Spanish Empire

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/spanish-empire

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What made the Spanish Empire grow so big?The Spanish Empire grew after the Reconquista finished in 1492, when Spain started exploring the world. Christopher Columbus’s voyage and the conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires brought huge amounts of gold and silver, which helped Spain become a powerful country.
2. How did Spain find so much gold and silver?Spain captured the rich Aztec and Inca empires and also mined silver in places like Potosi. The treasure from these places filled Spain’s coffers and funded more adventures and wars.

Reconquista: The centuries-long historical period during which Christian kingdoms gradually retook territory from Muslim rulers in the Iberian Peninsula.
Encomienda System: A labor system in which Spanish settlers were granted control over indigenous populations and their labor in exchange for protection and Christianization.
Viceroy: A ruler exercising authority in a colony or province as the representative of a monarch.