British colonization of the Americas

It is well understood that the age of exploration was one wrought with the total destruction of the native inhabitants of the new world by European explorers. However, it is a misconception that Europeans didn’t notice or care about the utter genocide of the native populations. One man named Bartolomé de las Casas, a Dominican friar and historian, played a monumental role in bringing the knowledge of this destruction to Europe. After spending time among the conquistadors in the new world, Casas…

From 1492 when Columbus first “discovered” the Americas, Iberian colonisation of the native Amerindian peoples had begun. Already inhabited by the native peoples, the Spanish and Portuguese begun the task of conquering through killing, enslaving and bringing the natives under their rule and power. This large and expansive conquest of Central and South America killed conceivably as much as 90% of the natives in little under 200 years, due to the introduction of old world disease and the power of…

and, attempted to enslave Native Americans. Soon after they began capturing and enslaving African Americans. Slave owners treated their slaves as their property. They would use, buy and sell them as they wished; and this was the norm in Colonial America. The following original source is a letter written in 1740 of an owner attempting to sell one of his slaves. The following document gives us an insight on what the owners thought about their slaves and how they saw them as something less than…

attributed to Hernan Cortes and his small army of men disregarding orders from the Spanish crown, and using violence and persuasion to bring down an empire. In the years leading up to this famous massacre, there was a long background in Mexico and South America for the Spanish soldiers and explorers led by the Conquistador Hernan Cortes. Cortes arrived in Hisponola in 1504 and after spending years there gaining influence, he travelled to Cuba where this influence increased…

America (or should I say...Turtle Island), pre 1492, was a very different time in history. It was a time of gratefulness for mother earth and all that she provided. The air was clean, the water was pristine, and the land and animals were respected by the country’s inhabitants. There was a mutual understanding of this respect for mother earth and the Natives were well known for this philosophy of life. Things took quite a turn for the worse once Christopher Columbus sailed to America in 1492…

eight year journey of survival in a strange land which provides a detailed description of the vast terrain, multifarious wildlife, and the diverse cultures of the early Americas. The importance of this unique piece lies within the writing’s function as a gateway providing a glimpse into the cultures of the indigenous people of the Americas as the first recorded confrontation and intermingling between the Europeans and the Native Americans. Cabeza de Vaca was one of the first few Europeans to…

Months passed, but no reinforcements came to the aid of the trapped Spaniards. Montejo the Younger attempted an all out assault against the Maya to break their siege and lost 150 of his few remaining forces. He was forced to abandon the city of Chichén Itzá under cover of darkness in 1534. By the year 1535, Montejo was forced to withdraw his forces to Veracruz and leave the Yucatán once again completely in the control of the Maya. At this point, Francisco de Montejo 's men were exhausted…

“I love to travel, but hate to arrive.. . .” - Hernán Cortes. Hernán Cortes was a famous Spanish Conquistador who helped cause the fall of the Aztec Empire. He helped colonize mainland in Mexico. He helped expand Spain’s land in the 16th century. This was a large achievement in a time when there were many expeditions. Hernán was born in Medellin, Spain in a family with little nobility. Hernan was always interested by the numerous expeditions to the New World. When he went to Cuba he became…

arrow but for Europeans it was guns and swords. 2. Spanish and English colonies were different because they were both founded on different areas of America. Spanish colonies were located on the California coast and were crowned sponsored well English colonies were established by Brielle charter…

Native Americans after the discovery of North America as a massacre opposed to a genocide. This is often due to the accepted established history of the founding of the United States as being a ‘consensual colonialism’ for the Native Americans which would benefit “them.” This accepted narrative often ignores the injustice committed against Native Americans due to perpetuating the myth of American exceptionalism by labeling of the foundation of America as being free of carnage and not related the…