Effect of Conquest of America on Europe's relationship with Africa and Essay

Effect of Conquest of America on Europe's relationship with Africa and Asia - Essay Example Each ship that ventured out to the unknown world has gold, territory and glory as objectives for the country it served. When America was discovered, it was found that its natural resources were in abundance and in the flurry of new explorations fueled by the American colonial success, they found Asia and Africa and the new resources that they had to offer, resources that can be easily exploited and easily compliment their interests in the New World. It is in this respect that the African slavery became significant. The mines of Peru and Mexico, the plantations in Brazil and the Caribbean - they required new laborers after the number of indigenous peoples were effectively decimated upon the arrival of the colonizers. According to Crosby (2003), the Andean Inca civilization alone lost more than 8 million of its 9 million indigenous natives (22). During most of the period of colonization of Africa, its main utility for its colonizers were its slaves. Millions of Africans were shipped to the plantations in America and this trade in itself has been a major source of revenue for Portugal. Besides the slaves, however, Africa also supplied ivory, gold, diamonds, cocoa, nut oils and timber. The case of Asian relationship with Europe, the situation is a little more different than the African experience. Unlike the latter, Asia fell to European colonization rather later. It was only after the 1850s wherein the West made some significant headway in colonizing the Far East. This variable contributed to the manner by which the Asian colonies were exploited and administered. For instance, Spain ruled the Philippines through Mexico. Then, Asian slaves were not common while their raw materials produce and other products were either sent to Europe or to Latin America for processing. Britain was also able to milk India dry with its precious stones, spices, tea, and other resources. Asia, somehow, was treated like Latin America, a source of wealth for its masters that wield their power from Europe but not in the degree or manner the Europeans exploited Africa. What the colonization of the Americas, Asia and Africa demonstrated was the fact that these continents became embroiled with some form of globalization especially producing a type of division of labor that we could actually identify as roughly similar to what we have today. One analogy that could probably describe the situation was how other races were exploited in order to enrich and provide for the requirements of the European imperialists. A less emotional description would argue that during the age of colonization, nations became engaged with specialization in goods production and in occupation by their respective peoples, according to the resources of their home countries and their status in the empire that they belong. An important variable that must be underscored in this investigation is the fact that the European hegemony during the Age of Discovery is not mainly driven by the absolute superio rity of the European technologies and weaponry. Spain, for example has risen to its imperial status and consolidated its global