Spanish Conquistadors Dbq

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The Spanish Conquistadors DBQ The European discovery of the Americas in 1492 triggered many consequences for the Native tribes of the region. These consequences resulted first due to Spanish invasion in the South and Central American regions. These Spanish conquistadors had many motives for conquest of the Native American tribes. And these motives were an important influence on Spanish attitudes toward the Natives of the New World. Throughout this essay, I’ll analyze historic documents pointing out how the conquistadors’ motives contributed to their feelings toward Native Americans. Document 1 is a Spanish proclamation read to Native Americans. If the Indians failed to follow the terms of the proclamation, the Spanish would wage war against them. The terms stated that the Indians must acknowledge the Christian Church as superior and be taught by the Spanish priests. However, the terms were read in Spanish, so of course the Indians failed to follow the conquistador’s terms. And even if they had understood the Spanish demands, it’s unlikely that the Indians would have acknowledged Christianity as superior to their own religion. This unjust act displays a Spanish attitude of greed and domination toward the Indians. The second document deals with the same attitude as the first. It is a description of great conquistador, Cortez, written by Bernal Diaz in 1516. This document again displays attitudes of indifference toward the Native American population, as Cortez promises gold, silver, and Indian slaves to anyone who accompanies him in conquering the new lands. Only briefly is religion mentioned in the document. This shows that the conquistadors valued wealth more than spreading the word of God. In other words, Spanish motives for monetary gain resulted in cruel and poor attitude towards Indians. Document 3 displays similar contempt for the Native Americans. It
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