How Did The Age of Discovery Affect Native Peoples In Newly Discovered Lands?

The age of discovery turned Native People’s life into hell in the newly discovered lands of the Americas.

Let me share with you five major effects caused by the Europeans over Native People:

• Native People Were Forced To Accept Slavery.
• Europeans Caused Mass Execution In Native American Societies.
• Millions of Native People Died Due To The Spread of Terrible Diseases.
• Europeans Started Wide-Ranging Religious Persecutions Over Natives.
• Massive Decline In Native People’s Population.

1. Native People Were Forced To Accept Slavery

Slavery was like a feature of the European social order. This inhumanity had been going on in Europe since the 8th century.

From the 15th century, it came to its peak when the transatlantic slave trade began.

During this period, Europeans captured Black people in the African continent and brought them to Europe for selling in the slave market.

Late 15th century, when Europeans explored the Americas, they also brought here slavery too.

Along with bringing Black slaves to the continents, they also captured the Americas’ Native people for various purposes.

For example:

• They captured natives and imported them to Europe for selling and making profits.
• They captured little girls (8 to 10 years old) for sexual slavery.
• They enslaved natives in their own lands and ordered them to find gold, silver, and other precious materials for them, etc.

Before Europeans came here, Native people never faced such outrages.

2. Europeans Caused Mass Execution In Native American Societies

During the age of discovery, wherever Europeans went, they tried to fully exterminate Native people.

It is shocking, but do you know what, Spanish colonizers alone killed up to 8 million Native American people during their conquests.

Even outrages were kept going on them, till the late 20th century; although, in the 21st century, the situation starts getting better.

3. Millions of Native People Died Due To The Spread of Terrible Diseases

In the age of discovery, Europeans have spread such terrible diseases in Native people’s societies.

Natives’ immunity systems were not familiar with those diseases, which in result caused the death of millions.

Some of those terrible diseases were Smallpox, Chickenpox, Cholera, Fever, Measles, Bubonic Plague, Influenza, Malaria, and more.

Did you know? More than 12 million Native Americans lost their lives because of these diseases.

4. Europeans Started Wide-Ranging Religious Persecutions Over Natives

Earlier, Native people in the Americas followed Monotheistic, Polytheistic, Henotheistic, Animistic, Shamanistic, and Pantheistic religious ideologies.

But once, Europeans arrived in their land, they started religious alteration in their societies. They forcefully imposed Christianity on these people.

Even sometimes, Europeans used violence as a tool to change their religion.

In the United States of America, persecutions run over them till 1978.

Currently, only 9000 people in the country follow their conventional old religious ideologies.

5. Massive Decline In Native People’s Population

Because of the killings and persecutions by Europeans, Native people’s population in their own land significantly reduced.

For example, in 1492, more than 60 million Native People lived in the United States; but if you see their population in that country in this 21st century, then it reduced to 5 million only.

Present-day, they live in minorities in both American continents.