Spanish Colonization Of America

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XV century inaugurated the start of the European Expansion with Portugal and Spain being the first most successful countries in discovering and colonizing new lands. Spanish colonization of America, without any doubt, was one of the most important events of that period. Stories about lands with many wonderful goods, spices, and other riches encouraged European men, who wanted to enrich themselves and find a better life over the sea, to travel and explore, claiming new lands to become dominions of the sponsoring party, in this case, the Crown of Spain. Christopher Columbus’ first voyage, backed by Queen Isabella of Castile, aimed to find a route to Asia through the West, but was not successful in its goal. However, the result of this unprecedented voyage was more than revolutionary: it discovered the New World. This discovery is considered by historians to be the beginning of Spanish colonization of America, which started with the discovery of the Bahamas by Christopher Columbus in 1492. This was also the start of the long-lasting abuse of the Natives by Spanish conquistadors.
Christopher Columbus and his men were the first European people Indians met, and Indians’ introduction to the West was followed by many deaths among Native Americans and continuous violence from the Spanish conquistadors. They exploited local inhabitants: raped women, killed children, enslaved local population. In his journal Christopher Columbus wrote: “They would make fine servants.... With fifty men