The Columbian 
New World

Welcome to our world! Let us introduce ourselves. We're the Spanish and the Portuguese, or, as the Europeans call us, the Iberians. You can say that we were the first to travel, and to travel well. Before we discuss our claimings, let's talk about our motives. We've compiled some images of our motives below:

In summary, our motives were three fold: Legend, Land, and Lord.

In regards to Legend, we Spaniards and Portuguese seem to be motivated by the stories of Italian explorer Marco Polo. We've even heard that some of Columbus' sailors carried the books of Marco Polo with them on their journeys! I mean, just look at the statue of Columbus in Barcelona, Spain. You're telling me this man didn't envision fame and legend?  

In regards to Land, initially, it was the Portuguese who traveled around the Cape of Africa and into the Indies; it's arguable that they traveled farther than any "white" Europeans in history! Some say these journeys were for riches, but in many ways, it was for cartographic motives: map-making and landmark claiming. 

The Spanish, under the direction of Columbus, traveled West, intending to reach the "East", but "running into" the North American continent. No problem, though. There was plenty of land to claim. Examine the graph below. Don't worry about the Y-axis, just focus on the "spikes": It's clear that the Spanish and the Portuguese traveled first, but fizzled out eventually. 

If you examine the maps below, you can see that the Spanish would take control of almost the entire Western Hemisphere. The Portuguese? They were masters of the sea, but as you can see, besides Brazil, they were more concerned with seaports and maritime dominance, not colonies. And that's why they'd fizzle out very quickly...

The Extent of the Spanish Empire

The Extent of the Portuguese Empire

But can you see the extent of the Portuguese Empire to the northeast? Yes. They went all the way to Japan! From the picture on the left, you can see that they visited the great Japanese Emperor...in the 1460s!! Well before the Spanish made it to the New World. So, you can say that the Portuguese discovered the "Indies" long before Columbus did...

We've talked about Legend and Land...but for the Spanish, especially, we must discuss Lord. Fresh off the Spanish Inquisition, the Spanish were motivated by the concepts of "conquests for faith". And it wasn't all selfish: they actually did want to help the Natives! In fact, a famous missionary, Bartolome De Las Casas is quoted as decrying the treatment that most conquistador showed to their indigenous peoples:

• “With what right and by what justice do you have these Indians in horrible and cruel servitude? With what authority have you waged these detestable wars against the gentle and peaceful people of these lands, where so many are killed and slaughtered in unheard of ways? How is it that you have oppressed and wearied them, without giving them food nor curing their infirmities, and from the excessive work that you inflict on them they die on you; yet, better to say, that you kill them by taking and acquiring gold every day?”
  

We, the Spanish and the Portuguese, divided the New World into viceroyalties. In modern terms, it was the Southern United States, Mexico, Central America, and South America. Spain owned the "top three"; Portugal, the majority of South America. And on these lands, haciendas were established to put the natives to work. 

And work, they did. We Spaniards established the Columbian Exchange, or the "Triangle Trade". But the Portuguese benefitted from it as well. Essentially, it worked like this:

1. Raw materials were grown and harvested in the New World
2. They were sent to the Old World to become manufactured goods.
3. And then they were taken to Africa and exchanged for slaves. 

But we want to go back to "why". Yes, we're using natives for our benefit. Yes, we're taking their land and resources. But it's in the Lord's best interest! I mean, look at them! They participate in human sacrifice! They don't know how to use the land properly! Heck, they're sitting on piles of silver and gold, and don't know it! So, as good Christians, it's our responsibility to show them!

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And we were quite effective in our Christianization. Look! We even inspired "Last Supper" paintings, featuring a "darker-skinned" Jesus, sitting down with his Disciples, eating cuy! What is "cuy"? In Peru, it's a delicacy...guinea pig. But look! They adopted our Jesus and our Last Supper!

So, as far as we, the Spanish and the Portuguese are concerned, we can enthusiastically check off our expansionist accomplishments in the area of Legend, Land, and Lord...