homework

            Without Europe’s ability to create advanced technology they would have never been able to reach the New World. Advanced technologies such as better boats that allowed for sailors to sail farther, faster, and for longer periods of time. Once they had reached the shores of the New World they introduced many new things to the Natives, such as horses and weapons and certain items of clothing that these people have never seen before. These tools were so much farther advanced than anything that the natives owned or could create and that that was a big part of why the Natives fell to the power of the Europeans so quickly because the Europeans were so technology advanced and had been masters of war for decades before the Natives even knew that such a type of people or weapons could exist. “Their superior weapons, organizational skills, and determination brought them incredible success in their new environment,” (Duiker & Spielvogel, Mindtap 14-2c). In just a short amount of time because of their advanced technology the Europeans were able to conquer the Aztecs and the Inca Empires and were able to claim their land; that if it was not for their technology, this would have not happened thus greatly changing how history has played out and America today would look a lot differently.

#8. Race and History (Ethnicity and History) ~ “them versus us” scenarios
  

One major historical event that has affected so many people was the slave trade. This was going on before the European ships arrived off the coast of West Africa, but the slave trade really increased after they showed up. The slaves were treated horribly and were striped away of all their freedom and dignity. It was said that they were “thoroughly examined, even to the smallest member, and that naked too, both men and women, without the least distinction or modesty”(Slavery in Africa: A Firsthand Report, Mindtap, 14-4c). They were held in a prison where they were barely fed and then forced onto ships where they were separated by sex into two sides. The were striped of their clothing when boarding the ship and were ordered to stand as close together as possible which caused for extreme overcrowding. The slave trade became so widely popular for European merchants because it was a major source of income for them. It became a huge trading system and the book states that, “Europeans obtained their slaves by traditional means, purchasing them from local African merchants at the infamous slave markets in exchange for gold, guns, or other European manufactured goods such as textiles, copper, or iron utensils (Duiker and Spielvogel, Mindtap 14-4c). The slave merchants and the Europeans treated the slaves like property and it was an extremely difficult time for those whose race and ethnicity qualified them as slaves.

14. Pivot Points in History ~ “when in the course of human events . . .” ~ the course abruptly changes

During the Age of Exploration it become relevant for the Spanish to find a new trade route to Asia since the Portuguese already had beat them to the spice trade in the Indies. Queen Isabella of Castile financed voyages for Christopher Columbus to explore a new trade route into the mainland of Asia. During the voyages Christopher Columbus believed he had indeed found a new route into Asia, but other explorers would soon realize he had discovered an entirely new place. Soon after the discovery of the “New World” Spanish conquistadors began to explore the land. The conquistadors were after wealth and riches such as gold, but they also wanted to convert the people of the “New World” to Christianity. This greed led to mass destruction of civilizations in the Americas. Most of the deaths resulted from germ warfare that I’m sure the Europeans had no clue would happen, but it did and it changed the world forever. What started off as a mere attempt to discover a new trade route turned into the deaths of many Native Americans including the Aztecs and the Mayans. An Aztec observer stated in a passage “We wander here and therein our desolate poverty. We are mortal men. We have seen bloodshed and pain where once we saw beauty and valor” (Bartolome De Las Casas, The Tears of the Indians, in Mindtap, 14-3b). The course of history was instantaneously changed due to the unintended exploration of the Americas.