Spanish Empire

Catholic Monarchs and origins of the empire Main article: Catholic Monarchs of Spain See also: History of the territorial organization of Spain With the marriage of the heirs apparent to their respective thrones Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile created a personal union that most scholars [ citation needed ] view as the foundation of the Spanish monarchy. The union of the Crowns of Castile and Aragon joined the economic and military power of Iberia under one dynasty, the House of Trastámara . Their dynastic alliance was important for a number of reasons, ruling jointly over a number of kingdoms and other territories, mostly in the western Mediterranean region, under their respective legal and administrative status. They successfully pursued expansion in Iberia in the Christian conquest of the Muslim Emirate of Granada , completed in 1492, for which Valencia-born Pope Alexander VI gave them the title of the Catholic Monarchs . Ferdinand of Aragon was particularly concerned with expansion in France and Italy, as well as conquests in North Africa. [ 1 ] With the Ottoman Turks controlling the choke points of the overland trade from Asia and the Middle East, both Spain and Portugal sought alternative routes. The Kingdom of Portugal had an advantage over the Crown of Castile , having earlier retaken territory from the Muslims. Following Portugal's earlier completion of the reconquest and its establishment of settled boundaries, it began to seek overseas expansion, first to the port of Ceuta (1415) and then by colonizing the Atlantic islands of Madeira (1418) and the Azores (1427–1452); it also began voyages down the west coast of Africa in the fifteenth century. [ 2 ] Its rival Castile laid claim to the Canary Islands (1402) and retook territory from the Moors in 1462. The Christian rivals Castile and Portugal came to formal agreements over the division of new territories in the Treaty of Alcaçovas (1479), as well as securing the crown of Castile for Isabella whose accession was challenged militarily by Portugal. [ citation needed ] Following the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492 and first major settlement in the New World in 1493, Portugal and Castile divided the world by the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494), which gave Portugal Africa and Asia, and the Western Hemisphere to Spain. [ 3 ] The voyage of Columbus, a Genoese mariner, obtained the support of Isabella of Castile, sailing west in 1492, seeking a route to the Indies. Columbus unexpectedly encountered the New World , populated by peoples he named "Indians". Subsequent voyages and full-scale settlements of Spaniards followed, with gold beginning to flow into Castile's coffers. Managing the expanding empire became an administrative issue. The reign of Ferdinand and Isabella began the professionalization of the apparatus of government in Spain, which led to a demand for men of letters ( letrados ) who were university graduates ( licenciados ), of Salamanca , Valladolid , Complutense and Alcalá . These lawyer-bureaucrats staffed the various councils of state, eventually including the Council of the Indies and Casa de Contratación , the two highest bodies in metropolitan Spain for the government of the empire in the New World, as well as royal government in the Indies. [ citation needed ] Early expansion: Canary Islands The conquest of the Canary Islands (1402–1496) Portugal obtained several papal bulls that acknowledged Portuguese control over the discovered territories, but Castile also obtained from the Pope the safeguard of its rights to the Canary Islands with the bulls Romani Pontifex dated 6 November 1436 and Dominatur Dominus dated 30 April 1437. [ 4 ] The conquest of the Canary Islands , inhabited by Guanche people, began in 1402 during the reign of Henry III of Castile , by Norman nobleman Jean de Béthencourt under a feudal agreement with the crown. The conquest was completed with the campaigns of the armies of the Crown of Castile between 1478 and 1496, when the islands of Gran Canaria (1478–1483), La Palma (1492–1493), and Tenerife (1494–1496) were subjugated. [ 3 ] By 1504, more than 90 percent of the indigenous Canarians had been killed or enslaved. [ 5 ] Rivalry with Portugal See also: Treaty of Alcáçovas The Portuguese tried in vain to keep secret their discovery of the Gold Coast (1471) in the Gulf of Guinea , but the news quickly caused a huge gold rush. Chronicler Pulgar wrote that the fame of the treasures of Guinea "spread around the ports of Andalusia in such way that everybody tried to go there". [ 6 ] Worthless