Conquest of the Americas

Read the passage by Bartolomé de las Casas. [Since New Spain was discovered], great atrocities were committed against the indigenous people of the region and some were killed by members of the expedition. These so-called Christians set about stealing from the people and murdering them on the pretense of settling the area. And [since that time] the great iniquities and injustices, the outrageous acts of violence and the bloody tyranny of these Christians have steadily escalated. -Bartolomé de las Casas Which excerpt from the passage best supports Bartolomé's argument that the Spanish were not behaving as Christians should?

"these so-called Christians set about stealing from people and murdering them"

Paying tribute included giving gold or human sacrifice victims to a larger, more powerful empire. Which empire forced others to pay tribute?

Aztec Empire

The Aztecs controlled the most powerful empire in

Mexico

Read the passage from The Florentine Codex. And [even] before the Spaniards had risen against us, a pestilence first came to be prevalent: the smallpox. It was the month of Tepeilhuitl when it began, and it spread over the people as great destruction. Some it quite covered with blisters on all parts - their faces, their heads, their chests, etc. . . . Entirely covered with blisters, very many people died of them. And very many starved; there was death from hunger, for none could take care of the sick; nothing could be done for them. -The Florentine Codex, 1579 What conclusion can be drawn from this passage?

The native population was weakened before Spanish attacks began.

The encomienda system was

a slavery system except that the enslaved could not be sold off the land.

Which Spanish class included Spanish colonists born in the Americas?

criollos

The conquistadors were driven primarily by

desire for gold

In the first Spanish colonies, how did nearly all American Indians die?

disease

Moctezuma II ruled over

the Aztecs as king near the beginning of the sixteenth century.

Read the passage by Bartolomé de las Casas. [Since New Spain was discovered], great atrocities were committed against the indigenous people of the region and some were killed by members of the expedition. These so-called Christians set about stealing from the people and murdering them on the pretense of settling the area. And [since that time] the great iniquities and injustices, the outrageous acts of violence and the bloody tyranny of these Christians have steadily escalated, the perpetrators having lost all fear of God . . . and all sense of self-respect. -Bartolomé de las Casas According to Bartolomé de las Casas, the effect of atrocities, injustices, and outrageous acts on the perpetrators is that

they lose respect for themselves and become distanced from God, in whom they claim to believe.