In order to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of Spanish American governance, it is necessary to examine Spain's record as an imperial power in the period between 1500 and 1650 when the Spanish empire came under threat from the Northern Europeans. The first few discoveries of new territories ...

When Columbus discovered the New World, he reported that the inhabitants, although intelligent, had no significant weapons. Therefore, they could be easily conquered and enslaved. The Indians were needed to be laborers for the Spaniards in their search for gold in the New World. Their suppression of...

?Throughout history, many different civilizations have branched out into the world looking for new trade routes, land, and desirable goods that could not be found in their home land. In the mid-15th century China had massive fleets of ships that were several times larger than the average seagoing cr...

Roles and Choices of Women Throughout history, women have been forced into a subservient role, forced to abandon their own self-interest for the interest of men. Confined to the private sector of social life, women have had two choices, to follow the path of marriage or the path of serving their g...

From Slavery to Free Labor During the early to mid nineteenth century slave economies were highly present in the Spanish Antilles. Slave labor was highly concentrated on sugar plantations. Since free labor was limited, plantation owners were highly dependent on slave labor, for increase producti...

The Amistad Conflict In January 1839, fifty-three African natives were kidnapped from eastern Africa and sold into the Spanish slave trade. They were then placed aboard a Spanish slave ship bound for Havana, Cuba. Once in Havana, the Africans were classified as native Cuban slaves and purchased...

The history of the European continent has been a turbulent one, and the period following the Dark Middle Ages is no exception. However, at the end of the 15th century, Europe would slowly regain its prosperity and development. Consequently, there would be a great desire for discoveries and territori...

The year 1607 marked an important event in English history. Jamestown, the first colony in America, was set up on an inland peninsula of Chesapeake Bay by English people. Later, the Pilgrims\' Mayflower reached by accident to a place called Massachusetts Bay, and settled in the town called Plymouth;...

The history of slavery in the Americas normally covers the situation of the blacks in North America. However, recently there have been increasing numbers of historical studies conducted about Africans in Latin America, specifically Mexico. Blacks were present as slaves of the Spaniards as early as t...

In "Benito Cereno" by Herman Melville, the author offers a warning about the dangers of slavery, and the future problems slavery could cause America. By telling the story of a slave revolt on a Spanish ship, Melville shows how prejudices affect a person's perception of the world aro...

THE AMERICAN CHARACTER BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR One might ask oneself what that means. The American Character. It sounds glorious, mighty, powerful and whatnot, but how many of us actually know the meaning of such a grand phrase? ...

In the late 1600s, the term servant took on a new meaning in English Mainland North America. Servitude became involuntary, inheritable, and required of blacks. A servant\'s term became lifelong. By the 1660s the term Negro and slave became synonymous, and as a result of newly established laws, ensl...

Columbus and Genocide 2Christopher ColumbusThe Start of Genocide in America Recently many American families came together to celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday. Many Americans observe this holiday as a reminder of when Columbus discovered America. For centuries, Columbus has been hailed as a br...

Columbus and Genocide 2Christopher ColumbusThe Start of Genocide in America Recently many American families came together to celebrate the Thanksgiving Holiday. Many Americans observe this holiday as a reminder of when Columbus discovered America. For centuries, Columbus has been hailed as a br...

Slavery developed into a full scale human trade machine from its inception in 1619 until the Civil War ended. It started as indentured servitude and slowly become slavery. A majority of Africans who were brought to America would never see freedom again. They were treated as second class citizens and...

America's Backbone Hundreds of years ago the United States was formed through people seeking religious or social freedom. In seek of freedom there are possible issues derived from the natural human behavior towards their rivals. For centuries people have oppressed each other to triumph in the ...

Abstract Religious beliefs and the zeal of Missionaries and Preachers had an undeniable influence on America's history since the first explorers set foot on this continents shores. Religious was used as a tool to justify individual goals and to provide society with the justification for...

The Atlantic Slave Trades Effect on Africa's Economy The African continent has long been a source of slaves for different regions of the earth. From as early as the ninth century Muslim countries benefited from the use of African slavery. Furthermore, the use of slaves has a long histo...

Unlike any other creature that has ever existed, humans possess the unique tendency of desiring to see things in a light with which they are comfortable - the actual events that are taking place are thus often lost in the shadows of ignorance. Such is the case in Herman Melville's Benito Cereno, a...

This essay focuses on three historical points. First, slavery existed and sometimes flourished in Africa before the transatlantic slave trade, but neither the African continent nor persons of African origin were as prominent in the world of slaveholding as they would later become. Second, the captur...

The touchiest subject that a person could bring up in the early 19th century was slavery. Many in the north were wholly against it while many in the south could not live properly without it. The Amistad case intensifies the already bitter feelings between these two parts of the country, and it sho...

What major conclusions can you derive in regard to the significance of the Amistad Case?In 1839, in waters off the coast of Cuba, a group of forty-nine Africans ensnared in the Atlantic slave trade struck out for freedom. They had been captured, sold into slavery, carried across the ocean, sold aga...