Meanwhile, back in Europe, the Portuguese were not too happy with the pope's delineation and protested. Fortunately for them, Pope Alexander VI owed the Portuguese a few bob too; the result was the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas which moved the line to approximately 50°W. Modern day coastal limits of Portuguese speaking Brazil are roughly 52°W in the north, and 53°W in the south. Inland of course, modern Brazil extends much further west. The Spanish established their first colony in Hispaniola, the foundations of Santo Domingo (now the capital of the Dominican Republic) being laid in 1496. Colombus went on to complete two more voyages of exploration, expanding Spain's knowledge of the area to the coasts of Venezuela and Central America. By this time it was generally accepted that these 'new lands' were nowhere near Asia, though Colombus refused ever to admit his original misconception!
The first half of the 16th century saw Spanish control expand through much of what is now the Spanish speaking Americas - some key dates:-
1508-9 Juan Ponce de Leon conquers Puerto Rico
1511 Diego Velasquez takes Cuba
1513 Balboa crosses the Panama isthmus and sights the Pacific
1519-21 Hernan Cortes and his conquistadors overrun the Aztec Empire. They achieve this with only 300 men by trickery and a military techinique used before and since of making temporary alliances with peoples who had been subjugated by the the Aztecs. They destroy Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, and establish Mexico City, 50km to the south-west. Tenochtitlan had a popualtion of around half a million, which would have made it one of the largest cities on the planet at the time.
1519-21 Magellan, sailing under the Spanish flag, sailed south from Spain past the Portuguese territory of Brazil and explored the S.E. coast all the way south, and discovered and forced passage through the weed choked waters of what is now known as Magellan Strait. One of the five ships in his fleet had been wrecked on the Patagonian (southern Argentina) coast, and another desserted and turned back for Spain. The three ships remaining set out across the Pacific after some sketchy charting of southern Chilean waters. They were at one stage 92 days at sea without sight of land, and many died of scurvy and starvation. Of the five ships and 327 men who had left Spain, only one ship and 18 men eventually made it back via the Cape of Good Hope. Magellan himself was killed in the Philippines.
1523-40 Spanish take control of most territory from Mexico City to their southern base at Panama. Small enclaves of native Indians successfully resisted for a time, one of those into post-colonial days in Guatemala.
1524-5 Sailing from Cuba, Esteban Gomez charts the entire eastern seaboard of North America from Florida to Cape Breton I. before crossing the Atlantic back to Spain.
1525 Using Gomez's information Luis Vasquez de Ayllon leads a colonisation expedition from Spain to the coast of what is now S.Carolina, and establishes a colony at Winyah Bay. The colony was abandoned just two years later, due mainly to fierce resistance from local Indians.
1529 Control and colonisation of coastal Venezuela.
1531-5 Conquest of Peru by Francisco Pizarro and an even smaller group of conquistadors than Cortes had available in Mexico, using the same techniques. Peru was to become Spain's richest prize, contributing literally tonnes of gold to Spain's coffers.
1535-7 Sailing down the coast of Brazil and entering the River Plate, Mendoza establishes colonies at Buenos Aires, and upstream at Ascuncion. (B.A.was abandoned after two years for the same reasons as Winyah Bay, and was not re-established until 1580).
1536-8 Conquest of Colombia, and the foundation of Bogota.
1540-1 Pedro de Valdivia conquers central Chile.
1540-2 Expeditions north from Mexico City expand Spanish knowledge of the North American hinterland begun by earlier explorations out of Santo Domingo and Havana.
1544-8 Spanish settlers in Peru rebel against Spanish authority. This was first of many rebellions throughout the Spanish New World that would eventually result in Spain losing much of her empire in the early nineteenth century.
So in less than half a century the Spanish had moved from having a toehold in the New World on Hispaniola to domination of lands extending 7000km from north to south and had charted coastal and inland areas far beyond that.
The Decline of Empire
Independence movements in most any colonies or occupied countries are an inevitable development. For the Spanish colonies in the Americas, two particular factors helped to drive that inevitability; firstly the land policies of Spain mentioned earlier, and secondly the degree of intermarriage between the predominantly male colonists and native Indian or imported Negro women. This second factor grew partly from the first, and the result over time was a peoples with less historical affinity with Spain than might have been the case if more Spanish women had migrated to the New World. But long before the 19th century explosion of independence movements, the French and English had established major colonies in North America, and along with the Dutch and occasionally others, nibbled away at the Spanish domain in the Caribbean.
The major territorial losses came in the 1820's with waves of independence movements throught Spanish America, but well before that the Spanish had been losing small parts of the empire to European competitors. They had shown little interest in the east coast of North America beyond Florida, though willing enough to use their cannon on anyone else showing an interest, nor in the Leeward Islands or the Guianas further south.
