Dbq Columbian Exchange Analysis

Words: 824
Pages: 4

The world thanks Columbus for discovering America, but that discovery was only the a spark igniting a dynamic future for this land. Conquest and the travel of goods during the Columbian exchange was a mass interaction of resources between the New World and the Old World. The New world was the Eastern Hemisphere, or the Americas, whereas the Old world was the Western Hemisphere, or land in Europe. As Europeans began to enter and settle in the Americas, Natives were forced to work, and these actions led to even more change, bringing upon a new era of colonial administration. Essentially, Europe’s purpose was to gain wealth and expand land, and these discoveries led to them finding a new lifestyle which would be a large factor in the futures of …show more content…
One very significant regulation put on the inhabitants of the New World was the Spanish Requirement of 1513. Even though several ordinances were passed forbidding the maltreatment of Natives, this law was still overpowering and nevertheless, was enforced. It “ordained the right to colonize the territories of the New World by force” (Document 2). This means that the land was split into sections, or territories for that matter, and the Natives would be forced to accustom to these actions. The Spaniard’s intentions were to once and for all convert the Natives to Catholicism. They believed that malice and stupidity were the initial reason they weren’t converting before. Spain believed it to be something ‘right,’ or something that would justify the slaughtering of hundreds for the sake of God. Furthermore, it is shown that the motive at the time was to “dismember, slay, pertur, afflict, torment, and destroy the Indians by all manner of cruelty” which is evidently of no consideration whatsoever for humanity (Document 3). As a whole, the natives were completely treated as if they were scraps on the floor and were forced to work on the land they were given. Only a couple hundred remained on the land some time later once they had been either killed or brought back to the Island of Hispaniola where they were taken as stock. This clearly depicts the severity and disgusting treatment the natives received, and that perhaps the discovery of the Americas by Columbus wasn’t the greatest discovery of all, but the