Overview:

The focus for this unit is the background to the conquest itself.

The concept of the "discovery" is in itself a controversial and contentious one, particularly for those who view the situation from the perspective of the indigenous peoples living in the New World at the time. How can a people be "discovered"? However, history is written and discussed from the perspective of those who write it, and from the European perspective, the New World was "discovered," not "encountered."

Another controversial term is "Indian" when used to describe individuals who were living in what is now the Americas. Odd as it may seem from a modern perspective, Columbus thought he had reached the Indies, hence the inhabitants, he believed, were Indians. Many contemporary commentators use the term indigenous peoples, natives, or other words that are less controversial than Indian. Others retain the term "Indian" because it has been so widely used for so many centuries.

Immediately after the discovery, the Spanish began the long and bloody process of conquering the new lands.

Explore the images on the following pages that show you more of Ibero-America’s history and culture. Also, visit the suggested Web sites found on your resources page (and follow their links to others!). You may also want to review the list of videos provided on the resources page to see if you are familiar with any of them, or perhaps view one now!