Brief by Martha Quillen
Colonization – February 1999 – Colorado Central Magazine
Contrary to what we were often told in school, the Spanish didn’t fail in the Americas because they were less effective colonizers than the British. The Spanish empire actually survived longer in the New World than did the British, French or Dutch.
And the Spanish also colonized. They brought over soldiers, settlers and enough breeding stock to convert the natives of their northern reaches into the greatest horsemen on the plains. Actually, it’s hard to imagine how the Spanish got so many people and horses over on their picturesque, but rather small and cumbersome sailing ships.