It’s not a coincidence that every year on the second Monday of October, students have a day off from school. That day is used to commemorate Christopher Columbus’s arrival to the Americas. Christopher Columbus and many other explores departed from Europe seeking to discover new land. This time in history became know as the Age of Exploration. Historians debate whether the Age of Exploration is as great as it is said to be. There were several downsides to the Age of Exploration. This time period in history should clearly be remembered, but not celebrated due diseases that traveled and killed millions, and the unfair treatment of native peoples. During the Age or Exploration, many explorers from different parts of Europe sailed across oceans …show more content…
The natives did not receive correct treatment from those who conquered their land. For example, Hernan Cortes demanded that the natives must change their beliefs. The Aztecs would sacrifice 50 souls every year to their gods. Cortes opposed of this and therefor forced them to adopt a new religion. The Aztecs didn’t easily accept the new religion since they have been following their religion for a very long time (document 3). Conquerors also threatened the natives. It was required that the natives accept the Church as the “Ruler”, and if they didn’t, war would be made against them and their family would become enslaved (document 7). The natives in America suffered severely during this time. In Latin America, the Spanish conquerors overworked the Indian natives and treated them harshly. The Spaniards broke apart families and relationships so that they would have limited contact with each other and would be forced to give up their customs. They were also required to learn Christianity (document 8). The native peoples’ land and space was invaded and they were required to do whatever the conquerors said, or else they would be punished. This era in history is a devastating time for an immense amount of people. The Age of Exploration was a strenuous period of time for the native people, and therefore should not be celebrated. This was a significant event in history and should be remembered. The Age of Exploration