The history of spanish french and dutch conquests in the americas

Norse colonization of the Americas Voyages of the Vikings to America. Norse journeys to Greenland and Canada are supported by historical and archaeological evidence. In the Treaty of Tordesillasratified by the Pope, these two kingdoms divided the entire non-European world into two areas of exploration and colonization, with a north to south boundary that cut through the Atlantic Ocean and the eastern part of present-day Brazil.

Blog Spanish Discovery and Colonization During the 15th century, the Iberian Peninsula at the western end of the Mediterranean Sea became the focal point of European efforts to reach the riches of Asia by a sea route, rather than depend on the dangerous, costly and time-consuming ancient trade routes through the Middle East.

Tiny Portugal emerged as the original leader of this effort. Lacking a coast on the Mediterranean, it was not surprising that the Portuguese sought a route to the East by rounding the tip of Africa.

The most influential figure in the rise of Portuguese maritime strength was Henry the Navigatorwho marshaled experts and information to found an empire. Neighboring Spain was slower to respond to the challenge due in large part to disunity.

Regional kingdoms vied with one another for supremacy, but sometimes joined forces to confront the Moors North African Muslims who had occupied portions of Spain since the early s. Unification took a major step forward in when Ferdinand of Aragon married Isabella of Castile; their two kingdoms were formally joined five years later, which provided Spain with the most dynamic monarchy in Europe.

The Moorish presence was ended in earlywhen the stronghold of Granada fell. Ferdinand and Isabella, known as the Catholic kings, celebrated the victory in part by expelling the Jews from Spain.

This move earned high marks from the pope, but dealt a severe economic blow to the nation. The defeat of the Moors also freed the monarchs to support exploratory ventures, including those of Christopher Columbus.

The four voyages of Columbus between and served to open the door to European exploration, colonization and exploitation of the New World, although Columbus himself never set foot in North America. By the time the English began active colonization, the Spanish had already explored large portions of North America, especially in the South and Southwest.

The Spanish explorers encountered three major civilizations in the New World: The conquistadors were truly amazed by what they found — immense wealth in gold and silver, complex cities rivaling or surpassing those in Europe, and remarkable artistic and scientific achievements.

In his drive to gather riches, Columbus and later conquistadors enslaved and decimated the local populations. The numbers of these Native Americans plummeted, in part because of war against the colonial forces, but also because of the introduction of diseases to which the natives had no natural immunity.

The natives contracted malaria, smallpox and measles from the Europeans, but passed on syphilis to the invaders in a morbid exchange. The line of demarcation crossed through the hump of South America.

Spain was to have the lands to the west and Portugal those to the east accounting for the use of the Portuguese language in Brazil today. The most profitable Spanish activities in the New World occurred in the southern portions, while less rewarding ventures took place in northern areas.The History of Spanish, French and Dutch Conquests in the Americas PAGES 2.

WORDS View Full Essay. More essays like this: america, aztecs, incas, spanish conquests. Not sure what I'd do without @Kibin - Alfredo Alvarez, student @ Miami University. Exactly what I needed. - . Compare the Native American culture the Spanish encountered in Mexico, as described in Cortés's letter and the Indian accounts, with the cultures encountered by the English, the French, and the Russians in their explorations.

Chapter 15 Conquest in the Americas. Chapter Objectives. STUDY.

Spanish colonization of the Americas | CourseNotes

PLAY. Dutch, English, and French pirates smuggle and hunt goods from ships from Americas. How Triangular Trade worked World History - Chapter 15 - The Beginnings of Our Global Age: Europe and the Americas ( - )(Semester 2).

Spanish successes in the Caribbean attracted the attention of other European nations. Like Spain, France was a Catholic nation and committed to expanding Catholicism around the globe.

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In the early sixteenth century, it joined the race to explore the New World and exploit the resources of the Western Hemisphere. Arawak Amerindian peoples who inhabited the Greater Antilles of the Carribean at the time of Columbus Atahualpa Last ruling Inca emperor of Peru, executed by the Spanish Atlantic Circuit the network of trade routes connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas; underlay the Atlantic system Atlantic system network of trade links after that.

Early European possessions in North America included Spanish Florida, Spanish New Mexico, the English colonies of Virginia (with its North Atlantic offshoot, Bermuda) and New England, the French colonies of Acadia and Canada, the Swedish colony of New Sweden, and the Dutch New Netherland.