How Did Columbus Change 17 Century America
Justin Cahill History 131 Professor Brazy 27 February, 2024.
15, 16, 17 century Americas Land and life in America dates way further back than Columbus’s supposed discovery, but it began with the native tribes. It is apparent and a well known fact that there were many people native to the Americas for hundreds of years before it was ever discovered by European settlers. After thoroughly reading through the chapters of Exploring American Histories, Volume One, by Nancy A. Hewitt and Steven F. Lawson, it is evident that early American settlement was built and founded on imperialism, wrongful religious conversions, discrimination and slavery, and this has been carried out for the centuries following. America as we know it is the land of the free, where it is …show more content…
Columbus quickly realized that the natives were much more advanced than he realized, and he wanted to use them to their full potential. This friendship, however, did not last for long at all and the natives stopped willingly trading with the Spanish. One of the main reasons they were seeking land was due to their desire for gold, and when the natives stopped trading, things got very ugly. They started using force to claim their riches. By the time Columbus died in 1506, he set out a system called encomienda, which granted the men on voyages full ownership over the land and the people living on it. This was the beginning of a slave labor foundation for the early settlers. Long after the Spanish invaded the Americas, the English, Dutch and French all sought out the Americas. In 1607, they permanently settled and established the small town of Jamestown. Prior to this settlement, the Virginia company was formed and King James I granted the right to claim land from present day New York to North Carolina. This is just another example of the arrogance and disregard for native culture. By the late seventeenth century, slavery was in full effect thanks to
15, 16, 17 century Americas Land and life in America dates way further back than Columbus’s supposed discovery, but it began with the native tribes. It is apparent and a well known fact that there were many people native to the Americas for hundreds of years before it was ever discovered by European settlers. After thoroughly reading through the chapters of Exploring American Histories, Volume One, by Nancy A. Hewitt and Steven F. Lawson, it is evident that early American settlement was built and founded on imperialism, wrongful religious conversions, discrimination and slavery, and this has been carried out for the centuries following. America as we know it is the land of the free, where it is …show more content…
Columbus quickly realized that the natives were much more advanced than he realized, and he wanted to use them to their full potential. This friendship, however, did not last for long at all and the natives stopped willingly trading with the Spanish. One of the main reasons they were seeking land was due to their desire for gold, and when the natives stopped trading, things got very ugly. They started using force to claim their riches. By the time Columbus died in 1506, he set out a system called encomienda, which granted the men on voyages full ownership over the land and the people living on it. This was the beginning of a slave labor foundation for the early settlers. Long after the Spanish invaded the Americas, the English, Dutch and French all sought out the Americas. In 1607, they permanently settled and established the small town of Jamestown. Prior to this settlement, the Virginia company was formed and King James I granted the right to claim land from present day New York to North Carolina. This is just another example of the arrogance and disregard for native culture. By the late seventeenth century, slavery was in full effect thanks to