Where did the Spanish Conquistadors come from?

The Renaissance and Elizabethan age was the era of exploration. Dominated by the Spanish conquistadors (a Spanish word that means conqueror), they were the ones who were able to monopolize the bulk of the eastern spice trade. The reason of which was their victory they called reconquista.

This refers to their triumph over Muslim moors for the Iberian Peninsula after 800 years of conflict. The trigger of the Spanish conquests, they saw it as a continuation of the medieval crusades which aimed to spread Christianity throughout the world. Since Spain is a catholic country, a blessing from the pope in terms of their explorations was the only sign they needed to set their sights on bigger and better things.

Christian soldiers, explorers and clergymen set sail in search of foreign land where they could spread their religion and widen Spain’s empire. In their travels, their thirst for land was doubled by the following: wealth (in terms of gold, silver and spices), power (over the natives), prestige from the Spanish royalty and nobilities and more opportunity for Spanish trade. It is no surprise that always on board were catholic friars in charge of the conversion of the natives.

To gain control of the locals, the conquistadors instituted the encomienda system, similar to the medieval feudal system. Its genuine purpose was to introduce the natives to the catholic faith but since the conquistadors considered them to be savage and pagan, they were oppressed. They did anything they pleased with the natives, even enforcing forced labor on them. Their motherland, Spain, was thousands of miles away and probably had no idea of what was going on. On a positive note, there were still a couple of mentionable conquistadors that stayed true to their beliefs and genuinely aimed for the wide spread of Catholicism.