HISTORY22 - New Spain Expands to the North
This article covers the expansion of the Spanish Empire from Mesoamerica to the north, both during the conquest of Mesoamerica and the following Colonial Period. The time period begins in the 1530s, with exploration of the northern territories, and extends to 1821, when Mexico gained its independence from Spain. My previous two blog articles cover the Development of ancient Mesoamerican Civilizations and the Spanish Conquest of Mesoamerica. In 1521, after the fall of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlán, to Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés, Spain established the Viceroyalty of New Spain, an integral territorial entity of the worldwide Spanish Empire, with its capital in Mexico City on the obliterated site of Tenochtitlán. New Spain continued to grow to the south, as the Spanish conquered the rest of Mesoamerica and Central America; and also grew to the north, as Spain turned its attention to new lands. By 1531, the Spanish had conquered the Aztec Empire in Central Mexico and