Essay On Christopher Columbus In 1492

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In the years leading up to and including 1491 European explorers had been researching and studying the world, however they lacked a real understanding of the true size and geography of our planet. When explorers finally began setting out on their expeditions in the late 1400’s, the world began to experience serious change. Before Columbus is credited with the discovery of America in 1492, the Americas were untouched by Europeans, but within a few hundred years permanent settlements would be founded on American soil despite the presence of the native people. In 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail on a voyage searching for a route across the Atlantic to Asia for the Spain’s Kind Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Instead of reaching Asia, Columbus actually landed on present-day San Salvador Island. He still thought that he had reached India, called the native there “Indians”. Columbus even took some of these so called “Indians” back to Spain with him as slaves, so that he could show the king and queen. During this time Spain signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, which confirmed Spain’s claim on the Americas. In 1501 Amerigo Vespucci made a voyage Cortes was followed by Francisco Pizarro who reached Peru in 1526. Both explorers found great wealth for Spain, with Cortes conquering the Aztecs and their city of Tenochtitlan and Pizarro plundering the wealthy Incas. However, the expeditions wreaked havoc for the native people of the lands that were explored. In 1598, Spanish settlers arrived in the America and settled in the territory they named New Mexico. Goods, ideas, and disease are exchanged between the Spanish and the Native Americans, allowing the new settlers to thrive but causing the Native Americans to suffer due to disease. These thriving settlements allowed Spain to gain wealth and become the most powerful nation in Europe during this time

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