1. Spain: The Beginning
By: Tom Blanton

2. Christopher Columbus
• Made his famous initial voyage in 1492
• He initiated the process of Spanish colonization
(which eventually led to European colonization of
the Americas).
• “pre-Columbian” refers
to the people and cultures
of America before
Columbus came

3. Spanish Immigration to America
• About 240,000 Spaniards came to the
Americas in the 1500’s and 500,000 and the
1600’s
• Population in present
day Mexico declined
90% by the early 1600’s
(due to disease and
civil strife)