Unit #1 AP Classroom Questions Flashcards
(6 cards)
“I . . . write an account to Your Majesty as the first [person] to come among these natives. . . .
“These Indian people of New Spain [Mexico] are vassals of Your Majesty. . . . I dare plead with you for a remedy because, for their people to be saved, they are in great need of relief in order to devote themselves at least somewhat to matters of Faith. After all, it is the struggle for their salvation that justifies their discovery. . . .
“I firmly believe that if the decrees Your Majesty sent here for their benefit were implemented, and if the governors and judges did more than pretend to do so, great good would have come to these people. Even more firmly I believe that Your Majesty’s intention is that they be saved and that they know God. For this to happen, they must have some relief, so that with the moderate labor needed to meet their tribute obligation, they can still give themselves wholeheartedly to our teachings. . . . Otherwise, God will have good reason to complain, for Spaniards came to this land and have taken their property for their own benefit, and Your Majesty has extracted great benefit from them, too. . . .
“. . . Your Majesty . . . should know that the Indians who are required to labor for a master in Mexico City in domestic service and bring firewood, fodder, and chickens leave their pueblo for a month at a time. . . . And the poor Indians often have to buy these things because they are not to be found in their pueblos. . . . Take pity on them and consider what is happening to the poor Indian woman who is in her house with no one to support her and her children, for her husband is hard pressed to meet his tribute requirement. . . .
“. . . I advise you that if Your Majesty does not establish that . . . [the Indians] be required to pay tribute only from what they have, within thirty years these parts will be as deserted as the [Caribbean] islands, and so many souls will be lost.”
Fray (Friar) Pedro de Gante, Spanish Catholic friar and missionary, letter to Emperor Charles V, king of Spain, 1552
In the third paragraph of the excerpt, which of the following pieces of evidence does de Gante use to support his argument about the emperor of Spain’s obligations to Native Americans?
Responses
The emperor has benefited from the riches acquired in the Americas.
I . . . write an account to Your Majesty as the first [person] to come among these natives. . . .
“These Indian people of New Spain [Mexico] are vassals of Your Majesty. . . . I dare plead with you for a remedy because, for their people to be saved, they are in great need of relief in order to devote themselves at least somewhat to matters of Faith. After all, it is the struggle for their salvation that justifies their discovery. . . .
“I firmly believe that if the decrees Your Majesty sent here for their benefit were implemented, and if the governors and judges did more than pretend to do so, great good would have come to these people. Even more firmly I believe that Your Majesty’s intention is that they be saved and that they know God. For this to happen, they must have some relief, so that with the moderate labor needed to meet their tribute obligation, they can still give themselves wholeheartedly to our teachings. . . . Otherwise, God will have good reason to complain, for Spaniards came to this land and have taken their property for their own benefit, and Your Majesty has extracted great benefit from them, too. . . .
“. . . Your Majesty . . . should know that the Indians who are required to labor for a master in Mexico City in domestic service and bring firewood, fodder, and chickens leave their pueblo for a month at a time. . . . And the poor Indians often have to buy these things because they are not to be found in their pueblos. . . . Take pity on them and consider what is happening to the poor Indian woman who is in her house with no one to support her and her children, for her husband is hard pressed to meet his tribute requirement. . . .
“. . . I advise you that if Your Majesty does not establish that . . . [the Indians] be required to pay tribute only from what they have, within thirty years these parts will be as deserted as the [Caribbean] islands, and so many souls will be lost.”
Fray (Friar) Pedro de Gante, Spanish Catholic friar and missionary, letter to Emperor Charles V, king of Spain, 1552
One piece of evidence that de Gante used in the excerpt to support his overall argument about the treatment of the people of Mexico is that Native Americans
Responses
did not have enough supplies to support their families
In which of the following ways did the Spanish impose racial hierarchies in the regions of the Americas that they controlled during the 1500s and 1600s?
The Spanish created a caste system that incorporated people of European, Native American, and African descent.
What was a major difference between the Spanish encomienda system and the Spanish caste system in the Americas?
The encomienda system was based on using Native Americans for forced labor, while the caste system was based on a diverse and racially mixed population.
How were European economic systems in the American colonies in the 1500s and 1600s different from existing economic systems in Europe?
Spanish colonists used enslaved Africans to work on plantations.
How were European economic systems in the American colonies in the 1500s and 1600s different from existing economic systems in Europe?
Responses
