In 1493, the pope drew a line down a

map and divided theworld into two parts.Spain controlled all

new land west of the line and Portugal

controlled all land east of the line: Africa and

India. But in 1494, underpressure from Portugal, the pope moved

the line farther west to include Brazil.

Now, with the landofficially divided,

Spain and Portugalset out to rule

this “New World.”Soon the king ofSpain created

five provinces andsent a viceroy to

govern each province.

To encourage Spanish settlement, theking gave large areas of land to Spanish conquistadors. Their descendants formed a class of

wealthy landowners.

Spanish landowners needed millionsof farm workers and miners. The

Spanish forced Native American Indiansto work for them. The Spanish

landowners were cruel to their workers.

The Spanish called this system of forced labor the encomienda system.Under this system, a Spaniard hadto convert the Native Americans to

Catholicism and take care of their needs.

Spaniards did convert the American Indians to Catholicism but neglected

to take care of their workers.

At least twenty million Native Americans lived in Latin America when the Spanish

first arrived. Within 100 years, theNative population was down to 4 million.

Many Native American Indians diedfrom European diseases and the

hard, dangerous work in the mines and farms. But they also died because

the Spanish refused to let thempractice their customs and traditions.

They simply lost hope.

Some Spaniards triedto stop the mistreatment

of the Native people.Bartolome de las Casas

was a Spanish priest.He wrote to the kingand condemned the

cruel treatment of theNative Americans by

the Spanish. He suggested that the king use African

workers. Later, he regretted this idea.

Ultimately, a new class system developedin colonial Latin America. It was a

a system based on birth and ethnicity.Europeans prospered while Indians and

Africans suffered.

Peninsulares were born in Spain. Theyheld the most important government jobs

and owned vast tracts of land. Theygreatly prospered.

Creoles were people born in the Americasof entirely European ancestry. They

could not hold the most important government jobs but they inherited vast

tracts of land. These wealthy landownerslived comfortable and privileged lives.

Mestizos were people of mixed ancestry.They had European and Native Americanancestors. They were typically farmers

or craftsmen.

Native American Indians and Africanswere enslaved. They were mistreated

and forced to adopt the Christian religionand European languages.

Colonial Latin America

TreatyOf

Tordesillas The ColonialClass

System

Las Casas