trinkets, Moorish textiles, and above all, shells from the Canary and Cape Verde islands were exchanged for gold, slaves, ivory and Guinea pepper. [ citation needed ] The War of the Castilian Succession (1475–79) provided the Catholic Monarchs with the opportunity not only to attack the main source of the Portuguese power, but also to take possession of this lucrative commerce. The Crown officially organized this trade with Guinea: every caravel had to secure a government license and to pay a tax on one-fifth of their profits (a receiver of the customs of Guinea was established in Seville in 1475—the ancestor of the future and famous Casa de Contratación ). [ 7 ] Iberian 'mare clausum' in the Age of Discovery Castilian fleets fought in the Atlantic Ocean, temporarily occupying the Cape Verde islands (1476), conquering the city of Ceuta in the Tingitan Peninsula in 1476 (but retaken by the Portuguese), [ a ] [ b ] and even attacked the Azores islands, being defeated at Praia . [ c ] [ d ] The turning point of the war came in 1478, however, when a Castilian fleet sent by King Ferdinand to conquer Gran Canaria lost men and ships to the Portuguese who expelled the attack, [ 8 ] and a large Castilian armada—full of gold—was entirely captured in the decisive Battle of Guinea . [ 9 ] [ e ] The Treaty of Alcáçovas (4 September 1479), while assuring the Castilian throne to the Catholic Monarchs, reflected the Castilian naval and colonial defeat: [ 10 ] "War with Castile broke out waged savagely in the Gulf [of Guinea] until the Castilian fleet of thirty-five sail was defeated there in 1478. As a result of this naval victory, at the Treaty of Alcáçovas in 1479 Castile, while retaining her rights in the Canaries, recognized the Portuguese monopoly of fishing and navigation along the whole west African coast and Portugal's rights over the Madeira , Azores and Cape Verde islands [plus the right to conquer the Kingdom of Fez ]." [ 11 ] The treaty delimited the spheres of influence of the two countries, [ 12 ] establishing the principle of the Mare clausum . [ 13 ] It was confirmed in 1481 by the Pope Sixtus IV , in the papal bull Æterni regis (dated on 21 June 1481). [ 14 ] However, this experience would prove to be profitable for future Spanish overseas expansion, because as the Spaniards were excluded from the lands discovered or to be discovered from the Canaries southward [ 15 ] —and consequently from the road to India around Africa [ 16 ] —they sponsored the voyage of Columbus towards the west (1492) in search of Asia to trade in its spices , encountering the Americas instead. [ 17 ] Thus, the limitations imposed by the Alcáçovas treaty were overcome and a new and more balanced division of the world would be reached in the Treaty of Tordesillas between both emerging maritime powers. [ 18 ] New World voyages and Treaty of Tordesillas Main articles: Voyages of Christopher Columbus and Treaty of Tordesillas The return of Columbus, 1493 Castile and Portugal divided the world in The Treaty of Tordesillas. Seven months before the treaty of Alcaçovas, King John II of Aragon died, and his son Ferdinand II of Aragon , married to Isabella I of Castile , inherited the thrones of the Crown of Aragon . The two became known as the Catholic Monarchs , with their marriage a personal union that created a relationship between the Crown of Aragon and Castile, each with their own administrations, but ruled jointly by the two monarchs. [ 19 ] Ferdinand and Isabella defeated the last Muslim king out of Granada in 1492 after a ten-year war . The Catholic Monarchs then negotiated with Christopher Columbus , a Genoese sailor attempting to reach Cipangu (Japan) by sailing west. Castile was already engaged in a race of exploration with Portugal to reach the Far East by sea when Columbus made his bold proposal to Isabella. In the Capitulations of Santa Fe , dated on 17 April 1492, Christopher Columbus obtained from the Catholic Monarchs his appointment as viceroy and governor in the lands already discovered [ 20 ] and that he might discover thenceforth; [ 21 ] [ 22 ] thereby, it was the first document to establish an administrative organization in the Indies. [ 23 ] Columbus' discoveries began the Spanish colonization of the Americas . Spain's claim [ 24 ] to these lands was solidified by the Inter caetera papal bull dated 4 May 1493, and Dudum siquidem on 26 September 1493. [ citation needed ] Since the Portuguese wanted to keep the line of demarcation of Alcaçovas running east and west along a latitude south of Cape Bojador , a compromise was worked out and incorporated in the Treaty of Tordesillas , dated on 7 