European and Native Encounters in the Americas

The encounters between separate European nations and separate native populations were all distinctive. If we are to look at specific examples of the encounters, whether the motives were religious economic or a hybrid of the two, the effect was largely the same: the conquest of the indigenous natives. The specific encounters of the Spanish and the English provide an interesting comparison as they were the European powers that had the most impact on the native peoples. Upon closer examination, it becomes evident that historical contexts did lead to different motives in the Americas and distinctive encounters. Yet, these factors seem to contain certain distinct European elements.…