A license granted by the Spanish Crown to independent private interests (in the Americas, the conquistadors). It enabled the holder to govern a conquered territory in exchange for a fifth of profits and sovereign jurisdiction.

For Taylor, it is the pervasive myth that by emigrating to the colonies, white men escaped religious, financial, and social constraints in Europe to create a land of boundless opportunity in the Americas, providing an “uplift” for everyone.

A belief shared by many Indians in the New World that the supernatural is intimately connected to every part of the natural world. It encouraged balance and reciprocity with nature.