June 1494, in which the world was split into two dividing Spanish and Portuguese claims. These actions gave Spain exclusive rights to establish colonies in all of the New World from north to south (later with the exception of Brazil, which Portuguese commander Pedro Álvares Cabral encountered in 1500), as well as the easternmost parts of Asia. The Treaty of Tordesillas was confirmed by Pope Julius II in the bull Ea quae pro bono pacis on 24 January 1506. [ 25 ] The Treaty of Tordesillas [ 26 ] and the treaty of Cintra (18 September 1509) [ 27 ] established the limits of the Kingdom of Fez for Portugal, and the Castilian expansion was allowed outside these limits, beginning with the conquest of Melilla in 1497. Other European powers did not see the treaty between Castile and Portugal as binding on themselves. Francis I of France observed "The sun shines for me as for others and I should very much like to see the clause in Adam's will that excludes me from a share of the world." [ 28 ] First settlements in the Americas Main article: Spanish colonization of the Americas Spanish territories in the New World around 1515. The island of Hispaniola belonged entirely to Spain until 1605, when Spain lost the western part of the island due to the devastations of Osorio . [ 29 ] [ 30 ] Spanish settlement in the New World was based on a pattern of a large, permanent settlements with the entire complex of institutions and material life to replicate Castilian life in a different venue. Columbus's second voyage in 1493 had a large contingent of settlers and goods to accomplish that. [ 31 ] On Hispaniola, the city of Santo Domingo was founded in 1496 by Christopher Columbus's brother Bartholomew Columbus and became a stone-built, permanent city. Non-Castilians, such as Catalans and Aragonese , were often prohibited from migrating to the New World. [ citation needed ] Spanish colonial swords in the Museum of the Royal Houses Following the settlement of Hispaniola, Europeans began searching elsewhere to begin new settlements, since there was little apparent wealth and the numbers of indigenous were declining due to the Taíno genocide . Those from the less prosperous Hispaniola were eager to search for new success in a new settlement. From there Juan Ponce de León conquered Puerto Rico (1508) and Diego Velázquez took Cuba . The Spanish enslaved and deported the entire Lucayan population of the Bahamas by around 1520, leading to their complete extinction. [ citation needed ] Columbus encountered the mainland in 1498, [ 32 ] and the Catholic Monarchs learned of his discovery in May 1499. The first settlement on the mainland was Santa María la Antigua del Darién in Castilla de Oro (now Nicaragua , Costa Rica , Panama and Colombia ), settled by Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1510. In 1513, Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama , and led the first European expedition to see the Pacific Ocean from the West coast of the New World. In an action with enduring historical import, Balboa claimed the Pacific Ocean and all the lands adjoining it for the Spanish Crown. [ 33 ] Navarre and struggles for Italy Crowns and kingdoms of the Catholic Monarchs in Europe (1500) The Catholic Monarchs had developed a strategy of marriages for their children to isolate their rival, France. The Spanish princesses married the heirs of Portugal, England and the House of Habsburg . Following the same strategy, the Catholic Monarchs decided to support the Aragonese house of the Kingdom of Naples against Charles VIII of France in the Italian Wars beginning in 1494. Following Spanish victories at the Battles of Cerignola and Garigliano in 1503, France recognized Ferdinand's sovereignty over Naples through a treaty. [ 34 ] After the death of Queen Isabella in 1504, and her exclusion of Ferdinand from a further role in Castile, Ferdinand married Germaine de Foix in 1505, cementing an alliance with France. Had that couple had a surviving heir, probably the Crown of Aragon would have been split from Castile, which was inherited by Charles, Ferdinand and Isabella's grandson. [ 35 ] Ferdinand joined the League of Cambrai against Venice in 1508. In 1511, he became part of the Holy League against France, seeing a chance at taking both Milan —to which he held a dynastic claim—and Navarre . In 1516, France agreed to a truce that left Milan in its control and recognized Spanish control of Upper Navarre , which had effectively been a Spanish protectorate following a series of treaties in 1488, 1491, 1493, and 1495. [ 36 ] Campaigns in North Africa See also: European enclaves in North Africa before 