European influence in the Americas commenced in the late fifteenth century, when Christopher Columbus set sail for the Indies.However, he discovered a "new world", the Americas. This phenomenal breakthrough would forever change the complextion of the world.
European prominence in the Americas can be viewed as a catastophe. These newcomers exploited gold and silver from the native americans. A more severe consequence to the native americans was the exposure to "old world" diseases such as smallpox and malaria. Their lack of resistance to European diseases lead to a drastic decline in Indian population. On the contrary, the European encounter with the Americas can be seen as an inevitable evolution in history with long-run positive results. …
