royal control. Since many encomenderos
died without heirs, and since their
encomiendas then reverted to the crown,
the royal treasury gradually became the
greatest beneficiary of the encomienda
system. By the 18th century, other types
of labor arrangements became more
influential in colonial society.
Africans in Hispaniola
As the Native American population of
the West Indies died or was killed off,
Spanish colonists looked to Africa for a
source of forced labor. And as the region’s
gold supply faded, they looked to export
products as a source of income—chiefly
sugar, but also ginger, tobacco, hides, and
tallow. The first African slaves were
shipped to Hispaniola in 1502, and the
first sugar mill in the Caribbean was erect-
ed on Hispaniola in 1516. By 1527 the
colony had 25 sugar mills in operation,
and by 1565 as many as 30,000 African
slaves may have been sent to Hispaniola.
Despite this vigorous beginning, the
sugar industry in the Caribbean did not
come into its own until the mid-17th
century, when the English and French
reoriented their West Indian colonies
decisively toward sugar production on
large plantations. After that, importation
of African slaves increased dramatically.
But the precedent had already been set on
Hispaniola, where Africans began to min-
gle with Europeans and Native
Americans to shape the culture of
Hispanic America.
THE CONQUEST
OF MEXICOWhen Columbus came to the New
World, he had dreamed of finding
advanced urban civilizations like those of
China and Japan. These did exist, but
they were not discovered until after his
death. The first European to conquer
one of them was Hernán Cortés
(1485–1547), who overthrew the Aztec
Empire of Mexico. How he accomplished
this, when the people of the empire out-
numbered Cortés’s original party on an
order of 100,000 to one, is one of the
most amazing stories in the history of
Hispanic America.
Before Cortés
Hernán Cortés was not the first person to
venture onto the North American main-
land. On his fourth voyage (1502–1504),
Columbus explored the coast of Central
America. In 1510 Vasco Núñez de Balboa
(1475–1519) established a settlement in
Darién in what is now the nation of
Panama, and in 1513 he became the first
European to see the Pacific Ocean from
the west coast of the Americas. Despite
Balboa’s success, a general conquest of the
region did not immediately follow. Balboa
fell afoul of rivals and was beheaded for
treason. As for Darién, the colony suffered
from illness, famine, and the usual depre-
dations of colonists against Native
Americans.
In 1511 Diego Velázquez conquered
Cuba, and from that base he launched
expeditions to the Yucatán Peninsula on
the mainland of present-day Mexico. The
first of these expeditions, led by Francisco
Fernández de Córdoba, ended in military
disaster—and Córdoba’s own death—at
the hands of the Maya. Nonetheless, it
served to encourage further efforts:
Mayan cities were replete with temples,
plazas, and gold and copper jewelry, indi-
cating a civilization wealthier and more
advanced than any yet encountered by the
Spanish in the New World. A second
expedition was ordered out, headed by
Velázquez’s nephew Juan de Grijalva.
This time, the Spaniards brought with
them a cannon. Thus armed, GrijalvaSPAIN IN THE AMERICAS 31Vasco Núñez de Balboa (Library of
Congress)Diego Velázquez (Library of Congress)