Conquest of New World

Conquest of New World

Columbus discovered a route to the New World in 1492. His exploration triggered a chain of events that altered the course of world history. Columbus journey back to Spain and his narratives about the New World initiated discussions about the possibility of a conquest (Best 9). During the following years, European powers sought to dominate the new world and to tap into the available resources. A global market emerged for the first time in history.

Riches

            People of the New World dreamt of wealth and riches in the New World. The initial goal for European explorers was to locate a trans-Atlantic sea route to the booming Asian markets. However, Columbus’ miscalculation of earth’s circumference was a turning point. A whole new world (North and South America) was available for conquest and exploitation. Stakes were higher when the Europeans from Spain and Portugal made a maiden sail across virgin seas, uncharted before. The majority of the explorers died from exposure, disease, and starvation. Shipwrecks were also common due to the underestimation of sail distance. However, it was worth the risk because the potential of wealth accumulation in the new lands was enormous.

Portuguese and Spanish arrival to the Americas led to a search for fertile lands and precious metals. Use of slave labor was rampant in the New World, hence the locals became victims. Christopher Columbus and other Spanish settlers, for instance, relocated to the Haiti and the Dominican Republic (then referred to as Hispaniola). They enslaved Taino people and subdivided the cultivable land among themselves.  During the year 1519, Hernan Cortez sought Aztec gold in Mexico. Emperor Montezuma was welcoming to the Europeans but was later kidnapped by Cortez for ransom. Cortez, a Spaniard, killed the emperor after Aztec nobles delivered the treasure. In addition, he killed other rulers in Mexico so that he can ascend to power and rule over the indigenous communities. Old World explorers set up colonial regimes to control and exploit natives and to take over the land ownership.

Old World Technology

The success of Portuguese and Spaniards in conquering the new world was possible because of cutting-edge technology on navigation and sailing. They utilized this advancement to explore and reach the Caribbean, North, and South America. Cortez defeated Aztec Empire with a few soldiers. This is attributable to the European technological know-how and capabilities. The aboriginals could hardly launch a befitting response to firearms and cannons. Besides, use of horses in the battlefield was new to the Mexican natives (Best, 4).

Literacy

By 15^th Century, Europe had established itself as a civilized empire with remarkable levels of literacy.  On the other hand, the original inhabitants of the new world led a nomadic, traditional, and illiterate lifestyle. As such, the European explorers used their literacy to record the navigation channels and disseminated the information to young generations on their conquest. However, the old world navigators spelled doom to the indigenous Americans through the introduction of deadly diseases.

Native Americans did not explore the Old World because they had all the resources they needed to sustain their lives. It is worth noting that North America was a vast landmass with multiple sections unexplored. This implies that the land was under-populated. On the other hand, Europe’s population was booming while resources were becoming scarce. Political dissidence was on the rise, thus people fond of adventure and long-distance travel set out to new lands for settlement.

Diseases

The New and Old worlds experienced cultural exchange during the interaction. Lethal diseases resulted from the Eurasians' settlement with the American natives. The plagues were devastating to the original people because new farm and domesticated animals such as horses, goats and oxen were introduced. Spaniards had years of adapting and developing resistance to most of the plagues. However, the natives in the New World were not used to living in close quarters with domesticated animals. They contracted bacterial and viral infections resulting in massive reports of mass fatalities. In one instance, more than 28 million aboriginals died in Mexico within just over a century of the Spanish occupation. 

Unification Results

            The Old World Conquest of the New World yielded multiple consequences and global exchange. Within a few years, Spaniards devastated two of the wealthiest American empires. In early 16^th Century, Spanish explorers located large deposits of silver in Peru and Mexico. As a result, the newfound riches made Spain one of the largest silver suppliers in Europe and Asia. Within a century, Spanish exported up to 370, 000 and 33 million pounds of silver and gold respectively. However, most of the wealth was directed to funding wars and establishing Spanish influence in Europe. Europeans enslaved millions of Africans and forced them to migrate to Americas (Williamson 236). It was because the New World was under-populated hence inadequacy of farm workers.

