European colonization of the Americas

When Iberians conquered the Americas they were on their way to the formation of new racial groups. The three main groups of people were the Spaniards or Portuguese, the blacks and the Indian. Due to the lack of Iberian woman during the colonization period, many Iberian men had children with people from African and Indian descent. In Spanish America Spaniards developed an ethnic hierarchy that placed their ancestry at the very top, while everyone else was seen as inferior. During this time,…

within a few short years millions of their race would be massacred and their way of life would be destroyed. Up and down the coast of the New World, Europeans took advantage of the weaker and naïve natives. The European invasion of the Americas was not only a racial cleansing, but a complete cultural subjugation. When European explorers landed in the Americas, they changed everything; natives were impacted through cultural conversion, aggressive…

After Columbus ' discovery of the Americas, Spain reaped the benefits of this New World. More than a century later, Europeans finally took an interest in establishing colonies in North America. King James I of England established Jamestown, made up of men from the Virginia Company, in Virginia in 1607. Soon after, England established several new colonies along the Atlantic Coast. While Spain and British colonization efforts both began with the goal of finding new wealth, they differed in their…

introduction and first chapter of Juan Gonzalez’s Harvest of Empire: A History of Latinos in America, one can piece together some interesting points about the early history of Latinos, as well as the colonization that occurred several hundred years ago. Upon analyzing the early stages of the Spanish conquests and considering the social issues Latinos faced throughout history, one can draw the conclusion that the colonization of the indigenous people is what predetermined Latinos’ place within…

HIST 100? This video is about the Spanish invasion and colonization of Mexico. The main focus was on Cortes and his battle against the Aztec people. This video gave further detailed on the battle tactics that Cortes on the Aztec empire to becoming the ruler of Mexico. In the textbook, similarly, the Native Americans did suffer a similar type of tactical invasion from the Europeans. The Native American practices were seen as savage to the European as the Aztecs were to the conquistadors. Also the…

defeat Hernán Cortés and his troops. The Spaniards weapon superiority, indigenous assistance and other key factors led to the downfall of the Aztec civilization. This episode marked the first phase of the Spanish conquest in Mexico and colonization of the Americas (New World Encyclopedia, 2013). Many factors led to the fall of the Aztec civilization. Leadership change, a smallpox outbreak depleted a large portion of their people and had they had a better understanding of the Spaniard’s tactics…

did de Las Casas become an activist and advocate for native rights but he also used his priesthood as a platform to preach against the injustices that were happening in the new world. In his work de Las Casas argues the negative impact that the Europeans had on the Indies. He begins his account by stating that on the island Hispaniola, “Christians entered and began the devastations…and wiped the land clean of inhabitants.” (68) A land that was once at peace, full of happy souls was now burned…

of the Americas had a significant impact on the Aztecs. In the first paragraph, the way of life preceding Spanish arrival and interaction will be analysed in the 1st body paragraph. When and how the Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Americas and the purpose for their arrival will be the topic of the 2nd body paragraph. In the final body paragraph, the significance of Spanish colonisation…

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…