Pros And Cons Of The European Conquerors

It is evident that the drive to colonize this new nation had chiefly been for economic purposes and the fact that the European continent was becoming overpopulated. The New World had been discovered by explorers who wanted to locate a new route to India so that trade could be better established. However, once what is now known as the United States was founded, there were more opportunities for a variety of things, including slave labor, colonization, entrepreneurship, and even an escape from religious persecution and the social and political system of Europe. As a result of this drive for change, the European people aggressively came to America so that they could make changes, and this would be on behalf of the Native American people who already claimed the land.

The indigenous people of the new world developed new customs that thrived but, they were changed when the Europeans arrived. The age of exploration encouraged Europeans to discover new lands and goods But when the Europeans discovered what seemed to be a new world they quickly claimed it and took over.

Conquest is an extremely violent thought, to subjugate and assume control of a group of people and their land with military force. It’s hard to imagine a large following, much less countries, that support imposing brute force onto strangers. Given that conquest is violent, why did Europeans conquer the Americas as they did? The Europeans followed the belief of Christianity, which forbids such massacres and hate, how could they have conquered and killed? Many, like Jared Diamond, promote the idea that it was pure geographical luck which granted Europe easier diffusion of knowledge; metal weapons and political organization which were more advanced. However, this idea becomes problematic because it assumes that no matter the inhabitants of the more fortunate land, conquest would have happened because of predetermined facts like geography. With this argument, one could say Natives would have conquered Europeans or that they would have been able to defend from their conquest if they had the same or better geographical luck. I believe that geographic luck is not enough to enable the conquest of the Americas. I want to argue that the major reasons behind the European conquest of the Americas were largely in their motivation to gain riches to boost their economy and the justification of their conquest by disguising themselves as saviors to the Native Americans.

In 1492 Christopher Columbus “discovered” the New World. This “discovery” led to the colonization of the New World by several European nations. European nations, such as Great Britain, started colonization for a variety of reasons.

Europeans came to the Americas for many different reasons. Religious freedom, adventure, gold, new opportunity, and land are a few of them. Perhaps the most serious was the different way that Europeans and Native Americans thought about land. Land was extremely important to European settlers because land meant wealth, in which they established many communities where they lived and worked. Many of the settlers in the new country could have never owned land in Europe because they were too poor. The Native Americans believed that no one could own land. They

One of the most important things Conquerors could do during ancient times was to find and claim land. Once the land had been taken, the conquerors would force the natives were forced to learn the culture of their new ruler and practice it. Unlike most conquerors, Alexander the Great would incorporate his Greek culture with the culture of the land that he conquered. When Alexander went to conquer Egypt in 332 BCE, he made an effort to try to learn and understand the Egyptian culture. By learning the culture, it showed the Alexander respected the Egyptian culture earning the trust from the native Egyptians back. Alexander went to Memphis and Apis which is part of the tradition to become a pharaoh, so he would be seen as a legitimate ruler and pharaoh of Egypt. By taking the time to learn the ancient traditions of the Egyptians and completing something as sacred as the proper ritual to become a pharaoh, Alexander showed that he appreciated the Egyptian culture and traditions and would make a good ruler. After the passing of Alexander the Great, he left Egypt to one of his generals, Ptolemy Soter, who started the great line of rulers of Egypt. The heritage of the Ptolemies was Macedonian, so although they were able to be born into being Pharaoh, it was also important that they find other ways to show appreciation and knowledge of the Egyptian culture. By relating oneself to a divinity, it showed the understanding and respect Pharaohs had for the Egyptian culture, gaining their

It is evident that in 16th century Europe there existed both the motivation and the means to explore and colonize territory across the seas. As it can be said, “With the dawn of the 16th century, there came together in Europe both the motivation and the means to explore and colonize territory across the seas.” This statement is true to a large extent, especially in the areas of trade and technology. The physical means to explore and colonize came from the advances in technology that the Europeans had gone through, allowing them to sail far across the oceans and take over native populations easily. The motivation, on the other hand, came from trade-related reasons, such as the desire to trade new resources, to find gold, and to find new trade routes. Without the technology or trade at the dawn of the 16th century, there would not have been the means nor the motivation for Europeans to explore and colonize the New World.

When Europeans discovered America they had a drive to conquer land including the land the Natives lived on.(Layton 28)

Before Europeans ever ventured to North America, the land had been populated by Native American nations that had their own distinct cultures and social structures. Native Americans had trade routes and established complex relationships between tribes. They were not merely heathens waiting to be civilized by the Europeans. Yet, Europeans would use those justifications to lay claim on their land.

Throughout early history, beginning with 1492, exploration was well on its way. European nations began heading west towards the New World in search of new trade routes to the East Indies. With support from kings through financial aid and moral guidance, a new peak was reached upon the arrival of Columbus in the Caribbean islands off the mainland of the Americas. Such an extraordinary event, future voyages were sent off to explore the rest of the New World by Spanish, French, and English ships and explorers. During these times of exploration, traveling nations encountered the Natives among the lands where they would then determine their future through alliances and conflicts. The settlement patterns, along with the attitudes of the American Indians that were encountered with by the Spanish, French and English exploration, can be compared and contrasted through the goals of these nations culturally and socially, and even through the opportunity for economic growth .

When Christopher Columbus entered the Americas in 1942, one of his first tasks were to deal with the Indigenous people, who, compared to the Europeans, were much less advanced. Europe began waging wars of conquest to get resources for trade, and missionaries were brought in to teach the Indigenous people Christianity. Although some Europeans viewed the civilizing of the Native Americans and the new World necessary and just, many others believed that taking dominance over their culture was wrong.

Most of all, the Europeans were seeking wealth. When they arrived, not only did they find that there were already people here, but they also came to realize that the gold they were seeking didn’t exist. Rather

While documents written by explorers may state that their voyages were done in the name of God, religion was not the main motive for European exploration. Other motives included the European economy and new developments in technology.

The European conquest for establishing North American colonies began with various motivations, each dependent on different, and/or merging necessities: economics, the desire to flee negative societal aspects, and the search for religious freedoms. Originally discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1492 in search for a trade route to Cathay (China), North America remained uninhabited, excluding the Native American establishments. Following this discovery, Spain –along with other European nations such as France, England, Sweden and the Netherlands– soon began the expedition to the new land with vast expectations. Driven by economic, societal, and religious purposes, the New World developed into a diversely structured colonial establishment

The Europeans first came to the Americas looking for riches like gold and land. When they got here they found Native Americans along with land. According to Thomas Hariot and Christopher Columbus, the Indians were poor and easily persuaded. They thought that they could be easily influenced by European culture. Thomas Hariot said “they shoulde desire our friendships and love, and have the greater respect for pleasing and obeying us.” (2-4) Christopher Columbus said “They should be good servants and