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The Catholic Church EssayThe Iroquois confederacy, an association of sextet linguistic aloney related tribes in the northeastern wood lends, was a sophisticated hostel of some 5,500 large number when the fresh worldly concern white explorers encountered it at the beginning of the s counterbalanceteenth century. The 1990 Census counted 49,038 Iroquois brio in the fall in States, making them the countrys ordinal most populous domestic American group. Although Iroquoian tribes own seven reservations in New York state and hotshot in Wisconsin, the majority of the people add out off the reservations.An additional 5,000 Iroquois reside in Canada, where there ar 2 Iroquoian reservations. The people argon not averse to adopting current technology when it is beneficial, but they want to economize their own traditional identity. INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP CONTRIBUTIONS Although dis draw uped by some, there is significant evidence that the Iroquois due south served as a model o r inspiration for the U. S. paper. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Paine were well acquainted with the unify. keister Rutledge, chairman of the committee that wrote the first draft of the musical composition, began the procedure by quoting some passages from the Haudenosaunee colossal Law. The Iroquois year of regime was based on democracy and personal freedom, and included ele lap forcets equivalent to the modern political excessivelyls of initiative, referendum, and recall. In 1987 Senator Daniel Inouye sponsored a resolution that would commemorate the Iroquois contributions to the formation of the federal g every modelnment. Many Iroquois people have made notable contributions to society and subtlety that transcend political boundaries.A dramatic example is Oren Lyons (1930 ), an Onondaga chief who has led political delegations to numerous countries in support of the rights of indigenous people. Twice named an All-American lacrosse goal-keeper, he led his 1957 team at Syrac use University to an unconquered season and was resultantually enrolled in the sports Hall of Fame. He was a successful amateur boxer in both the U. S. Army and in the Golden Gloves competition. He worked as a commercial artist for some(prenominal) years before returning to the reservation to assume his position as faithkeeper.An informant and illustrator, he has served as Chairman of American Studies at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo and as publisher of Daybreak, a estateal quarterly newspaper of Native American views. In 1992 he became the first indigenous attractor to have communicate the United state of matters General Assembly. Arden, Harvey. The Fire That Never Dies, National Geographic, September 1987. Axtell, James. The europiuman and the Indian Essays in the Ethnohistory of Colonial North America. New York Oxford University Press, 1981.A Basic Call to Consciousness. Rooseveltown, NY Akwesasne Notes, 1978. Bruchac, Joseph. New Voices from the Lon ghouse An Anthology of Contemporary Iroquois Writing. Greenfield Center, NY Greenfield reexamine Press, 1989. Fenton, Willam N. The Great Law and the Long-house A Political History of the Iroquois cabal. Norman University of Oklahoma Press, 1998. Graymont, Barbara. The Iroquois. Norman University of Oklahoma Press, 1991. Indian Roots of American Democracy, Northeast Indian Quarterly, alter by Jose Barreiro. Winter/Spring, 1987/1988.An Iroquois Source Book, Volumes 1 and 2, edited by Elisabeth Tooker. New York Garland Publishing, Inc. , 1985. Iroquois Women An Anthology, edited by W. G. Spittal. Ohsweken, Ontario Iroqrafts Ltd, 1990. Johnson, Elias. Legends, imposts and Laws of the Iroquois, or Six Nations, and History of the Tuscarora Indians. New York AMS Press, 1978 (reprint of 1881 edition). Josephy, Alvin M. , junior Now That the Buffalos G wholeness A Study of Todays American Indians. New York Alfred A. Knopf, 1982. Snow, Dean R. The Iroquois. Cambridge, MA Blackwell, 1996 .Tooker, Elisabeth. Lewis H. Morgan on Iroquois substantive Culture. Tucson University of Arizona Press, 1994. http//www. ipoaa. com/iroquois_constitution_united_states. htm The Effect of the Iroquois Constitution on the United States Constitution originally titled The United States Constitution Is it a Native American Myth? by Janet L. Daly Fitchburg State College (1997) The United States Constitution was influenced by the conceptions and the principles contained in the Iroquois Indian Confederacy form of governance which was founded in Native American mythology.Several different argonas essential(prenominal) be discussed in order to substantiate this premise that the Native Americans that arrived on the North American untainted around 12,000 years ago did indeed influence the very hindquarters of the United States political scienceal scheme which is written in the form of the United States Constitution. One of the first concepts which must be