Conquest & Colonial Administration: The Spanish & Portuguese Empires

The Age of Exploration

Chapter 6 · Conquest & Colonial Administration: The Spanish & Portuguese Empires

Chapters 2 to 4 followed the voyages that reached new lands. This chapter looks at how Spain and Portugal ruled the lands they claimed: the encomienda labour system, the viceroyalty of New Spain, and Portugal's captaincies in Brazil. The sources are three reference articles. They describe the systems' structures well and the lives of the people under them only briefly, and the chapter says where that leaves gaps. It also does not treat the enslaved and indigenous people's experience in depth, which Chapter 9 takes up.

The Encomienda

The encomienda was a sixteenth-century Spanish labour system that "rewarded Spain's conquistadors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples." The source says that in theory conquerors provided military protection and education, and in practice conditions resembled forced labour and slavery.

Origins

Based on medieval Iberian reconquista institutions used against Muslims. It was formally established in Hispaniola by Nicolás de Ovando in 1502, then expanded across the Spanish American colonies and the Philippines.

The Bargain

The Crown granted individuals (encomenderos) the right to extract labour and tribute from indigenous communities. In return, they were supposed to provide "instruction in Catholicism and the Spanish language" and protection.

How It Varied

In New Spain, the source says natives "remained in their settlements with their families." I did not find how this compared with other regions, so I do not generalize.

Reform Attempts

The Laws of Burgos (1512 to 1513) and the New Laws (1542) attempted regulation.
After 1542, encomienda grants were limited to two generations instead of perpetuity.
The priest Bartolomé de las Casas championed abolition after witnessing abuse.

Abolition	Date
Chiloé (southern Chile)	1782
The rest of Chile	1789
Empire-wide	1791

A Long Life for a Reformed System The New Laws date from 1542 and the empire-wide abolition from 1791, about two and a half centuries later. The source does not say how far the reforms were enforced in between, and I did not research it, so the chapter cannot say how much the 1542 limit changed. Both dates come from one article.

A Contested Legacy Scholars debate the system's impact. Some characterize it as genocidal, noting indigenous population declines. Others attribute the deaths primarily to disease, though the source says evidence suggests "purposefully infecting Indigenous populations was not an obscure policy." I do not weigh these claims or give a death toll, and Chapter 9 covers the wider human cost.

New Spain

New Spain was founded in 1521 following the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire and officially became a viceroyalty in 1535. It remained under Spanish control until 1821, when Mexican independence ended three centuries of colonial rule.

Feature	What the source says
Government	A viceroy appointed by the Spanish monarch, with Antonio de Mendoza as the first; audiencias (high courts), captaincy generals, and local governance through corregidores and town councils.
Capital	Mexico City, established on the site of the former Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan; the political, economic and religious center.
Territory	At its peak, from modern Mexico and Central America through the southwestern United States, Florida, Louisiana, Caribbean islands, and Pacific territories including the Philippines and Guam.
Economy	Silver mining was the backbone, particularly at Zacatecas and Guanajuato; other exports included cochineal dye and cacao. The Manila galleon connected Asian trade through Acapulco.

The Link to Chapter 4 The Philippines, which Chapter 4 reached with Magellan's expedition and where he died, appears here as part of New Spain's territory. The source gives no date for its inclusion and does not describe how it was governed, so I note the link and do not expand it.

Brazil's Captaincies

The Captaincies of Brazil were Portuguese colonial administrative divisions established starting in 1534 under King John III. The Crown granted land parcels to private entrepreneurs called donatários, who received the title of Captain General. The source says the Crown "determined to establish permanent colonies" through a private enterprise model that had previously succeeded in Madeira and the Azores.

Limited Success

Of approximately 15 initial captaincies, "only two, the captaincies of Pernambuco and São Vicente...are today considered to have been successful." Others failed due to indigenous resistance, inadequate resources or Dutch occupation in Northeast Brazil.

A Royal Turn

In 1548, when the Bahia captaincy reverted to the Crown after indigenous attacks, King John III established a royal Governor-General. The captaincies then operated as subordinate governments under royal oversight.

A Lasting Legacy

The divisions evolved into Brazil's provinces by the eighteenth century, and thirteen modern Brazilian states retain names from the captaincies. The system also established patterns of concentrated land ownership that persisted for centuries.

Two Dates for the Governor-General The source dates the royal Governor-General to 1548. I recall that other accounts give 1549 for the first governor's arrival, but I did not check that, so I report the source's date only. The source does not describe the labour the captaincies used, which matters for Chapter 9, so I make no statement about it.

Two Models Compared Spain governed through royal appointees and courts, with viceroys and audiencias, alongside a labour grant system; Portugal began with private proprietors and moved to royal oversight after some captaincies failed. The source does not compare them, so this contrast is my summary of the two articles, and I did not check it against a source that does.

What I Did Not Verify I did not find the Spanish conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires themselves, the Council of the Indies, the Viceroyalty of Peru, the casta system, Portuguese Asia, or the labour arrangements in Brazil, all part of the outline or the wider story. I also did not check the enforcement of any of the laws. The chapter describes systems on paper.

Hands-On Exercises

Exercise 1

Explain the encomienda's theory and practice as the source describes them, and name the two reform dates.

→ Solution

Exercise 2

A student writes "The New Laws of 1542 abolished the encomienda." Correct it using the chapter.

→ Solution

Exercise 3

Compare the two Iberian systems of governing distant lands as far as the chapter supports, and say what you cannot compare.

→ Solution

Quick Reference

Encomienda: established in Hispaniola 1502 by Ovando; Laws of Burgos 1512 to 1513; New Laws 1542 (grants limited to two generations); abolished empire-wide 1791
New Spain: conquest 1521; viceroyalty 1535; first viceroy Antonio de Mendoza; capital Mexico City; silver; ended 1821
Brazil: captaincies from 1534; about 15 initial, only Pernambuco and São Vicente considered successful; Governor-General 1548
Contested: genocide against disease as the cause of indigenous deaths
Not covered: the Council of the Indies, Peru, Brazil's labour, enforcement