...European Colonization of the Americas European Colonization of the Americas As students, many individuals are taught of the history and details regarding the discovery and colonization of the American continent. References to European explorers are often provided, stressing that the discoveries and connection between the American continent and the rest of the world were as a direct result of European expansion and ingenuity. Based on investigations completed that detail the previous inhabitation and identification of the American continent by people outside of the East, this is found to be inaccurate. In the following paragraphs, details concerning the colonization of the American continent will be provided. Details regarding the cultures of the continent’s inhabitants prior to the arrival of the European explorers will be included, providing the reader with a baseline by which to compare the continent’s change after the colonization. Additionally, details regarding the motivation of European countries are presented. Information regarding the Spanish and English motivations are provided as well, providing a detailed insight into the specific governments driving the expansion and exploration. North American Cultures Prior to the arrival of the European colonists on the American continents, people had already inhabited the continent for more...
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...kept the English motivated to expand. Europeans set out on a cycle of overseas voyages that would lead to the organization of European trading posts and colonies in both the Americas and the East. Colonialism is defined as a structure in a colony with a specific linkage; meaning economic, political, cultural, and social ideologies. The colonies linked England to the United States. England, being the mother country, also had a very important role play. The mother country was responsible for providing money for supplies for voyages such as ships, food, soldiers, and weapons etc. Also, England was responsible for the processing and manufacturing of raw materials. Settlers of the colonies needed markets to sell their goods and labor. They also needed a source of labor for the production of raw materials. This new labor force was made up of Native Americans, indentured servants (white slaves who served terms of up to seven years as slaves), and Africans. Columbus and his crew stated that when they arrived in the Americas they found Africans already there. In 1502, the Spanish were the first Europeans to enslave Africans in the Americas. Yet the local population died from European diseases like smallpox and from overwork. Thus in 1502, ten years after Columbus' landing, the Spanish brought the first African slaves to Cuba from West Africa to replace Indian slaves who were dying out. This began the trans-Atlantic slave deal between West Africa and the Americas and the ...
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...SPANISH EXPLORATION FROM THE ENGLISH EXPLORATION Sean Kazmierski HIEU 201 6 December 2015 Introduction Evidence of the earliest travel by European explorers into the ‘new world’ can be traced back to 1000AD. It began with the Vikings sailing from their native land in the British Isles to Greenland where they created a colony. Later, they left Greenland for North America where they saw virgin land with exotic plants, animal species, and indigenous people[1]. The Vikings returned home with stories about the marvels of the places they had visited, but their home authorities lacked the will power or the resources to make a follow-up on these explorations. As a result, European states continued to make commerce across the Mediterranean Sea with North Africa for many years that followed. Research has shown that the methods and motivations of exploration were unique from one state to the other. As Europeans continued their explorations, we will examine the similarities and differences on how the Spanish (1492-1548) and English (1584-1648) conducted their exploration and expansion. Comparison Between the British and Spanish in North America The first Spanish to arrive in America was Hernan Cortes in 1519. He did the groundwork for the creation of the Spanish colony. In 1607, Christopher Newport set foot in what would later become Jamestown, laying the foundation of the British Empire in North America. Explorers, such as Christopher...
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...arrival of European explorers and colonies. Was this interaction more harmful or beneficial to both Europeans and Native Americans? The cultural interactions between the Europeans and the Native Americans were ultimately destructive for the natives, but overall beneficial for the Europeans. It is clearly stated in many history books that the European diseases brought over to the Americas decimated much of the native population. This dramatic loss of population affected the natives willingness to resist European assimilation, and thus contributed to the loss of many native cultures but a blending of European and native cultures. Furthermore, the natives were often...
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...places of settlement. The adventuring movements of communities across the world brought about acquisition of property, resources and territories that later converted to the states and the countries under currently existing geographical boundaries. This effect culminated in more aggression in the movement and acquisition of territories that later turned out to be colonized. During the pre-colonial era, communities under the leadership of ethnic chiefs controlled tribes and extracted resources that were only within their territories. More land was unoccupied thus attracting other foreign immigrants who, moved in search of better resources and experiences. It is in the spirit of discovery and colonization, this article puts into perspective the development of a new state of Virginia in America. Precisely at Jamestown, as it is told through a film called “The New World”, directed by Terrence Mallick, and a story book called “The General History of Virginia, New England, and The Summer Isles”, by Smith (pg.57-69). This article analyses the two sources, the film and the book as their stories are related by both explaining the discovery and development of Jamestown and Virginia. This region has been captured in these two sources as a new territory that was conquered by the actor, John Smith as a captain of a ship and navy that sailed to Virginia in the 17th century (pg.57-69). The book “The General History of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles”, by Mr. John Smith. John Smith...
