One part of the Spanish conquest of the Americas focused on religion: on their need to convert Native Americans to the one true religion. ... Not only did the Spanish get the Native Americans to convert, they also got them to be their employees. Having the Native Americans do the work that the Spanish settlers didn't want to do. ... It wasn't a mistake that they settled in the Americas with the Native Americans. ... Spanish settlers became powerful in the Americas and were able to get the Native people to work for them and in return they taught them the proper religion. ...

• Word Count: 770
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Although Leif Eriksson is thought to have been the first to have sailed across the Atlantic, it was Columbus's triumphant return that led to the colonization of the New World by Europeans. ... These diseases--smallpox, cholera, and tuberculosis, to name only a few--ravaged the Native American population, which had no immunity to such foreign bacteria and viruses. ... Even today, many Native Americans are faced with poverty and joblessness. ...

• Word Count: 281
• Approx Pages: 1

Not only did the Spanish overwork the natives of the Canary Islands, but they also brought along a silent killer. ... The Spanish first made contacts here with the native TAINOS of the Caribbean in the summer of 1492. ... When Columbus returned to the colony La Naviad, he discovered his men were slain. ... The natives to Hispaniola were not trained in military tactics which made enslaving them quite easy. ... After near decimation of the native population on Haiti, also known as Hispaniola, the Crown replaced the ability to outright enslave the natives with a new doctrine. ...

• Word Count: 1054
• Approx Pages: 4

Columbus spoke of his willingness to return with as much gold, spices, and slaves as their Highness wished. ... The Indians, which were actually Native Americans, shared precious information with the settlers about agriculture and hunting on the land, which was crucial for survival. ... Then I try to picture what the Native Americans must have thought about the Spaniards. ... I personally feel bad for the Native Americans. ... He managed to communicate and trade with the Native Americans and helped bring more wealth and power to Spain by doing so. ...

• Word Count: 769
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

Columbus envisioned an opportunity to evangelize to the "heathen- natives, to provide another trade point with his mother country, and to learn about a vast extent of new flora and fauna, as well as fascinating cultures that were unlike anything the Old World had ever seen. ... Hernando Cortés's sole purpose for the occupation of present-day Mexico was the conquest of the native peoples. Through brutal force and deception, both conscious and unconscious, he destroyed the native tribes, making the Aztec Empire his most esteemed prize. ... The scientist in Columbus got the best of...

• Word Count: 592
• Approx Pages: 2
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Columbus returned to Spain with gold and Indians. ... Christopher told them if they didn't see land in three days, they would return home. ... Truth of the matter was he returned to Spain with little gold nuggets, the bodies of what had once been Native American men and many diseases, including syphilis. ... He called them Indians because he thought they were India's native people. ...

• Word Count: 778
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

To a Native American, his family, village and clan were the most important group. ... The Native American's didn't believe in land ownership, but instead thought of the earth as something that they could "borrow" in order to survive. ... They gave gifts with the expectation that they would get something in return. ... In my opinion, it would have been a much happier assembly of the two worlds if England had arrived first, because they would have been friendlier to the Native Americans and tried to live in peace together. ...

• Word Count: 925
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

The Americas had no immunity to these diseases and many Native American groups encountered so much death and disease that large groups of them left their current life to escape European intrusion and disease. Venereal syphilis was brought to the Europeans from returning sailors and this affected many Europeans at the time. ...

• Word Count: 1034
• Approx Pages: 4
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate