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March 18, 2024 44 mins
Tras las primeras exploraciones del vasto Nuevo Continente y la peripecia de Hernán Cortés, las expediciones y conquistas se multiplicaron de uno a otro confín del territorio americano. El interés por encontrar una ruta a través de América que abriera la puerta del Pacífico a los barcos españoles para alcanzar las maravillas de Oriente quedó relegado a un segundo plano cuando se extendieron los rumores de la existencia de riquezas incalculables en el interior del continente. Durante los primeros treinta años posteriores al Descubrimiento, los españoles se asentaron en las Antillas, donde no encontraron las oportunidades de hacer fortuna que esperaban. Decepcionados, dirigieron su atención hacia el oeste y emprendieron toda una serie de malogradas expediciones que no alcanzaron su objetivo. Déjanos tu comentario en Ivoox o Spotify, o escríbenos a podcast@zinetmedia.es Comparte nuestro podcast en tus redes sociales, puedes realizar una valoración de 5 estrellas en Apple Podcast o Spotify. Texto: Jose Luis Hernández Garvi Dirección, locución y producción: Iván Patxi Gómez Gallego Contacto de publicidad en podcast: podcast@zinetmedia.es
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(00:00):
After the first explorations of the vastnew continent and the peripecia of Hernán Cortés,
the expeditions and conquests multiplied from oneto the other border of the American

(00:21):
territory. Great reports of very historypresents the conquest of America lights and shadows.
Chapter four. Colonization follows its coursefrom north to south. A text

(00:44):
by José Luis Hernández Garby. Theinterest in finding a route through America that
opened the Pacific gate to Spanish shipsto reach the wonders of the East was
relegated to a background when rumors spreadof the existence of incalculable riches within the
continent. During the first thirty yearsafter the discovery, the Spaniards settled on

(01:12):
the pitches where they did not findthe opportunities to make fortune that they expected
disappointed. They directed their attention tothe west and embarked on a whole series
of spoiled expeditions that failed to reachtheir goal. The wealth gained by Hernán

(01:37):
Cortés after completing the conquest of theAztec Empire confirmed the expectations of the Spaniards
to find the gold and silver thathad led them to venture through a prolific
ocean and impenetrable forests to reach fortuneand glory with that very present encouragement.
From the third decade of the 16thcentury, the conquerors played their lives in

(01:59):
s r ns DA, as itwould lead them to travel a continent of
unstoppable horizons. Central America. Pedrode Alvarado, responsible for the massacre of
the greater temple than descadenola, whichis known as the sad night, began

(02:20):
the conquest of Nicaragua in 1,500 twenty- two, Honduras one thousand
five hundred twenty- three, Guatemalaone thousand five hundred twenty- four and
El Salvador one five hundred twenty-five, fulfilling the mandate of Hernán Cortés
himself. The conqueror of Mexico thusremoved from the midst of a possible rival
who could dispute his authority. Theexpedition of Alvarado faced new risks while extending

(02:44):
the Spanish presence in this area ofthe continent. The news of Peru'
s great wealth led him in 1, 500 twenty- six to Ecuador,
where he avoided confrontation with the interestsof black- eyed man of action.
Alvarado died when he was run overby the horse of one of his men
was preparing a new expedition to theMoluccas Islands, known as the Isles of

(03:07):
Spectery for the precious product so demandedin Europe. Despite the many dangers and
setbacks they encountered, the Spaniards didnot give up on their efforts and continued
to make progress towards the southern partof the continent. In 1, 500
thirty- five, Diego de Almagro, veteran of the conquest of Peru,

(03:30):
left Cuzco and arrived in the cityof Tupiza, in present- day Bolivia,
which served as the base of operationsfrom which to make the jump to
Chile in front of a contingent offive hundred soldiers attracted by the promises of
gold and silver. The adventure ofthe Almagro and his men brought together many

(03:52):
of the elements that characterized the Spanishexpansion throughout the continent, leaving aside the
greed that made them overcome all kindsof obstacles. The conquerors were also imbued
with a colonizing spirit that led themto found cities and establish an administration inspired
by the laws of Metropolis and subjectto the authority emanating from the king.