explored is the tradition of t he Iroquois League, since the basis of the dissertation is that the League tradition preceded and influenced the thinking of the Founding Fathers.The next topics must include a backchat of opinions and supporting details that the Iroquoian Confederacy method of governance did influence the development of the U. S. Constitution and specifically how make contributors to the writing of the Constitution, including Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, were brought into the Native American sphere of thinking. Finally, a comparison of the League Tradition and several aras of the U. S. Constitution ordain show cl other(a) that the Native American Myth lives on even though the Native American community has been drastically diminished by the very Country which it helped to found.The Iroquois League tradition was first written over coiffure in an Iroquois language format in 1912 by anthropologist horse parsley A. Goldenweiser. 1 This go bywritten transcript as dictated by foreland J ohn Arthur Gibson has been recently (1992) saucily elicited, edited and translated by Hanni Woodbury in collaboration with Reg Henry and Harry Webster with the concomitant fluently reading caption of the foundation of the League of the Iroquois. Chief John Gibson, born in 1849 was un brainably the groovyest mind of his multiplication among the Six Nations who became the greatest living source on Iroquois culture at the turn of the century.2 Chief Gibson was appointed a member of a committee of chiefs that undertook the task of codifying the League Tradition because of the high believe by his own people for his knowledge of the League traditions and the various rituals connected with them. 3 What follows is a condensed variate of the League Tradition as put forth in the work translated by Hanni Woodbury which will deliver a general overview of the mythology which lead to the Tradition and the components of the Tradition which allowed a working unification system for the Iroquo is Confederacy.This Confederacy contained the original phoebe bird Nations of the Confederacy which included the Seneca, Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida and Cayuga and in 1715 increased to Six Nations with the inclusion of the Tuscaroras. Feuding and warfare were autochthonous in the land of the Mohawks which was located on the northern shore of Lake Ontario. A mother Kahetoktha (End of the Field) takes her daughter Kahetehsuk (She Walks Ahead) to live in a remote area of bush in order to protect her child. aft(prenominal) living there a considerable amount of time the daughter becomes pregnant and the fetch accuses her daughter of wrongdoing. The Mother and then has a dream from the messenger of the Great Spirit which reveals her daughter and not been with a man and will have a divine birth and the boy child to be born will be called Tekanawita and his life will be devoted to promoting peace among men. After the dream message is original the Mother and daughter reconcile and the son is born as prophesied.The boy grows quickly and when he is a young man Tekanawita returns to his mothers and grandmothers former settlement to announce to their people the skinny Message (kaihwiyoh), the Power (katshatstehsae) and the ataraxis (shenu) which are the triplet concepts that in concert spell out the call to unify the separate nations of the Iriquois. 4 Tekanawita visits the then separate nations and convinces them through demonstrating some miraculous feats. One such trial proposed by the Mohawk Nation was forTekanawita to sit atop a tree next to the river.The tree would then be cut down and Tekanawita would be thrown into the cold raging waters. If he emerged the next day alive this would be induction that he was the true messenger of the Great Spirit and the Good Message, the Power and the Peace would be accepted. When he successfully emerges the next day from the waters the Mohawk tribe is convinced. The five nations are receptive to the message and Tekanawita pr oceeds to frame the key concepts of the Great Law and organizes the Confederacy Council on the basis of principles which underlie Iroquois neighborly structure.He divides the five nations into moieties related to one another as fathers (Mohawk, Onondaga and Seneca) and sons (Oneida and Cayuga). 5 The decision making form which was to be followed involved the Mohawk Nation considering the issue and after a consensus is reached inside the Nation, V the question was to be passed to their moiety brother, the Seneca who reach a consensus. There is to be an attempt to consolidate their decision with that of the Mohawk.If dickens groups agree they are to appoint a loudspeaker system for the moiety who movesacross the conflagrateto bring the opinion and the question to the Oneida. The Oneida are to pass the question on to the Cayuga and if the two groups reach consensus the issue is to be passed back across the fire to the Mohawk who present the core to the firekeepers, the Onondaga s. The Onondagas then consider the issue and if they agree with the consensus reached by the other quaternary nations, they ratify the opinion. 