21st Century American Exploration

During the age of discovery there roamed many great explorers from England, Spain, Portugal, France, and many other significant countries to this time period. Without theses courageous men, America might not have been what it is today. Individuals praise explorers for discovering and making the New World what it is today, but many overlook the bad that had been done. The worst things that have been done in history are enforcing religion on innocent Native Americans , spreading various diseases to the indigenous people of the Americas along with other Europeans, and using American goods to expand trade, which had later lead to the start of the slave trade in many prospering countries striving for wealth. However, without these tragic events history would be completely different and the Americas would not be as we know them today When the first European explorers such as Francisco Pizarro, Christopher Columbus, Jacques Cartier, and many others came to the new world they

The New world had something much more powerful than smallpox which is still around in the 21st century, syphilis. Roughly around the same time the Columbian Exchange was occurring syphilis was becoming popular. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease which appears in sores, blisters and may sometimes even look like a rash. This disease like smallpox may lead to death, but it is not as fatal. Many historians believe syphilis came from the Indians the sailors and colonists became involved with. Although it has been nearly five hundred years since the spreading of syphilis it is still one of the biggest diseases and it is still under question on how it first developed. One of the most famous explorers during this time period contracted syphilis. His name is Christopher Columbus. Columbus may have sailed the ocean blue in 1492, but by the 500’s he was bringing back a STD home with him to