Spanish colonialism
Iberian overseas empire
Spanish colonialism refers to Spain's centuries-long project of territorial conquest, settlement, and exploitation, primarily in the Americas, Philippines, and parts of Africa.
It established extractive economies, imposed Catholicism, and created rigid racial hierarchies.
The term often carries critical weight, emphasizing indigenous displacement, forced labor, and cultural destruction: The effects of Spanish colonialism persist in Latin American land distribution.
- encomiendaForced indigenous labor grant
- viceroyaltyTerritory under delegated sovereignty
- syncretismFusion of different beliefs
- haciendaSpanish-speaking country estate
- blood purityUnmixed ancestral heritage
population decline · forced labor · Christopher Columbus · silver mining · Catholic missions · indigenous uprisings · mercantilism · governor-general · peasant revolts · conquistadors · New World · Ferdinand Magellan · criollo · repartimiento · royal decrees · transatlantic trade · presidio · plantation economy
Spanish colonialismBritish colonialism
UK's historical empire-building
British Empire · French colonialism · Japanese imperialism · American imperialism
Spanish colonialismindigenous sovereignty
Native peoples' self-governance rights
national independence · self-determination · self-governance · political autonomy · decolonization
Spanish, Spain, Spaniard, Spaniards, colonial, colonialism, colony, colonies, colonist