European conquest of America

 

In the 15th century, these are approximately the known lands in Europe. To the east are the Indies, from where spices and silk come. In Europe, the trade of these luxury products is controlled by the powerful Republics of Genoa and Venice. But in 1453, the Ottomans seize Constantinople and bring down the Byzantine Empire. By extending their influence over the Mediterranean, they put an end to the golden age of the Italian republics. In the west, Portugal dreams of opening a new trade route to the Indies and seizing the monopoly on the spice trade. They take advantage of the development of the caravel, a more robust ship capable of handling the oceans, to send explorations to Africa. In 1484, Christopher Columbus, a Genoese navigator living in Lisbon, proposes to the Portuguese king to try to reach Asia by sailing west.

According to his calculations, Cathay and Cipango, currently China and Japan, are close enough for the crossing to be feasible. But the king rejects the project. Confident, Christopher Columbus tries his luck with the rival queen of Castile, but in vain. Two years later, while Portugal reaches the Cape of Good Hope, the Spanish monarchy completes the Reconquista by seizing Granada. Nothing seems to stop its ambitions. It must now catch up with Portugal in its race towards the Indies. The Queen of Castile and the King of Aragon authorize and finance the expedition of Christopher Columbus. On August 3, 1492, Christopher Columbus leaves Palos with three ships and 90 men. After a short stopover in the Canary Islands, they head west and sail for 36 days into the unknown. The crew finally see an island, Columbus lands and meets with the local Taine people. Convinced he has reached the Indies, Christopher Columbus names them Indians.

After a few exchanges, he leaves and explores the surrounding islands.  Thinking he is in Asia, he looks for the kingdom of the Great Khan mentioned in the writings of Marco Polo. On an island called Quisqueya, which he renames "La Hispaniola", he builds the  fort of the Nativity, leaves 39 men behind and returns with 7 Tainos, gold, pearls, and parrots  as proof of the success of his expedition. Welcomed as a hero, he returns to the Nativity a few months later, this time with 1,500 men, to found a permanent colony of which he would be the governor. But he finds the 39 men left behind dead. He then founds Isabela in honor of the Queen of Castile and continues his explorations. During this time, the Spanish monarchy and Portugal, to avoid conflicts around the newly conquered territories, agree to draw a meridian. The lands to the east can be claimed by Portugal, those to the west by the Spanish monarchy. England in turn begins to search for a new maritime route to India. An expedition is sent further north and reaches a land that is unknown to them. Vasco De Gama, for Portugal, crosses the Cape of Good Hope, enters the Indian Ocean, and reaches India on May 20, 1498.

A second Portuguese expedition leaves for India, but as it moves away from the coast to take advantage of the sea currents, the expedition reaches a new land located east of the meridian of Tordesillas. There, an exotic wood grows from which can be obtained a red dye like an ember, or “Brasa” in Portuguese. This will later give the name of Brazil to their new colony. While the Spanish colonists discover products unknown in Europe such as potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, and cocoa, ships loaded with gold, emeralds, and pearls return to Spain, which motivates the departure of many colonists to the new Spanish lands. They bring with them domestic animals, and seeds, but also diseases that were previously unknown to the indigenous populations, who are therefore not immune. These diseases spread throughout the continent faster than the colonists and decimate the populations. In 1506, after a fourth trip, Christopher Columbus dies. A few months later, the word America appears on a map in honor of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci. The continent would henceforth be called America. In the Spanish territories, colonists impose forced labor on the local populations. But the Spanish monarchy, influenced by the Roman Catholic Church, opposes this mistreatment and tries via new laws to increase its control over the new territories and to improve the condition of the natives. The Catholic Church also sends missionaries to evangelize the local populations. From the Spanish colonies, conquerors called conquistadors explore everywhere. To the north, they discover a land they name Florida. To the south, an expedition goes inland and discovers a sea on the other side. Finally in 1518, an expedition goes north along the coast, passes a peninsula and meets representatives sent by an emperor.

