Spanish Power in Western North America



Spanish Power in Western North America

Annotated Bibliography

Brading, A. (2003), “The First America: The Spanish Monarchy, Creole Patriots, and the Liberal State, I492-1867,” Cambridge University Press

This book gives a detailed description about the power of Span in the Western North America. According to the book, the Spanish colonization of South and North America sparked one of the worst social, human and cultural disasters in history. The Spanish conquest of desire began about 1469, as Ferdinand V and Isabella I of Castile and Aragon were married to consolidate Spain's royal houses. Once the situation had calmed down inside, the Spaniards decided to found an empire. From 1492, when Columbus landed in the Caribbean, to about 1518, the Spaniards conquered the Caribbean and then pushed in front as far as Central and South America. This book will be helpful in the research as it provides the detail about the decisive contribution to the conquistadors, explorers and soldiers who were as famous for their cruelty as for their undoubted bravery. One of them was the infamous Hernán Cortes. In 1518 he led a small army to Mexico, and 1521, he had destroyed the entire Aztec empire and massacred tens of thousands of people, for example, in Cholula, and in the capital, Tenochtitlan. Francisco Pizarro, equally cruel conquerors destroyed, in the thirties of the 16th Century, the empire of the Incas in Peru, and 1572 was the last Inca ruler beheaded. In 1898 , the United States won the Spanish-American War and occupied the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico, ending the Spanish presence in America. Cuba became independent in 1902, but remain under American tutelage until 1959, while Puerto Rico was annexed as been associated with the United States . Other Hispanic territories as California ,Texas and Florida , were annexed and converted into U.S. states .

Zinn, H. (2003), “A People's History of the United States,” New York: The New Press

This book provides the history of United States. It will be helpful in reading and attaining information about the Spanish colonization in Western North America. The origins of the Spanish colonization of North America date back to 1492, the when Christopher Columbus reached the island of Santo Domingo and are associated with the search for the way to India. With the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, Spain received almost exclusive right to settle in and explore the whole of North America. Columbus's work was continued by other sailors and explorers were including Alonso de Hojeda, Juan de la Cosa, Pedro Álvares Cabral, Vasco Núñez de Balboa, and Amerigo Vespucci. According to the author, on November 1493, first settlers arrived on Hispaniola, and in 1496, formed Santo Domingo, the oldest city which was established in the New World. Soon there two bishopric was established and began missionary activity. The economy of the first colony was strictly focused on providing raw materials to the home country, so they were mostly sugar cane, cotton, tobacco and livestock to supply crews with provisions for long ...