Read this quote: “Before Spanish arrival there is estimated to be about 60 million people in the Americas. After Spanish arrival this population shrank to about 6 million people.” Using evidence from the quotation, which statement correctly analyzes the effectiveness of Spanish colonial rule?

Question

Read this quote: “Before Spanish arrival there is estimated to be about 60 million people in the Americas. After Spanish arrival this population shrank to about 6 million people.” Using evidence from the quotation, which statement correctly analyzes the effectiveness of Spanish colonial rule?
a. Colonial rule was strengthened by decreases in the indigenous population because it meant they would face less resistance from colonial populations.
b. Colonial rule was strengthened by indigenous population decreases because it meant they could focus less on the unpopular social caste system.
c. Colonial rule was weakened by decreases in the indigenous population because it led to more resistance to Spanish colonial rule.
d.Colonial rule was weakened by decreases in the indigenous population because there were fewer people to work in the colonies.

GPT-4o mini · Answer

The statement that correctly analyzes the effectiveness of Spanish colonial rule based on the provided quote is:

d. Colonial rule was weakened by decreases in the indigenous population because there were fewer people to work in the colonies.

This statement accurately reflects the consequences of a significant decrease in the indigenous population, which would have led to labor shortages in the colonies, ultimately weakening the colonial economic structure and effectiveness of Spanish rule.