When Christopher Columbus landed in the Caribbean islands, a chain of events was set off. The acts of exploration, pillaging, and colonization would permanently affect the Americas. What exactly was the New World? Who lived there before it was "discovered" by European men? Why did Europeans want to go there so badly? Let's look at the history of the Americas and the Europeans who explored and settled in it.
Words to Know
Here are some keywords and phrases that we will use throughout this article.
Word | Definition |
Assimilation | Removing someone's culture and traditions and replacing them with one's own culture. |
Pillaging | Violently stealing from a person or group. |
Vineland | The name that the Vikings used for North America when they tried to settle in the continent around 1000 EC. |
Conquistador | Spanish conquers, active in Central and South America. |
The First People to Discover the Americas
Before Christopher Columbus "discovered" the New World, people were already living fulfilling lives in the Americas. In Central America, there were organized societies in vast empires, like the Aztecs and Mayans, or the Incas in South America. These empires did not spread to North America, but there were plenty of tribes each with unique structures, religions, and cultures.
Central America and the Aztecs
Let's look at the Aztecs of Central America. While we call them Aztecs now, that is only a word that historians use to identify them. They called themselves the Mexica.
Did you know. . .
The word Aztec was taken from the word aztecatl, meaning people from Aztlan, which is where historians believed the Mexica originated from.
The Mexica lived in city-states ruled by a Tlatoani, who was similar to a king. Beneath him were dignitaries who acted as advisors, priests, nobility, commoners, landless peasants, then enslaved people.
Fig 1: Mexica Hierarchy Chart
The capital city-state was Tenochtitlan, where the Emperor, Montezuma II, lived and ruled. The Mexica had a vibrant culture shown in Tenochtitlan's art, architecture, and people. Much of this would be destroyed in 1521 when Hernán Cortés, with the help of the Aztec's indigenous enemies, defeated the Mexica and pillaged the city.
North American Indigenous Tribes
Instead of looking at a specific tribe, let's look at the differences in culture to appreciate the diversity of North American indigenous tribes. Indigenous American groups could be as small as a family who hunted together or as large as the Iroquois Confederacy, which comprised five different nations. Some tribes were led by a chief, while others had a council. Tribes in wooded areas might hunt deer, but a tribe by the sea would fish. The tribes were vastly different in language, culture, religion, and types of social organization.
Europeans in the New World
Europeans began exploring the New World after Columbus sailed to it in 1492. Let's look at the below timeline for an overall idea of the exploration and colonialization of the Americas.
The New World Timeline
Year | Person | Accomplishment |
1492 | Christopher Columbus | First European to set foot on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea. |
1497 | Amerigo Vespucci | Explored the northern part of South America, first believing it was a New World and not Asia. |
1497 | John Cabot | Explored part of Canada and declared that it was Newfoundland (a newfound land). |
1513 | Nunez de Balboa | First European to see the Pacific Ocean. |
1513 | Ponce de Leon | Claimed Florida for the Spanish monarchy. |
1520 | | European who named the Pacific Ocean. |
1521 | Hernán Cortés | Defeated the Aztec Empire. |
1524 | Giovanni Verrazano | Explored from North Carolina to Maine. |
1533 | Francisco Pizzaro | Conquered the Incas. |
1534 | Jacques Cartier | Claimed part of North America for France. |
1539 | Hernando de Soto | Explored and colonized Florida. |
1585 | Sir Walter Raleigh | Sir Walter Raleigh established the Roanoke Colony. |
1565 | Pedro Menéndez de Avilés | Establish the St. Augustine colony in Florida. |
1578 | Sir Francis Drake | Claimed San Francisco Bay for England. |
1585 | John White | Roanoke and the Lost Colony. |
1587 | Sir Walter Raleigh | Claimed Virginia for England, established colony. |
1609 | Samuel de Champlain | The first European to find Lake Champlain and mapped out most of the northeastern part of North America. |
1609 | Henry Hudson | The first European to find the Hudson River, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay. |
1673 | Jacques Marquette and Louis Joliet | Missionaries who mapped out the Mississippi River. |
1679 | Robert de La Salle | Sailed from the Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. |
New World Definition
Now that we've seen who lived in and the timeline of the New World, let's define it. The New World was the term used for the Americas starting in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. It included the Caribbean islands, North, Central, and South America, and other landmasses in the Western Hemisphere.