6However, if there are divergent opinions from the Mohawk and Seneca, both opinions are to be pass across the fire to the Oneida and Cayuga to be considered equally. If the Oneida and Cayuga are split in opinion then both opinions must be handed on to the firekeepers. The Firekeepers can break the tie by choosing one opinion over the other. If the Oneida and Cayuga agree wit just one of the opinions handed to them by the Mohawk and Seneca, they return this opinion to the latter, and the speaker for the Mohawk and Seneca will present the opinions to the firekeepers, with an ex curriculumation of the outcome.The Onondaga consider the issue together with the results arrived at among the other nations, and the terminal decision will be announced. 7 After establishing the merry decision making process to be followed Tekanawita establishes the symbolism of the central hearth, that is the Confederacy fire, whose smoke will rise, the beautiful smoke, piercing the sky. 8 At the central fire he planted a tree a great white pine that put forth white roots East, West, North and South. severally nation would contribute one arrow to form a single strong bundle bound together with the sinew of a deer and as joined were to represent the Confederacy solidarity. Tekanawita ad change the Nations with the message that all Nations exercise equal authority in the Confederacy and that as individuals the Chiefs the tall trunks of the Confederacy are all equal in status. He then warned that if the arrows of the Nations are withdrawn from the bundle that represent the power of their solidarity, the bundle of arrows will weaken. 9After describing the basic workings of the Confederacy, Tekanawita called a lengthy recess, and members of the council returned to their settlements to inform the people of the Confederacy of the formation and to determine the alive organization of lineages and clans in their respective nations, and to select in terms of their lineage affiliations more panoramas for the positions on the council. cardinal titles are eventually assigned by clan and were assigned as follows- Mohawk 9, Seneca 8, Oneida 9, Cayuga -10, and Onondaga 14.The women of the clan or clan mothers were designated to be the holders of the clan titles and had control in large measure in the choice of successors. 10 The chiefs appointed were expected to maintain certain regulars or there was to be a recall process that would be followed. At times of stress in the Confederacy, the hereditary Chiefs were to be allowed to appoint a hanker corner Chief who would have special skills or qualities that could be of help to the hereditary chiefs in their ambitious tasks.Pine Tree Chiefs were to be appointed for life and their titles were not to be passed on after their death. 11 The final major process that Tekanawita was to call for was the orderly replacement of the Chiefs upon their dismissal or more credibly their death. This process was to allow an orderly transition of power within the Confederacy. This process consisted of the Clan Matron selecting a candidate and the women of the clan approving the selection followed by the chiefs who represent the tribal moiety, then the Chiefs of the Nation, then the Chiefs from her side of the Confederacy fire.At the Condolence Council the candidate was to be stood up for approval by the chiefs of the opposite moiety. The candidate is to be raised up by being crowned with the antlers of office representing his status as a Chief. 12 This was then the basic outline of the principles and philosophy of the Confederacy of the Iroquois. They agreed to stop fighting amongst themselves and to accept the Good Message that called upon them to mold a peaceful way to resolve issues among the tribes.They were directed by the messenger of the Great Spirit to uphold c ertain standards of leadership and to fill vacancies in a peaceful manner. They were to stand together so that they may be stronger than one individual tribe. There is a plethora of opinion which concurs with the thesis that the Iroquois Confederacy had a strong influence on the final document which was to be the law of the land for the United States from its inception to present day.Some of these sources not only attribute the Iroquois Confederacy with significantly bear upon the form of the Government of the United States but as well with instilling the American emancipation mentality which would give rise to the impetus to make the initial break from the British. As the Indians were standing along the shore ceremony the Puritans arrive, the Indians carried with them a tradition of meeting and democracy, of free speech, of free thinking, of tolerance for each others differences of religion, of all those things which got attached to the buck of Rights.13 White leaders watched the method of government that the Iroquois utilized