Innovation for Settlers of The Americas

The Innovative Worlds

The Americas were an undiscovered challenge for new settlers. Many different types of people and cultures had to merge to make their new lives simple as possible. Europeans were not even aware of the existence of the Americas before the fifteenth century. They needed aiding along their journeys. Many people were used to help others on their paths in exploring the new worlds. Many of these helpful “guides” didn’t even speak English and most the time were kept against their will. “The Apalachee Indians lived in northwestern Florida. Keeping these Indians as guides, we preceded another ten or twelve leagues, to a village of fifteen houses, where we saw a large cornfield ready for harvest, some of the ears already dry.” The Indian guides helped them across the land whether it was willingly or not. It was a time of extreme conditions when it came to finding and doing things for ones own self. Disease was the reaper of many deaths. Initial contact between all these separate groups was a treacherous one. The Spaniards shot and captured the Indians, and distastefully took them back to Spanish land even in the 1750’s. When two different worlds collide, the want for power and authority bring on a rivalry and survival of the fittest.

When the Spanish empire was evolving, the Spanish settlers were only interested in exploiting the Americas for their minerals such as gold and silver. The “surface riches” ultimately weakened the incentive to promote economic growth in Spain. Between effectively collecting these precious items and gaining control, this made Spain the most powerful nation on earth the power allowed the Spanish to take over any situation. The Native Americans were the first to fully get this mistreatment

The Native Americans received two different types of contact from the settlers. One thing learned was religious values. Even as in Cabeza De Vaca the settlers were very religious. They relied on god’s help. Hearing mass on Sundays was an occasion that was looked forward to. Teaching the religion to the Indians provided a spread of Christianity while also proving a common ground for the settlers and Indians to relate to one another. The Jesuits provided church and religion just the same. They helped the Guanani Indians build on their city and interpret the Spanish culture. This religious enactment helped the two differently cultured worlds to come together.