1830 With the Christian reconquest completed in the Iberian peninsula, Spain began trying to take territory in Muslim North Africa. It had conquered Melilla in 1497, and further expansionism policy in North Africa was developed during the regency of Ferdinand the Catholic in Castile, stimulated by Cardinal Cisneros . Several towns and outposts in the North African coast were conquered and occupied by Castile between 1505 and 1510: Mers El Kébir , Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera , Oran , Bougie , Tripoli , and Peñón of Algiers . On the Atlantic coast, Spain took possession of the outpost of Santa Cruz de la Mar Pequeña (1476) with support from the Canary Islands , and it was retained until 1525 with the consent of the Treaty of Cintra (1509). [ citation needed ] ^ Bethany, Aram (2006). "Monarchs of Spain". Iberia and the Americas: culture, politics, and history . Santa Barbara: ABC Clio. p. 725. ^ Dutra, Francis A. "Portuguese Empire" in Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture 1996 , vol. 4, p. 451 ^ a b Burkholder, Mark A. "Spanish Empire" in Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture 1996 , vol. 5, p. 167 ^ Castañeda Delgado, Paulino (1996). "La Santa Sede ante las empresas marítimas ibéricas" (PDF) . La Teocracia Pontifical en las controversias sobre el Nuevo Mundo . Universidad Autónoma de México. ISBN   978-9683651532 . Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2011. ^ Kamen 2003 , p. 12. ^ Hernando del Pulgar (1943), Crónica de los Reyes Católicos , vol. I (in Spanish), Madrid, pp. 278–279. ^ Jaime Cortesão (1990), Os Descobrimentos Portugueses Archived 22 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine , vol. III (in Portuguese), Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda, p. 551, ISBN   9722704222 ^ The Canary's campaign: Alfonso de Palencia , Decada IV Archived 22 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine , Book XXXI, Chapters VIII and IX ( "preparation of 2 fleets" [to Guinea and to Canary, respectively] "so that with them King Ferdinand crush its enemies" [the Portuguese] ...). Palencia wrote that the conquest of Gran Canary was a secondary goal to facilitate the expeditions to Guinea (the real goal), a means to an end. Alfonso de Palencia, Decada IV , book XXXII, chapter III: in 1478 a Portuguese fleet intercepted the armada of 25 navies sent by Ferdinand to conquer Gran Canary—capturing 5 of its navies plus 200 Castilians—and forced it to fled hastily and definitively from the Canary waters. This victory allowed Prince John to use the Canary Islands as an "exchange coin" in the peace treaty of Alcáçovas. ^ Pulgar, Hernando del (1780), Crónica de los señores reyes católicos Don Fernando y Doña Isabel de Castilla y de Aragon Archived 16 January 2022 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish), chapters LXXVI and LXXXVIII ( "How the Portuguese fleet defeated the Castilian fleet which had come to the Mine of Gold" ). From the Biblioteca Virtual Miguel de Cervantes. ^ Laughton, Leonard (1943). "Reviews" . The Mariner's Mirror . 29 (3). London: Society for Nautical Research: 184. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023 . Retrieved 25 October 2015 . ... For four years the Castilians traded and fought; but the Portuguese were the stronger. They defeated a large Spanish fleet off Guinea in 1478, besides gaining other victories. The war ended in 1479 by Ferdinand resigning his claims to Guinea ... ... More important, Castile recognized Portugal as the sole proprietor of the Atlantic islands (excepting the Canaries) and of the African coast in the Treaty of Alcáçovas in 1479. This Treaty clause, secured by Portuguese naval successes off Africa during an otherwise unsuccessful war, eliminated the only serious rival. In Richardson, Patrick, The expansion of Europe, 1400–1660 Archived 22 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine (1966), Longmans, p. 48 Archived 23 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine ^ Waters, David (1988), Reflections Upon Some Navigational and Hydrographic Problems Of The XVth Century Related To The Voyage Of Bartolomeu Dias, 1487–88 Archived 10 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine , p. 299, in the Separata from the Revista da Universidade de Coimbra, vol. XXXIV. ^ ... the Treaty of Alcáçovas was an important step in defining the expansion areas of each kingdom ... The Portuguese triumph in this agreement is evident, and in addition deserved. Efforts and perseverance developed over the last four decades by Henry the Navigator during the Discoveries in Africa reached their fair reward. In Donat, Luis Rojas (2002), España y Portugal ante los otros: derecho, religión y política en el descubrimiento medieval de América Archived 22 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine (in Spanish), Ediciones Universidad del Bio-Bio, p. 88, ISBN   9567813191 ^ ... Castile undertakes not to allow any his subject navigate waters reserved to the Portuguese. From the Canary 's Parallel onwards, the Atlantic Ocean would be a Mare clausum to the Castilians. The treaty of Alcáçovas represented a huge victory for Portugal and resulted tremendously damaging to Castile. In Espina Barrio, Angel (2001), Antropología en Castilla y León e iberoamérica: Fronteras Archived 10 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine , vol. III (In Spanish), Universidad de Salamanca, Instituto de Investigaciones Antropológicas de Castilla y León, p. 118, ISBN   8493123110 ^ Davenport, Frances Gardiner (2004), European Treaties Bearing on the History of the United States and Its Dependencies , The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd., p. 49, ISBN   978-1584774228 , archived from the original on 14 January 2023 , retrieved 21 November 2020 ^ ... Castile accepted a Portuguese monopoly on new discoveries in the Atlantic from the Canaries southward and toward the African coast. In Bedini 1992 , p. 53 ^ ... This boundary line cut off Castile from the route to India around Africa ... , in Prien, Hans-Jürgen (2012), Christianity in Latin America: Revised and Expanded Edition Archived 22 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine , Brill, p. 8, ISBN   978-9004242074 ^ ... With an eye to the Treaty of Alcáçovas which only permitted westerly expansion by Castile, the Crown accepted the proposals of the Italian adventurer [Christopher Columbus] because if, contrary to all expectation, he were to prove successful, a great opportunity would arise to outmanoeuvre Portugal ... , in Emmer, Piet (1999), General History of the Caribbean Archived 22 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine , vol. II, UNESCO, p. 86 Archived 23 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine , ISBN   0333-724550 ^ Superpowers Spain and Portugal struggled for global control and in the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas the Pope divided the non-Christian world between them. In Flood, Josephine (2006), The original Australians: Story of the Aboriginal people Archived 22 November 2022 at the Wayback Machine , p. 1, ISBN   1 74114 872 3 ^ Burbank & Cooper 2010 , pp. 120–121. ^ Fernández Herrero 1992 , p. 143. ^ McAlister, Lyle N. (1984). Spain and Portugal in the New World, 1492–1700 . U of Minnesota Press. p.  69 . ISBN   978-0816612185 . ^ Historia general de España 1992 , p. 189. ^ Fernández Herrero 1992 , p. 141. ^ Diffie, Bailey Wallys; Winius, George Davison (1977). Foundations of the Portuguese Empire, 1415–1580 . University of Minnesota Press. p. 173. ISBN   978-0816607822 . Archived from the original on 14 January 2023 . Retrieved 21 November 2020 . ^ Vieira Posada, Édgar (2008). La formación de espacios regionales en la integración de América Latina . Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. p. 56. ISBN   978-9586982344 . Archived from the original on 14 January 2023 . Retrieved 21 November 2020 . ^ Sánchez Doncel, Gregorio (1991). Presencia de España en Orán (1509–1792) . I.T. San Ildefonso. p. 122. ISBN   978-8460076148 . Archived from the original on 14 January 2023 . Retrieved 21 November 2020 . ^ Los Trastámara y la Unidad Española . Ediciones Rialp. 1981. p. 644. ISBN   978-8432121005 . [ permanent dead link ] ^ Collier, Simon (1992). "The non-Spanish Caribbean Islands to 1815". The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Latin America and the Caribbean (second ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press. pp.  212– 213. ^ Rafal B. Reichert , Las Devastaciones de Osorio y los situados novohispanos para Santo Domingo durante los reinados de la casa de Habsburgo, Universidad de Ciencias y Artes de Chiapas (UNICACH), México, publicado en fecha 16-11-2016. (Ver artículo Aquí ) ^ Frank Moya Pons , Manual de Historia Dominicana , 11 a Edición, Editora Centenario, Año 1997 ( ISBN   84-399-7681-X ) Capítulo VIː La ganadería, el contrabando y las devastaciones (Pág. 5-Pág. 62) ^ Lockhart & Schwartz 1983 , p. 63. ^ Diego-Fernández Sotelo 1987 , p. 139. ^ Kozlowski, Darrell J. (2010). Colonialism . Infobase Publishing. p. 84. ISBN   978-1438128900 . Archived from the original on 14 January 2023 . Retrieved 21 November 2020 . ^ Kamen 2003 , p. 27. ^ Edwards 2000 , pp. 282–288. ^ Edwards 2000 , p. 248. Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page ). Read more on Wikipedia →

