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Chapter 4 : European Empires in the Americas |
After settling the Caribbean, the Spanish went on to conquer the Aztec and the Incan civilizations. Spain used wealth gained from these conquests to build up its military strength and to finance more explorations in the Americas. During the 1500s, Spain built a vast American empire. The northern part of the empire was known as New Spain. It included Central America, Mexico, part of South America, and some of the present-day United States.
New Spain was divided into large estates, where landowners relied on Native Americans and enslaved Africans to the do the work of mining and farming. Spain also sent missionaries to the Americas to teach Christianity and Spanish culture to Native Americans.
The French and Dutch, who established settlements in the Americas after the late 1500s, were mainly interested in making profits from the fur trade. For this reason, they often made allies of the Native Americans instead of trying to change them.
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