Steed, Paul P., 1923-

Spain’s presence in the Western Hemisphere began with Christopher Columbus’s 1492 voyage to the Caribbean seeking a westward route to Asia. Columbus (like others who followed him) failed to find such a route, but did claim the island of Hispaniola for Spain. In the next thirty years the Spanish also explored and established settlements in Jamaica and Cuba.

Spain’s fortunes in the Americas improved dramatically in the 1520s with the conquest of Mexico. Conquistador Hernando Cortés entered Mexico and defeated the Aztec Empire based in the city of Tenochtitlan in 1521. The former Aztec capital, rebuilt and renamed Mexico City, became the principal Spanish city in the Americas. Spain established a more formalized system of government there by designating Mexico as a viceroyalty. The viceroy, appointed by the Spanish monarch, was the chief administrator of the colony, but also shared decision-making with an audiencia, which functioned both as a court and as a sort of advisory body for the Spanish colonial government.

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