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Spanish Exploration And European Exploration

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The interactions of early Spanish explorers with the Indigenous people of the Americas contributed in a large way to later interactions between the two groups. Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortès were two notable Spanish explorers who had early contact with the Mexica people as well as other native groups. Columbus initially set out to find an alternate sea route to India, and eventually arrived in the Caribbean and continued to explore over the years and came upon already established societies of Indigenous people. Columbus planned to bring them under Spanish rule after promising great wealth from this expedition to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain. Cortès, a member of low ranking Spanish nobility was originally focused on exploiting the labour of the people of the Americas, until he decided to pursue the goal of conquest in the Americas. In this paper I will argue that European people of the early modern period had an attitude of superiority and righteousness towards the Indigenous people of the Americas due to the differences in culture between the two groups, the religious fanaticism of the time, and the subservient nature of relationships between Spanish explorers and the monarchy.
When the Spaniards arrived in the Americas they were met when societies of people with different customs and culture than their own. This simple fact blossomed into the belief that European traditions and values were in some way superior to those of the people already

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