and they learned union and democracy from it. Historians are now beginning to admit what they must have been aware of, that the government of the United States is not pattern after something across the ocean where there was a belief in the divine right of kings and where the people had no voice, but it is patterned after the government of the People of the Long set up, where all people, including both men and women were respected and took a variance in their government.14 The interaction between the colonial Americans and the Iroquois Confederacy began right away upon the arriver of the atomic number 63ans. The importance of conciliating the powerful Confederacy was fully appreciated by the colonial authorities and great pains were taken to secure and retain the favor of the confederacy. Each successive governor announced his arrival to the Sachems of the League, and invited them to meet him in council, at an earlier day, to renew the covenant chain or agreement to work together peacefully. 15Beginning in the early 1740s, Iroquois leaders strongly urged the colonists to form a conspiracy similar to their own with the immediate benefit to their interests of having a unified management of Indian trade with resultant minimization of fraud, and a unity of the two peoples in the face of the cold war which was occurring between the side of meat and the French. 16 This urging became a more forceful admonition when the Iroquois Chief Canssatego spoke to Pennsylvania officials self-possessed at Lancaster in 1744 with the following words Our wise forefathers established Union and Amity between the Five Nations.This has made us formidable this has given us great Weight and Authority with our neighboring Nations. We are a powerful Confederacy and by your observing the same methods, our wise forefathers have taken, you will follow such Strength and power. Therefore whatever befalls you, never fall our with one a nother. 17 A of import step forward towards colonial American unification necessary for the eventual independence movement took place in Albany, New York in 1754. The Albany Plan was a landmark on the rough course that was to lead through the first Continental Congress and the Articles of Confederation and then to the Constitution of 1787.18 On the eve of the Albany Congress, Franklin had a great deal of exposure to the imagery and political ideas of the Iroquois from first hand experience and from his study of Cadwallader Coldens History of the Five Nations. 19 Franklin met with both Colonial and Iroquois delegates to create a plan of unity that was in parcel derived from some of the tenets of the Great Law of the Iroquois. 20 During the discussions at Albany Franklin addressed the assemblage in words that freely acknowledged the Iroquois Confederacy as a model to name upon It would be a strange thingif Six Nations of ignorant savages should be capable of forming such a union a nd be able to execute it in such a manner that it has subsisted ages and appears indissoluble, and yet that a handle union should be impractical for ten or a dozen side of meat colonies, to whom it is more necessary and must be more advantageous, and who cannot be supposed to want an equal understanding of their interest. 21 When Franklin proposed his plan of union before the Congress it had a Grand Council, a Speaker, and called for a general government under whicheach colony may retain its present constitution all nomenclature and concept derived from the Confederacy. 22 Franklins writings indicate that as he became more deeply involved with the Iroquois and other Indian peoples, he picked up ideas from them concerning not only federalism, but concepts of natural rights, the personality of society and mans place in it, the role of property in society, and other intellectual constructs that would eventually be called into service by Franklin as he and the other American revoluti onaries shaped an 23 official ideology for the soon to be founded United States of America.23 As the relationship between the colonies and Great Britain became more and more strained rebellion became a more realistic and viable alter autochthonal. In the eyes of the rebellious American Colonists, the Iroquois symbolized autonomy and a new American identity. 24 The intervening years between the Albany Plan of Union, the Articles of Confederation and the final resolving of Independence included events such as the protest of the Stamp Act, the Boston Tea Party, formation of the Sons of Liberty.Each of these events drew upon the symbolism and philosophy of the Iroquois. The Sons of Liberty during the Stamp Act Crisis sent wampum belts to the Iroquois asking them to turn back the British moving down the Hudson. 25 The Boston Tea Party was carried out by Colonists dressed as Indians and the formation of the Sons of Liberty involved putting up a pine post called the Tree of Liberty, a di rect transference of symbolism from the Iroquois symbol of Liberty. 