Colonialist Exploration of Pacific Coast Essay

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Colonies existed to increase the economic well-being and political strength of their mother countries. Their production and markets were intended to benefit solely their metropolises which regulated trade and imposed taxes to transfer colonial wealth to themselves ... Spain's experience in much of the New World largely revolved around the precious metal (Pp 157).

This excerpt serves to illustrate the sole purpose of the large expeditions that the colonialists were generally involved in, and the central reason was the exploration of the minerals that existed in the Brazil and other regions that they colonized. The minerals were explored in large quantities and transported back to their mother countries in Europe. Gold was one of the most treasured minerals by that time and the value of gold production exceeded that of silver by far before 1540. Large sums, to the tune of 5 million pesos worth of gold was legally exported from Mexico in the 1550 and later on in 1690s,major gold deposits were discovered in Brazil (Pp 158). Silver and diamond were yet the other minerals that enriched the colonialist home countries, though the process of extracting and refining the silver was tedious and prolonged, slaves were largely used in the entire process. Sugar was yet another commodity that was exported from the Mexico and Brazil regions to enrich the colonialist home countries, Most of the colonialists also relied on taxation in order to raise funds to continue in production and processing of the items they considered of value to their countries. Various taxes were levied on the New World countries like Brazil whenever they traded on sugar (Pp173).

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Due to the high value that the Spanish colonialists and the Portuguese and British counterparts had on the minerals and goods that they extracted from Mexico, Brazil and generally the Pacific Coast, there were armies formed and trained in the defense of the colonies from external interferences. The pacific coast colonies did not just have the minerals as discussed herein, but also provided a lot of food stuff, jeweler, silverware, luxury clothing and cocoa. This meant that the region was largely self sufficient in many aspects and this informed the love that the colonialists had for this region. It not only fed their immediate needs and hunger, but also fed the hunger of their mother countries.

Huichilobos and the Bishop

"Conversion was therefore primarily a political act for those who sought to rule. But as a functional focus of sovereignty, Christianity could not immediately succeed; it was not adequately understood or established to support the appeals that must be made to it under the Mexican way of life ... Although Christianity served as a pole of sovereignty in the capital, it generally failed to do so in the country, ... (Pp 240)"

The paragraph above outlines the intent of Christianity in the colonies and the failure to achieve the intended goals of conversion. Interestingly, it also highlights the second resort that Christianity took, that of being used as a tool of conquest. One of the reasons outlined for the failure was the presence of other traditional cults which to the commoners were more practical that the concept of Christianity (Pp 241). Christianity did not only introduce an.....

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