Changes to the People

The Spanish had a major influence on the culture of the Mayan people, in was so large that it is described in the Encyclopedia Britannica as "The conquerors decapitated native society, substituting the Spanish for the Indian nobility."(2) Bad as it sounds, this is just saying how effectively the Spanish changed the Mayan government system. There were actually many benefits to the native people, though it was at the cost of their culture. Some of the benefits were improved agricultural techniques, as well as improved tools. The Spanish also built improved towns based on the grid system, which had a centralized plaza where a town hall and a church was located. Though there were many benefits, Not everything they did was necessarily an improvement, such as the introduction of the Encomienda and religious economic systems. This involved the land and labor being allotted to a ​Spanish noble who controlled it. This system was later stopped due to the fact that it was not the most profitable, and so they changed the system, as they were interested in profit as said when "'Bernal Diaz del Castillo summed up Spanish aims and intentions with remarkable brevity when he declared: 'We came here to serve God and King, and also to get rich.'"(3)