European Impact on the Americas: Social, Ideological, and Cultural Effects

This article discusses the impact of European colonization on the Americas, including social, ideological, and cultural effects. It explores the debate between critics who argue that Europeans dominated and erased American identity, and supporters who argue that Europeans brought civilization to the Americas.

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HISTORY OF AMERICA
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European Impact on the Americas
The subject of influence of Europe over America is a highly debated subject where
most of the critics ascribe with the fact that the Europeans actually impacted the Americas in
every aspects. They changed the society, culture, environment and ideology of the place as
they considered it to be not civilized as Europe. On the contrary another set of critics reveal
that the American indigenous people had everything needed for survival and even they had
more resources than Europeans but there was a huge gap in the understanding between these
two civilizations. Hence Europeans dominated the American aboriginals to erase the
American identity in them and replace it with a European one.
Social impact
To the scholars, the Americas first got touch of Europeans by the advent of Columbus
who made a mistake and wrongly discovered America. According to most of the scholars,
after this discovery, the Europeans followed the technique of war and slaughter which
completely demolished a large part of the aboriginals. This was how they took an aggressive
policy to dominate this newly discovered world and changed this new world natives to
“misery, suffering and distress, tormenting, harrying and persecuting them mercilessly”
(Casas, 1992).
On the other hand, the supporters of European invasion in the Americas state that the native
Americans were uncivilized. There was the only rule of the community heads who attacked
the Europeans also which is why there was a requirement to prevent such attack through war.
Ideological impact
The scholars have identified the most important factor that helped the Europeans to
uproot the American identity from the Americans, was the method of changing their
ideologies. The physical slaughter through war was not only the means of capturing America,
it was the transformation of knowledge and differentiating civilized from the uncivilized. For

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this reason, they wanted to impose their culture and religion on the people of America. It was
the easiest way to change the mentality as well as tradition of the aboriginal people. These
scholars have also pointed out that it will be wrong to say that the Americans did not have
any culture of their own. It will also be equally wrong to say that they did not have any
particular religious order. They had their own forms of religious and cultural belief. However,
the Europeans felt that they need to upgrade the socio-cultural state of the Americans for their
own benefit hence they imposed their own ideology on the Americans and taught them to
think like the colonizers.
On the contrary, the critics supporting the European colonization in the Americas
state that it was the wish and necessity of the Europeans to bring about a huge change. In the
beginning, they wanted to target the natives of the Southwestern part of America and wanted
them to be converted to Christianity so that they leave the unscientific, superstitious and
prejudiced aboriginal traditions and become civilized.
Cultural impact
The cultural impacts are one of the most powerful impacts of colonial expansion. The
Europeans anteed to Impose their religious order on all the residents of the paves that the
wanted to colonize. One such country is America. They wanted to start their cultural forms
within the Americans. It is for this reason that they started imposing the various religious and
cultural forms. Most of the Americans were looked down upon by the colonizers or the
Europeans thinking that the Americans are native and follower of a pagan form of religion.
So, they wanted to bring about Christianity into the native Americans as well. However, they
often used the means of violence or imposition. They wanted to bring about the Christian
faith among the natives of America. The natives of America were worshippers of all the
forces of nature like the sun, the moon, rain and other good forces. However, the effort that as
used by the Europeans was not good or gentle (Cortés,1907). They could have taken the

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method of using any polite means but they did not. In most of the parts, they used a forceful
method. However, the natives did not want to adhere to this new form of religion and
revolted against this change.
One of the major cultural effects is the one that is caused by the language. This was
felt when there was a fast depletion of the native languages that we were spoken by the native
Americans were depleting. The only language that was becoming very prominent is English.
However, they also wanted to thank the natives they really helped the Europeans to survive in
this new and unknown land for a long year. At many places, they wanted to make sure that
they are successful in showing their dominance. They wanted to punish revolting native
America and by taking them as slaves. So, many of the natives became a slave material. Not
only the natives of America but also others that were imported from other counters and did
not want to accept Christianity were turned into slaves. The Roman Catholic Church initially
supported the factor of slavery as the higher level of Christianity used slaves in many
purposes. This is due to the fact that certain pages of the Old Testament sanction the forms of
slavery. However, some of the natives knew this impending danger and chose a life of
transition over a life of slavery. So, they agreed that they would learn this new form of
culture.
This ideology changed as the Europeans started to issue charitable aids to these slaves
but did not necessarily challenge the institution of slavery itself. Gradually slavery became a
crime with ecclesiastical penalty by the church. After various treaties and proclamation were
signed by the free Americans, the perspective of church changed.
Conclusion
It can thus be concluded that the effect of the Europeans on the Americans is huge and
varied. Though the Americans learned many advanced methods of lifestyle and trade at the

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same time they also had to give up their culture and identity. Therefore, as Europe had
exploited America, the Americans learnt civilization from Europe.
References:
Casas, B. d. (1992). A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies. London: Penguin.
Cortés, H. (1907). Hernan Cortés: from Second Letter to Charles V, 1520. In O. J. Thatcher,
The Library of Original Sources (pp. 317-326). Milwaukee: University Research
Extension Co.