Slavery

Spaniards took over Peru and Mexico as Portuguese conquered Brazil. Establishment of sugar plantations in such colonies led to an insatiable demand for farm workers. People were trafficked from West Africa to Brazil, North America and Mexico. Slave dealers acquired local Brazilians as well. Slave trade boomed as the sugarcane crop thrived. The Portuguese introduced sugarcane to Brazil and the rest of its colonies. Sugar was sold to some of the colonies in Europe and some of the colonies in North America. While this was the initial case of trade at a global stage, 12 million African slaves toiled on the farms to create the cash crop (Best 26).

As the New World conquest became a global system, European imperial powers thrived. Spanish, French, English and Portuguese dominated the New and Old World. Economically, the colonialists enjoyed global free market advantages such as land and cheap labor.  The presence of a large market for the natural resources sustained European economic growth, but the use of slaves and exploitation of the local population degraded her moral standards.

The British joined the Spaniards and Portuguese later, but they stepped up their trans-Atlantic and international trade efforts. The British achieved this by networking with global partners in the New World and Asia to sell manufactured goods including textiles. Initially, the English participated in piracy along the Atlantic Ocean. Spanish invested their wealth in unfruitful wars across Europe. Contrastingly, the British utilized their resources in stimulating old businesses and financing new industries like ship building and textiles.

Commodity Substitution

The unification of the Old and New Worlds became a fundamental starting point for the Eurasian imperial an economic might. Since this period, European struggle to launch a stiff competition with the manufactured products from Asia in a global market.  In the early 1700s, the rest of the global market proffered Chinese silk and Indian cloth imports because of their low price. Barring of Chinese product in European markets was inevitable given that China benefited economically as French and English industries suffered. There was a time when possessing or wearing Chinese cloth was illegal. Subsequently, Europeans replaced Indian and Chinese products with cotton, sugar, pearls and other inexpensive substitutes from the New World.

Asia still dominated the global market as late as 1775. More than 80% of Chinese goods were traded internationally. The implication of this is that the economic success of imperial Europe was slow. However, as the 19^th century approached, a new wave of migrants to America solidified New World’s economic dominance.

Population Explosion

During late 19^th Century, a Demographic explosion occurred in the New World and Europe because of booming trade and abundance of food. Revolutions in industries and technology resulted in the European enrichment while the rest of the world remained impoverished. Most importantly, Christianity was introduced to the natives. Consequently, the Indians that survived deadly diseases lost their traditions as they were enslaved. Others embraced Christianity and the Western civilization (Abad et al. 154). In the modern times, a few communities of American natives that still clinch to their old traditions exist. There are fears that in a few centuries time, Indian and Aboriginal traditions will be lost completely.

Today, experts argue that the discovery of the new world and the resultant unification has resulted in improvements in Russia, England, Germany and other states in the continental Europe. On the other hand, the new world has seen transformations in terms of the advancement of its civilization and economic development. Though the local population was driven to near-extinction, the vastness of untapped resources led to the advancement of the global economy.  Many analysts speculate that the Americas would still be shrouded in darkness and secrecy had the Old World explorers not conquered and developed the ‘almost-unclaimed’ territories.

Works Cited

Abad, Leticia Arroyo, Elwyn Davies, and Jan Luiten van Zanden. "Between conquest and independence: Real wages and demographic change in Spanish America, 1530–1820." Explorations in Economic History 49.2 (2012): 149-166.

Best, Leslie K. The Afro-Latino: A Historical Journey. Matteson, Ill: Becslie Publishing, 2010: 1-42. Print.

Williamson, Jeffrey G. "Five centuries of Latin American income inequality."Revista de Historia Económica/Journal of Iberian and Latin American Economic History (Second Series) 28.02 (2010): 227-252.