New World Fact: The continent was named America by German mapmaker Martin Waldseemüller in 1507. He called it the Americas after Amerigo Vespucci, the first European to suggest that the continent was not India.
Fig 2: Map of North America.
Christopher Columbus Lands in the New World
In 1492, Christopher Columbus was the first European to discover Hispaniola in the Caribbean islands, which the Taino people already populated. On his second voyage, Columbus established and was the governor of a colony on Hispaniola. This colony would become the template for colonies established throughout the New World.
Taino Women.
Columbus was arrested in 1500 for his cruelties towards the colonists and the indigenous islanders. While the Spanish monarchy immediately freed him, the colony was given to someone else. Many European explorers followed suit with his discovery of a sea route to the New World.
Spanish Exploration of the New World
After the Spanish settled Hispaniola, they began to spread to the surrounding islands. Juan Ponce de León was the governor of Puerto Rico. León decided to leave the island and explore the continent. Some historians think he was looking for riches, but others believe it was the mythical "fountain of youth" he was after.
In 1513, León sailed to Florida and mistook it for an island. He claimed this territory for Spain and named it Terra de Pascua, Florida, for the growing flowers. León was chased from the island by indigenous warriors. He returned in 1521 to colonize the territory. Once again, the indigenous warriors chased him away, fatally wounding him. A colony would not be established in Florida until 1565.
Fig 4: Ponce de León
The Spanish explorers were often called conquistadors. Two of the most known conquistadors were Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro. Cortés defeated the Aztecs while Pizarro defeated the Incas.
Early French Exploration of the New World
Giovanni Verrazano was an Italian explorer hired by the French to search for the Northwest Passage in 1524. Verrazano never found the passage, but he did explore much of the New World, from North Carolina to Nova Scotia, Canada. Verrazano's accounts helped mapmakers make more accurate maps that later explorers would use.
Fig 5: Giovanni Verrazano
The French sent Jacques Cartier in search of the Northwest Passage in 1534. While he did not find the passage, he did find the St. Lawrence Gulf and St Lawrence River. Cartier tried to establish a colony in Canada, but it was unsuccessful. His discoveries did lead to later French colonies and gave France a way to claim land in Canada.
English Exploration of the New World
Henry VII sent John Cabot, an Italian explorer, to search for a northwest passage in 1497. While Cabot did not discover the passage, he did claim Newfoundland, Canada, for England. This claim would allow England to establish colonies later on.
Sir Walter Raleigh was one of the first English men to try just that. His first attempt to establish a colony in Roanoke in 1585 failed. He sponsored a second attempt in 1587, with John White acting as governor. This colony disappeared completely. Raleigh's last effort at adventure was when he went to Central America to find the fabled El Dorado, the city of gold. This attempt was also a failure that cost him his life.
Fig 6: John White beside the tree marked "Croatan"
The Lost Colony
The Roanoke colony was established and doing well, but John White had to return to England for supplies. His daughter just gave birth to the first European born in America and named her Virginia. White could not return for three years, and the colony was gone by the time he got back. The only evidence left was the word "CROATOAN" carved into a pillar. The Lost Colony was never heard from again and faded into folklore.
The New World - Key takeaways
- Europeans did not discover the Americas because people already lived there
- Christopher Columbus's colonialization of Hispaniola was the template for other colonies
- The Spanish did a lot of the early exploration of the Americas
- The French and English exploration of the New World was centered around colonizing
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