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"Captive Africans being transferred to ships along the Slave Coast for the transatlantic slave trade" (1880). 

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This Painting, "Captive Africans being transferred to ships along the Slave Coast for the transatlantic slave trade" (1880) perfectly describes the situation in which millions of Africans were tormented to. When the Spanish Conquerors realized that the indigenous population that they were heavily relying on to sustain their New World economy was dwindling, they imported African slaves through the trans-Atlantic slave trade. This mass importation of slaves into the New World created the basis of violence in Africa, as well as halting economic and political development. In the New World, these slaves were subjugated to generational slavery on plantations and mines, as well as creating the foundations of the modern-day concept of racism.

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"Bartolomé de las Casas, “Brief relation of the destruction of the Indies,” Regionum Indicarum per Hispanos" (1664). 

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With European entry into the New World, their interests can be summed up in three words: Gold, God, and Glory. The painting “Brief relation of the destruction of the Indies,” (1664) by Bartolome de las Casas perfectly sums up the "Gold" portion of European interests. The Encomienda System was the Spanish Crown's method of legalizing slavery. The Crown awarded Conquistadors with the subjugation of indigenous peoples in exchange for protecting the indigenous peoples. This system was further justified by stating that the indigenous population were "savage" and required civilizing. In all, the indigenous population were tormented with forced labor, brutal conditions, and the complete disintegration of their rights and freedoms.

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"Landing of Columbus" -John Vanderlyn (1836) 

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The "Landing of Columbus" (1836) by John Vanderlyn stands currently within the Capitol's Rotunda. Columbus's landing in the Carribean islands would begin the long journey of betrayal the indigenous populations suffered. This point in time would begin a multi-century long conquest of the New World from the Native Americans who stood no chance. This Painting in particular shows the current technologically development in terms of military technology. Crossbows, Crude guns, swords, lances, and personal armored plating all allowed the Europeans to conquer the New World in a matter of centuries.

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"Conquista de Mexico por Cortes" -17th Century 

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"Conquista de Mexico por Cortes", painted around the 17th century depicts the fall of the Aztec capital Tenochtitlan to Cortes's coalition of Spanish conquistadors and angered neighboring tribes of the Aztecs. The whole painting here symbolizes the collapse of the two main centralized powers in the New World: The Aztec Empire in Mesoamerica and The Incan Empire in South America. European expansion into the New World secured the fate of the two empires, with the New World lacking any strong centralized power, the gates of European exploitation were fully open. In The Aztec invasion, 200,000 Aztecans died from Spanish arms. In the Incan invasion, an unknown amount of people were killed.

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"Aztec Interpretation of the Smallpox Disease" -16th Century

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This Painting is a original interpretation of the Smallpox Disease by Aztec painters somewhere in the 16th century. When European explorers began arriving in large numbers to the New World, they began spreading Old World Diseases, smallpox, malaria, viral influenza, yellow fever, measles, typhus, bubonic plague, typhoid fever, cholera, and whooping cough. This deadly combination of disease to an indigenous population that has no immunity caused immediate destruction. Beginning in 1492, as many as 55 million indigenous peoples were killed by Old World Diseases, culminating in a percentage rate of almost 95%. With this massive depopulation, many tribes were wiped out, as well as leading to to the equally destructive slave trade due to European needs for labor.