Prior to the fifteenth century, Europe had little knowledge of the expansive world that existed. There was especially little knowledge when it came to the Americas, which had only been briefly explored by the Vikings hundreds of years before. However, during the fifteenth century one man and his ships full of crews began what would be known as the European expansion. In order to analyze the European expansion who established the first European permanent colony in the New World, what happened to the colony, and how did it have an impact on the future of Europe, the Americas, and Western Africa must be explored.
Europe’s first official permanent colony was the island of Hispaniola, which Portuguese explorer Christopher Columbus accidentally …show more content…
It was discovered after Columbus’ death in 1506, that the land he discovered was actually part of a new landmass that Europeans had never previously explored to the fullest extent. The man who realized that Columbus had not landed in the Indies, but rather a new piece of land was Amerigo Vespucci. Amerigo was a member of Columbus’ who helped to organize his voyages and for his realization that Columbus discovered a new continent, America was named after him (“Textbook”). Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the New World led to Spain and Portugal exploring and settling in various parts of America. With the exploration boost and many more people immigrating to new parts of America from Europe, there became needs for laborers that extended past the Native American population. Which led to Europeans seeking out new sources of labor, resulting in civilians from West Africa being traded, often prisoners of war captured in conflicts with rival leaders, to European merchants in exchange for consumer goods (“Textbook”). The people in charge of gathering up West Africans to be traded off into slavery were called chieftains, of who were civilians of Western Africa themselves. This sparked the beginning of the Columbian Exchange between the Old World and the New
Europe’s first official permanent colony was the island of Hispaniola, which Portuguese explorer Christopher Columbus accidentally …show more content…
It was discovered after Columbus’ death in 1506, that the land he discovered was actually part of a new landmass that Europeans had never previously explored to the fullest extent. The man who realized that Columbus had not landed in the Indies, but rather a new piece of land was Amerigo Vespucci. Amerigo was a member of Columbus’ who helped to organize his voyages and for his realization that Columbus discovered a new continent, America was named after him (“Textbook”). Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the New World led to Spain and Portugal exploring and settling in various parts of America. With the exploration boost and many more people immigrating to new parts of America from Europe, there became needs for laborers that extended past the Native American population. Which led to Europeans seeking out new sources of labor, resulting in civilians from West Africa being traded, often prisoners of war captured in conflicts with rival leaders, to European merchants in exchange for consumer goods (“Textbook”). The people in charge of gathering up West Africans to be traded off into slavery were called chieftains, of who were civilians of Western Africa themselves. This sparked the beginning of the Columbian Exchange between the Old World and the New