Exploration and Conquest in North America Notes

Columbus’s Voyages and First Contact

1. In 1492, Christopher Columbus, backed by Spain, sailed west across the Atlantic and landed in the Caribbean (likely the Bahamas and Hispaniola). He believed he had reached Asia.
2. His voyage marked the beginning of permanent European contact with the Americas and initiated an era of conquest and colonization.
3. Columbus initially described the Taíno people as generous and peaceful but soon demanded tribute in gold and labor, establishing a pattern of exploitation.

Spanish Conquest and Colonization

1. The Spanish rapidly conquered major Caribbean islands such as Hispaniola, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, using military force to dominate local populations.
2. Within decades, smallpox, measles, and influenza devastated Indigenous communities, wiping out most of the Caribbean’s native population.
3. To organize labor, the Spanish established the encomienda system, granting Spaniards control over land and Indigenous workers. Although it was supposed to offer protection and religious instruction, it became a tool for enslavement and abuse.
4. As the Indigenous labor force collapsed, enslaved Africans were imported to work on emerging sugar plantations, introducing African slavery into the New World economy.

French Exploration and Alliances

1. The French, led by Jacques Cartier in the 1530s, explored the St. Lawrence River and claimed parts of Canada for France.
2. Rather than building large colonies or empires, the French focused on the fur trade and formed alliances with Indigenous peoples such as the Huron.
3. These relationships were based more on trade and cooperation than conquest, setting French colonization apart from the Spanish approach.

British Exploration Attempts