The Caribbean Crucible
nThe Caribbean experience was a model for Spanish actions in Latin America.
•Columbus and his successors established colonies.
•The Indians of the islands were distributed among Spaniards as laborers to form encomiendas.
•European pressures and diseases quickly destroyed indigenous populations and turned the islands into colonial backwaters.
nThe Spaniards tried to establish Iberian-style cities but had to adapt them to New World conditions.
•They were laid out in a grid plan with a central plaza for state and church buildings.
nProfessional magistrates staffed the administrative structure; laws incorporated Spanish and American experience.
