Beginning in the Early Modern Era, European explorers discovered North America and began conquering it. The civilizations that already inhabited the continent had their own culture and government that rivaled that of the Europeans. During the following years when Europeans traveled to the continent, cultural exchanges took place between the “New World” and “Old World” that was called the Colombian Exchange. This was the cause of the loss of culture and loss of life and liberty that the native people of the continent experienced due to the fact that Europeans viewed them as inferior and due to their genetic differences. At the same time this was the cause of the increase in wealth and power for the Europeans since this land was not ruled yet
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As soon as the explorers arrived, a massive spread of infection occurred that resulted in the death of an astonishing number of Native Americans. Very few of these people had a natural resistance to measles and small pox. This great loss in population allowed Europeans to easily conquer them since they would be prioritizing the goal of surviving, and not organizing an army to deter the invaders (Doc 2 and 8). A large drop in numbers occurred from the years 1495 to 1505. During that time, the population decreased to 5% of what it originally was. Small pox was only part of the problem, since natives were usually mistreated and put to work under dangerous and strenuous conditions that resulted in death very often (Doc 6). Many Native American people were enslaved for life. Up until 1542, with the release of the new Spanish laws of the Indies, owners could treat their slaves however they wanted. Even after the passing of the laws, there were still slave owners; the only difference was the new set of restrictions that helped prevent mistreatment of slaves. This shows that for the entire duration of the time period and even afterward when social changes began to occur, Europeans believed that they were superior and had the …show more content…
The European use of animals in the Americas became an unexpected advantage to them. Horses were the equivalent of a mass produced weapon. They were especially useful because the Natives had never seen them before so they had no idea how to counter soldiers that were able to use them effectively. Moreover, they did not have natural predators, so they were never low on supply and since more soldiers had access to them, battles were won in less time and with fewer casualties, at least on the European side (Doc 3). Many natives were converted to Christianity after the arrival of Europeans and many willfully worked for Christians from the “Old World”. They had been convinced that they were doing what was right and were treated better than those that did not convert. This helped increase the number of Christians in the Americas and was a victory for the Europeans since it was their religion that was spreading. It made exerting their power on the people easier to do. This also explains why South America is largely Catholic now. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who wrote the document, would of course see the conversion of Native Americans to Christianity as a European gain. The Church was relatively powerful at the time. More conversions led to more power the church had over people and this allowed the church to enforce European ideas onto the Native
As soon as the explorers arrived, a massive spread of infection occurred that resulted in the death of an astonishing number of Native Americans. Very few of these people had a natural resistance to measles and small pox. This great loss in population allowed Europeans to easily conquer them since they would be prioritizing the goal of surviving, and not organizing an army to deter the invaders (Doc 2 and 8). A large drop in numbers occurred from the years 1495 to 1505. During that time, the population decreased to 5% of what it originally was. Small pox was only part of the problem, since natives were usually mistreated and put to work under dangerous and strenuous conditions that resulted in death very often (Doc 6). Many Native American people were enslaved for life. Up until 1542, with the release of the new Spanish laws of the Indies, owners could treat their slaves however they wanted. Even after the passing of the laws, there were still slave owners; the only difference was the new set of restrictions that helped prevent mistreatment of slaves. This shows that for the entire duration of the time period and even afterward when social changes began to occur, Europeans believed that they were superior and had the …show more content…
The European use of animals in the Americas became an unexpected advantage to them. Horses were the equivalent of a mass produced weapon. They were especially useful because the Natives had never seen them before so they had no idea how to counter soldiers that were able to use them effectively. Moreover, they did not have natural predators, so they were never low on supply and since more soldiers had access to them, battles were won in less time and with fewer casualties, at least on the European side (Doc 3). Many natives were converted to Christianity after the arrival of Europeans and many willfully worked for Christians from the “Old World”. They had been convinced that they were doing what was right and were treated better than those that did not convert. This helped increase the number of Christians in the Americas and was a victory for the Europeans since it was their religion that was spreading. It made exerting their power on the people easier to do. This also explains why South America is largely Catholic now. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who wrote the document, would of course see the conversion of Native Americans to Christianity as a European gain. The Church was relatively powerful at the time. More conversions led to more power the church had over people and this allowed the church to enforce European ideas onto the Native