(04:18):
Likewise, among Almagro' s expeditionarieswho entered Chile, the widespread use of
expeditive and cruel methods to put anend to any attempt at opposition or resistance,
both among the indigenous and among theirown ranks, was also a common
feature. These acts, in somecases of extreme violence, must be interpreted

(04:40):
within the context of a situation conditionedby circumstances very different from the current ones,
thus the hard experiences of a tripfor which they had no maps and
the hardships caused by the shortage ofsupplies, together with the deaths of purchase.
The betrayals and desertions weakened the forcesof many of Almagro' s men,

(05:05):
but they finally managed to reach thevalley of Aconcagua to discover with disappointment
that the barren territory that opened beforethem did not offer the immediate and promised
riches that they had gone to seek. The scouts sent further south confirmed their
worst fears. Or in a thousandfive hundred forty, Pedro de Valdivia continued

(05:36):
with the work begun by Almagro inChile, in an adventure that cost him
his life, but that managed toopen the way for the Spaniards towards that
dilated and narrow strip of territory thatopened the Pacific a few years earlier,
specifically in one thousand five hundred thirty- three, Pedro de Mendoza had taken

(06:00):
in Spain in the first steps thatwould lead him to the construction, in
the first days of February of onethousand five hundred thirty- six, of
a primitive port defended by two fortson the southern margin of the Rio de
la Plata, location that would eventuallybecome the city of Buenos Aires. After

(06:24):
crossing the Andes in 1, 500forty- one, the expedition led by
Francisco de Orellana Curtido, Pizarro's comrade of arms, began the journey
through the Amazon basin aboard fragile shame. On their fluvial journey, the Spaniards
faced tribes of Amazonian Indians who attackedthose strange white- skinned beards who dared
to enter their territories, as turbulentstreams of water flowed through their territories that

(06:49):
seemed to have no end without surrendering. Orellana continued downstream and, after seven
months of sailing, on August 26, 1, 500 forty- two,
reached the mouth of the Amazon withthe survivors. Under his command he had
sailed almost five zero kilometers along channels, surrounded by an impenetrable jungle and crossed

(07:10):
South America from the West to theEast returned to Spain, where he got
the funding to undertake a second expeditionwith which he wanted to deepen his geographical
discoveries for his own Glory and theHispanic monarchy that represented died in combat with

(07:33):
the Indians on that second trip.At the same time as the Spanish expansion
was spreading across the continent in alldirections, the need arose to create an
administrative apparatus capable of managing the immenseterritories annexed to the crown. At first,
the conquerors themselves, advised by theclerics accompanying them, took on that

(07:58):
arduous task, but later a wholeseries of specific institutions were created for that
purpose. First of these was theCasa de Contratación, which was established in
Seville in 1, 500 three.Its main competence was to ensure maritime and

(08:18):
commercial relations with the Americas. Hesubsequently acquired the powers of a Court of
Justice to mediate in all disputes relatingto commercial matters. For its part,
the Council of Indies, created in1, 500 eleven by Fernando the Catholic,
was dedicated to legislating for the newworld. These two institutions, with

(08:41):
the help on the ground of thecabildos, the hearings and later the viceroys,
were responsible for implementing the decisions madeby the Crown regarding possessions on the
other side of the Atlantic. Ofthis complex bureaucratic body, the most controversial

(09:03):
administrative figure of this period was thatof the entrusted visible head of the so
- called commission, an institution thatserved as an instrument to consolidate the dominion
over the territory. He occupied thatpost as a reward for the services rendered
to the crown during the conquest onAmerican soil at its origins. The commission
should serve to assimilate culturally and evangelizethe indigenous population, at the same time

(09:28):
as to organize what should be aneffective collection system. But the excessive greed
of many agents resulted in situations ofabuse very close to slavery. In Spain,
however, an influential movement emerged verysoon in defence of the indigenous population

(09:50):
and against exploitation, exercised by theleaders. The crown, alarmed by the
worrying reports of Dominican friars, approvedon 27 December of 1, 500 twelve
the laws of Burgos, with whichit tried to stop the mistreatment of indigenous
people. The resistance of the leadersto its application forced the creation of a
board, from which emerged in 1, 500 forty- two the new laws

(10:13):
that put the indigenous people under directprotection of the crown. It is true
that the Spaniards exercised a dominant andprivileged position, even if they were always
in a minority, but as forthe exploitation of resources, indigenous labour was

(10:33):
counted from the beginning. Hispanic conquerorsand colonizers were the first to be interested
in ensuring the maintenance of the localpopulation, contrary to what happened in the
North, where Europeans exterminated the natives. However, the arrival of the conquerors
had an immediate demographic impact. Thenumber of inhabitants of South America was drastically

