Of the numerous viewpoints of the populations in the Americas, Europe, and other areas of the world, the exploration of the Americas in the mid 1500's greatly affected our society and how we live in it today.
Without the exploration of the Americas, Europe would have never expanded, and they would have never found gold and riches to supply their needy economy. The finding of "the new world" made many severe changes in both Europe and the Americas. .
Many of the indigenous populations of the Americas were affected by the disguise of slavery. The Spanish grouped all of the natives and forced them to participate in their haciendas. They fought many battles with the native populations and disrupted their previous customs and traditions. The natives curiously and kindly welcomed the Spanish as they were planning attacks and analyzing the Indians weaponry and battle tactics. The Indians generously welcomed the Europeans because of their religious legend that some day men white men on horses would show them a new and better way of life. Some of the indigenous people were brainwashed into backstabbing their fellow people, while others were controlled under the fear of the horses and weapons.
The Queens and Kings saw the exploration as a major mining and economical breakthrough because it was said that there was a plentiful amount of gold in the "New World". In the spring of 1519 a Spanish expedition of eleven ships set sail from Cuba. On board were 508 soldiers, 16 horses, and several pieces of Artillery with Hernan Cortes as their leader. They realized that they had to conquer the indigenous populations before they could move in and expand, so they wouldn't be attacked or crowded. They tried to conquer the Indians as quickly and painlessly as possible. The local people of Europe were curious of the Americas because many explorers told exaggerated tales about how interesting "The New World" was.