Legacy See also: Spanish colonial architecture and Analysis of European colonialism and colonization Although the Spanish Empire declined from its apogee in the late seventeenth century, it remained a wonder for other Europeans for its sheer geographical span. Writing in 1738 , English author Samuel Johnson questioned, "Has heaven reserved, in pity to the poor,/No pathless waste or undiscovered shore,/No secret island in the boundless main,/No peaceful desert yet unclaimed by Spain?" [ 1 ] The Spanish Empire left a huge linguistic, religious, political, cultural, and urban architectural legacy in the Western Hemisphere . With over 519 million native speakers today, [ 2 ] Spanish is the second most spoken native language in the world, as result of the introduction of the language of Castile—Castilian, " Castellano " —from Iberia to Spanish America, later expanded by the governments of successor independent republics. In the Philippines, the Spanish–American War (1898) brought the islands under U.S. jurisdiction, with English being imposed in schools and Spanish becoming a secondary official language . Many indigenous languages throughout the empire were often lost either as indigenous populations were decimated by war and disease, or as indigenous people mixed with colonists, and the Spanish language was taught and spread over time. [ 3 ] An important cultural legacy of the Spanish empire overseas is Roman Catholicism , which remains the main religious faith in Spanish America and the Philippines. Christian evangelization of indigenous peoples was a key responsibility of the crown and a justification for its imperial expansion. Although indigenous were considered neophytes and insufficiently mature in their faith for indigenous men to be ordained to the priesthood, the indigenous were part of the Catholic community of faith. Catholic orthodoxy was enforced by the Inquisition , particularly targeting crypto-Jews and Protestants. Not until after their independence in the nineteenth century did Spanish American republics allow religious toleration of other faiths. Observances of Catholic holidays often have strong regional expressions and remain important in many parts of Spanish America. Observances include Day of the Dead , Carnival , Holy Week , Corpus Christi , Epiphany , and national saints' days, such as the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico. [ citation needed ] Politically, the colonial era has strongly influenced modern Spanish America. The territorial divisions of the empire in Spanish America became the basis for boundaries between new republics after independence and for state divisions within countries. It is often argued that the rise of caudillismo during and after Latin American independence movements created a legacy of authoritarianism in the region. [ 4 ] There was no significant development of representative institutions during the colonial era, and the executive power was often made stronger than the legislative power during the national period as a result. [ citation needed ] This has led to a popular misconception that the colonial legacy has caused the region to have an extremely oppressed proletariat. Revolts and riots are often seen as evidence of this supposed extreme oppression. However, the culture of revolting against an unpopular government is not simply a confirmation of widespread authoritarianism. The colonial legacy did leave a political culture of revolt, but not always as a desperate last act. The civil unrest of the region is seen by some as a form of political involvement. While the political context of the political revolutions in Spanish America is understood to be one in which liberal elites competed to form new national political structures, so too were those elites responding to mass lower-class political mobilization and participation. [ 5 ] Hundreds of towns and cities in the Americas were founded during the Spanish rule, with the colonial centers and buildings of many of them now designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites attracting tourists. The tangible heritage includes universities, forts, cities, cathedrals, schools, hospitals, missions, government buildings and colonial residences, many of which still stand today. A number of present-day roads, canals, ports or bridges sit where Spanish engineers built them centuries ago. The oldest universities in the Americas were founded by Spanish scholars and Catholic missionaries. The Spanish Empire also left a vast cultural and linguistic