Spanish colonization
Iberian imperial expansion
Spanish colonization refers to Spain's establishment of colonies and imperial control, primarily in the Americas, from the late 15th through 19th centuries.
Beginning with Columbus's 1492 voyage, Spain claimed vast territories from present-day California to Argentina, imposing its language, religion, and governance on indigenous populations.
The term often carries connotations of conquest, forced labor, and cultural destruction: The effects of Spanish colonization are still visible in Latin American society.
- ChristianizationConverting societies to Christianity
- mission bellsPendant-flowered native bulbs
- forced conversionCoerced change of faith
- PhilippinesSoutheast Asian archipelago nation
- Christopher ColumbusNavigator who found the Americas
Mexico · conquistadors · syncretism · casta system · blood purity · forced labor · transatlantic trade · Peru · silver mining · mercantilism · Catholic missions · resistance leaders · indigenous uprisings · native resistance · galleons · viceroy · colonialism · gold
- Puerto RicoSan Juan, Puerto Rico, Carolina, Old San Juan, Arecibo
- CubaOld Havana, Cuban identity, Cuban heritage, Guantanamera, Cuban coffee
- California historystatehood, gold rush, Sutter's Mill, railroad expansion, water wars
- Caribbean historyJamaica, Haiti, Barbados, Cuba, Trinidad
- Colonial PhilippinesAugustinians, Dominicans, Franciscans, Jesuits, encomienda
- MicronesiaMicronesia, Palau, Guam, Saipan, Marshall Islands
Spanish colonizationBritish colonization
England's historic overseas conquest
British rule · British imperialism · French colonization · British Empire · English colonization
Spanish colonizationindependence
Freedom from external control
decolonization · sovereignty · self-determination · self-governance · liberation
Spanish colonizationdecolonization
Ending imperial control
independence movements · liberation · wars of independence · emancipation