Wednesday, November 23, 2016

European Domination of the Americas

European’s sought global domination, which not all regions sought. Geography may have influenced when and why Europeans left. They were in search of gold and glory. They were seeking fame and fortune. They were going into regions to seek gold and other items. They were often from rural areas, such as Pissarro, and through conquest they are remembered as warriors and great conquerors. Spaniards invaded Peru and taken control of the area.

The powerful Inca underestimated Europeans. They thought they were wearing cooking pots on their head. They thought since the Europeans were sending gifts that they were being friendly. The Inca people thought the Europeans were lesser people because they wore the pot and did not use it to cook. They did not realize that the Europeans were very well armed with very advanced weaponry including gunpowder where Europeans made them light and useable. Rudimentary guns were terrifying and though they were awkward, took a long time to load and may not have been reliable, the dangerous guns were loud with a powerful smell.

Some areas were secluded and did not have access to communications with other groups. Other regions were in less secluded areas which allowed the to other technologies like animals, writing and more. When the people arrived with animals and goods they were believed to be Gods. Guns sounding like thunder reinforced this belief.

Smallpox virus would infect thousands of Native Americans. They had no resistance, so they would grow very ill from it. They would get a rash with blisters that would eventually burst, infect and kill. It is highly contagious. It hit even the Inca Empire. It decimated the populations. This would make it easier to conquer. Europeans were exposed to the animals and pets. The zoonotic diseases immunized European populations over 10,000 years. There were as many of or not the same resistances in Native American populations.

Whole populations were immunized this way in Europe, but this immunization did not take place in Native American populations. This meant that the diseases spread rapidly and lethally. They did not have the physical contact with farm animals. Llamas are not kept the same ways as Europeans keep animals, so the animals were in a unique way, more sanitary conditions. The worst diseases were originally from Eurasia and Africa and so they spread globally.

They had weapons, metalsmithing, horses, advanced combat techniques and more. They had resistances, immunities and carried a variety of diseases from the animal handling they had. They came from regions where they had plenty of time to adapt to the diseases. The people in the America’s had not had time to adapt to those diseases. They had draft animals. They also had a variety of goods they had already had access too. This created a novelty when they entered areas. This provided an opportunity to trade. There may also be disputes over trade.

In the new world all the farming had to be done by hand since the llama was the only docile stock animal they had though they didn’t really use it for farming purposes. They worked by hand therefore could not produce as much as Europeans.

Horses were a sense of awe and power. People thought them amazing to be carried by animals and though they were part human and part horse (beast). This meant they thought they were gods. Horses provided transportation, food and draft. Horses were able to give them speed. The advantage of being in horseback provides instant protection against people on foot. Horses meant that draft such as large farming and lumber could be conducted. Large amounts of food could also be transported along with other supplies.

In Europe, the horse provided the key for moving large items which would go into the creation and production of metal and shipbuilding objects. This powerful backing from their homeland would give them the ships to get there, the horses to carry their generals, the weapons for their armies, the training for their warriors and the food to feed them. Other animals such as goats, cattle and more provided some of the same advantges such as food, milk, textiles, advantages in farming and more.
Horses meant that their riders were mobile and in control of the land that they inhabited. Horse based combat was also exercised. Different regions developed different combat styles, and the Spanish horse combat style is very advanced and gives the rider unique techniques. They were good for working with bulls and translated well to combat. Horses were intimidating to their riders’ enemies.

They had access to good quality steel weapons while the Inca people were still using Bronze for instance. The fertile crescent is where metalworking started, and so they got it early on from the Fertile Crescent and used it to advance their weapons and create armor. Weapons like swords were advanced into thin blades like rapiers and Toledo blades. This was because of the quality of the blade and the metal as well as how pliable it was. Forging is a sophisticated and advanced form of training (I have made a few things but only the basics of armor).

There are a variety of negative outcomes from the conquest on the Americas. Huge civilizations were lost to conquest. Many artifacts were lost forever. There are Native American bodies which were exhumed and taken into possession by other organizations and groups. Gold from the Americas was taken back to Spain. They sent more people and eventually other countries would begin to move in. The Colonization of the Americas would be done by many countries who disregarded the rights and liberties of the people who originally lived in the regions. They would often do mass killings to remove entire groups from the region.

I see these as negative outcomes. I think that there are plenty of regions that were able to learn and adapt to the modern world without suffering through conquest. But many of the things that were created due to European rule over the Americas may not have happened or happened as early as they did. Different technologies may have been developed though. Sadly, we will never know what could have happened, but we can surmise what are some of the things that could have occurred. This region would be likely under control of one of the local groups.

In the region I am in that means that there would be Miwak, Suisun, Patwin, Pomo and Wappo in these regions. I am fine with that and I consider that positive. Native groups would be larger, not restricted to reservations and possess all of their original freedoms as well as rule themselves.

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