Period 1: European Contact in Americas (1 Jan 1491 Jahr – 1 Jan 1607 Jahr)

Beschreibung:

Indigenous peoples developed complex societies and methods of interacting with the environment around them. These systems were disrupted and in some cases destroyed by European colonizers, whose arrival and establishment of the Columbian Exchange altered both American and European society. However, indigenous groups resisted colonization efforts, which in some cases successfully led to accommodation of indigenous culture by colonizers

While other nations like the French took a more peaceful approach and chose to coexist with the indigenous people, the English and Spanish both took drastic measures in colonizing the indigenous. While the Spanish were the first to travel and meet the indigenous people through their Encomienda System and participated in the Columbian Exchange which brought smallpox to the Americas and new crops in Europe, the English traveled West to seek religious freedom, and to explore the new land.