The French had been the first to defy the Spanish, raiding shipping and shore bases as early as 1504, quickly followed by the English and the Dutch. The early 17th century saw all three nations start to establish small colonies of their own, including English Virginia in 1607, Fr. Canada the following year, and the Dutch settled on the Essequibo River in what is now Guyana in 1615.
In 1623 the Dutch established New Amsterdam, (New York) and formally bought Manhattan Island off the Indians in 1626.
Also in 1623, the English settled St Kitts in the Leewards, joined there 5 years later by the French.
In 1625, the English claimed Barbados, and colonists took up residence 2 years later.
In 1632 the English claimed Antigua, and the Dutch Tobago.
1634, the Dutch captured and held Curacao, which was the first incursion into areas in which the Spanish had active interests. These incursions into the Spanish domain were to continue until the early 19th century, but the total area lost to empire was miniscule to the losses of the 1820's
1635, the French colonised Martinique and Guadeloupe.
1636 saw the Dutch extend their Guianas colony eastward into present day Suriname.
1638, the English accidently acquired a small colony in Central America when some English sailors were shipwrecked on the coastal reefs of what is now Belize. Logging industry established (defended, but not formally claimed till 1860's)
1647, the English grabbed the Bahamas and the Turks & Caicos Islands.
1650, the French settled Grenada, and the English Anguilla.
1655, the English capture Jamaica, and the French settle in western Hispaniola, (now Haiti).
1660, the French settle St.Lucia.
1666, the English claim and settle the Virgin Islands.
1670, The Spanish were obliged to formally recognise English authority over Jamaica and the Caymans
1682, the French make formal claim to the entire Mississippi basin, on the basis of the explorations of fur traders and missionaries who had spread southward from the St Lawrence River. This put them in conflict with the Spanish who claimed everything west of the river.
1697, Spanish recognise by treaty the French presence in San Domingue (Haiti)
In 1722 the French established the city of New Orleans, which helped reinforce France's control over the Mississippi.
1750, the French settled Dominica
1763, the British settled St Vincent
1795, as a sidebar to the latest war in Europe, the French took over all of Hispaniola, but gave it back to Spain in 1803.
1803, Spain ceded Trinidad to Britain, most of the Spanish and French settlers moved out.
Throughout the history of the Spanish American Empire, there were incidents of local Spanish authorities and individuals acting without authority from Madrid, trying to carve out little private empires, deliberately ignoring or misinterpreting directives, and rebellions. Much of the very rigid administrative structure set up in the New World was designed to prevent private empires, etc. Columbus and Cortez (conqueror of Mexico) were just two of the famous names of history to see the inside of a Spanish jail.
At the beginning of the 19th century the bulk of the empire was still intact, but by this time many of the rebellions were being led by the upper classes, not the peasants.
The final breakup began in Argentina in 1810 and Venezuela in 1811. that the breakup should have occurred along the fracture lines created by the administrative system of vice-royalties, audencias and captaincies created by the Spanish was predictable. Some of the colonies broke loose virtually without bloodshed, in others Spanish troops and Spanish loyalists kept up the fight as long as ten years in some places. The move to independence had been encouraged by French Revolution and the American War of Independence, and the timing was triggered by Spain's surrender to Napoleonic armies in 1810.
By 1830, only Cuba and Puerto Rico remained of Spain's vast American Empire.
El Salvador
By the time the Europeans, (Spanish Conquistadors) arrived in this area around 1500, the local Indians had long been absorbed into the Mayan Empire, which was in itself in decline. The Spanish had initially established themselves at Mexico City, and at Colon in Panama. Over the next 30 years the gradually took control over the lands between. The capital of El Salvador, San Salvador was founded in 1525, but relocated six times before being established at its current location. the country is highly earthquake prone, this and other hazards were the reason for the relocations. Even so, much of the city was destroyed by earthquake in 1854.
The independence movement in Central America had its beginnings in El Salvador; there had been a long history of animosity between the two cities, the Salvadoreans detested directives from the Spanish colonial administrative centre in Guatemala City, perceived as being biassed in favour of Guatemalan merchants and farmers re exports and commerce in 1811 this came to a head with open rebellion. though this was suppressed, just 10 years later discontent with Spanish authority in general became widespread. Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica were united in declaring themselves independent; but they lacked unity in what should replace the Spanish colonial status. The Guatemalans favoured union with Mexico, which had also broken loose, but the Salvadoreans and others was hostile to that idea. The Salvadoreans threatened to apply to become a teritory of the United States. A compromise was reached in 1823 after two years of turmoil, and a United Provinces of Central America was created with its capital in Guatemala City. Howver this 'unity' proved as fragile as the later years of Spanish administration, The Guatemalans kept pushing their idea of union with Mexico, and the situation came close to civil war. In 1827 the United Provinces' capital was moved to San Salvador, but by 1838 the union was little more than a mirage; by 1841 it was dead entirely, and the five members were fully independent of each other.
