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European Settlement Expansion

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A Brief History of European Settlement and Expansion
Throughout the history of mankind, no civilization has been as expensive and dominant as the Europeans. The fact that many parts of the world currently speak a European language and adapted aspects of European culture is a testament to this statement. European settlers reached all but 5 currently existing nations, showing that they did indeed have a global reach in power and influence.
The archaic forms of colonization date back to long before the age of European technological superiority, there existed the Roman and Greek Empires. Europeans were busy expanding their range of inhabited areas within the continent itself and other parts of the old world. Alexander the Great was the most notable …show more content…

For the first time in a millennium, Europeans became discontent with their home continent and ventured into the newly discovered Americas in pursuit of wealth, glory and the spreading Christianity. In this pursuit the Europeans, with colonists flying the Spanish flag such as Columbus, Pizzaro and Cortez conquered the native populations of Central and Southern America. The Spanish were followed by the Portuguese and Dutch in South America; and the English and French in North America. The process of settlement undergone by each respective nations’ colonialists were far from peaceful. Having the upper hand from both biological and technological perspectives, the Colonialists, sometimes unintentionally often knowingly, managed to obliterate native populations through warfare and the spread of old world diseases. Historians Alan Taylor and Eric Foner estimate that some 90% of the Native population on the American continents were decimated due to either disease, warfare or forced relocation. With America’s native inhabitants subdued, the Europeans made full use of the land and riches offered. They set up towns and produced agricultural goods with slave-power run …show more content…

On the side of the coin, it could be claimed that without colonialism, the less developed areas of the world would not be as integrated into the world economy as they are today. Whether European colonialism was or was not a net positive is up for debate. However, what is for certain is that Europe would not be in the position it currently is in today had it not been for their

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