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"I discovered many islands inhabited by numerous people. I took possession of all of them for our most fortunate King by making public proclamation and unfurling his standard, no one making any resistance."

This shows the lading of Columbus and the start to the European takeover of the Americas

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This is a primary source provided by Christopher Columbus during his first voyage to the Americas

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On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from Spain to find an all-water route to Asia. On October 12, more than two months later, Columbus landed on an island in the Bahamas that he called San Salvador; the natives called it Guanahani.

For nearly five months, Columbus explored the Caribbean, particularly the islands of Juana (Cuba) and Hispaniola (Santo Domingo), before returning to Spain. He left thirty-nine men to build a settlement called La Navidad in present-day Haiti. He also kidnapped several Native Americans (between ten and twenty-five) to take back to Spain-only eight survived. Columbus brought back small amounts of gold as well as native birds and plants to show the richness of the continent he believed to be Asia.

When Columbus arrived back in Spain on March 15, 1493, he immediately wrote a letter announcing his discoveries to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, who had helped finance his trip. The letter was written in Spanish and sent to Rome, where it was printed in Latin by Stephan Plannck. Plannck mistakenly left Queen Isabella's name out of the pamphlet's introduction but quickly realized his error and reprinted the pamphlet a few days later. The copy shown here is the second, corrected edition of the pamphlet.

The Latin printing of this letter announced the existence of the American continent throughout Europe. "I discovered many islands inhabited by numerous people. I took possession of all of them for our most fortunate King by making public proclamation and unfurling his standard, no one making any resistance," Columbus wrote.

In addition to announcing his momentous discovery, Columbus's letter also provides observations of the native people's culture and lack of weapons, noting that "they are destitute of arms, which are entirely unknown to them, and for which they are not adapted; not on account of any bodily deformity, for they are well made, but because they are timid and full of terror." Writing that the natives are "fearful and timid . . . guileless and honest," Columbus declares that the land could easily be conquered by Spain, and the natives "might become Christians and inclined to love our King and Queen and Princes and all the people of Spain."

An English translation of this document is available.

Excerpt

I have determined to write you this letter to inform you of everything that has been done and discovered in this voyage of mine.

On the thirty-third day after leaving Cadiz I came into the Indian Sea, where I discovered many islands inhabited by numerous people. I took possession of all of them for our most fortunate King by making public proclamation and unfurling his standard, no one making any resistance. The island called Juana, as well as the others in its neighborhood, is exceedingly fertile. It has numerous harbors on all sides, very safe and wide, above comparison with any I have ever seen. Through it flow many very broad and health-giving rivers; and there are in it numerous very lofty mountains. All these island are very beautiful, and of quite different shapes; easy to be traversed, and full of the greatest variety of trees reaching to the stars. . . .

In the island, which I have said before was called Hispana, there are very lofty and beautiful mountains, great farms, groves and fields, most fertile both for cultivation and for pasturage, and well adapted for constructing buildings. The convenience of the harbors in this island, and the excellence of the rivers, in volume and salubrity, surpass human belief, unless on should see them. In it the trees, pasture-lands and fruits different much from those of Juana. Besides, this Hispana abounds in various kinds of species, gold and metals. The inhabitants . . . are all, as I said before, unprovided with any sort of iron, and they are destitute of arms, which are entirely unknown to them, and for which they are not adapted; not on account of any bodily deformity, for they are well made, but because they are timid and full of terror. . . . But when they see that they are safe, and all fear is banished, they are very guileless and honest, and very liberal of all they have. No one refuses the asker anything that he possesses; on the contrary they themselves invite us to ask for it. They manifest the greatest affection towards all of us, exchanging valuable things for trifles, content with the very least thing or nothing at all. . . . I gave them many beautiful and pleasing things, which I had brought with me, for no return whatever, in order to win their affection, and that they might become Christians and inclined to love our King and Queen and Princes and all the people of Spain; and that they might be eager to search for and gather and give to us what they abound in and we greatly need.

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Columbus reports on his first voyage, 1493

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On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail from Spain to find an all-water route to Asia. On October 12, more than two months later, Columbus landed on an island in the Bahamas that he called San Salvador; the natives called it Guanahani.

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Europeans - Disease
Native Americans - Enslavery of people, losing their own land, disease (smallpox and measles)

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Europeans - introduction of new crops and animals
Native Americans - introduction of new technology such as; firearms, written language, agricultural advances, and architecture

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After losing trust from the Europeans, Native Americans fight back in order to protect their beliefs and their people.

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The Powhatan Confederacy, which included approximately 30 different Algonquian-speaking tribes at the height of its power, developed on the Eastern Seaboard of North America in present-day Virginia. Wahunsenacawh, who was the leader of this confederacy in the late 15th century, maintained control from his main residence in Werowocomoco on the York River.

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People's views on how Native Americans and Africans changed and the debate of whether they should use Africans as slaves grew. There were two sides to the argument, best described by Sepúlveda vs. Las Casas

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Study Tip:
Gold- Economic Gain
Glory- Military Competition
God- Spread Christianity

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A Great Video to refresh on what exactly happened and tools to study or quiz yourself.

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New inventions in Maritime travel such as the astrolabe and compass.

