Christopher Columbus American Impact

Christopher Columbus's discovery of the “New World” in 1492 was the stimulant for change that European society, at the time, had been waiting for. European society, for hundreds of years, was living in the deep shadows of Asia. The discovery of America opened a whole new world of riches and opportunities to the explorers. However, beyond these new goods and opportunities lied horrific effects of European contact to the indigenous people; the Aztecs. Contact with the European explorers did not lead to prosperity; it led to death and fall of the great empire where it was decapitated and left unrecognizable. Communities within the empire were completely wiped out and centuries of history were lost forever. However, it can be disputed that prior

The leading contributor to this appears to be clashing views of religion on opposing sides; for the Aztecs, it was their ritual of sacrifice to their gods. The rulers of the Aztec empire were elected because of recognition gained from brutal conquest and capture of the prisoners of war for religious practices. The Aztec empire ruled for centuries under this religious belief before the Spanish arrived and challenged their rule. However, if the Spanish conquistadors never arrived, another and perhaps more resentful group of indigenous people would have built an army to take the empire down. Nonetheless, when the Spanish arrived, vengeful natives took the opportunity to side with the Europeans against the Aztecs. This alliance ultimately undermined the Aztec's previously unparalleled domination and led to a plunge in social order. One can argue that the Spanish conquistadors were being used by rival indigenous natives as their puppets. This reasserts the idea that the Aztec empire would have been conquered by another opposing power eventually. The arrival of the Europeans was not the prime cause of the fall of the Aztec empire; however, their presence accelerated the fall of the once powerful