Defend or Refute the Following Statement: the European Encounter with the Americas Can Be Viewed as a Disaster and a Tragedy.

Defend or refute the following statement: The European encounter with the Americas can be viewed as a disaster and a tragedy.

For hundreds of years the nations of Europe thrived due to their trade with the countries of Asia. However, the caravan routes of the Silk Road and maritime voyages from Europe to Asia were long and dangerous. In 1492, Christopher Columbus boarded a Spanish ship and sailed west in spite of discovering a faster, more efficient trade route to Asia. However, when Columbus reached land, it was not Asia that he encountered, but an entire, undiscovered new world. Columbus’s successful failure began the two century long Age of Exploration where European countries scrambled and fought to establish colonies overseas with hopes of inquiring wealth. However, with the success of the new dominant nations in the Americas, came a bitter downfall for the original inhabitants. The arrival of the Europeans threatened the lives, cultures and futures of the Native American and African population. “The European encounter with the Americas can be viewed as a disaster and a tragedy.” The emerging European population did not only bring themselves, but were accompanied by various deadly diseasing, including smallpox and measles, that accounted for the vast population decline of the Native Population. The fierce Spanish Conquistadores quickly invaded and destroyed several thriving civilizations, including the Incas and Aztecs, upon their disembarkation demolishing their cities, histories and population. The ambitious English settlers of the Southern colonies established flourishing plantations, which resorted to cheap labor by African slaves that humiliated the African race and undermined the future of their population.

Beginning in 1492 and the succeeding several years, the European explorers did not only bring their desires for wealth and success, but also carried over from the Old World a list of fatal diseases and infections. The appearance of...