Exploratons and Colonization of North and South America...

Exploration and colonization of North and South America were ultimately not beneficial in the 15th and 16th centuries because it wiped out many cultures and did more harm than good. First of all, the Europeans forcibly converted the Natives to Christianity. This had a great negative impact because it resulted in the loss of native cultures. Over time, many Native American languages started to disappear from common use and English took over. Many may argue that colonization and exploration were important because of the Columbian Exchange that arose from it, however diseases and the slave trade also came from the Columbian exchange. I believe that the death of millions was not a reasonable price to pay for the benefits of the Europeans. It†¦show more content†¦They created the Maryland Toleration Act which required religious toleration in the British North American colonies (msa.maryland.gov). Rhode Island is another example of a religiously tolerant colony. With the help of R oger Williams, Rhode Island was able to separate the church from the state. The colonies of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Rhode Island set the model for other colonies to follow. More and more colonies started the practice religious tolerance (andycrown.net). Though there were some colonies that did not practice religious tolerance, the majority of the colonies did practice religious tolerance. The horrible and brutal treatment of the Native Americans were unnecessary and could have been avoided. Men like Columbus and Cortes treated the Natives with a cruel and brutal hand. They enslaved a great amount of natives, they brought disease to the natives and they ruthlessly killed the Natives for no good reason. There could have been other ways in which the Natives and Europeans could have interacted in order to get what both sides wanted. For example, the Columbian Exhange could have occurred without violence. The Europeans and Natives could have respectfully made deals about trade rather than the Europeans just coming in and taking what the pleased. All in all, the Europeans only did things to benefit themselves and brutally destroyed the people and culture of