European colonization of the Americas

The impact of European colonization on the people of the Americas was the end of the world as they knew it. Although there was exposure to new religion, technology, agriculture, and trade, the negative aspects were catastrophic. Disease, alcohol, forced labor, and the loss of their land affected the native population everywhere. New weapons, the horse, and a market for animal skins would cause violent strife between the tribes. The old world colliding with the new world would change everything.

The Amerindians were far from perfect before the Europeans arrived but they lacked the technology and organization to carry out large conquering strategies like Europe. It is easy to see Europe as the tyrant coming into the New World taking over simplistic, nature loving natives but this is far from the case. In truth both Europe and the Amerindians had their share of heroes and villains. The native tribes were commonly at war with each other over disputes, while the Aztecs and Mayans even practiced human sacrifices. Although it was not common, there were tribes such as the Caribs and Tupinamba who practiced cannibalism for nutritional purposes.

The death rate from abuse, but mostly disease, of the Amerindians upon the arrival of European colonization is absolutely shocking. With unreliable estimates to the indigenous population when Europeans first entered the Americas we will never have perfect figures. But everyone agrees the figures were high, with one estimate being that Mexico went from 13 million Amerindians to 700,000 within a century. A chronicle from Cakchiquel of Guatemala wrote, “Great was the stench of the dead. After our fathers and grandfathers succumbed, half the people fled to the fields. The dogs and vultures devoured the bodies…So it was that we became orphans, oh my sons!..We were born to die!” In North America disease from the English and French had exterminated many of the different tribal groups. This is a horrible picture but something that was not new to Europeans. They had suffered the bubonic Plague in the fourteenth century that killed 30 million people, a third of their population!

The Spanish and Portuguese were ruthless in their tactics with the natives. They saw them as a people that needed to be conquered and converted. There were some Catholic priests from Spain, such as Bartolome de Las Casas who tried to defend the Amerindians, but even he had lived off the forced labor before his change of heart. The cities were plundered, enslaved and their native cultures were outlawed. The Indians of Huetjozinco wrote a letter to the Spanish King in 1560 stating their loyalty and situation, “Of the way in which our fathers and grandfathers and great-grandfathers were rich and honored, there is no longer the slightest trace among us.” This was a tribe that was very cooperative with the Spanish Lords. Unlike the nations of Guatemala, Michoacan, Jalisco, Pánuco, Culiacan, Oaxaca and Tehuantepec who had to be conquered the Huetjozinco even accepted Christianity. Years later however the Spanish began to tax them heavily leaving them completely impoverished.

The English colonies were inhabited by more private investors and Protestants than the other colonies. This made them less concerned with missionary efforts and a lack of large military forces. Their economy needed less slave labor, and there were no large Amerindian cities to be plundered. They still brought diseases, war and slavery to the natives, but it was on a smaller scale of ruthlessness than the Spanish and Portuguese. They had times of war and times of peace with the natives, even situations where the natives helped the colonies in desperate times.

The French were concerned with missionary work and were big into the fur trade. They lacked a large army and had smaller colonies. Many French men married Indian women and worked with the Amerindians intimatly in trade. Soon, the land was becoming over hunted and the natives were growing dependant on the goods they received from France. Disease, war and a depletion of natural resources came to affect the natives in the area of French colonies. Many times they found themselves in the middle of a long time feud between France and England.

For the Amerindians there were positives with the Old and New World combining. Such as the introduction of the firearm and horse that greatly enhance their hunting ability. There was growth in their economies selling furs and agricultural products to Europeans. They were introduced to plants, such as sugar, as well as many other fruits and vegetables. Animals introduced by the Europeans such as cows, pigs, and many others provided them with meat and hides. Many of these goods the natives embraced, and even came to have a hard time living without.

Perhaps one of the biggest changes to the Amerindians came to the very core of their way of life. Large empires such as the Aztec and Inca would soon be conquered. Sedentary societies that formed cities and harvested agriculture would be over run. Semisedentary and nomadic societies that were always on the move, hunting and gathering, would loose their way of life. Through it would come the world as we know it today, hundreds of languages exchanged for primarily English and Spanish. The uncountable number of tribes and clans would be replaced with citizens of mapped countries. It would be a long process of oppression, slavery and exploitation. Theoretically, these indigenous people would be exposed to the opportunity of better technology and way of life supplied by Europeans ambition and religion. Unfortunately, in our current time many of them are still living in third world conditions, or poverty filled reservations.

In conclusion, when the Europeans came to the new world they had better technology, military and resources. The Amerindians were at the mercy of the more advanced empires and suffered in trade and negotiations. Exposure to the Old World brought many harsh conditions for the Amerindian people and changed their world forever. Although the separate European empires had their own way with dealing with the natives, all of them eventually overpowered and ruled over them.


Cited Sources
Richard Bulliet et el., The Earth & its Peoples 4th Dolphin ed., v. 2
Glenn J. Ames, The Globe Encompassed. The Age of Discovery, 1500-1700
John E. Kicza, Resilient Cultures. America’s Native Peoples Confront European Colonization 1500-1800
Letter from the Indians of Huetjozinco to the Spanish King, 1560