The process of colonizing North America transpired quickly between 1492 and 1620 with an increasing number of settlers arriving in bigger groups after 1600. As more Europeans arrived in the region, demand for land escalated. Eventually, the invaders displaced Native Americans onto reservations as the newcomers established their own settlements and towns.
What Event Triggered European Migration to the Americas?
European settlers began to move to the Americas following the discovery of the region by Christopher Columbus. Columbus set foot in the Americas on October 12, 1492. His expeditions to the Americas and Caribbean islands between 1492 and 1504 are considered to have introduced the so-called New World to Europeans.
At the time, Columbus sought a new maritime passage to Asia after the main overland trade routes (the Silk Road) were blocked by the Ottoman Empire in 1453. The event triggered what historians term as the Age of Discovery. Columbus navigated under the auspices of Spain which also sought new productive territories to conquer. The venture resulted in the Spanish Conquest of Central and South America which occurred throughout the 1500s.
What Effects Did Europeans Have on Native Communities in the Americas?
Get the latest articles delivered to your inbox
Sign up to our Free Weekly NewsletterAs Europeans ventured beyond exploration and started residing in the Americas, they introduced significant changes to nearly every part of the land and its inhabitants. In regions where they established colonies, societies were segregated and fragmented into ethnicities. For example, many indigenous people in the Americas endured subjugation. A considerable number of them also worked as servants or slaves under their European colonial masters.
Once the Europeans subdued the native Americans, they established an economic framework that predominantly depended on the cultivation of cash crops such as tobacco and sugar. The model compelled the Europeans to increasingly depend on slaves.
What Factors Compelled Europeans in the Americas to Seek African Slaves?
The extraordinary demand for inexpensive labor forced Europeans in the Americas to procure slaves from Africa. After 1600, the movement of African slaves across the Atlantic Ocean increased significantly. In order to efficiently oversee the entire operation, the British Crown authorized the Royal African Company to transport African slaves to British colonies in 1672. Over the next four decades, the company transported approximately 350,000 Africans from their native lands.
By the end of the 1600s, millions of African slaves had been brought to the Americas to provide cheap labor. It is important to note that although Africans had long practiced slavery among their own people, it was not predicated on race. Many people enslaved by other Africans were usually war captives and those incarcerated for crimes. Thus, the newly introduced form of enslavement incorporated a racial element that persisted for centuries afterwards.
How Did Colonialism Affect the Environment in the Americas?
Europeans within America transformed the land significantly and the changes that they introduced harmed the environment and wildlife. For example, beaver populations fell after European settlers conquered the Americas because the invaders greatly favored beaver hats.
The European invaders additionally introduced their own land ownership systems based on the concept of private property. The settlers appropriated territories taken from the natives, erected fences, and established their own communities. Before their invasion, many native societies believed in communal land ownership and migrated across various regions at different times of the year. After the incursion of European settlers, they were unable to traverse regions as liberally as they did before as the settlers seized vast swathes of their territory.
What Diseases Did European Colonialists Introduce to the Americas?
Among the biggest problems that Native Americans faced following the influx of European settlers was the introduction of new diseases. Many natives lacked immunity against the novel ailments and so many of them fell ill and perished after contracting them. The diseases included smallpox, influenza, and pneumonia. It is estimated that between 50 and 90 percent of the indigenous population was eradicated in some areas in the initial years. The young and the elderly were the most affected.
The disease also triggered social strife as some Native American communities believed that the illnesses were brought on by angered gods. Therefore, they engaged in conflicts with other tribes to gain captives to be used in ritual ceremonies to mollify the gods. The conflicts were referred to as the mourning wars.
