We explain how the discovery of America was and the changes that this event produced. In addition, its characteristics and consequences.
What was the discovery of America?
It is known as “the discovery of America” at the historical moment in which, for the first time, European navigators explorers reached the American continent. This It happened on October 12, 1492, When a Spanish expedition, commanded by Christopher Columbus, arrived on the island of Guanahani, belonging to the Antilles archipelago.
From then on, Spain and other European kingdoms began sending exploration and conquest expeditions of territories that were inhabited by different American cultures and societies.
These events had profound consequences that transformed societies from both America and Europe, Africa and Asia. Therefore, many historians consider the discovery of America as the milestone that divides the Middle Ages (476-1492) of the Modern Age (1492-1789).
Today, the concept of “discovery” is questioned because it refers to a Eurocentrist vision of history, in which events and processes are understood from the vision of European societies. In this sense, talking about “discovery” implies ignoring pre -Columbian American societies (prior to the arrival of Columbus). At present, it is preferred to talk about this process as “the arrival of the Spaniards to America” or the “encounter between European and American cultures.”
Key points
- It is known as “discovery of America” at the time Cristóbal Columbus and other navigators arrived in America for the first time, on October 12, 1492.
- When Europeans arrived on the continent, America was populated by hundreds of cultures with different forms of political, economic and social organization.
- Currently, the concept “The arrival of Spaniards to America” is used because talking about “discovery” means ignoring pre -Columbian American societies.
Background of the discovery of America
The discovery of America in 1492 by Christopher Columbus It was one of the most important facts in European history and conditioned the political, social and economic evolution of the following centuries.
It is possible that during the Middle Ages some Nordic expeditions arrive at the coast of North America, but, since the beginning of the 15th century, Portuguese and Castilians had started an attempt to reach the East (the Indies), spice and products provider of great value, through an alternative path to the traditional routes of the eastern Mediterranean.
The growing difficulties of the Byzantine Empire, which finally fell with the shot by the Turks of Constantinople in 1453, Western Europeans forced to look for Alternative trade routes to Asia.
Fruit of these expeditions was the Castilian conquest of the Canary Islandswhich began in 1402 on the island of Lanzarote and concluded in 1496 with the conquest of Tenerife.
At the end of the 15th century, the Portuguese had advanced to the Castilians in the conquest of the spices and precious metals, thanks to the domain they already exerted on the African western coast. At that time, Christopher Columbus, who had been under the orders of the King of Portugal, offered the Catholic Monarchs The project to reach the Indies following a route to the westinstead of bordering the entire African continent, as the Basque Portuguese navigator had done.
To put his project into practice, Columbus started from the idea of the sphericity of the Earth, an issue controversial at the time. Finally, by the capitulations of Santa Fe, The Catholic Monarchs agreed with Columbus for the beginning of the expedition.
On August 3, 1492 Columbus began his trip leaving the port of Palos de la Frontera in Huelva. The expedition of three ships (calls Little girl, Pint and Santa María) He reached a small island in the Antilles on October 12.
For a long time Columbus continued to believe that he had arrived in Asia on the western route, but in reality he had encountered an unknown continent in Europe: America.
Cristóbal Colón’s project
Cristóbal Colón, whose original name is Cristoforo Colombo, was born in 1436 and died in 1506. His goal was to find a way to reach the lands of Gran Kan in the Eastto create a very valuable silk trade and spices.
For that He used a map of the cartographer Paolo Dal Pozzo Toscanelli That, based on Marco Polo’s trips, he pointed out the journey that allowed Europe to travel to Asia stopping in various islands that were supposedly on the road.
Cristóbal Colón’s trips
Between 1492 and 1504, Columbus led four expeditions that were funded by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. On these trips he explored the islands of the Antilles and part of the coastal area of Central America. However, since he did not go beyond the coast, Columbus could not see the dimension of the new lands and did not understand that they were an entire continent.
As an expedition leader, he was the first navigator to take possession of American lands on behalf of the Spanish Crown. Therefore, although Columbus never became aware of having discovered a continent, he is considered the first conqueror.
The first trip
The departure was on August 3, 1492of the Port of Palos, with a last scale in European territory on September 6, 1492, on the island of La Gomera (Canary Islands). The arrival was on October 12, 1492 and Rodrigo de la Triana the sailor who sighted the earth.
Columbus expected to arrive in Asia because he did not know that traveling in that direction was 19,000 kilometers from his starting point (4 times more than calculated).
Second trip
The second trip It began on September 25, 1493 and the return was on June 11, 1496.
The lands discovered on this trip were islands, including Jamaica and Puerto Rico. On this trip The colonization process began.
Third trip
The third trip began on May 30, 1498 and the return was on November 25, 1500. This was the journey in which Venezuela is currently and for the first time the Europeans arrived at the American continental mass.
Before finishing the trip, Columbus He was arrested by his own crew in a disagreement with his command.
