Encyclopedia of the Atlantic World, 1400-1900: Europe, Africa, and the Americas in an Age of Exploration, Trade, and Empires

摘要

Beginning around 1500, the Americas began to fall under European control. It happened gradually. It was Europe's first tentative essay in imperialism. The Spaniards brought horses with them and they were aided by superior technology - metal-working, gunpowder and good ships. But the colonization was accompanied by mass murder and atrocities of all kinds; moreover, it was done under the sign of the cross. Its progress advanced at different speeds in different areas. The Inca Empire collapsed quickly and easily; the Arawaks of the Caribbean were annihilated by disease and the genocidal character of Spanish rule. However, North America occupied the two extremes: the United States was first to stake its claim for independence from Europe in the 1780s but native tribes in what is now the continental USA were the last to be subdued (mid-1800s).