Why did the Spanish intermarry with the Indians but not the British?

First, the Spaniards and Portuguese did not have much racial consciousness at that time.

Before the Age of Discovery, Spain was under the control of Arab and Muslim monarchs for 800 years. Even though the Spanish Christian kings conquered the entire peninsula and completely eliminated the spread of Islam, they did not kill all the Arabs and various immigrants from North Africa. Coupled with the constant hemolysis before, the Spaniards' bloodline is actually very messy and completely different from the Anglo-Saxons.

The Anglo-Saxons, the main ethnic group in Britain, have refused to intermarry with foreigners since arriving in Britain. Even the Celts, who were both white, resolutely refused to intermarry. In comparison, the blood of the English is relatively pure, and they do not have the habit of marrying foreigners. Second, the two sides arrived in different Americas.

The Spanish arrived in the Americas in the 16th century, while the British arrived in the 17th century, a difference of more than 100 years. As we all know, the Spaniards mainly arrived in Central and South America, and encountered relatively powerful Indian peoples such as the Mayans and Aztecs.

Take the Aztecs as an example. Their population was 12 million in 1520, while the Spaniards in America only had tens of thousands at best. Therefore, in order to fight against these large numbers of Indians in Central and South America, the Spaniards had to use them, that is, use Indians to fight Indians.

For example, Pizarro's expedition seemed to have only a few hundred people. In fact, he had the support of tens of thousands of indigenous Indian tribes, and it took him decades to defeat the Inca Empire. Considering all aspects, the Spanish need to maintain good relations with the indigenous people, and even intermarry on a large scale to take advantage of them.

But the British arrived in North America. At that time, the population was only two to three million people, and they were scattered throughout the North American continent. The land was vast and sparsely populated. For the British, there was no need to win over the North American Indians, they only needed to conquer them by force. There was no need for intermarriage or marriage at all. Third, the two sides have different models of governing the Americas.

The Spanish governance of the Americas basically turned South American Indians into second-class citizens or even slaves. The Spaniards used these Indians to mine the silver and gemstones they needed, and to seize important resources. Later, they also started plantations, which required a lot of labor.

These labor forces cannot be solved through black slaves, and Indians must still be used. But it was different when the British arrived in North America. They are mainly farmers, who cultivate their own land or make a living by grazing, and do not require any labor force. Moreover, there were too few Indians in North America, and they were all martial, so they could not be captured as slaves, let alone women as wives. In general, the relationship between the British and the Indians was hostile. Fourth, the concepts of marriage are different.

In the 16th century, Europe was still very backward. The Spaniards who came to such wild places were all men, not women. These sailors and soldiers are all young adults and often have strong sexual desires. They usually find local women as wives or lovers. Naturally, there are many mixed races. In the eyes of the Spaniards, as long as the natives converted to Catholicism, that is, Christians, they could intermarry.

But the British are different. Most of them are Protestants and have very high requirements for marriage. Even if everyone is white, as long as they are not of the same ethnic group, they will not intermarry with each other. Many British people even try to intermarry with British people near where they live, let alone Indians.

Since the 17th century, most white British people have moved here from family to family, including women. In fact, white people in North America also intermarry with Indians. Today, some white people’s ancestors have Indian ancestry, but this is not the mainstream.