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Crosby is a historian and in this essay he discusses the happenings of the exchange.

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User account | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History

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"When the Old World's Peoples came to America, they brought with them all of their plants, animals, and germs, creating a kind of environment in which they were already adapted and so they increased in number. Amerindians had not adapted to European germs initially, so their numbers plummeted."

-This explains population increase for Europeans (Also the ones who stay due to trade) and population decrease for the Natives (Also died due to enslavement attempts).

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Shows what kinds of crops, diseases, and livestock was integrated between the Old and New worlds.

-By D'Johnson

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"The arrival of Europeans in the Americas brought more than a clash of peoples and cultures. It also brought a movement of plants, animals, and diseases between the Eastern and Western hemispheres. This movement of living things between hemispheres is called the Columbian Exchange. One result of the Columbian Exchange was the transfer of diseases from Europe to the Americas. When Europeans came to America, they brought with them germs that caused diseases such as smallpox, measles, and influenza. Native Americans had no immunity to them. Although exact numbers are unknown, historians estimate that diseases brought by Europeans decreased Naïve American populations by 90 to 95 percent between the years 1519 and 1619. Other effects of the Columbian Exchange were more positive. The Spanish brought many plants and animals to the Americas. European livestock-cattle, pigs, and horses-all thrived in the Americas. Crops from the Eastern Hemisphere, such as grapes, onions, and wheat, also thrived in the Western Hemisphere. The Columbian Exchange benefited Europe, too. Many American crops became part of the European diet. Two that had a huge impact were potatoes and corn. They helped feed European populations that might otherwise have gone hungry. Potatoes, for example, became an important food in Ireland, Russia, and other parts of northern Europe. Without potatoes, Europe's population might not have grown as rapidly as it did during the last five centuries.
By mixing the products of two hemispheres, the Columbian Exchange brought the world closer together. Of course, people were also moving from one hemisphere to the other (http://dmshistory8.weebly.com/the-columbian-exchange.html).

Watch the below Crash Course video from John Green's series to look more at how the Columbian Exchange worked, and what its impact was and is.

Here's an awesome graphic (http://castinet.castilleja.org/) that shows what was exchanged:
After watching the video and analyzing the graphic, ask yourself:
1. How and who benefitted from this exchange?
2. Who suffered? How?
3. How does is continue to shape our world?

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"The arrival of Europeans in the Americas brought more than a clash of peoples and cultures. It also brought a movement of plants, animals, and diseases between the Eastern and Western hemispheres. This movement of living things between hemispheres is called the Columbian Exchange.

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John Green explains the Columbian Exchange

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The Columbian Exchange: Crash Course World History #23

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Once the Spanish came they further introduced new crops and faming techniques but more importantly instituted an encomienda system.

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The Spanish Crown (or monarchy) allowed for Spanish conquistadors to receive a grant which allowed for them to rule over an area or number of natives. This was a form of enslavement which demanded tribute in the form of gold or labor or another tribute. A conquistador's duty beyond ruling was to also convert them to christianity.

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This article was most recently revised and updated by

encomienda, in Spain's American and Philippine colonies, legal system by which the Spanish crown attempted to define the status of the indigenous population. It was based upon the practice of exacting tribute from Muslims and Jews during the Reconquista ("Reconquest") of Muslim Spain. Although the original intent of the encomienda was to reduce the abuses of forced labour ( repartimiento) employed shortly after Europeans' 15th-century discovery of the New World, in practice it became a form of enslavement.

As legally defined in 1503, an encomienda (from Spanish encomendar, "to entrust") consisted of a grant by the crown to a conquistador, a soldier, an official, or others of a specified number of "Indios" (Native Americans and, later, Filipinos) living in a particular area. The receiver of the grant, the encomendero, could exact tribute from the "Indios" in gold, in kind, or in labour and was required to protect them and instruct them in the Christian faith. The encomienda did not include a grant of land, but in practice the encomenderos gained control of lands inhabited by "Indios" and failed to fulfill their obligations to the indigenous population. The crown's attempts to end the severe abuses of the system with the Laws of Burgos (1512-13) and the New Law of the Indies (1542) failed in the face of colonial opposition. In fact, a revised form of the repartimiento system was revived after 1550.

The encomienda was designed to meet the needs of the American colonies' early mining economy. With the catastrophic decline in the Indian population and the replacement of mining activities by agriculture in Spanish America, the system lost its effectiveness and was gradually replaced by the hacienda system of landed estates. Although the encomienda was not officially abolished until the late 18th century, in September 1721 the conferment of new encomiendas in Spain's colonies was prohibited.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Jeff Wallenfeldt.

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Encomienda, in Spain's American and Philippine colonies, legal system by which the Spanish crown attempted to define the status of the indigenous population. It was originally intended to reduce the abuses of forced labor (repartimiento) in the colonies, but in practice it became a form of enslavement.

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Due to natives dying off due to intense labor and diseases brought on the Spanish and other colonizers brought slaves from Africa for labor needs.

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Courtesy of Goldberg and DuPre

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When captain James Smith first came to the Americas, the Natives and the English tried to understand each other and both sides adopted different aspects of culture from one another.