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...American History up to 1875 Name Course Instructor Date American History up to 1875 The American history records tremendous changes that define the journey taken in shaping what the country looks like today. The Indian-European conflict was common in the 17th Century in the North America. The issue of slavery got intense and many Indians fell in the hands of the European. Slaves were mistreated, overworked, and tortured to an extent of them dying at the farms. The introduction of Christianity by the Europeans meant that the Indians had to do away with their old fashioned ways of worship. The Indians and the European immigrants had different religion and beliefs that had to be unified for a common existence. The interaction between people of different races, religions and beliefs has been a great aspect of the American history. It was until later in the 20th century that European exploration and colonization of America that brought change in how the Old and New Worlds interacted. The settlement of the Indians in America was a vital mark in the development of native culture. The Indians established their lifestyle blended with rich culture and religion. The Indians on the East Coast had a more civilized life and well-established trade systems. The first encounter between the Europeans and the native Indians took place in the 1500s.[1] The Europeans discovered America as they engaged in fishing of whales and other sea exploration...
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...where the English language originated from? What languages does English have its foundations in? English words have their roots in many different languages. Among them are Latin, German, and French. The French language in particular has had a great impact on American Standard English. Countless words and phrases in the English language that we use today have their seeds in French. The Norman invasion of England in 1066 was the beginning of the French impact on the English language. (Cactus World Wide Inc.). Norman French became the official language there for the next three centuries. During this time, Old English had almost disappeared, however, Norman French soon became Anglo-Norman as it had been impacted by English. This became known as the transition from Old English to Middle English. Over 10,000 French words found their way into the English language and over three-fourths of these words are still used today. (Cactus World Wide Inc.). Some of the most popular words and phrases borrowed from the French language are beef (from French boeuf), joy (from French ryjoui), and on the menu (from French à la carte). (About.com). About thirty percent of all English words come from French according to Wikipedia. Wikipedia also notes that there are around 80,000 English words taken from French. French colonization in North America spread rapidly in late seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. During the French-Indian War, French was already quite popular in Colonial America and even...
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...Throughout the American history, there have been diverse peoples who had once taken root or still existing in this country. Among those people, Spanish and English colonization had played important roles in shaping today’s America. In fact, beginning in the 1400s, European countries had been searching for sea routes to reach Asia. In 1492, Christopher Columbus, an Italian navigator, sailed west and believed that he had found China, which was actually Cuba. Although Columbus did not find the passage to Asia successfully, his discovery of America marked as a start of Spanish exploration in America and changed the history of the United States. England, another European country which later colonized America, showed little interest in the exploration...
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...Urban Indian North America Mourning Wars – When Europeans came over and started interaction and trades with Indians, they affected Indians by brought diseases, which resulted in deaths of large amounts of Indians. Those deaths were devastating for Indians and resulted in mourning wars. When Indian communities lost members to disease or warfare, they often kidnapped neighboring enemies in mourning wars, adopting the women and children into their own community and torturing the men, enacting a ritual form of grief. As an example of a mourning war might be “Beavers Wars” (17 century - about 1640). The smallpox brought by Dutch and English killed huge amounts of Indians ( probably more than a half of the population of Iroquois). The lost of such a big amount of people set the Iroquois with other tribes on a warpath and resulted in a war between Huron and Iroquois. Columbian Exchange – when Christopher Columbus discovered the Americas it set in motion a movement of people between Old and New World. Europeans got interested in Americas and its goods. Columbian exchange was a transfer of people, plants, animals, and disease between the Americas and the rest of the world that began during the time of Columbus ( XV century- about 1493). The Columbian Exchange had an impact on European and Indian life. Many unknown goods were exchanged between colonialists and Indians, such as plans (corn, potatoes), animals (ships, lamas, horses), tools (weapons), which changed life for...
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...An important red-letter day in the history of America was the day England defeated the Spanish Armada in the English Channel. This event strengthened England’s confidence and marked the beginning of the end of Spain’s imperialism. While previously Spain was a dominant force of colonization and exploration, England finally began to gear up for an even more successful and lasting conquest of the Americas. England’s new sense of confidence, unity, and preparedness set the stage for colonization of what would eventually be the United States. The settlers of Jamestown had a difficult start in the New World. The settlers, mostly noble “gentlemen”, spent their time searching for gold instead of building shelter or looking for food. As a result,...
