Motives & Rivalry
What were the three main motivations for European exploration?
Gold (wealth), God (spread Christianity), and Glory (national power and prestige).
Name two crops from the Americas that transformed European diets.
Potatoes and corn
Who conquered the Aztec Empire?
Hernán Cortés.
How did colonial farming practices impact the environment in the Americas?
They led to deforestation, overgrazing, and overcultivation.
What is a favorable balance of trade?
Exporting more goods than you import.
Why did European nations want to bypass Italian and Ottoman merchants?
To control trade routes themselves, increase profits, and lower costs for spices and luxury goods from Asia.
How did horses change Native American societies?
Horses improved mobility, hunting (especially buffalo), transportation, and warfare.
List two reasons the Aztecs fell quickly.
Spanish military advantage, Indigenous alliances, disease (smallpox), internal weaknesses.
What was the Encomienda system?
A system that granted Spanish settlers control over Indigenous labor in exchange for protection and religious instruction.
According to mercantilism, what determined a nation’s wealth and power?
The amount of gold and silver it possessed.
How did competition between Spain and Portugal accelerate global exploration?
Each country rushed to claim new lands and trade routes, increasing overseas expansion and rivalry.
Why did European populations increase after the Columbian Exchange?
New calorie-rich crops improved nutrition and food supply, supporting population growth.
Why were Indigenous alliances critical to Spanish victory?
The Spanish were heavily outnumbered and relied on Indigenous groups who opposed Aztec rule.
How did silver mining change colonial society in New Spain?
It shifted the economy toward mining, increased demand for labor, and strengthened Spanish control over Indigenous workers.
Why did mercantilist nations want colonies?
Colonies provided raw materials and markets for goods.
Explain how economic and religious motives reinforced each other during European expansion.
Wealth funded further voyages and missionary work, while religion justified conquest and control of Indigenous populations.
Source:
How did the Columbian Exchange shift the balance of power between Europeans and Indigenous societies in the Americas?
Disease drastically reduced Indigenous populations, weakening empires and social structures. This made European conquest easier and allowed Europeans to establish political and economic control over large territories.
Which factor was more important in Spanish success: military technology or internal instability? Explain.
Strong answers may argue internal instability and alliances were more decisive, while military technology amplified Spanish power.
Why did the influx of silver weaken Spain’s economy over time?
Too much silver caused inflation, making prices rise and decreasing the value of money.
How would mercantilism influence a nation’s foreign policy decisions?
It would encourage competition for colonies, trade restrictions, and expansion to secure more resources and wealth.
Which motivation ultimately had the greatest long-term impact on Latin America — Gold, God, or Glory? Defend your answer using specific evidence from conquest and colonization.
Gold: Led to silver mining, forced labor systems (Encomienda, Mita), inflation, and global trade networks.
God: Spread of Catholicism, missionary work, cultural transformation, suppression of Indigenous religions.
Glory: Imperial competition, Treaty of Tordesillas, territorial expansion.
Explain how the Columbian Exchange helped create the first truly global trade network.
Transfer of crops and animals between continents
Silver flowing from the Americas to Europe and China
Expansion of mercantilism and colonial extraction
Growth of Atlantic trade and labor systems
food exchange → colonial economies → silver trade → global commerce
Why was Spanish victory over the Aztecs and Inca more than just a military conquest?
Because it led to long-term political control, economic exploitation (silver mining), and religious conversion that reshaped Latin America.
How did colonial labor systems reshape Indigenous societies in Latin America?
They disrupted traditional structures, reduced autonomy, and tied Indigenous communities to Spanish economic control.
How did mercantilism shape Spain’s relationship with its Latin American colonies?
Spain used the colonies mainly for resource extraction and controlled trade so wealth flowed back to Spain