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Conquests in the Americas. World History. What do you know about Columbus?. Columbus. Christopher Columbus Born in Genoa, Italy Died in 1506 around age 54. Buried in Seville, Spain.
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Conquests in the Americas World History
Columbus • Christopher Columbus • Born in Genoa, Italy • Died in 1506 around age 54. Buried in Seville, Spain. • Voyages led to lasting European contact with the Americas (important development in the history of the Western world). • No known authentic portraits of Columbus in existence.
Prior to Columbus • Some European nations had already been exploring Africa and the Far-East (China). • Money (gold), goods, and trade were the key driving force behind most of these voyages. • Now that most of the East had been explored, Europe started to look West.
Columbus • Columbus intended to find the East Indies trade route. • Departed from Spain on August 3, 1492 and reached the Caribbean on October 12, 1492. • He called the natives on the island Los Indios, which means Indians. This name would come to apply to all native Americans. They were actually the Taino tribe.
Columbus • He claimed the land for Spain, even though people already lived there. Named first island San Salvador (Holy Land). • Continued travel to other islands in the area and did the same thing. • Immediately started looking for gold and other riches to bring back to Spain. • On his second trip to the Americas, he brought 17 ships, armed soldiers, and 1000 settlers. Spain intended to colonize the Americas now, not just explore them.
Stuff You May Not Know about Columbus • Historians believe that he wasn’t even the first European to find N. America. Evidence suggests that Vikings (Leif Erickson) or even the Chinese may have come to America before him. • When Columbus reached Haiti, he found the Arawak tribe had spear points made of a metal alloy called guanine. They told Columbus they got the metals from black traders who came from the East. What would this mean? • Columbus was actually arrested and dismissed by the Spanish government in 1500 because of disagreements over colonial appointments. • Columbus died with the title “Admiral of the Ocean Sea.” His descendants carry this title today.
Columbus’ Legacy • He introduced two important things on his second voyage. • The taking of land, wealth, and labor from inhabitants. • The trans-Atlantic slave trade. -On his first trip back to Spain, he kidnapped 25 natives. 8 survived the trip. He also brought large amounts of gold, which bought him favor from Queen Isabella and further trips. -When he came to Haiti for a second time, he demanded food, gold, and cotton. He had them pay tributes in precious metals or cotton every three months. -He punished those who didn’t cooperate by having their hands, ears or nose cut off. -After a while, the Arawak tribe started to resist by abandoning towns and refusing to plant food for the Spanish. This gave Columbus an excuse to make war on the Arawaks. -He had trouble finding gold, so he started capturing slaves by the thousands. -Created a racial underclass.
Columbus’ Legacy • Spanish disrupted the ecosystem and culture of native tribes. • They had to work in mines rather than farm and they gave food to the Spanish. This led to severe malnutrition. • Introduction of new animals brought diseases such as the swine flu. Influenza and smallpox were also prevalent. • Pre-Columbian Haiti population was around 8 million. In 1496 there were 1.1 million. By 1516 only 12,000 natives remained and by 1555 the entire native Haitian population had been wiped out. • Other nations emulated Columbus’ slave trade. As American natives started to die off they had to look elsewhere. Where do you think they looked to? • While Columbus’ voyages weren’t so much a true discovery, they were a meeting of three different cultures.
Other Explorers • Pedro Alvarez (Portugal) claimed what is now Brazil • Amerigo Vespucci (Italy) explored the eastern coast of S. America. In 1507 a German mapmaker named the continent after him. • Vasco Nunez de Balboa (Spain) explored what is now Panama and made it to the Pacific Ocean. • Ferdinand Magellan (Portugal) became first European to extensively explore the Pacific. He was killed in the Philippines during a local war. The trip lasted from 1519 to 1522. 18 out of 230 men made it back. They are thought to be the first to sail around the world.
Spanish Empire • Nations began to leave colonies, or lands controlled by another nation. • 1519 Hernando Cortes (Spain) came to Mexico. Caribbean islands had already been colonized, and the Spanish now looked towards the American mainland. • Spanish explorers were called conquistadors (conquerors). • Cortes set out to conquer the Aztecs and their ruler Montezuma II with a force of 600 men. • He forced the Aztecs to mine for gold and silver. “a disease of the heart only gold can cure.”-Cortes • In 1520, the Aztecs revolted and forced the Spanish out. • Cortes eventually conquered the Aztecs a year later due to superior weaponry, dissatisfied Aztec natives, and disease. • Francisco Pizzaro (Spain) conquered the Inca in 1532 with 30,000 men. They kidnapped the Inca king Atahualpa and asked for a ransom of gold and silver. After they received the ransom, they strangled the king.
Spain • Spanish began encomienda system. Natives were forced to farm, ranch, or mine for Spanish landlords. • Juan Ponce de Leon explored modern day Florida in 1513. Associated with the legend of the fountain of youth. Died from a poisoned arrow. • Francisco Vasquez de Coronado explored Arizona and parts of the Midwest in 1540.
More Exploration • Giovanni daVerrazzano (Italy) discovered what is now New York in 1524. • French established colony in Quebec and Louisiana. • Fur trade started to thrive for the French. Beavers were almost extinct in Europe, but were plentiful in America. • Roanoke Colony established by England in 1585, later became the “Lost Colony.” • England established Jamestown colony in 1607. They struggled mightily against the natives and faced starvation. Farmers eventually learned how to grow tobacco, which became a profitable crop. Jamestown eventually recovered. • Pilgrims founded Plymouth colony in 1620. Puritans came in 1628. Both groups sought religious freedom.
Looking Ahead - French and Indian War • Between England and France over competing land claims. 1754-1763. • Indian tribes were aligned with the French against the English. • England won and France had to give up most of it’s colonial holdings in the eastern half of America. • British taxation on its colonies in order to pay for the war would lead to future conflict.
