NOTE: Free essay sample provided on this page should be used for references or sample purposes only. The sample essay is available to anyone, so any direct quoting without mentioning the source will be considered plagiarism by schools, colleges and universities that use plagiarism detection software. To get a completely brand-new, plagiarism-free essay, please use our essay writing service.
One click instant price quote
Europeans governments and businessmen stopped at nothing to ensure their economic success, they committed genocide plus ethno cide. The main reason Europe hurried to the new land was for resources and land which is money. Money was the center to the madness. In every battle between the natives and the settlers they were fighting over something and that something is money to the settlers.
Profit is the settlers motive for the destruction of the Native communities. Columbus was the beginning to the madness that went on in the discovery and settling on the new lands. He came to the new land funded by Spain. Spain at this tie was a country that needed money so funding this expedition was a solution to their problem. Columbus promised to bring back gold and spices to pay off the expenses plus more, which would help Spain's problems.
Unfortunately arriving at the Americas Columbus discovered that his predictions of gold and spices were wrong and there was less then he had thought there would be. He became desperate he overpowered the natives making them slaves for he needed money to bring back to Spain and the natives were the quickest way to get it. Columbus future relied on Spain's profit of the expedition he was promised 10 % of what he brought back and leadership of many of the new land. What he supplied for Spain was also benefiting him in a large way. He forced every native to supply him with a certain amount of gold over a short amount of time, like a tax. Doing this he became the first European to take control and treat the natives poorly he began a state of mind for the settlers that they are above the natives and they can overpower them.
When the amount of gold was not enough this mind state led to genocide. In the year 1495 Columbus ordered an expedition of men to go on a slave raid. Columbus had failed in finding gold fields so slaves would be used to fill up the space on the ships. They rounded up 1500 Arawak men, women, and children. They loaded them in cages surrounded by armed Spaniards and dogs. The Spaniards then picked 500 hundred of the best fit and loaded them onto the ships.
Unfurnatly most died on the ships and a lot in Europe for they could not take the captivity. Columbus had promised investors money which would be those slaves. To many died so Columbus was forced to make another promise. He promised the Spain investors gold. This led to a more brutal and strict life for the natives. They were forced to supply Columbus with even more gold now for Columbus needed money and the natives were his workers who would get him that.
From this point the money frenzy made it worse on the natives as time went on. After a while it was clear that there was no more gold left. Thought money was still needed so the Indians were taken for slave labor and put on huge estates. They were worked like animals at a ferocious pace right to their death.
By the year 1515 there were fifty thousand Indians left, by 1550 there were 500 left. Over 40, 000 thousands Indians were worked to their death for Europe's profit. In 1650 reports say that there were none of the original Arawaks on the slave islands left. Columbus and his men had accomplished killing a community that had lived on those islands for thousands of years.
The search for the new land and settlements put on the land was nothing more then money frenzies. The settlers wanted gold, they wanted spices, they wanted riches, and they were willing to destroy anything that came in their way and do anything to get it. The Indians lived on the land so they were in settlers way and that need for profit pushed them to genocide. They then realized that the Indians were the experts and that they would be the ones who could get them gold and profit so the enslaved them and took over the Indians whole lifestyle. When the English arrived to the new land they too needed to profit and growth. Arriving they were met by Indians and not shortly after their arrival the English began to mistreat them.
One native stole a small item from an Englishmen and the natives whole village was burned. The English only used the Indians for the knowledge of the land and resources when they got what they wanted from them they burned their homes and killed them. The English walked all over the Indians to get their profit and succeed in surviving on the new land. Money and growth was the main motive for all the settlers who came to the new land, they wanted to succeed and to do that they had to use the Indians for what they had. It started the state of mind that they were better then the Indians and that lived on through the generations that they were superior to the Indians. The money hunger blinded the settlers and they lost all view of limits.
Which made them have no mercy on the Indians and their way of life. It was a terrible period of time that I believe is not looked at enough, many innocent people died for a bad cause and most people now dont even know about it. The Indians did nothing but live the lifestyle that they had lived for thousands of years and the Europeans found harm in that and killed them for it. Bibliography:
Free research essays on topics related to: columbus, natives, thousands of years, bring back, state of mind
Research essay sample on Thousands Of Years State Of Mind