Fourth trip
Columbus’s last trip was between 1502 and 1504 and aimed to find a narrow that allowed open the way to the East, because they still believed that these territories belonged to Asia.
On this trip, Columbus explored Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama and Costa Rica.
The Spanish crown claim on America
According to a European medieval legal principle, it was considered that the deserted lands that were occupied by citizens or expeditions financed by the king were the power of the crown. Therefore, The Catholic Monarchs claimed the possession of the lands discovered by Columbus and defined the constitution of the new colonies.
To legitimize this situation, the kings began negotiations with the Pope (who had a great political influence in Europe) and with the kingdom of Portugal (which was his main competition at that time). As a result of these negotiations, in 1494 the Treaty of Tordesillas was signed, from which an imaginary line was established from north to south that divided the territories to explore between Spain and Portugal, without taking into account the people who lived there.
On the other hand, before starting his trip, Columbus signed with the Catholic Monarchs a contract called the Capitulations of Santa Fe. In this document It was established that Columbus made his expeditions on behalf of the crown. In turn, the kings gave him certain privileges as the title of Viceroy and governor of the conquered lands and a tenth of the wealth obtained.
The expeditions after Columbus
The Spanish crown emulated the capitulations of Santa Fe and signed these types of contracts with whom they were willing to lead conquest expeditions. In this way, the obligations and benefits of conquest captains were organized:
- The organizers of the expeditions had to get their own financing of boats, crew and provisions for travel. In addition, they promised to spread the Catholic faith between the American populations, found cities and give the King the fifth of the conquered wealth.
- The monarchy granted the conquerors of privilege titles (Almirante, Adelantado, Virrey) that allowed them to govern in the conquered territories. In addition, they allowed them to exploit the gold and silver mines found (which were considered owned by the crown).
Evangelization of America
Due to the political links that Spanish monarchs had with the Pope, the dissemination of Christian faith and the evangelization of the American population was established as an necessary condition.
In 1513 a document called the requirement was written, which should be read in public every time the conquerors faced the native population. In the written sE demanded to the American population to submit to the Catholic Church and the Spanish Crown.
Exploration and conquest of the different American regions
The conquest of America that began after its discovery, was carried out during the 16th century. In it, conquest expeditions sent mainly from Spain, but also from Portugal, England, France and other European kingdoms. In most cases, local populations and states began resistance wars but, sooner or later, European colonial powers managed to impose themselves in American territory.
- Mesoamerica and Central America. After the first settlements in the Caribbean islands, Spanish expeditions entered the continental territories. In 1517, an expedition for Yucatan found the cities and wealth of the Maya. In 1519, another expedition under Hernán Cortés began a conquest trip through the Mesoamerican territory, which was favored by the discontent of the populations dominated by the Aztecs. The Aztec Empire was defeated in 1522 and its territories became one of the most important Spanish power centers in America.
- South America. In 1531, Francisco Pizarro began an expedition to the Andean region and, two years later, achieved the conquest of the Inca Empire. Thence. Diego de Almagro won on the Chilean coast in 1564.
- North America. England, France and the Netherlands sent expeditions with the objective of finding an oceanic step that connected America with the East in the north. They founded villages and developed an exchange network of European products with the American native groups. Since the seventeenth century, they began to compete for the possession of land and to settle definitively, fighting local populations.
Consequences of the discovery of America
From the discovery and conquest of America, a colonization process began that deeply transformed world societies, both in America, in Europe, Africa and Asia.
In general terms, the main consequences of this process were:
- The beginning of conquest campaigns, appropriation and exploitation of land and natural resources by Europeans.
- The reduction, transformation and submission of American civilizations.
- The growth of competition between European monarchies for the control of American territories.
- The exploitation of gold and silver mines, and their export to Europe.
- The establishment of new maritime empires for Spain and Portugal.
Pre -Columbian America
When the European explorers arrived, America was inhabited by hundreds of different cultures and societies. Among the most important, they were:
- Maya. They inhabited the Yucatan peninsula between 2000 a. C. and 1540 AC had a complex economic and social organization, around urban centers of great architecture, with a pyramidal political hierarchy that was governed by a political-religious caste.
- Aztecs They occupied the Valley of Mexico between 1345 and 1521 d. C. and built a powerful centralized state, which was imposed on neighboring populations.
- Incas. They formed the largest empire in South America from the middle of the thirteenth century to 1533 and managed to dominate various geographical regions, take advantage of their resources and impose themselves on neighboring populations.
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References
- Bennasar, B., Blayau, N., Denis, M., and Jacquart, J. (2005). “The finding of other worlds.” Modern history. Akal
- Friederici, G. (1973). The character of discovery and conquest of America. Economic Culture Fund.
- Raiter, B., Rizzi, A., Grau-Dieckmann, P. (2008). A story to think. Modern and contemporary. Kapelusz Norma
