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The Americas were sparsely inhabited and unused. Much of the land had been used once but was soon deserted since the inhabitants were mostly hunter-gathers, wandering across the land. The land was basically wasted and it was lucky that the Europeans finally found a use for it. The Europeans used the empty lands for their benefit while the Indians had not. For a thousand years, the Americas had not changed with a few exceptions of the Iroquois, the Aztecs, and the Incas, which were continually developing though at a slower pace than the Europeans. The Americas were still mostly populated with nomads and there were much unused lands. The nomads that roamed the land often lived a vicious, vile, and short life. There were constant wars between different clans of nomads and there was scarcely any peace. All of the Indians therefore lived a life in fear and doubt. True relationships could never develop and neither could new innovations and technology when there was constant war going on. There was also no wheel, no written language, no division of labor, little agriculture, and scant permanent settlement. Although the Native Americans did live a comfortable enough life, their lives were still limited to great extent. When Columbus and his successors conquered the Americas, they moved the boundaries of life in the Americas back and sped up the process of development in the
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The European society was the predecessor to the modern world. Everything we have now: computers, telephones, and electricity, all evolved one way or another from the society of Western Europe back in the 1500s. The Europeans brought their society to the Americas where it developed to become what the United States is now. It was because of Columbus’ discovery that led to the arrival of ideas and people on which the United States was established. The society of Western Europe used reason, rather than force; they had advancement, rather than stagnation. The European society had the values reason, individualism, ambition, and development. Columbus also created a great safety valve in the Americas. All the land that was previously unused was used by the Europeans that were flocking to the Americas for a fresh start. The Americas therefore was a place where people could get a clean start, optimal economic opportunity (provided by the enormous amount of empty land), and political and religious freedom. This was a good use for the land that the Native Americans did not bother to use. Because of the influx of people into the Americas, the United States of America was allowed to be initiated and even now, the US is known as a melting pot, a combination of people from all parts of the world seeking a fresh start. History is essentially the story of conquers and domination. It is the story of what the strong have done to the weak, the shifts of power from the once strong to their decline and fall. This is exactly the case of Columbus and the Native Americans. Columbus viewed himself superior to the Native Americans; he viewed the civilization of Western Europe superior to the wandering nomads in the Americas. The Native Americans were weak, and therefore, their weaknesses led to their decline and
The European society was the predecessor to the modern world. Everything we have now: computers, telephones, and electricity, all evolved one way or another from the society of Western Europe back in the 1500s. The Europeans brought their society to the Americas where it developed to become what the United States is now. It was because of Columbus’ discovery that led to the arrival of ideas and people on which the United States was established. The society of Western Europe used reason, rather than force; they had advancement, rather than stagnation. The European society had the values reason, individualism, ambition, and development. Columbus also created a great safety valve in the Americas. All the land that was previously unused was used by the Europeans that were flocking to the Americas for a fresh start. The Americas therefore was a place where people could get a clean start, optimal economic opportunity (provided by the enormous amount of empty land), and political and religious freedom. This was a good use for the land that the Native Americans did not bother to use. Because of the influx of people into the Americas, the United States of America was allowed to be initiated and even now, the US is known as a melting pot, a combination of people from all parts of the world seeking a fresh start. History is essentially the story of conquers and domination. It is the story of what the strong have done to the weak, the shifts of power from the once strong to their decline and fall. This is exactly the case of Columbus and the Native Americans. Columbus viewed himself superior to the Native Americans; he viewed the civilization of Western Europe superior to the wandering nomads in the Americas. The Native Americans were weak, and therefore, their weaknesses led to their decline and