Colonialism in Latin America essays

Colonialism in Latin America essays In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on the shores of the Caribbean and claimed the new land in the names of Spain and God. From then on, the world was changed forever in the sense that there was a whole New World to conquer. Conquistadors like Cortez and Pizarro then followed and claimed entire new lands and people in the name of gold and wealth. These men started a revolution that changed an entire continent; it was transformed from a free race of people at one with the land to one of slavery and oppression in which man was bound to the land. This was the beginning of colonialism in the New World. The newly founded colonialism changed everything about the land, its inhabitants, culture, religion and even created new races of people, of which we still do not know everything about. With the curiosity of European countries piqued and rumors of cities made of gold, the Old World decided that there were no boundaries established within the New World and the land was for the taking. Spain had no regard for the natives found nor the great civilizations that were built there. Everything within view was to be claimed in the name of the Old World. Unfortunately for the indigenous people they did not have the technological advancements that the Old World had, i.e. horses, iron, guns, and gunpowder, and thus they succumbed to Europe. This gave Europe the upper hand in controlling the land and the boundaries they established in the Americas. As for the natives of the Americas, whether they were the Aztecs or Incas, from the beginning they made the mistake of trusting the Europeans and welcoming them into the bosom of their civilizations. When Cortez first arrived on Mexico's shores, and got off of his ship in shining armor on horses, along with him being a white man, lead the native Aztecs to believe he was the Messiah returning to their tribe and welcomed him as a god. The Aztecs then brought Cortez straight to the king, Mo...