The New World was so called because it was unchartered territory for quite some time. Through exploration, it was soon discovered by chance through the exploration of navigators such as Christopher Columbus who was en route to finding a shorter way to the Asia. The New World Specifically refers to areas that lie within the Western Hemisphere. The Europeans, in general, came to the Americas to increase the wealth of their nations, through expansion, trade and the exploitation of resources. However, each nation had their intentions which later led to a rivalry within the New World.
In 1492 the Spanish entered the New World and soon monopolized it for many years to come. The aim of the Spanish in the New World can be summed up in the three G’s; God, Glory, and Gold. They wanted to Christianize the native settlers, find gold to enrich their country and glory that would come from their expansion and settlement (Amerindians to Africans). This was made possible through Christopher Columbus, Spanish Conquistadors such Juan Ponce de Leon's and the work of missionaries. Soon many Spanish settlers flooded into the New World with the hopes of finding riches through gold. They settled in areas such as Jamaica, Hispaniola, and San Salvador. There was a great exchange that took place; this was later called the Colombian exchange. Here goods that were once unknown to Europe such as tomato, corn and so on were brought over and animals that were unknown to the New World such as the horse were introduced. Sadly this exchange had a terrible impact on the natives of these Islands. Diseases that the natives had no immunity against such as smallpox, yellow fever and so on, wiped out thousands of natives. Also, systems introduced by the Spanish to mine for gold such as the Encomienda system claimed the lives of many natives and exterminated them in some areas. This was coupled with the inhumane treatment meted out to the natives by the Spanish.
The Portuguese entered the New World for their own intents and purposes as well. The Treaty of Tordesillas of 1494 separated the New World between Spain and Portugal. This was to settle claims by Portugal that Columbus had invaded their territory. The Portuguese had taken the lead in exploration with excellent seafarers such as Prince Henry the Navigator. Their intent like the Spanish was to find a new route to Asia. This route to Asia was important as Spices were needed throughout everyday life and the Muslim, and Venetian traders ran a monopoly that allowed them to sell items at high prices. The aim of the Portuguese was to conduct trade throughout the New World, even though they colonized areas such as Brazil. Portugal soon became one of the biggest European traders dominating the East Indies trade. They were major traders of gold, spices, fabrics and slaves. The Portuguese had a huge impact on the New World as thousands of Africans were taken from their homeland and sold into slavery to increase the treasury of Portugal. It must be noted, however, that attempts were made by the Jesuits to convert natives found in Brazil.
The French also entered the New World as explorers in search of riches. The French, like the Dutch and English, wanted to break the Spanish monopoly. However, their main intention was to find a Westward route to Asia. They settled and colonized areas such as St Kitts, St Martin, as well as Quebec which was later called ‘New France’ (Spanish and French). The French lead a lucrative trade in fur in the New World. They concentrated so much on areas such as Arkansas and Missouri that there was almost an extension of the Beaver population in North America (Spanish and French). The French also played a role in the Slave Trade with the establishment of the French West India Company. The native Caribs/Kalinagoes whom the French had found on islands such as Grenada were massacred by the French. Others were driven out of their homelands (Amerindians to Africans)
All European nations had an impact on the New World. This impact was two- fold. On one hand, they were able to introduce new items, new culture, a new race and introduced the Christian religion. On the other hand, they are responsible for the genocide of the Amerindian population in many countries. They also introduced diseases that were not known to native people before their exploration. In addition to this, they have helped to create the stain of Slavery that has had an impact even today.
Works cited
Aboukhadijeh, Feross. "Spanish and French Exploration" StudyNotes.org. Study Notes, LLC., 17 Nov. 2012. Web. 01 Jul. 2016.
Greenwood, Robert and Shirley Hamber. “Amerindians to Africans.” 2nd ed. Oxford. Mcmillan Education. 2003
