Spanish Influence In The New World Essay, Research Paper

When the Spaniards came to settle the New World, or what is

now Mexico and Peru, they imposed many new ways and customs for the

people living there. These institutions were partially what the

Spaniards were used to from living in Spain, and others were simply to

live better. The Spaniards imposed many political, economical, and

social institutions in the New World never heard of before by the

Indians, and many feudal customs and systems that they brought wholly

intact from Spain.

The political institutions were very important for government

functionality in the Spanish colonies. First, a class system similar

to that in Spain was reconstructed anew in the colonies. Those in the

New World that were born in Spain held the highest position. These

people were called Peninsulares, and were the nobles of the feudal

class hierarchy. Below them were the Creoles, or Spaniards born in the

New World. Then came mestizoes, men and women of mixed Spanish and

Indian marriages; mulattoes, people of black and Spanish ancestry; and

zambos, those born from black and Indian marriages. Viceroys were

another political establishment in the New World. The viceroys were

the king’s assistants. They helped manage the government in the

colonies, and carried out orders from the king. This method did not

work too well since orders from the king took months and even years

before reaching the viceroys, after which a message may be outdated

and irrelevant.

New social institutions changed the way people lived. The

Church was the first and most important social institution because

Spanish life in the colonies revolved around Catholicism. The Church’s

goal was to convert everyone presently living in the New World to

Christianity. This topic brings us to the Missions. Missions were

large estates on which were set up schools and other facilities to

teach the Indians to become proper Christians. encomiendas and

repartimientos were also large estates, but on these lived many people

and slaves. The Spanish crown entrusted encomiendas and slaves to

noble warriors who had done well in battle, and in return, these

nobles paid taxes to the crown. Many other people lived on the same

encomienda, however, since the noble owning the whole plot of land

would divide it up into smaller parts, which other people managed. The

rest of the people living on the encomiendas were slaves. Slavery and

forced labor were imposed on the Indians as soon as the Spaniards

arrived, but black Africans were immediately imported when the

Spaniards saw that the Indians could not do very much work at all.

Many institutions were also implemented for the upkeep of the

economy. Slavery, as mentioned above, was the key to mass output from

the encomiendas and missions. Many workers could accomplish a great

deal and produce a lot of money. Furthermore, the larger the

encomienda or mission, the more its output. If the soil on a mission

or encomienda is fertile, much can be grown and sold for more money.

Many new institutions were developed and implemented by the

Spaniards settling the New World. Without proper economic, social, and

political establishments enforced, the Spaniards would not have been

able to settle the New World as quickly and as aggressively as they

did. Only with proper control and strict institutions did Spain

conquer and create the great nation it is today.