When Portugal rose rapidly with sea power, Spain felt the urgency of development in addition to jealousy. In 1492, Spanish troops invaded Granada, the last Arab kingdom in Spain, ending seven centuries of Muslim rule in Western Europe. Before the bells of celebration of this historic victory had yet to fall, Queen Isabella decided to confer the rank of Admiral on Columbus and send him on a voyage abroad.
On August 3, 1492, Columbus, who was full of confidence, set out on a journey with three ships and 120 sailors, and Spain embarked on the road to becoming a great power. The significance of Columbus's first voyage is often exaggerated, but more important is the second voyage in September 1493. It was a true colonial expedition, accompanied by 17 ships and a total of 1,200 people. This voyage allowed Spain to occupy essentially the entire West Indies and establish the first colonial institutions and several colonial strongholds. Later, Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1498 and 1502 to complete the discovery of Central and South America.
If Columbus's "discovery" of the Americas can be called a journey of peace, then the subsequent conquest of South America by the Spanish can be described as a bloody race**, especially the conquest of Mexico. Mexico was under the rule of the Aztecs, who built a vast empire that stretched from Texas and New Mexico in the north to Costa Rica in the south. However, all this changed completely after Cortez's arrival.
Cortés landed in Mexico in April 1519. He was a typical adventurer, and as soon as he reached the shore, he gave the order to destroy all the ships in order to stop the retreat of the soldiers, showing his determination to break the boat. On 8 November, Cortés' army reached the Aztec capital of Tenochtiran, where they were greeted amicably by King Montezuma, but were captured. In order to save his life, Montezuma ordered the Aztecs not to resist. However, the indiscriminate killing of innocents by the Spaniards caused outrage. Led by a priest, the Aztecs revolted and besieged the Spaniards in the royal palace. The weak Montezuma came out to mediate under the orders of Cortés, but was killed by rocks, and the Spanish army suffered heavy losses.
At the end of 1520, Cortés led 800 Spanish soldiers and 2,500 Indian soldiers to launch another offensive, arriving one after another with more than 60,000 "Indian coalition troops" lobbied by Cortés. The siege was fierce, and despite the heroic resistance of the Aztecs, Tenochtilan was finally captured after 75 days due to the interruption of water and food**. During this period, 240,000 Aztecs died from fighting, starvation, and disease, and their bodies were scattered in every corner of the city, with nowhere to be buried. Cortés' conquest of Mexico was actually the same as the Spanish conquest of South America, comparable to the rate of Portuguese commercial expansion in the East. Soon after, Pizarro defeated the Inca Empire and conquered Peru; Vladivia conquered Chile. By 1550, the Spaniards had conquered all of South America, with the exception of Brazil.
The conquest of Central and South America helped Spain firmly establish its maritime supremacy, which became an important guarantee for Spain's rich and strong army. It is estimated that between 1521 and 1544, Spain brought back an average of 2,900 kilograms per year from Latin America,**3070,000 kg. Between 1545 and 1560, this number swelled to 5,500 kilograms, 2460,000 kg. By the end of the 16th century, 83% of the world's total production was owned by Spain. In addition, cheap Indian labor and a thriving plantation economy brought Spain countless riches. In addition, the control of the sea** allowed the Spaniards to often make up to 300% of the profits. The wealth brought by overseas ** enabled Spain to develop a strong maritime power, and in 1588, the Armada at the cost of 10 million gold coins became an important force in maintaining Spanish sea power. Thus, by the end of the 16th century, the Spaniards had established the first maritime colonization and ** empire in European history, making them enough to dominate Europe.