In this video you will learn about the interaction between Native American Civilizations, African Civilizations, and Europeans that was sparked by the European discovery of what to them was a new world.
Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic and landed on the Carribbean island of Hispaniola in 1492.
This voyage brought the Native Cultures and the Europeans together.
The Portugese in the years prior to this encounter had sailed along the coast of Africa and had learned of the trade in African Slaves.
When the monarchs of Spain outlawed the enslavement of the Native peoples in the Americas the Spanish turned to the thriving slave trade in Africa for their source of labour.
It was thus the European exploration of Africa and the transatlantic crossing that brought the civilizations of three continents into contact with one another.
These different cultures and ways of life often came into conflict with one another.
This interaction goes on to this day and shapes the societies of both North and South America.