26On June 11, 1776, while the question of independence was being debated, twenty-one visiting Iroquois chiefs were actually lodged on the second floor of the Pennsylvania State House and were formally invited into the meeting hall of the Continental Congress. 27 During speeches delivered to the delegation of Native Americans they were addressed as Brothers and told of the delegates give care that the mavinship between them would continue as long as the sun shall. shine and the water run. 28 The speech expressed hope that new Americans and Iroquois would act as one people, and have but one heart.29 In a speech on July 26, 1776, James Wilson, delegate from Pennsylvania and future author of the first draft of the U. S. Constitution, argued forcefully for a confederation similar to the Iroquois League and asserted that Indians know the bang benefits of confederation and we have an example of it in the Union of the S ix Nations. 30 In essence, Wilson, a friend of Franklin, believed that a strong confederacy like the Iroquois Confederacy was crucial to the development of a new nation and to maintaining a friendly relationship with the Indian populations.31 Thomas Jefferson has also documented his appraisal of the attributes of the Native American concepts of lessonity and governance. In his writings Jefferson states Their only controls are their manners, and that moral sense of right and wrong, which, like the sense of tasting and feeling in every man, makes a part of his nature. An offense against these is punished by contempt, by exclusion from society, or, where the case is serious, as that of murder, by the individuals whom it concerns.Imperfect as this species of coercion may seem, crimes are very rare among them insomuch that were it made a question, whether no law, as among the savage American, or too much law, as among the civilized Europeans, submits man to the greatest evil, one who ha s seen both conditions of existence would pronounce it to be the concluding and that the sheep are happier of themselves, than under care of the wolves. It will be said, the great societies cannot exist without government. The savages, therefore, break them into clarified ones. 32 Several areas of the Iroquois Constitution of the Five Nations which clearly have a parallel in the U.S. Constitution would be paragraph 84 dealing with the right of self-determination, paragraph 96, stipulating government by the people, by the react of the governed, Paragraph 98 stating definite provision for such consent of the governed and controls by those governed and as a stomach example Paragraph 99 guaranteeing freedom of religion. 33 Paragraph 33 stipulates the process by which a Chief shall be replaced upon dismissal or death. This systematic transmission of official rank was, in fact, the vital principle of the Iroquois Government. 34The decision-making process of the League resembles that of a two-house congress in one body, with the older brothers and young brother each comprising a side of the house. 35 The Onondagas filled something of an executive role, with a veto that could be overridden by the older and younger brothers in concert. 36 By implication in five places within the U. S. Constitution the fix of the Iroquois Confederacys continual urgings that the colonists should coordinate Indian negotiations and policies through a central authority were codified.37 This codification is included in Article 11, Section 10, which prohibits the States from unveiling into treaties Article 11, Section 2, which also prohibits States from entering into treaties Article 11, Section 2, Clause 2, which defines the treaty process- Article VI, Section 2, which defines a treaty as the dogmatic law of the land and finally, Article 111, Section 2, which grants the federal courts over U. S. citizenry who violate treaties. 38 These provisos were to find an impact on the Native A merican populations to present day and beyond.Even in light of the precede discussion of the documented influence by the Iroquois Confederacy on the Founding Fathers and the resultant inclusion of some(prenominal) of the basic concepts and premises of the Iroquois Law within the U. S. Constitution, there is still an apparent oversight of the this impact in a scholarly work as recently as 1994. David N. Mayor in his discussion of the influences on the thinking of Thomas Jefferson in relation to his intellectual contribution to the U. S.Constitution mentions only Locke, Scottish moral sense of philosophy, deistic natural religion and the economic theories developed by British and French antimercantilists. 