- Conquistadores (Spanish conquerors) come to America and destroy the Indians with disease, technology and native allies to make New Spain.

- Reasons for Spanish Exploration
        o 3 G’s
                § God
                § Gold
                § Glory

- Spanish Explorations and Conquerings
        o 1513: Ponce De Leon finds Florida
                § looking for the Fountain of Youth
                        · never found it
        o 1520: Cortes conquers the Aztec
                § Montezuma surrenders and give Cortes virtually all empire’s gold
        o 1528: Cortes conquers Mayans
        o 1532: Pizarro conquers Incas
        o 1540: Coronado looks for 7 cities of gold in Arizona
                § never finds the cities
 
- Most Spanish settlement are located in the Southwest US in what is today New Mexico and Arizona

- Types of Spanish Settlements
        o Pueblos
                § Towns that were the centers of farming and trade
                        · Gathering place on important occasions
                        · Place of worship
        o Presidios (BAD COP)
                § Military barracks
                        · Forts of high adobe walls where soldiers lived
                        · Purpose was to keep Indians in check
        o Missions (GOOD COPS)
                § Religious settlements run by Catholic priests
                        · Looked to convert Indians to Christianity
 
- Government in New Spain
        o Peninsulares
                § Top of the social order
                        · People who were born in Spain
                        · Sent by the king to rule as viceroys (governor)
        o Creoles
                § People born in America to Spanish parents
                § Owned farms and ranches in New Spain
        o Mestizos
                § People of mixed Spanish and Indian background
                § Worked on farms owned by Creoles
        o American Indians
                § Lowest of all people
                        · Worked on mines and plantations in the encomienda system
        o Treated Poorly
                § Many die within years of Spanish rule