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 …showed first 75 words of 738 total…

…showed last 75 words of 738 total…contradicting views. The colossal amount of death amongst native americans has brought about the idea of the Black Legend. This belief states that the Spanish only killed, tortured, and stole in the Americas. Nevertheless, the European encounter with the Americas brought about many longterm positive effects, such as the swapping of foods, animals, technology, and culture. These unfavorable and beneficial results of the European encounter with the Americas has directly shaped it's history and future.