T HE C ONQUEST OF THE N EW W ORLD Europeans and the peoples of North and South America

W HY DID THE E UROPEANS TRAVEL TO THE NEW W ORLD ? PART 1 Wealth The Europeans were motivated by personal wealth and increased wealth for their nations However, exploration was very expensive (ships, crews, supplies) and explorers were required to pay back the enormous amount of money they were given. This caused these explorers to be ruthless in their search for wealth

W HY DID THE E UROPEANS TRAVEL TO THE NEW W ORLD ? PART 2 Salvation The Papal Bull commanded that all people be ruled by Christian kings and the all efforts be made to convert the natives to Christianity This gave explorers the “Moral Authority,” to colonize foreign lands, suppress native governments & traditions and treat natives as inferiors Natives who did not easily convert to Christianity were often tortured or killed Christianity also became a convenient excuse for those seeking wealth and power. They can kill and exploit, while justifying there actions by saying they are doing “God’s Work”

H OW WERE THE E UROPEANS R ECEIVED ? Each society greeted the Europeans in different ways However, in general, the Europeans were treated extremely well and were welcomed by the people they met In fact, some natives (Aztecs and others) treated the Europeans like Gods

T HE E FFECTS OF E UROPEAN EXPLORATION AND C OLONIZATION Although most interactions were friendly at first, the European influence on natives was disastrous In most cases, Europeans did terrible damage to whatever civilization they encountered In many cases, entire nations of people were destroyed or entire civilizations crushed The most damaging effect was unintentional, The Europeans carried new diseases that natives did not have anti-bodies to combat. Therefore, many forms of bacteria and viruses that had little effect on Europeans were deadly to natives. Epidemics started in most points of contact. Thousands died. These diseases helped the Europeans in their efforts to overcome Native populations

C HRISTOPHER C OLUMBUS S PAIN Created plantations based on slave labour Hunted natives for sport Completely destroyed the Taino peoples of present day Haiti and the Dominican republic However, there are some who believe that the Taino survived and are the ancestors of present day Porto Ricans and Domenicans

F RANCISCO P IZZARO S PAIN First contact with the Incas (an advanced civilization in modern day peru) He and his “Conquisadors” (100 soldiers and 60 horseman) attacked and Incan army which offered no resisitance 7000 incans were killed He took the Incan king hostage and received 13,000 lbs of gold and 26,000 lbs of silver in ransom. He killed the king anyway Pizzaro and those who followed quickly took control of the entire empire which was being destroyed by desease

H ERNAN C ORTEZ SPAIN Cortez made contact with the Aztecs of modern day Mexico He and his conquistadors attacked Tenochtitlan and failed. He eventually surrounded the city (which was an island in the middle of a lake) and refused to allow food inside The Aztecs were defeated by starvation and disease

T HE N EED F OR S LAVES Disease and warfare were destroying the peoples of North and South America At the same time, Europeans were requiring more people to work on their plantations and mines Therefore, the Europeans turned to slaves for the required labour There were indentured servants taken to the new world but they could not fulfill they requirements Europeans obtained Slaves from Western Africa (where slave trading was already common) At first, slaves were mostly criminals, prisoners of war or people sold by their families However, because European demand was so high, the number of African slave traders increased and most victims were simply kidnapped Again, the Europeans justified their actins by claiming they had saved these people (by exposing them to Jesus) Often boat loads of slaves were forcibly baptized

S UMMARY Europeans were motivated by concept of salvation and finding new wealth Europeans devastated the people they encountered Disease and warfare often wiped out entire civilizations Columbus, Pizzaro and Cortez are famous examples of the brutality of the first explorers The Columbian exchange was the trade of goods between the new world and old The opening of plantations and mines in the new world facilitated the need for a massive number of slaves