Chapter 2 Section 3 Key Points

1. How did Spain Rule its colonies?

· The American empire was divided into provinces – Spain & Peru

(Called Viceroys)

· A social order was established

o Highest in the social order were viceroyalties which had native Spanish background

o Next was the Creoles – Spanish born in the colonies

o Below the Creoles were the Mestizos (mixed Spanish and native am.)

o Last was the native americans and enslaved Africans

· Plantations or haciendas were established and native Americans were forced to work on them

2. Why did Africans make better slaves than Indians?

· Africans were immune to most European diseases

· Most Africans worked on farms in their native lands

· They had no connections to people in the Americas to help them resist or escape

· They were a permanent source of cheap labor even the children worked

3. What was the Columbian exchange, and why was it important?

· The movement of living things between the eastern and western hemisphere

· Europeans brought plants and animals to the Americas, but they also brought diseases.

· Spanish brought many plants and animals such as cows, horses and pigs

· Small pox was brought to the Americas from Europe and this killed 20 million Native Americans

· Potatoes became a new and beneficial crop in Europe due to the Columbian exchange