The Post-Columbian European Settlements of North America - Essay Example

Geography
Essay 1
The post-Columbian European settlements of North America started following the voyage of Christopher Columbus starting in the year 1492. Since the exploration of America, people started to migrate towards this region and the colonies started to build up. Initially, the immigrations did not take place at large and the formation of colonies was slow. This can be classified as the first main stage of the post-Columbian European settlement of North America.

At this time, there was no official intention to form colonies in America but the motivation among the people was to explore and live in a richer environment. The migration pattern, as mentioned above, was as follows; initially, Spain formed settlements followed by Mexico, France, Netherland, Sweden, and then England.

Short Paragraph 1
Not everyone shares equally in the economic bounties of North America. This fact can be traced back to the colonial period. The European settlers were industrially developed and they had developed different ways of farming and producing goods. All these European cultures brought these techniques with them to America and thus the economy of America developed. The Native Americans and women were not involved in the economic development till a certain point in time but later different revolutions opened opportunities for both Natives and women.

Essay 2
The cultures of Africa and the Caribbean have so many similarities between them because the Caribbean is highly concentrated with Afro-descendants. This transfer of African people and culture to the Caribbean took place over a period of five years and in the 20th century, many Caribbean societies accepted different forms of African cultural identities. Every Caribbean country displays some extent of African heritage merged with its own culture.

The introduction of African culture in the Caribbean started when the explorers came to the Caribbean and started colonizing it. Initially, it was Spain that formed colonies and it relied on African slaves to build up the colonies. At that time, the slave trade was at its peak and the Atlantis slave trade brought 11 million Africans to the Americas in order to carry out the development works. 40 percent of the Africans were brought to the Caribbean and at this point, the shaping of the population and culture of the Caribbean started.

Since the 16th century, Afro-Caribbean people have been the dominant ethnic group in the region which resulted in the culture of the Caribbean being shaped in line with the African culture. The Africans brought their own culture to the Caribbean and nourished it further in their own manner. Therefore, there are strong ties between the African and Caribbean cultures.

Paragraph 2
The attributes that make the Caribbean a distinct region are its diversity and its geographic location. The culture of the Caribbean has striking similarities with African culture but due to the geographic location of the Caribbean, the Africans that shaped the culture of the place also adjusted it in accordance with the islands’ distinct identities.