European Exploration DBQ

During the Renaissance many people were curious about the world, and had a desire to trade. This led to the Age of Exploration, during this time many nations grew more powerful and influenced the world. Europeans started to explore the world for gold. However while on this journey many European explorers did things that were great. Such as taken away natives land and rights, killing and mistreating natives, and lastly bringing a disease that killed thousands. So you then start to ask should these people be remembered today even with all the bad things they’ve done and brought to the world. I believe that European explorers, conquistadors and settlers from the Age of Exploration should no longer be glorified and celebrated in Modern times.

The chapter, 1493 in the book “Lies My Teacher Told Me,” by James W. Loewen discusses how Christopher Columbus’s “discovery” of the Americas led to the meeting of new cultures. Columbus was not the first to discover the Americas, but rather he was the first European to. His expedition was fueled by the desire for wealth; he wanted to exploit and conquer. He claimed the riches and land the Native Americans had as his own. His interaction with the natives of the land were abusive for he tortured and enslaved ones who did not perform his labor. Columbus almost caused the extinction of the natives through the Europeans introduction to horrible diseases and mass suicide because of their horrible conditions. In fact, textbooks do not focus on what

No one can deny there are hardships people face when exploring new lands and creating governments far from home. European exploration was no exception. Though there were costs and benefits to European exploration, it is apparent through analysis of primary sources that the benefits outweighed the costs. Through the money made by trading and farming, the spread of Christianity to Indians, and the political power gained by conquering land, there were overwhelming benefits on the Spanish side.

Although Columbus did find his way to the Americas, it was not North America he discovered. In fact, he never stepped foot in the United States during his four expeditions. Columbus actually made landfall on various islands located in what is now known as the Bahamas, which had hundreds of thousands of Native American inhabitants that already made the land their own for hundreds of years prior to his ‘discovery’. His various expeditions were supposed to be about spreading Christianity and finding a direct trade route to Asia; however, in the end, the results strayed far from that reality. When he first arrived in these Bahamian islands, he took note of the natives in his journal stating, “All of them alike are of good-sized stature and carry themselves well… ... They should be good and intelligent servants, for I see that they say very

The accidental and unexpected voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492 brought the age of colonization, exploration, and development to Western European, African, and American societies. This voyage proved to be a momentous turning point in history by connecting the previously isolated Americas to the rest of the world and their advancements. The transformations that followed demonstrated the benefits that some societies gained, as well as, show other societies that were profoundly weakened, damaged, or destroyed in the process.

Chapter 11: Germs played the role by killing the weaker people while the stronger become immune to the germs. So settlements got destroyed while others stayed up and going. This means that a lot of natives were killed by the Spanish bringing over the germs.

Columbus discovery of the Americas was very profitable for the Spanish Empire, but devastating to the Native Americans already living there for thousands of years. This is conveyed in “a Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies” by Bartolomé de Las Casas. The main goal of Las Casas was to inform the Spanish King about the atrocities committed by the Conquistadors to the Indian people and their land. From the beginning the rules were that the Spanish were to convert the Indians to Christianity and help them achieve heaven. On the other hand, the Conquistadors did not follow the rules and instead murdered millions of Natives for their riches. Unfortunately to the Indians, the arrival of the Spaniards brought them total destruction. The

1492 was a momentous year throughout the settled and unsettled world. When Columbus left Spain he was in search of a new route to Asia and India. There was no notion in his mind or any of his fellow Spaniards that he would discover a completely new continent. He landed in what is now known to be the Bahamas. There he met the local natives, which he deemed “Indians.”

These journeys to the “New World” were undoubtedly the catalyst for the Western hemisphere developing a civilization and society unlike any other in human history. Of course, Columbus

Hernando Cortes arrived in Mesoamerica in 1519 bringing his military with him. Easily walking into the Mexica’s capital Tenochtitlan through the invitation of Montezuma 2 the leader at the time, Cortes found himself destroying and killing various amounts of people and statues. This made the people outraged and started to fight against him. Through the advance technology of the Spaniards the native people had no chance of having a successful retaliation. Using military to destroy religious monuments the Spanish also started to enforce their religion, which differed from the natives. The Spanish started to build churches and started presenting their monotheistic religion which the natives weren’t please with because they were polytheistic, multiple gods. These people started to loose everything from land to beliefs.

August 3, 1492 was the date that Christopher Columbus made his first voyage to the “New World” in attempt to reach Asia by sea (in a quest for an all-water route). After over 2 months of sailing the Atlantic Ocean and losing many crew members from illness, Columbus finally made it to the Caribbean Islands on October 12th. He explored and gathered items from the land for nearly 5 months. With the permission of the native’s he left behind approximately 40 men to settle and further explore the foreign lands before returning to Spain. Shortly after his arrival in Spain, Columbus wrote his first letter to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who timidly funded his expedition. In the letter he addressed his experiences and reason for Spanish interest in the new found land.

Columbus actually discovered the West Indies and America thriving with civilization. The natives there he wrote were “fearful and timid” and their land would be easily conquered by Spain. He took observations of what he believed to be Asia and described it as lush, rich, and fertile.

They showed no threat to the Europeans providing these new dwellers with food, clothes, and shelter. Teaching them how to use the land they grew up on and showing them the steps found in hunting. When the Christians arrived they were unsure of them but believed they could have been delivered from heaven, after months of pain and agony they came to the conclusion that these men were no angels. Treated as less than because they did not come from the same place or look similar to the Europeans, did not speak the same language , dress in the same manner or serve the same God. Native American history was demolished when they were taken from the land they truthfully owned first , and enslaved without warning. The Age of exploration was the death of a large amount of Native American culture that can never be

Although Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the New World was an important moment in American history, he should not be credited for the discovery of the land, nor should his legacy be commemorated for it brought upon an era of slaughter and slavery.

Introduction of Europeans meant an introduction of unknown diseases to the natives. The natives were completely isolated from European contact, meaning that all diseases that Europeans carried were unexpectedly transferred to them and brought a negative impact on their health. There were many diseases that the Europeans were familiar with, yet practically immune to. Diseases such as influenza, measles, scarlet fever, and smallpox decimated 25-50% of the native population. Statistically, 8 to 10 were affected and decimated by the diseases, and most of them had no potential of surviving such disease without the required immunity. This was one of the advantages that the Spanish had against the natives. As an advantage, the Spanish were able to conquest, or sometimes use the disease as a potential threat in case of a contact or a conflict. Due to the spread of diseases and their mistreatments, the Indian population declined to a low number. Regardless of whether or not it was intentional, it led to millions of Native Americans dying, which would’ve caused great disturbance among the native population. For instance, when the Spanish landed in Tenochtitlan, and the virus swept through the Capital of the Aztec Empire, it decimated nearly half of the population within four months, which was about 300,000 natives. This demonstrated the one way the Spanish Empire was able to conquer, not with Conquistadors, but with the pathogens that were very effective against the natives, yet it was