American Imperialism In The Caribbean

Most people today consider the Caribbean to be an ideal vacationer’s destination. With its warm climate, beautiful beaches, plentiful and unique wildlife ecosystems, diverse background and plentiful luxury resorts. But if you step away from this, a very different reality is uncovered. Sugar cane and plantation ruins serve as reminders of a much darker history. In the following essay, I will be examining the European colonization of the Caribbean, along with the factors that were present in the Caribbean which played a part in the formation of the diverse culture that is present today. While on his journey to find India, Japan and China in 1494, Christopher Columbus arrived in the Bahamas, his first contact point in the Caribbean.
They were forced to convert to Christianity, and the practice of their religion was now prohibited. They were not familiar with the plethora of diseases that the Spanish brought with them, so their immune systems weren’t developed enough to handle them. As a result, many of them died from diseases like Smallpox, Measles, Influenza, Malaria, Tetanus and Lyme Disease. The Spanish frequently raped Taino women – it was one their primary mans of asserting their dominion. This led to the spread of Sexually Transmitted Diseases like Syphillis and Gonorrhea and since they were previously nonexistent in Taino population, once again their immune systems could not handle these new diseases and they perished. Another means of asserting control over their subjects was intermarriage, with some of the Spanish men marrying Taino women. This led to the mixing of the both races and the creation of the mestizo; children of European and Indigenous blood. As they were now forced to farm for the Spaniards, they were unable to do so for themselves and many developed protein definciencies. Malnourished and not used to the heavy work that they were now forced into and malnourish, many died from being overworked. Desperate to escape their hellish new circumstances, many committed
They were called the Interlopers and like the Spanish, they were motivated by the prospect of gold, glory, spreading Christianity and the expansion of their empires. These interlopers posed various threats to the Spanish in the forms of piracy, privateering, buccaneering and eventually settlement. Piracy and privateering were first and foremost attempts to break the Spanish monopoly. Piracy was any unauthorized attack and robbery of ships, with attacks on ports and port towns not out of the question. Pirates attacked indiscriminately, so most were quite wary of them. Conversely, privateering was government sanctioned plundering of ships, in addition raids on coastal areas which were past territorial limits established by treaties. So in wartime, privateers were granted authorization to attack ships from rival countries. This authorization was reciprocated by giving a share of the loot to the relevant authorities. Buccaneers were fundamentally pirates, on Spanish merchant vessels. In between attacking vessels, they would hunt cattle on Hispaniola, dry the meat and sell it to passing ships. The meat they caught was smoked over a slow fire in little huts the French called boucanes to make viande boucanée – jerked meat, or jerky. This practice earned them the name boucaniers which was anglicised to buccaneers. With