In 1494 the two nations directly concerned, Portugal and Spain, agreed to accept the principle of a papal division of the non-Christian world, and to this end they drew up the so-called treaty of Tordesillas, by which Spain took the lands to the west of the line, and Portugal those to the east. This done, the two enterprising governments settled down to vigorous exploitation of their respective colonial fields.

CHAPTER II

ANGLO-SPANISH RIVALRY, 1500-1600

SPANISH EXPLORATION

If Columbus could have lived for only a few years longer, his discouragement would have given way to well-founded elation. His successors, aiming as he did at a direct, western route to the East, made extensive explorations in and about the lands which he had discovered, and in the course of their attempts to get around or through America, they were not long in coming to a full realization of its value. In 1519, the very year that marked the union of all the Spanish and Hapsburg possessions in the person of young Charles V, Hernando Cortez began his spectacular conquest of Mexico. Within three years this ablest of the Spanish empire builders had virtually completed his work, and for the first time in her history Spain was in possession, not only of a store of accumulated riches, but of gold mines of incalculable value.

Before the end of that same decade, the exploits of Cortez were duplicated by Pizarro in Peru, and another nation of civilized Indians made over its gold to Spain. These two conquests freed Charles V from any serious concern about revenue, provided his lines of communication could be kept open; and at the same time they made it unnecessary for him to spin fine theories about the balance of trade. The sources of his wealth were direct, not indirect, and his whole colonial policy was founded upon this single fact.

The story of Spanish exploration during the first half of the sixteenth century is one of the fascinating chapters in the history of mankind. Always in search of gold, sometimes for the fabled fountain of youth, but never indifferent to the more prosaic matters of mere geography, Spanish expeditions explored nearly the whole Atlantic coast, from Nova Scotia to Cape Horn, including the Gulf of Mexico, and the equally long stretch of Pacific coast, from the Straits of Magellan to Oregon.

And the Spaniards were not satisfied simply to observe the coasts.

Some expeditions, carrying or driving provisions for long trips, struck boldly into the interior. Although these wanderings brought almost unlimited hardships, and no gold, they were not without their gains. Before 1550, thanks to the ambition of some of his agents, Charles V was in possession of reports describing the entire southern area of what is now the United States, from Florida through to California, and from the Rio Grande as far north as Kansas. North of Mexico and Florida the Spaniards did little but explore the country and lay claim to it, for possible use in the future. South of the Rio Grande, however, they not only explored, but colonized an area fully twenty times as large as their own country in Europe.

THE SPANISH EMPIRE

There used to be a tendency to make light of these Spanish achievements in the new world, but that attitude has, or should have, long since disappeared. Previous to the nineteenth century no nation had ever accomplished so much, in the way of empire building, as did Spain during the sixteenth. In area, her domain included all of South America except Brazil, practically all of Central America, and Mexico as well, with all of the larger West Indies thrown in for good measure.

By 1574, slightly more than fifty years after the establishment of Spanish power in Mexico, the empire of Philip II had in the new world about two hundred cities and towns, exclusive of mining camps. The city of Mexico was a thriving metropolis, with an Indian population running up, according to some estimates, to one hundred fifty thousand, while the Spaniards themselves numbered fifteen thousand. As late as 1775, nearly a hundred and fifty years after its founding, Boston had hardly passed the thirty thousand mark in population. And the physical growth of Mexico City was even more imposing. Its public buildings compared favorably with those in Spain, and the list included hospitals, churches, monasteries, high schools, and a university.

The Spanish colonial empire differed from the English in many respects, but in none was the contrast more striking than in the Indian policies of the two powers. The success of Anglo-Saxon colonization seemed to make necessary, if it did not depend upon, the removal or the extermination of the natives. The Spanish system, on the other hand, resulted, not only in the retention of the Indians, but in many cases in the establishment among them of a

genuine Spanish civilization. Under the direction of Spanish officials, the Spanish form of government was introduced and established. At the same time, with the help of these same agents and of the Jesuit priests, Spanish culture and the Catholic religion were made to prevail throughout the whole Spanish domain. So thoroughly and so well was the work done that the whole extent of the old Spanish empire in America is still essentially Spanish to this day.

In working for the conversion of the Indians, and for the spiritual welfare of the Spanish colonists, the Jesuits relied upon the good results of a sound educational system. By the middle of the sixteenth century plans were completed for the establishment of two universities in America, one at Mexico City, the other at Lima, Peru. The first was opened in 1554. Both became thriving institutions. By 1700, the university at Lima had two thousand students. They were doing excellent work in anthropology, linguistics, geography and history. In the words of one of the leading authorities on Latin America, "in number and range of studies, and standard of attainments by the officers, they surpassed anything existing in English America until the nineteenth century."

In the personal governments of the sixteenth century, the ambition of the monarchs was generally in advance of actual achievement, even when achievement was remarkable. And so it happened that whenever a favorable opportunity should present itself, Philip II, the successor of Charles V, was ready to double the size of his empire. In 1579 a fortunate combination of circumstances enabled him to present and to make good his claim to the Portuguese throne. By 1581, he was in full possession of both the Spanish and the Portuguese empires. His new acquisitions included Brazil, a country large enough for an empire in itself, and the Portuguese trading stations both in Africa and in India. The line of demarcation and the Treaty of Tordesillas ceased to exist, and Philip II might indeed look upon himself as the arbiter of the fortunes of the world. Never before in human history had one man controlled any such vast collection of territory, and never before did any ruler have at his command such seemingly inexhaustible economic resources.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the theory of monopoly permeated the commercial structures in Europe, and this same principle was carried over into colonial trade. Long before Spain acquired the Portuguese possessions she had organized her American

commerce in such a way as to exclude, not only all foreigners, but also a large number of Spanish merchants. In this system nothing was left to chance. Once, and only once, every year a great fleet of Spanish merchant vessels, under heavy convoy, sailed from Spain to the new world. When they had crossed the Atlantic, the fleet divided; some of the vessels went to Vera Cruz, the others to Porto Bello. On this outward voyage were carried all the European and Eastern commodities which the settlers in New Spain might need, or rather all they were allowed to have, for a year. Then, Spanish American goods, gold, silver, and tropical products, were collected at these two ports, in time for the return trip. The two parts of the fleet joined again at Havana, and from there, again under convoy, proceeded back to Spain. For a hundred and fifty years this iron-clad system was in force, and absolutely no other trade was permitted. All the arrangements for both outward and homecoming voyages, down to the most minute detail, were regulated by the Spanish government.

Although Philip II was compelled to grant liberal political concessions to the Portuguese, in order to reconcile them to his rule, there was nothing to indicate that the newly acquired African and Asiatic trade would be handled any differently from the American. Thus, with the principle of government regulation carried to an extreme, all the available wealth of Africa and the Indies would rest in the hands of Spain, to dispose of as she saw fit. Her commercial edifice was just as imposing as the political.

In the establishment of this world-wide empire, Charles V and, for a time, Philip II were unhampered by any competition. To be sure, Charles V was at war with France during his whole reign, but the stakes in this contest were European, not colonial. The French kings were at first interested in schemes for expansion in Italy. Then, before they would admit defeat there, the advent of the so-called religious wars blinded them to everything outside of Europe. It was not until the reconstruction period under Henry IV that France seriously turned her attention to the new world.

ENGLISH ECONOMIC INTERESTS

But even before the consolidation of Spain and Portugal had been consummated, the first clear signs of genuine aggressive rivalry were already in evidence. When Spain and Portugal had divided the