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Ecuador
Welcome to Quito, capital of Ecuador!
Despite almost sitting on the equator, it can get quite chilly here, 'cause the city sits 3500metres above sea level. This is why visitors may be a little breathless. A few days acclimatisation will more or less fix that!
Chile
Chilean Offshore Territories
Brazil
The first European arrivals in what is now Brazil occurred in 1500 ..by accident! A Portuguese ship under the command of Pedro Cabral, bound for India veered further west than the normal 'trade wind friendly route' and sighted the coast about 900 km north of what is now Rio. They stopped for just nine days, then carried on to India
Over the next few years, a small number of Portuguese expeditions came to see what there was to be profitably exploited. They didn't find much, only a particular type timber seemed worthwhile. At the time of these first European visitors, there were perhaps six million native indians spread across what is now Brazil. (Current 'native' population is about 200,000) Unlike in the Andes and in Mexico/Central America, these peoples had not developed any structured civilisation, but lived a semi-nomadic life, building temporary timber villages, farming and hunting an area fro a few years, then moving on.
Probably because there didn't seem to be too much worth exploiting, the first colonising expedition didn't sail from Portugal to Brazil until 1531. They came ashore at Sao Vicente (near present day Santos). Despite the marginal profitability of 'owning' the Brazilian coast, the Portuguese King didn't want other European powers moving in on his patch, so he ordered, in 1534, 11 more colonies be established along the coast. Unfortunately, he could only find seven 'Friends of the Crown' to captain these new colonies, so four never even got off the ground. Over the next 15 years, hostile indians destroyed four of the eight, and only Sao Vicente and Pernambuco (Recife) showed any profit on the investment. In near desperation in 1549, the King appointed a Governor to bring the surviving colonies under obne authority, and a capital 'city' was established at Bahia (Salvador).
About this time the settlers discovered that conditions were ideal for growing sugar-cane. Whilst this kickstarted the moribund economy of the fledgling colony, it was also the start of a history of slavery that makes the U.S. treatment of slaves until 1865 look almost benign. At first the colonists tried using the Indians as slaves, but even under the whip, they were not efficient workers. During the 17th century, the Indians were replaced by Africans shipped over from Angola and West Africa. Unlike in the U.S. the plantatation owners didn't believe in the economics of breeding up a slave pool, so mostly adult males were imported, then worked to death. Few lived much longer than a year. This brutal attitude may partly a result of most of the settlers being single men. Portugal at this time had a population only around one million, so there was no population pressure to encourage families to migrate.
During the Napoleonic Wars, Portugal came under threat; two days before Lisbon was overrun, the King of Portugal escaped by ship. Sailing to Brazil, he set up a Court-in-Exile at Rio de Janiero. Fourteen years later in 1821, the King returned to Portugal, leaving his son Dom Pedro, inh charge in Rio. A year later Dom Pedrodid a U.D.I. and with a grandiose self-image, crowned himself Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil. Portugal was still militarily too weak in the aftermath of the Wars to re-impose authority over its colony, so Brazilian independence was achieved without a shot being fired. Dom Pedro proved to be an incompetent, and after nine years was forced to abdicate in favour of his son, who became Dom Pedro II. DP2 ruled for 50 years and though he provoked a war
with Paraguay, and inteferred with Uruguayan and Argentine affairs, he did a lot of good within his own country. In what was to prove to be his last act, he abolished slavery in 1888. Unfortunately rich landowners (mostly now growing coffee instead of sugar) weren't so keen on the abolition of slavery, and in 1889 with the support of the military, they deposed the Emperor, and sent him into exile.
For a hundred years after that, Brazil 'enjoyed' either military government or civilian puppet govts operating at the behest of the military. Only in 1989 did Brazil finally achieve true democratic government.
Brazil is arguably the most racially integrated nation on the planet, four centuries of interbreeding between European, African, and Indian, has made it impossible for polarisation on the basis of race. As in most of the rest of Latin America, divisions are not along racial lines, but relate to education and prosperity.
There is not as much climatic variation from one part of this, the fourth largest country in the world, to another due to the tropical/sub-tropical location; from humid equatorial in the Amazon basin of course, to a climate comparable to Sydney at Port Allegre in the far south. Only a small area in the N.E. has a seriously dry climate, and even that can only be described as arid, certainly not a desert climate.
The major feature of the country, dominating the northern half of the country is the Amazon basin (which is rapidly being de-afforested, with possible world wide consequences) The Amazon is the second longest river in the world, and with its tributaries, outpours by far, more water to the ocean than any other. Tidal effects are felt as far upstream as Manaus (800 km) and smallish ocean going freighters can penetrate as far upstream as Iquitos in Peru.
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