Originally published October 21, 2010

During the 15^th and 16^th Centuries, Europeans were engaged in the conquest and colonization of the Americas. European countries took advantage of the Native Americans and their resources and exploited them to augment their own wealth, and thus become a more powerful country. However, there was more to American colonization than just economic benefits for the Europeans. The European conquest affected both Europeans’ and Americans’ health, image, and economy, with a tendency of benefitting Europeans and harming Americans.

            Europeans experienced an improved health thanks to a new diet and medicine, while Native American health declined due to European-introduced diseases and brutal abuse and hard labor. The European diet was essentially made up of wheat, barley, oats, and rye, that is, before Columbus’ voyage[1]. The foods found in America provided both nutrition and variety to the European diet. Among many foods that were introduced to Europe because of interaction with the Americas were corn, beans, potatoes, chocolate, turkey, and tomatoes.[2] However, the tomato was less of a food to many 16^th century Europeans, and more of a curious medicine. It was believed that the tomato could cure rheumatism, scabies, and St. Anthony’s fire, for example, and was also believed to be an aphrodisiac[3]. While these two things improved the health of Europeans, the Native Americans experienced a very opposite health consequence of European conquest. Firstly, the Native Americans were exposed to various European diseases, like smallpox, measles, mumps, and typhus, to which they had no immunity[4], and thus were completely vulnerable to the ensuing plague that these diseases caused. This “invisible warrior”[5] allowed the Spanish conquistadors to sweep through the Americas virtually unopposed, and establish their dominance throughout the new world. With regard to Europeans exposed to American disease, syphilis is believed to have originated in America and been brought back to Europe, however, this disease transaction only caused a diminished reputation of Native Americans, and aided the enhanced self-image of the Europeans.

            The Europeans, having conquered much of the Americas, developed a superiority complex with a foundation in their dominance over the Americans. When the Spaniards first arrived on the American mainland, the first people they encountered were simple inhabitants of small villages, rather than the members of large societies, such as the Aztecs, who had already established a complex culture and way of life. This primary encounter caused the Spaniards to believe that they had a superior culture, and that it should be asserted upon these new peoples[6]. This realization that they are superior to these new people caused Europeans to have an enhanced image of themselves as they believe they are “a nation excellent in every kind of virtue”[7]. But while the European ego grows, the Native American reputation decays. Europeans returning to Europe from voyages to the New World come back with food, treasures, and stories. It is these stories that cause the deteriorated image of Americans in the European eye. Sepúlveda voices the beliefs of many Europeans about the Americans in his debate, Democrates Secundus, where he states that in:

“every kind of virtue and human sentiment [Americans] are as inferior to the Spaniards as children are to adults… those little men [of America] in whom one can scarcely find any remnants of humanity. They not only lack culture but do not even use or know about writing… offer him human hearts…completely lack religion and knowledge of God.”[8]

All of these beliefs about American culture pair with the claims of Amerigo Vespucci that the Native Americans live promiscuous lifestyles without care for blood relations or having multiple partners[9]. Furthermore, this belief in American sexuality allows Europeans to pin the blame for syphilis on the Americans, and “as far from European civilization as possible”[10], so that the Europeans may uphold their faith in the fact that they are a superior and flawless culture.

            The superiority of Europeans over Americans wasn’t enough, however, and now individual nations within Europe desired superiority over each other, and the way to achieve this was through wealth. Because of colonization, certain European countries were able to flourish economically, and increase their wealth. The idea that wealth meant power was known as mercantilism, and influenced the idea of a favorable balance of trade, in which it was sought for a nation to sell more goods than it bought[11]. Having colonies in America was key to this idea, as America not only produced raw materials unique to itself, such as cotton, but also provided a market for finished materials, such as fabric, to be sold back to it. This economic revolution affected many characteristics of European society. First, it caused expansion of towns and cities, as there was more money to be put into urban development. Secondly, merchants became more mobile throughout the social hierarchy, as it became a wealthy and noble profession. Finally, mercantilism invoked a sense of a national identity among many Europeans, as they all worked together to make their nation the wealthiest, and therefore the most powerful[12]. While Europe was undergoing this whole economic revolution because of the establishment of colonies, the economy of the Native Americans was completely dominated by European conquest.

            While European conquest essentially was a domination of American culture, both parties were drastically affected. While Europeans were generally benefitted by the conquest and colonization, the Americans, in contrast, were exploited and disgraced by the Europeans. As a result of conquest and colonization, the Europeans received a brand new diet, while the Americans acquired various European diseases. Europeans also developed a sense of superiority and excellence, while the Americans were dishonored by European accounts of them and their behavior. Finally, as Europeans established an economic revolution, the Americans’ economy was utterly extinguished. These examples demonstrate the uneven balance in the affects of European conquest, as the scale is tipped towards the Europeans, while the Americans are completely outweighed.

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[1] Roger Schlesinger, “In the Wake of Columbus”, in The West in the Wider World, ed. Richard Lim and David Kammerling Smith (Boston: Bedford/St.Martins, 2003), 18.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid., 19

[4] Roger Beck et al, Modern World History (McDougal Littell: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2009), 122

[5] Ibid.

[6] “Americas.” Renaissance: An Encyclopedia for Students. Ed. Paul F. Grendler. Vol. 1. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 2004. 13-19. Gale World History In Context. Web. 20 Oct. 2010.

[7] Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, “Democrates Secundus”, in The West in the Wider World, ed. Richard Lim and David Kammerling Smith (Boston: Bedford/St.Martins, 2003), 21.

[8] Ibid.

[9] Roger Schlesinger, “In the Wake of Columbus”, in The West in the Wider World, ed. Richard Lim and David Kammerling Smith (Boston: Bedford/St.Martins, 2003), 20.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Roger Beck et al, Modern World History (United States of America: McDougal Littell, 2009), 140-141

[12] Ibid., 141