Americas Colonization

labor. Eventually, this had lead to Spain’s failure and resulted in a time of "rapid inflation

There were initially two to ten million natives in the United States prior to European contact. Those numbers dwindled down drastically in the years that Europeans came and started colonizing. The Europeans came to explore the New World in search of land, spices, gold, God and glory. Among these colonists were the Spanish and they colonized most of the southwest of the United States. Evidence of their settlements can still be seen today in the missions scattered across the land. These missions were started with the purpose of converting the Native Americans to Christianity. Now, imagine living your entire life with a particular set of beliefs, based on your ancestors and culture, and a group of foreigners come and proclaim that your views are all wrong and that you must follow their beliefs for the salvation of your soul. This is exactly what the Spanish did to the Natives. The relationship between the two parties were strained and rife with tension due to the conversion of the natives and the constant abuse doled out by the Spanish. This subsequently led to the disintegration of native life and culture.

As the Europeans began settling in the Americas, thus began “the exchange of plant and animal species that have ultimately been a widespread benefit to the peoples throughout the globe” (Document 3). The Europeans brought many elements of their own culture, including their native plants and animals. They then introduced these things to the natives of the Americas and also adopted the natives culture into their own. The Europeans introduced different types of skills and jobs. In turn, “the Indian natives have successfully learned all the Spanish trades” (Document 1).

European colonization of the Americas should be remembered as a tragedy for the impractical and immoral acts upon Native Americans and slave laborers. The European colonization of the Americas was a series of atrocities committed upon underdeveloped territory by settlers throughout the Americas. Many European countries took part in the advantages of the land to increase economic trade and newly found resources. However, the net result of this colonization for the indigenous who already inhabited these lands was the exploitation of Native Americans and Slaves through forced labor, Christian ideals being forced upon those certainly from different beliefs, and the general theft of land and natural resources.

Upon the European’s discovery and colonization of the Americas an irreversible transformation was triggered. The extreme differences in the cultures of the Europeans and Native Americans would prove to be fatal to the way of life that existed before European colonization.

American settler colonialism is no different than the colonialism in South Africa, Australia and Algeria because the similarities between them: indigenous populations were depleted, indigenous resistances arose, and colonizing culture religion becomes the dominant culture. Indigenous population was depleted in two way: through human involvement and also by biological diseases. Biological diseases killed the vast majority of Indians in the 16 century.

In the 18th century, life in the English colonies had begun to calm down a little bit. European territories still continued to expand, but many colonists settled down for a more domestic life. The original towns bloomed into cities, especially around the ports. The colonial civilizations developed into a safer and more comfortable environment. Men got jobs and earned a living, children went to school, and wives cooked and cleaned the house. Much of colonial life was similar to the English lifestyle they left behind. However, there were multiple aspects to the colonial life that set it apart from its English counterpart. The life of the average settler experienced politics, education, and even daily life that could only be found in America.

1. What fundamental factors drew the Europeans to the exploration, conquest, and colonization of the New World? What was the impact on the Indians, Europeans, and Africans when each of their previously separate worlds “collided” with one another? What caused the shift from indentured servant to African slaves as the dominant labor force in the southern colonies?

In the 16th and 17th century, the Americas was being explored by Spain, Britain, and other countries. Many of these countries set up colonies in the Americas where Native Americans were living. Europeans moved into colonization of the Americas and brought changes to the land and its people. Europeans traded, hunted to warfare and personal property. As Europeans established their colonies, their societies also became segmented and divided along religious and racial lines. Most people in the societies were not free. They labored long hours as servants or slaves to produce wealth for others. As more Europeans came to settle the land in the Americas, their presence had a tremendous effect on the native peoples who were living in the Americas. The Native peoples’ life in the Americas provided lots for the Europeans to use. They traded cattle, chickens, horses, pigs, sheep, sugarcane, and wheat, for chocolate, pineapple, potatoes, pumpkins/squash, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and tobacco. The diets of the Natives and Europeans widened as different food types was being traded. The Natives were very open to the Europeans as they came into their land and communicated with the Natives. Over time, the landscape changed as more European communities increased. The Europeans held on to their idea of land ownership while the Natives idea of the land was for the person that need it. Also, the Europeans hoped to change the Natives to Christianity but also trick them into being slaves for the

The discovery and colonization of the “New World” was one of the most significant and influential events in the known history of mankind. It has shaped our present by changing the course of our past and is a time of such great significance that it would be all but impossible to understand today without at least some comprehension of the why 's of yesterday. What was it that drove such a myriad of people to risk so much to tame the wild and vast lands we now know as and call the Americas. What were the reasons, motivations, causes, events, and possibilities that captured the minds and hearts of so many different peoples from such divers backgrounds? What led them to leave their friends, families, and

In the early years of the United States’ formation, the country had its roots in the original thirteen colonies. Through years of expansion, the United States grew into the country we know today. Without the migration movements like the pilgrims’ voyage to America, the colonization founding of the original thirteen colonies, and the westward migration in the 1800s for gold and prosperity, the country could not be the way it is today. The colonization of the 1600s and the migration in the 1800s impacted the course of American history and its development.

Differences in government, religion, and population set the settlements of the two countries apart, and their shared desire for wealth and eventual independence connected them. When colonizing the New World, Spanish monarchs held a primary goal of conquest. Subsequently, there was no self-government in the Spanish colonies. Conquistadors pillaged Native American land in the name of their mother country. Settlers obeyed the king’s laws, and had little freedom to do as they chose.

"New Spain, the Viceroyalty of"). The Spanish curved the political power of local conquered groups, such as the Aztecs and the Mayas, in order for Spain to benefit. Spain’s domination led to increased political power because the Spanish now had more power over their people and it showed other regions how powerful they were. By creating the Viceroyalty of New Spain, Spain could now establish a more powerful and unified empire. It also made it so the newly conquered territories could not riot and try to overrule because their political leaders did not have enough power.

Great observation, the relationship between the French and Native American of the early colonization were very successful. Therefore, both sides needed each other in order to exchange their goods in order for survival. At first, the Native Americans were receptive to the French building their colonies because they viewed the French as partners and they would protect them against other Native Americans. As we learned in the text, “that the support to the Huron tribes in their efforts against the confederated tribes of the Mohawks and Iroquois (Reich, 2011, p. 37). However, the French tried to impose their culture onto the Native Americans by trying to convert them to Christianity. In fact, the Indians were not too keen on this idea and as

The founding of the New World fascinated many Europeans because of the possibilities of the economic, political, and social growth. Europeans packed their belongings and boarded the boat to new beginnings. Arriving in the Americas was not what they had expected. Already pre-occupied in the land, were the Native Americans. The Native Americans refused the Europeans colonization in the America’s, but not all colonies in the Europe just wanted to colonize with the Natives. The intentions of the Europeans colonies were all different, as the Dutch solely came for business transactions. The Dutch business transactions resulted in the change of economic, political, and social movements, changing the lives of the Native’s.