Monarchies in the Americas The royalists went to the polls divided, with the press indicating there were actually two princes aspiring to the Brazilian throne (Dom Luiz de Orleans e Bragança and Dom João Henrique); this created some confusion among the voters. The entire island of Hispaniola was first claimed on 5 December 1492, by Christopher Columbus, for Queen Isabella, and the first Viceroy of the Americas was established along with a number of colonies throughout the Island. With the later discovery of Mexico and Peru many of the early settlers left for the main land, but some twelve cities and a hundred thousand
Spanish missions in the Americas in the Americas, had one of the most notable histories of native rights activism. Bartolomé de las Casas was the first Dominican bishop in Mexico and played a pivotal role in dismantling the practice of "encomenderos",these laws were intended to prevent the exploitation and mistreatment of the indigenous peoples of the Americas by the "encomenderos", by strictly limiting their power and dominion over groups of natives, with the establishment of the New Laws in 1542. Spanish missions in the Americas The Spanish Missions in the Americas were Catholic missions established by the Spanish Empire during the 16th to 19th centuries