Part Nine IX › Division VI VI › Section 964 964

European Colonies in the Americas from 1492 to c. 1790

Subject Outline

AThe geography and ethnography of the Americas
BSpanish and Portuguese colonies in the Americas, other European powers in South America and the Caribbean to c. 1790
- 1Spanish discovery, exploration, and conquest of the Caribbean islands, Mexico, Central America, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia, and Rio de la Plata (1492-c. 1550)
- 2Spain's colonial empire
  - aColonial administration: the Council of the Indies, viceroys and other provincial officials, audiencias, legal restrictions on public officials
  - bIndian policy: slavery and peonage under the encomienda and repartimiento, the missionary role of the Roman Catholic Church, decline of the Indian population, introduction of black slaves
  - cColonial economy: expansion of agriculture; gold and silver mining; cattle industry; mercantilism, smuggling, and piracy
- 3The exploration and colonization of Brazil by the Portuguese (from 1500)
  - aColonial economic policies: introduction of black slavery, gold and diamond mining, agricultural and commercial development
  - bColonial administration: establishment of captaincies (1533), centralized royal control (1549), role of the Roman Catholic Church, the Brazilian racial mixture
- 4Administrative reforms of the Spanish Bourbon kings (1700-88): decentralization of the governments of Peru, Venezuela, and Chile; encouragement of trade and agriculture
- 5Spanish colonial expansion into North America (c. 1600-1790): settlements and religious missions
- 6English, French, and Dutch territorial and economic expansion (from c. 1600) into areas of Spanish and Portuguese colonization in Latin America and the Caribbean
CNorse, English, Dutch, and Swedish discoveries, explorations, and settlements in North America (c. 1000-1763)
- 1Norse voyages to Greenland and North America (c. 1000)
- 2Early English exploration and attempted settlement (1497-c. 1600), Dutch and Swedish settlement and later expulsion by the English
- 3Development of the English colonies in North America
  - aThe founding of the 13 Colonies: economic, political, and religious reasons for settlement
  - bEconomic, political, and social development
    - iBritish economic policies: mercantilism and the Navigation Acts
    - iiColonial administration: loose royal control prior to 1763, self-government and local political activity
    - iiiSocial mobility and the rise of economic classes: immigration and the introduction of slavery, agricultural and commercial development
  - cColonial cultural and scientific achievements; e.g., the American Philosophical Society, newspapers and almanacs, the beginning of public education, the "Great Awakening"
  - dConflicts with the French and Indians and expulsion of French power from North America (1763)
DFrench discoveries, explorations, and settlements in North America: New France and Louisiana (1524-1763)
- 1The settlement of New France: missionaries, Indian relations, and the fur trade; royal administration and joint-stock companies