legacy . The cultural legacy is also present in the music , cuisine , and fashion, some of which have been granted the status of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage . [ citation needed ] The long colonial period in Spanish America resulted in a mixing of indigenous peoples, Europeans, and Africans that were classified by race and hierarchically ranked , which created a markedly different society than the European colonies of North America. In concert with the Portuguese , the Spanish Empire laid the foundations of a truly global trade by opening up the great trans-oceanic trade routes and the exploration of unknown territories and oceans for the western knowledge. The Spanish dollar became the world's first global currency. [ 6 ] One of the features of this trade was the exchange of a great array of domesticated plants and animals between the Old World and the New in the Columbian Exchange . Some cultivars that were introduced to the Americas included grapes, wheat, barley, apples and citrous fruits; animals that were introduced to the New World were horses, donkeys, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and chickens. The Old World received from the Americas such things as maize, potatoes, chili peppers, tomatoes, tobacco, beans, squash, cacao (chocolate), vanilla, avocados, pineapples, chewing gum, rubber, peanuts, cashews, Brazil nuts, pecans, blueberries, strawberries, quinoa, amaranth, chia, agave and others. The result of these exchanges was to significantly improve the agricultural potential of not only in the Americas, but also that of Europe and Asia. Diseases brought by Europeans and Africans, such as smallpox, measles, typhus, and others, devastated almost all indigenous populations that had no immunity. [ citation needed ] There were also cultural influences, which can be seen in everything from architecture to food, music, art and law, from southern Argentina and Chile to the United States of America together with the Philippines. The complex origins and contacts of different peoples resulted in cultural influences coming together in the varied forms evident today in the former colonial areas. [ citation needed ] Gallery A photo of Cathedral of Mexico City . It is one of the largest cathedrals in Americas, built on the ruins of the Aztec main square. The clock of Comayagua Cathedral 's bell tower in Honduras is one of the oldest clocks in Americas and the oldest still working in the world. [ 7 ] It was brought from the Alhambra Arab palace to the Spanish colonies during the 17th century. Popayán , Colombia plaza de armas . Spain impregnate its public square style in Hispanic America . Templo del Carmen in San Luis Potosí city, Mexico in January 2014. It is one of the largest churches in Americas. Roof tiles are a common Hispanic American architectural element because Spanish colonization. Hospital Escuela Eva Perón in Granadero Baigorria , Santa Fe , Argentina. Detail of a Mural by Diego Rivera at the National Palace of Mexico showing the ethnic differences between Agustín de Iturbide , a criollo , and the multiracial Mexican court Chest (petaca) from colonial Mexico , c.  1772 . Metropolitan Museum of Art [ 8 ] ^ quoted in Simon Collier, "The Spanish Conquests, 1492–1580" in The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Latin America and the Caribbean . New York: Cambridge University Press 1992, p. 194. ^ "El Español en el mundo" (PDF) . Instituto Cervantes . 2025. ^ Hamel, Rainer Enrique (1995), "Indigenous education in Latin America: policies and legal frameworks", Linguistic Human Rights , De Gruyter Mouton, pp.  271– 288, doi : 10.1515/9783110866391.271 , ISBN   978-3110866391 ^ Chiaramonte, José Carlos (1 August 2010). "The "Ancient Constitution" after Independence (1808–1852)". Hispanic American Historical Review . 90 (3): 455– 488. doi : 10.1215/00182168-2010-003 . ISSN   0018-2168 . ^ Hamnett, Brian R. (1997). "Process and Pattern: A Re-Examination of the Ibero-American Independence Movements, 1808–1826". Journal of Latin American Studies . 29 (2): 279– 328. doi : 10.1017/S0022216X97004719 . ISSN   0022-216X . JSTOR   158396 . S2CID   145479092 . ^ "Dissemination of Hispanic-American coinage" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 29 December 2011 . Retrieved 7 February 2012 . ^ "El reloj más antiguo del mundo – 30 Maravillas de Honduras" (in European Spanish). Archived from the original on 1 July 2022 . Retrieved 27 July 2022 . ^ "Chest (petaca)" . Metropolitan Museum of Art website . 1772. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023 . Retrieved 4 June 2023 . Read more on Wikipedia →