(10:58):
reduced by contact with newcomers. However, the extinction of entire populations was due
more to biological causes than to deathand destruction derived from the greed of the
Spanish. Infectious diseases brought to thenew world caused havoc among indigenous people who
were not immunized. The chronicles ofthose days speak of plagues that ended in

(11:24):
a few days with all the membersof a tribe or the inhabitants of a
native village. Despite this bacle,large human groups managed to survive the crisis
caused by the first contact with theSpaniards. His immune system reacted to new
diseases and became as resistant as thatof Europeans. This circumstance, coupled with

(11:46):
the miscegenation free of prejudices so typicalof Ibero- America and encouraged by the
Spanish, allowed the survival of theindigenous peoples. Those who remained isolated in
hard- to- reach regions haveso far retained the characteristics of their ethnicity.
Ch consolidated Hispanic power in large areasof the continent. It spread in

(12:16):
all directions in the territory of present- day Venezuela. The fierce resistance posed
by the Cacique, Caribbean, Guaycaand pure, which ended the life of
the crazy conqueror Lope de Aguirre,did not prevent Spanish penetration, which was
completed with the death of the GreatIndian warrior in 1, 500 sixty-
eight. The defeat in December of1, 500 fifty- three of the

(12:43):
Spanish hosts under the command of Pedrode Valdivia in the battle of Tucapel,
also known as the disaster of yourcapel ante. The Mapuche warriors led by
Lautaro, was a hard setback forSpanish pretensions in Chile. The chief Lautaro,
who stood out in the War ofArauco, who for more than two
hundred and thirty years faced the Spanishforces of the General Captainship of Chile against

(13:05):
the indigenous, died in an ambushof the men of Francisco de villagra Que.
Thus they took revenge for the deathof Valdivia and put an end to
the first phase of the conquest ofthe territory. The Spaniards, among others,
Cabeza de Vaca, also headed north, coming to control much of what

(13:26):
is now the territory of the UnitedStates. The current states of Alabama,
Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico,California, Oregon and Washington were at some
point under Spanish rule, forming partof the vast territory of the Viceroyalty of
New Spain and under the protection ofa handful of leather dragons, the first

(13:48):
European troops to confront the Indian tribesof the meadows. In addition, in
the current flower garden discovered and exploredby Juan Ponce de León in 1,
500 thirteen, the city of SanUa, founded in 1, 500 sixty
- five by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, has the privilege of being the oldest
European settlement in the United States andthe expansion and exploration gave itself along the

(14:13):
Pacific coast. As a curiosity,the Spaniards also arrived in Alaska. The
Spanish presence in the territories of thewest coast of North America and, more
specifically, in a region as remoteas Alaska dates back to the second half

(14:35):
of the 18th century, when theSpanish colonial authorities decided to assert their sovereignty
over the aspirations of Russians and Britishin those vast regions. Thus, in
a thousand seven hundred and seventy-four, the frigate under the command of
Juan José Pérez Hernández toured the NorthAmerican coast of the Pacific and forced Russian

(14:56):
merchants to leave their settlements. Asecond expedition formed by or three ships sailed
in March of a thousand seven hundredand seventy- five with the aim of
sailing further north to take effective possessionof those territories, map their coasts and
enter into friendly relations with the natives. And in a thousand seven hundred and
seventy- nine, a third voyageunder the command of the Spanish sailor,

(15:20):
Ignacio de Arteaga, managed to reachthe Kenai Peninsula, a language of land
that enters the Gulf of Alaska.Following the conflict caused by what is known
as the Nutka Crisis, which wasabout to trigger a war with Britain over
the possession of the homonymous island locatedon the south west coast of Vancouver in

(15:41):
Canada, the presence of Spanish shipsremained constant on the south coast of Alaska.
Spain, however, would end uprenouncing its claims in the region thanks
to the Treaty of Adam Sons betweenone thousand eight hundred and nineteen and one
thousand eight hundred and twenty- one, which set the border limits in n
s Ons, the United States andthe viceroyalty of New Spain. But the

(16:03):
memory of the Hispanic presence has persistedin the toponymy of some places, as
is the case of the Glacier,Malaspina, Holas, Cities of Cordoba or
Valdés. Two thanks for listening tothe very history podcasts. You can also
subscribe to great reports of very interestingand the daily podcast of very up-

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to- date and, of course, all the information on our very interesting
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