European Colonization of the Americas

Although there is some debate as to whether the prehistoric, Clovis culture was

European in origin, the first generally accepted European colonists were the

Norse, starting but then abandoning a colonisation process. (For more on this,

see Vinland.)

The first phase of modern European activity in this region began with the

oceanic crossings of Christopher Columbus (1492-1500), sponsored by Spain, and

those of other explorers such as John Cabot, sponsored by England, and Giovanni

da Verrazano, sponsored by France and according to some the German Didrik Pining

and, the possibly mythical, Polish John of Kolno 1473, sponsored by Denmark.

This was followed, notably in the case of Spain, by a phase of conquest: The

Spaniards (just having finished a war against the Muslims in the Iberian

peninsula) replaced the Amerindian local oligarchies and impose a new religion:

Christianity. European diseases and cruel systems of work (the famous haciendas

and mining industry) decimated the Amerindian population. Black African slaves

were introduced to substitute the Amerindian. On the other hand, the Spaniards

did not impose their language in the same measure and the Catholic Church even

evangelized in Quechua, Nahuatl and Guarani, contributing to the expansion of

these Amerindian languages and equipping them with writing systems. One of the

first school for Amerindians was founded by Fray Pedro de Gante in 1523.

The Portuguese switched from an initial plan of establishing trading