The governor then decides to send a mission there. The conquistador Hernán Cortès leaves Cuba in 1519. On his way, he recovers a Spanish shipwrecked man who survived eight years in Mayan country, and then he obtains a mistress after a confrontation. Both will assist him as interpreters. Once on dry land, he understands that he is in the Aztec empire, whose capital Tenochtitlan controls the surrounding regions. Impressed by the firearms and horses they have never seen before, some of the people choose to join the Spanish crown. Cortes is guided to Tenochtitlan where the emperor welcomes him peacefully. At the same time, to the south of the continent, Ferdinand Magellan, who is also trying to reach the Indies to the west, passes through a strait that will one day bear his name and enters a new ocean that is unknown to him.

In Tenochtitlan, a war breaks out between the Aztecs and Cortés who had been chased out of the capital. He allies with the rebels and enemies of Tenochtitlan, then besieges the city and cuts off its drinking water supply. But the inhabitants suffer above all from smallpox which decimates the city. After 75 days of siege, Tenochtitlan collapses and Cortes  becomes the governor of New Spain. Despite strong resistance, the Spaniards continue to extend their control in Central America. Spain, which is indebted to German bankers, authorizes  them in return to found a colony in an area where houses are built on stilts and which is then  named Little Venice or Venezuela. To the south, an expedition goes inland and rumors circulate  about a certain "Piru" kingdom. The navigator Francisco Pizarro then leaves to search for it.  He lands and learns that he is in the Inca empire which is in a full war of succession. After  several contacts by intermediate embassies, a meeting is organized in Cajamarca with the emperor  Atahualpa. But the meeting degenerates and Pizarro arrests the emperor. 9 months later, in spite of the enormous gold and silver ransom received for his liberation, Pizarro executes Atahualpa and then seizes Cusco, the capital of the empire.

While strong rivalries appear between the colonists who want to monopolize the Inca wealth, in the north of Tomebamba, a pocket of Inca resistance is organized around the general Rumiñahui. But finding himself in  a difficult situation, he decides to burn Quito and to hide all the Inca wealth.  Captured and tortured, he does not reveal the location of this treasure which, if it exists, has never been found. Further south, Pizarro founds a capital, the City of Kings, which later will become Lima. In 1536 in Cuzco, the Incas rebel and take the city.  Almagro, Pizarro's ally, who returns from unsuccessful conquests in the south, takes the city and proclaims himself governor of Cuzco. A war breaks out between Pizarro and Almagro.  Taking advantage of the chaos, the Incas found the kingdom of Vilcabamba which will resist the Spaniards for 36 years. Further south, a group of populations called the Mapuches, also firmly resist the Spanish intrusions. In the north, Spain continues to enlarge its territory considerably. The priest Bartolomé de Las Casas denounces the cruel treatments imposed on the natives.

Spain, in 1542, passes new laws in order to return freedom to the slaves by abolishing the encomienda, and by affirming equality of the rights of the natives.  In Peru, these laws are very badly received by the colonists. The viceroy tries to make them apply, but a revolt breaks out and he is beheaded. Spain finally manages to regain control of the region and suspends the conquests in America, although many populations still resist Spanish colonization. In Europe, new powers are interested in the riches of America. France, which does not recognize the treaty of Tordesillas, sends expeditions to Brazil. The colony of France Antarctique is founded there. Annoyed by the new competition, the Portuguese destroy the colony in 1560. They then develop colonization by sending expeditions deep inland in search of mines and slaves. England also has its eye on America. Irritated by the commercial monopoly that Spain is establishing in the Pacific Ocean, the Queen of England secretly finances an expedition by Francis Drake, who plunders Spanish wealth on the Pacific coast. Further north, Drake founds New Albion in the name of the English crown, before heading west to return to England.

