mercantilism
mestizos
Mughal dynasty
mulato (mulatto)
nation-state
parliamentary monarchy
peninsulares
purdah
Qing dynasty
Reconquista (Reconquest)
repartamiento
sovereignty
Taj Mahal
Tokugawa Shogunate
Treaty of Tordesillas
viceroyalty*
Spain and Portugal in the Americas
In the mid- and late fifteenth century, events that took place on the Iberian peninsula culminated in an
encounter between Western Europe and the Americas. This encounter profoundly altered the
government and society of the peoples of the Americas. In the mid-fifteenth century, Portuguese
establishment of a navigation school increased exploration of the western and eastern coasts of
Africa. The knowledge and wealth obtained from these ventures created further interest in expeditions
of exploration and colonization. In Spain, the marriage of Fernando of Aragón and Isabel of Castile
in the mid-fifteenth century united the kingdoms of Aragón and Castile. This union gave its support to
three significant events in Spanish history in 1492:
• The Reconquista (Reconquest) of former Spanish territory from the Muslims with the fall of
Granada.
• The expulsion of Jews who refused to convert to Christianity. Spain would suffer serious economic
repercussions with the removal of the Jews, who were some of its most well-educated and skilled
people.
• The first voyage of Columbus. The unification of central Spain and the end of warfare with the
Muslims freed the Spanish monarchs to turn their attention to voyages of exploration.
The Spanish-sponsored voyage of Ferdinand Magellan, beginning in 1519, not only circumnavigated
the globe but also gave Spain a basis for its colonization of the Philippines in the late sixteenth
century.