Ch 14-16

As we move into the early modern era these chapters are interesting because they shed light on the reasons that things are the way they are now in many places.  There were many differences between Spains colonization of South America and Englands colonization of North America.  Due to the sexual imbalance of the early Spanish colonies of South America there was a new race of children from Spanish men and Native American women.  These children were called mestizo's.  The Spanish monarchy encouraged the settlers to marry into important native families.  At this time a social heirarchy was formed that viewed Mestizos as illegitimate and placing Native Americans at the bottom of society.  Native Americans were used for labor purposes.  Brazil and the Caribbean economy became based on sugar production. Sugar production required intense and often fatal labor conditions that consisted primarily of slave labor.  Eighty percent of African slaves transported to the "new world" ended up in Brazil and the Caribbean.  In North America English settlers had a very different experience.  The Brittish were the last of the European countries to colonize The Americas. The wealthy wealthy lands of the Aztecs and Incas had already been conquered by the Spanish and Portuguese.  The British settlers came to The Americas in large numbers in order to "escape aspects of an old European society rather than to recreate it".  English colonies did not tend to sexually mix with the Native Americans. 

In all of the Americas the native population was diminished.  Slayer refers to another scholar who calls this "The Great Dying".  Slayer also includes a quote from Winona Laduke who calls Columbus "A perpetrator of genocide".  In some places the native population diminished by almost 90%.  This death was do a great deal to the native populations inability to fight off foreign disease. The virtual extinction of Americas indigenous population and the resulting labor shortage opened the door for more european colonization and a slave population transported from Africa. 

Columbus' journey to the Americas was the product of Spains desire to find a faster sea route to the riches of Asia. Along with the colonization of the Americas these western countries found way to infuse themselves into the rich trade routes of the Indian Ocean through multiple ways.  Western European countries used many different strategies to create wealth.  The Portuguese took over important ports in the Indian Ocean and imposed taxes on trade.  Spain conquered the Phillipine Islands nameing them after King Phillip. Companies were formed as a way for government to outsource colonialism.  An example of this was the East India Company.  Russians exploited indigeneous Siberians for fur or "soft gold".  France did the same with Native Americans.  They traded european products with the Native Americans including alcohol.  Native Americans became increasingly reliant on these European products.  Alcoholism is still a major problem within Native American populations. 

This spread of Western Europe set the stage for the dominanceWestern European ideals throughout including the spread of Christianity and products The Enlightenment.