How Did Spain Colonize The New World
Thinking back to Ferdinand and Isabella’s choice to colonize the New World, I believe they made the right decision. Even though I now know the terrible consequences that their decision inflicted on the native people, my position remains that colonization was worth the cost.
Columbus’ letter described the New World; Hispana like it was a place for the gods. Perhaps, in the eyes of Europeans it was a paradise. Europe was suffering from a lack of resources, polluted rivers, and overpopulated landscapes, which led to a major crisis. Spain, a once fruitful empire was starting to weaken. Discovering and conquering the new world solved Spain’s problems. The New World was vast and had many resources that Spain desperately needed. These resources included gold, metals, lumber, food, and space to grow. I can see why the King and Queen of Spain chose to colonize this new land because it essentially saved their beloved empire.
The growth of Spain’s empire was also benefitted all of Europe. Spain’s colonization led to the establishment of other European colonies such as those created by English …show more content…
inhabitants. With all these fresh colonies in the New World, the economy started booming. Trade was sent everywhere, which benefited the financial growth of other countries. Colonization led to the establishment of great cities, like Boston and New York. It may be arrogant to think that the Native Americans, if left untouched, wouldn’t have also succeeded in developing an equally prosperous country. However, I am thankful for our great nation which would likely look very different had Spain and other European countries not ventured into the new world.
While the Europeans thrived, the Native Americans began to wither.
The Europeans, unaware, brought disease into the New World to which the Native Americans lacked immunity. James Lockhart’s excerpt from “We People Here: Nahuatl Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico”, described how bad the conditions were for the Native Americans who developed smallpox. Lockhart described how no one took care of one another for fear of catching the disease and how the victims suffered terribly. In defense of the Europeans, although they were land hungry, they didn’t mean to purposely kill masses of Native Americans. Columbus even includes in his letter to the King and Queen his positive impressions of the Natives and how he was optimistic that they could be converted to Christianity and develop loyalty to Spain. It sounded as if his intention was to use the Natives, but not to abuse
them.
Antonio de Montesinos’ sermon given after Spain’s colonization of the New World condemns the Spaniards for oppressing the Natives and treating them as if they were subhuman. De Montesinos voices his disgust that oppression of this land defies Christian beliefs. Although he may be accurate, throughout history, expansion of empires often led to enslavement of the conquered people. Spain was simply repeating a common historical pattern which is that the growth of one empire often means loss to another. It is naive to think the new world would have remained untouched if not for Spain. If Spain hadn’t laid claim to the new land, undoubtedly another nation would have done so. There were simply too countries in search of new territories and the New World had many riches and the Natives were initially trusting and vulnerable to manipulation.
Placed in the shoes of Ferdinand and Isabella and faced with the decision to colonize the New World, they lacked the hindsight that I possess regarding the harmful consequences of their colonization. Yet, even with this knowledge, I would still make the same decision to colonize the New World. It provided the needed resources for a vast empire to grow into the nation we know today, albeit at the expense of Native Americans. Although I regret that the conquering of the New World was not conducted in a more civilized manner, I can see why Spain and other European nations made the choices they did. I appreciate that we have all benefited by this initial colonization because it developed into our great nation today.
Columbus’ letter described the New World; Hispana like it was a place for the gods. Perhaps, in the eyes of Europeans it was a paradise. Europe was suffering from a lack of resources, polluted rivers, and overpopulated landscapes, which led to a major crisis. Spain, a once fruitful empire was starting to weaken. Discovering and conquering the new world solved Spain’s problems. The New World was vast and had many resources that Spain desperately needed. These resources included gold, metals, lumber, food, and space to grow. I can see why the King and Queen of Spain chose to colonize this new land because it essentially saved their beloved empire.
The growth of Spain’s empire was also benefitted all of Europe. Spain’s colonization led to the establishment of other European colonies such as those created by English …show more content…
inhabitants. With all these fresh colonies in the New World, the economy started booming. Trade was sent everywhere, which benefited the financial growth of other countries. Colonization led to the establishment of great cities, like Boston and New York. It may be arrogant to think that the Native Americans, if left untouched, wouldn’t have also succeeded in developing an equally prosperous country. However, I am thankful for our great nation which would likely look very different had Spain and other European countries not ventured into the new world.
While the Europeans thrived, the Native Americans began to wither.
The Europeans, unaware, brought disease into the New World to which the Native Americans lacked immunity. James Lockhart’s excerpt from “We People Here: Nahuatl Accounts of the Conquest of Mexico”, described how bad the conditions were for the Native Americans who developed smallpox. Lockhart described how no one took care of one another for fear of catching the disease and how the victims suffered terribly. In defense of the Europeans, although they were land hungry, they didn’t mean to purposely kill masses of Native Americans. Columbus even includes in his letter to the King and Queen his positive impressions of the Natives and how he was optimistic that they could be converted to Christianity and develop loyalty to Spain. It sounded as if his intention was to use the Natives, but not to abuse
them.
Antonio de Montesinos’ sermon given after Spain’s colonization of the New World condemns the Spaniards for oppressing the Natives and treating them as if they were subhuman. De Montesinos voices his disgust that oppression of this land defies Christian beliefs. Although he may be accurate, throughout history, expansion of empires often led to enslavement of the conquered people. Spain was simply repeating a common historical pattern which is that the growth of one empire often means loss to another. It is naive to think the new world would have remained untouched if not for Spain. If Spain hadn’t laid claim to the new land, undoubtedly another nation would have done so. There were simply too countries in search of new territories and the New World had many riches and the Natives were initially trusting and vulnerable to manipulation.
Placed in the shoes of Ferdinand and Isabella and faced with the decision to colonize the New World, they lacked the hindsight that I possess regarding the harmful consequences of their colonization. Yet, even with this knowledge, I would still make the same decision to colonize the New World. It provided the needed resources for a vast empire to grow into the nation we know today, albeit at the expense of Native Americans. Although I regret that the conquering of the New World was not conducted in a more civilized manner, I can see why Spain and other European nations made the choices they did. I appreciate that we have all benefited by this initial colonization because it developed into our great nation today.