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...people. The first were the Natives to the land who believed in utilizing every resource they had available to them. The newcomers to the land, Europeans, were coming to ravish the land for its precious metals and luxurious furs. A full time settlement soon became necessary to extract the maximum amount of wealth from the land. The Europeans first colony, Roanoke, served as a test of whether or not this was a realistic goal. Roanoke was first established in 1585 with little provisions leading to an exodus back to England just one year later. A second wave of brave men was sent back in 1587 under the direction of John White. White soon left the colonists to fend for themselves and returned to England and the 110 brave men were never heard from again. When the settlement was checked on three years later only writings of problems with supplies and threats from the natives were found. Many things could have caused the colony to fail but there was one certain way to prevent that end was to learn from those who had lived there for thousands of years and respect their wishes. Although, there was a large cultural barrier between Colonists and Native Americans, peaceful interactions were necessary because both parties would benefit from sharing skills for utilizing land and resources for day-to-day purposes, increasing political power within America, and establishment of rich cross cultural commerce. Everyday skills and techniques differed greatly between the Natives and Europeans. If the...
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...The New World known today as America is a product of the meeting of two worlds, two different social, political and economic environments. America remained hidden for thousands of years and unknown to European explorers. Its discovery consisted of a clash of cultures, languages, traditions and history. Although they bear a similarity as they were both initially sponsored by monarchs in search of the Northwest Passage, the differences between the Spanish (1492 – 1548) and English (1584-1648) explorations are very clear. During the XV century the first marine expeditions that allowed having a better understanding of the world, were made. The major European explorers that were part of the Spanish and English explorations were Christopher Columbus, John Cabot, Nunez Balboa, Ferdinand Magellan, Juan Ponce De Leon, Hernan Cortes, Francisco Pizarro, Hernando De Soto, Francisco Coronado, and Sir Francis Drake. An important similarity on the explorations was that they were in search of the Northwest Passage , a route that the Far East could be achieved (India) from Europe traveling to the west. Other similarities included are the first voyages were made by Italian explorers and sponsored by monarchs. Christopher Columbus and John Cabot were from Italy. Columbus’ voyages were approved by Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile of Spain. John Cabot received approval by Henry VII of England. These are the similarities, but now we will see how clear the differences were. ...
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...Europeans saw themselves as a dominant race. Disapproving of the Native Americans and viewing them as barbaric, uncivilized, and rude. Europeans questioned whether to conquer or educate the Native Americans towards a more civilized ways. However, not all Europeans had this view of the Native Americans, some believe that they should be treated equal to the Europeans, they did not see the Natives as a threat. This lead to the question whether to conquer or civilize. Many believe that Christopher Columbus is the one who discovered the Americas. These misleading actualizations are not believed to be necessarily true. Native Americans, the people in America before Europeans, had set up a civilization...
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...Section One—short answer The mayflower compact During the sixteenth century, English Calvinists led a Protestant movement called Puritanism in England. Its name was derived from its adherents’ desire to purify the Anglican church of Roman Catholic Practices. English monarchs of the early seventeenth century persecuted the puritans, and so the puritans began to look for a new place to practice their faith. One puritan group, called Separatist, because they thought the Church of England was so incapable of being reformed that they had to abandon it, left England around this time. First they went to the Netherlands, but ultimately decided to start fresh in the new world. In 1620 they set sail, but their ship, the mayflower, went off course and they landed in modern-day Massachusetts. Because winter was approaching, they deiced to settle where they had landed. This settlement was called Plymouth, while on boards...
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...respective quizzes Native Americans (Read this for quiz 1) “ The First Americans” (Not a link…go to the assigned website) European Society (Read this for quiz 1) Colonial Era/Exploration and Discovery The Significance of 1492 European Commercial and Financial Expansion Slavery and Spanish Colonization The Meaning of America The Black Legend Colonial Era/17th Century (Read below for quiz 1) European Colonization North of Mexico Spanish Colonization English Settlement Colonial Era/17 century (Read below for quiz 2) English Colonization Begins Life in Early Virginia Slavery Takes Root in Colonial Virginia Founding New England The Puritans The Puritan Idea of the Covenant Regional Contrasts Dimensions of Change in Colonial New England The Salem Witch Scare Slavery in the Colonial North Struggles for Power in Colonial America Diversity in Colonial America The Middle Colonies: New York Fear of Slave Revolts The Middle Colonies: William Penn’s Holy Commonwealth The Southernmost Colonies: The Carolinas and Georgia Colonial Administration (Read below for quiz 2) No readings th Road to Revolution (Read for quiz 3) Colonial America/18th Century The The The The The The Emergence of New Ideas about Personal Liberties and Constitutional Rights Great Awakening Seven Years’ War Rise of Antislavery Sentiment Fate of Native Americans Road to Revolution American Revolution (Read for quiz 3) Entire Chapter on American Revolution Introduction Why should we care about the American Revolution? Why...
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