II. Spanish and Portuguese Colonies in the AmericasA. Ruling the Spanish Empire

By the mid 1500s, Spain could claim land from California to South America

Native American, African, and Spanish cultures blended.1) Governing the Provinces

a) Spain was determined to maintain strict control over its empire• The king set up the Council of the Indies to pass laws

for the colonies• He also appointed viceroys to each province.• Lesser officials and audiencias (advisory councils of

Spanish settlers) helped the viceroy rule.2) Spreading Christianity

a) To Spain, converting people to Christianity was as important as gaining land.• The Catholic Church worked with the government to

convert Native Americans to Christianity.

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• Church officials often served as royal officials• As Spain’s American empire grew, the Church’s

authority expanded with it.b) Missionaries baptized thousands of Native Americans

• They wanted to turn new converts into loyal subjects of the Catholic king of Spain

• They introduced European clothing, the Spanish language, and new crafts such as carpentry and locksmithing.

• Where they could, the Spanish missionaries forcibly imposed European culture.

3) Controlling Tradea) The Spanish tightly controlled all economic activities to

make the empire profitable, especially trade.• The most valuable resources shipped to Spain were

gold and silver.

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