Summary
Highlights
The European invasion of Abya Yala (America) occurred between 1492 and 1519, a period marking the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance. This era saw significant scientific advancements and inventions. However, the event is not considered a discovery due to the plundering of natural resources and genocide. Previously, around 20,000 years ago, Asian peoples crossed the Bering Strait, truly discovering these lands. Vikings, led by Erik the Red, also reached North America before Christopher Columbus.
Several factors facilitated the European invasion. Ideologically, theories from explorers like Marco Polo suggesting a non-flat Earth encouraged exploration. Religiously, the Catholic Church aimed to Christianize all peoples in response to the Muslim presence in Europe. Economically, the Ottoman Turks' capture of Constantinople blocked trade routes to Asia, forcing Europeans to seek new ones for goods like silk, spices, and porcelain. Technologically, inventions such as gunpowder, paper, the printing press, the compass, and improved caravel construction made long-distance maritime travel safer and more feasible.
Christopher Columbus, an intrepid navigator born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451, sought new routes to the East by sailing west, believing the Earth was spherical. His project was initially rejected by King John II of Portugal but was eventually financed by the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, in April 1492.
Columbus undertook four voyages. His first, starting August 3, 1492, with the 'Niña', 'Pinta', and 'Santa María', led him to Guanahaní (San Salvador) on October 12. Believing he reached India, he called the natives 'Indians'. He also explored Cuba (Juana) and Hispaniola (La Española) before returning to Spain in January 1493 with some collected items and indigenous people. His second voyage began September 24, 1493, with 1,500 crew across 17 ships, aiming to establish a Spanish presence and find a route to Asia. He explored the Lesser Antilles, Puerto Rico (San Juan Bautista), Hispaniola, Cuba, and Jamaica, facing administrative issues and health problems. The third voyage, on May 30, 1498, led him to Trinidad and the Venezuelan coast, including the Orinoco River, where he found pearls leading him to believe he'd found a terrestrial paradise. However, complaints about his administration led to his arrest and return to Spain, though he was later freed. The fourth and final voyage, on May 11, 1502, at age 51, was in search of a mainland, leading him to Costa Rica and Panama, and eventually a shipwreck in Jamaica. He fell ill and returned to Spain, dying in 1506 without realizing he had landed on a new continent.
The continent, originally known as Abya Yala, was named America in honor of Amerigo Vespucci, who accompanied Columbus on journeys. Vespucci's detailed geographic maps and his conviction that the newly explored lands were a 'New World' influenced geographer Martin Waldseemüller to propose the name America. In 1507, the book 'Introducción a la Cosmografía' with Vespucci's map was published, officially coining the name. The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed June 7, 1494, addressed territorial disputes between Spain and Portugal, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to delineate their respective claims in the New World.
Following the Spanish, other European powers arrived. The Portuguese, led by Pedro Álvares Cabral, arrived in Brazil in 1500, a land they named after 'palo brasil' trees. The English, under King Henry VII, sent John Cabot in 1497, who discovered Newfoundland, Canada, marking their presence in North America. Later, Henry Hudson extensively explored Canada. The French, under King Francis I, began exploring the New World in 1524 with Giovanni da Verrazzano, who mapped much of the Atlantic coast of present-day USA and Canada, and Jacques Cartier, who explored Newfoundland and the Saint Lawrence River.
The arrival of Europeans led to the conquest and colonization of America by the Spanish, Portuguese, English, Dutch, and French. It resulted in the spread of diseases like smallpox and typhus, devastating indigenous populations. However, it also expanded navigation and global commerce. The invasion had a tremendous impact on indigenous peoples, leading to a clash of diverse cultures, languages, beliefs, and ways of life. The video emphasizes that October 12 is remembered as the largest genocide in humanity's history, asserting that America was not discovered but invaded and conquered. The final message stresses the importance for current inhabitants to 'rediscover themselves to decolonize and be free again'.