1492: Europe Meets The New World
Europe Meets the New World
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Everyone knows this phrase, but that was just the beginning of a very complex story. Europe was all unified under the Roman Catholic Church. For years Columbus tried to convince the King of Portugal to support him in his idea for an easier western route to the Indies but he was turned down, so he looked elsewhere. Finally, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to sponsor the voyage because they thought it would create an opportunity for more dominance over Portugal and a chance to spread Christianity. When Spain and Portugal cannot maintain a civil relationship, the Pope engaged in the situation and created territory boundaries between the two. Sent by the Spanish monarchs, Columbus went on a journey to find a passageway to the west Indies in the search for access to the Muslim’s spices and silk. Columbus was mistaken about the distance, and he discovered what he thought was India, but it was actually what we know today as the Caribbean Islands and South America.
On his first trip Columbus came across the indigenous, friendly Taino tribe on the Caribbean islands. Columbus considered these natives to be Indians since he thought …show more content…
They wanted to connect with the natives to form a trade system. The natives gained access to the European goods and the French gained access to the native goods. The French were very interested in fur and would trade for it, with the natives, using their valuable products. This was known as the fur trade. In order to help bolster the trade, the French treated the natives fairly and learned the languages and cultures of the people. They had much respect for one another and often married and had children together. Still although everything seemed to be going alright, disease was still a big factor and was wiping out many of the non-immune
In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Everyone knows this phrase, but that was just the beginning of a very complex story. Europe was all unified under the Roman Catholic Church. For years Columbus tried to convince the King of Portugal to support him in his idea for an easier western route to the Indies but he was turned down, so he looked elsewhere. Finally, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to sponsor the voyage because they thought it would create an opportunity for more dominance over Portugal and a chance to spread Christianity. When Spain and Portugal cannot maintain a civil relationship, the Pope engaged in the situation and created territory boundaries between the two. Sent by the Spanish monarchs, Columbus went on a journey to find a passageway to the west Indies in the search for access to the Muslim’s spices and silk. Columbus was mistaken about the distance, and he discovered what he thought was India, but it was actually what we know today as the Caribbean Islands and South America.
On his first trip Columbus came across the indigenous, friendly Taino tribe on the Caribbean islands. Columbus considered these natives to be Indians since he thought …show more content…
They wanted to connect with the natives to form a trade system. The natives gained access to the European goods and the French gained access to the native goods. The French were very interested in fur and would trade for it, with the natives, using their valuable products. This was known as the fur trade. In order to help bolster the trade, the French treated the natives fairly and learned the languages and cultures of the people. They had much respect for one another and often married and had children together. Still although everything seemed to be going alright, disease was still a big factor and was wiping out many of the non-immune