rest to Spain.

Recopilación:

body of laws collected in 1681 for Spanish New World possessions; bases of law in the Indies.

Council of the Indies:

Spanish government body that issued all laws and advised king on all issues dealing with the New World colonies.

letrados:

university-trained lawyers from Spain; basic personnel of the Spanish colonial bureaucratic

system.

viceroyalties

major divisions of Spanish New World colonies headed by direct representatives of the

king; one based in Lima, the other in Mexico City.

audiencia

royal courts of appeals established in Spanish New World colonies; staffed by professional

magistrates who made and applied laws.

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz:

17th century author, poet, and musician of New Spain; gave up secular

concerns to concentrate on spiritual matters.

Pedro Alvares Cabral:

Portuguese leader of an expedition to India; landed Brazil in 1500.

captaincies:

areas along the Brazilian coast granted to Portuguese nobles for colonial development

Paulistas:

backswoodsmen from São Paulo, Brazil; penetrated Brazilian interior in search of precious

metals during 17th century.

Minas Gerais:

Brazilian region where gold was discovered in 1695; a gold rush followed.

Rio de Janeiro:

Brazilian port used for mines of Minas Gerais; became capital in 1763.

sociedad de castas:

Spanish American social system based on racial origins; Europeans on top, mixed

race in middle, Indians and African slaves at the bottom.

peninsulares:

Spanish-born residents of the New World.

creoles

people of European ancestry born in Spanish New World colonies; dominated local economies;

ranked socially below peninsulares.

amigos del país:

clubs and associations dedicated to reform in Spanish colonies; flourished during the

18th century; called for material improvement rather than political reform.

War of the Spanish Succession:

caused by the succession of the Bourbon family to the Spanish throne in

1701; ended by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713; resulted in recognition of Bourbons, territorial loss, and

grants of commercial rights to English and French.

Charles III:

Spanish enlightened monarch (1759-1788); instituted fiscal, administrative, and military

reforms in Spain and its empire.

commercio libre:

opened trade in ports of Spain and the Indies to all Spanish merchants during the reign

of Charles III; undercut monopoly of consulados.

José de Galvez:

Spanish Minister of the Indies and chief architect of colonial reform; moved to eliminate

creoles from the upper colonial bureaucracy; created intendants for local government.

Marquis of Pombal:

Prime Minister of Portugal

Comunero Revolt:

a popular revolt against Spanish rule in new Granada in 1781; suppressed due to

government concessions and divisions among rebels.

Tupac Amaru:

Mestizo leader of Indian revolt in Peru; supported by many in the lower social classes;

revolt failed because of creole fears of real social revolution.