 At the same time, the Spanish monarchy takes over Portugal. The United Provinces, quickly followed by England, take advantage of this and try to seize the trade routes and the Portuguese colonies. In South America, further inland, a region little explored by the Spaniards and the Portuguese attracts the covetous. For a century, the myth of Eldorado, the city filled with gold, has been widely circulated. This attracts hundreds of European settlers who devastate the region in search of gold, igniting the fury of local populations. This does not prevent the arrival of French, Dutch, and British Protestants who flee Europe in search of lands far from Catholic influences. To the north, the coasts of Newfoundland, rich in fish, are frequented by many fishermen from all over Europe. As early as 1603, France finances new expeditions to explore Acadia and to found a first settlement at Port-Royal.  Despite conflicts with the local populations, fishing and fur trading develop. Further south, England founds Jamestown, its first permanent colony. But while the French accelerate colonization with the creation of Quebec, the English attack Acadia. From then on, the two countries and their respective local allies are constantly fighting over the region. After founding New Amsterdam on an island, the Dutch negotiate with the locals to purchase Manhattan Island in exchange for some goods equivalent to 60 florins, which is currently worth about a few hundred dollars. Also in the south, the Dutch expand their possessions and take over a large part of Brazil.

But in 1640, Portugal regains its independence and recovers its territories. The Dutch are expelled and concentrate their efforts in the north of the continent by absorbing New Sweden. At the same time, the British take Jamaica from the Spaniards to develop the sugar trade. They also obtain permission to exploit wood on the coast of New Spain. The growing commercial rivalry between the United Provinces and England provokes a war that turns to the advantage of the British. At the peace treaty, the United Provinces cede their North American territories and recover Suriname, which was occupied by the British. New Amsterdam becomes New York. In the West Indies, mainly the French and the British take over islands from the Carobs in order to develop large sugar plantations that require a large workforce. European merchants leave for the African coasts where they buy slaves. These are then transported to America to be sold in the mines or on the plantations. Their life expectancy is about 7 years. The ships then return to Europe loaded with precious metals and luxury goods.

 In the 17th century, this model become so profitable that the slave trade explodes, as doe’s piracy, which flourishes in the Caribbean. Many people are opposed to slavery, notably the Jesuits who found communities throughout America to protect the natives from the colonists. They are evangelized and work for the communities which quickly become rich. But Spain and Portugal will eventually expel them. In the north of the continent, while the British found Philadelphia, the French, after an expedition, claim Louisiana, and then expand along the rivers to link it to New France. New France then signs a peace agreement with 39 nations, mainly Iroquois. Fearing that they would be surrounded, the British attack Acadia again and rename it Nova Scotia.

The latter, together with Rupert’s Land and Newfoundland, are officially annexed in the Treaties of Utrecht which end the War of Spanish Succession. Spain and the United Provinces are weakened, Great Britain is now a great maritime and commercial power. In 1733, it founds Savannah, which stops the Spanish expansion from Florida. From Russia, a Danish captain named Vitus Bering leads mapping expeditions on behalf of the Tsar. After exploring the strait that now bears his name, Bering sights in 1741 the coasts of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, where he dies.

 The abundance of prey on these islands attracts many Russian hunters. The Russians gradually move along the coast to develop the otter fur trade. Franco-British Tensions (1748-1755) In Ohio Valley, tensions rise between the French and the British who are fighting over control of the region. A war begins which at first turns to the advantage of the French. Great Britain then decides to deport en masse the French-speaking Acadians still present in Nova Scotia. Many die on the way.

The survivors are scattered throughout the British colonies. In Europe, the 7 Years’ War breaks out.  Great Britain, which dominates the seas with its powerful Royal Navy, imposes a maritime blockade on the French colonies which, without reinforcements, fall into the hands of the British. In 1763, in the peace treaty signed in Paris, France gives up most of its American colonies. Spain receives the western part of Louisiana in exchange for Florida. Great Britain dominates all its rivals.

But the war has weighed on its finances, and it intends now to take advantage of its many colonies to replenish its coffers by imposing new taxes.

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