PRESENTATION OUTLINE
Hernan Cortes wanted to find gold in the Americas. His main was to explore the land occupied by the Aztecs and to conquer the Aztec Empire.
The Spanish divided up the colonies into the Viceroyalty of New Spain. Each of the colonies were governed by the viceroys who were appointed by a Spanish Monarch.
Migrants born from in Europe called Peninsulares, were at the top of the social hierarchy. Next to them were the criollos or Creoles which were people born in the Americas with Iberian parents.
The Portuguese showed so much interest in Brazil because they viewed it as new land and they were hoping to find spices and silk. When non of this was found, the Portuguese reverted to gold and silver mining. They brought African slaves into Brazil to work.
The French and English migrants did not have large centralized states like the Aztecs and Incas. This was essential to both empires.
The Pope decreed that all lands discovered west of a meridian 100 leagues (one league is 3 miles or 4.8 km) west of the Cape Verde Islands should belong to Spain while new lands discovered east of that line would belong to Portugal. This papal bull also specified that all lands already under the control of a "Christian prince" would remain under that same control.
