One interesting thing about the Spanish conquest of the Americas is how topology affected the future of the native peoples. The Spanish were interested in farmland, not mountain areas nor jungles. They were interested in the resources that might lie in those areas, but by and large, the Spaniards allowed the natives to retain possession of extremely mountainous areas.
That’s why the native populations remained strong in many of the Andean countries, but not so much in places like Argentina and Uruguay, where the fertile lands led the invaders to drive the natives out.
In other words, in the Americas, the reign of Spain was mainly on the plain.
(And one! That’s right, I was able to make a historical point and still get in a bad Friday pun)
Did they come for God, gold and glory or is there a whole lot more to it that that brief summary?
Randall,
Many came motivated by a quest for personal gain, both money and power. Not many families went to settle new lands, like the Plymouth group from North American lore.