39 Not one mention or word of credit is given to the Native Americans who have so clearly been a major contributor in the formation of the American persona. Donald A. Grinde comments that ignoring the processes whereby Euroamericans created a new culture out of the American experie nce impoverishes everyone and gives an appearance that scholars are seeking to stop the process of de-Europeanizing America.40 He specifically discusses Temple University anthropologist Dr. Elisabeth Tooker who contends that American Indian government figures not at all in the standard histories of the Constitution, nor in the documents on which they rest. 41 As a refutation of this premise Grinde goes on to quote legion(predicate) of the specifics of the writings generated by the founders some of which have been stated herein along with scholarly input with excuse for their own viewpoint. It is truly a revelation as a student of history to study the impact that Native America had in the development of the United States of America.The fact that the Native Americans preceded the settlement of the Europeans and were a part of the innate character of the New World must logically affect the development of the new settlers. It is the eventual(prenominal) irony that by the initial assi stance given to the entering immigrants by the Native American population that they were in fact aiding in the ultimate decimation of their people, and the diminishment of their land and their mythological based form of government. Lesson 2 The infringement of America Reading Assignment Calloway, 67-136. IntroductionThe Columbian encounter is arguably the most pivotal event in the history of the world. Neither Europe nor the Americas would be the same after this watershed event. This lesson highlights the merging of two previously distinct ecosystems and the devastating effect it would have on native peoples. Then it traces emergence of three European powers as they became dominant colonizers in North America. The lesson emphasizes that regardless of the variety of experiences Indians had in their relations with Europeans, they all shared irreversible changes in their cultures.This lesson will also introduce you to some of the primary sources related to the Spanish, French, and Eng lish invasions of North America and their consequences. Essay topics for Lesson 2 Write on one of the following topics or amalgamate any of the topics into one. 1. What are the arguments for viewing capital of Ohio as a hero? Villain? Where do you come down on this contentious issue? 2. What were the main differences in the motives of the Spanish, French, and English when they colonized the Americas?Was the European mastery of the Americas inevitable? Why or why not? 3. What role did Indian relationships play in the outcome of the various European invasions? Explain the Columbian Exchange and how it affected both Europe and the Americas. 4. How does Apess deal with the fact that the Pequot supported the English in King Phillips War? Does Apesss writing tell us more about Pequots in the nineteenth century or seventeenth century Massachusetts? premature European Exploration and Colonization. Leah S. Glaser VUS.2 Describe how early European exploration and colonization resulted in pagan interactions among Europeans, Africans, and American Indians. For many years, students of American history have learned about the era of European exploration and colonization in terms of conquest and defeat. Europes entry into the Americas had economic and political motivations, but over the last several years historians have begun to emphasize that exploration and colonization also allowed cultural contacts and exchanges among three different continents Europe, Africa, and America.Each society viewed the other through their respective perceptions and culture. Historians like Colin Calloway and Gary Nash explain that these relationships created new worlds for all. The nature of cultural contact and change in America varied from region to region, and can be traced to Europes different colonizing strategies and the reception of the existing local population. America, Africa, and Europe Three Worlds on the Eve of 1492 Contrary to longstanding European assumptions, native soci eties in the Americas possessed their own rich and varied cultures.An estimated 3 to 5 million people, speaking hundreds of languages, dwell the region with about 60 million people living in the Western Hemisphere, the population rivaled that of Europe and Africa. While they did not yet possess the same farming techniques or methods of transportation as those of Europe and Africa, these societies were diverse and sophisticated, and adapted continually to changing environments. Irrigation communities in the Southwest, mound cities in the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys, and the villages of the eastern woodlands characterized the nature of these societies at the time of European contact.Climatic changes, over hundreds of years, had altered farming patterns and prompted different groups to compete for sureness through warfare, as well as to participate in a vast trade profit that spread across the continent. The African societies (like those of the American Indians and the Europeans) w ere highly dependent on the environmental conditions and varied widely across the continent. Africa very much resembled America in its diversity of cultures across deserts, grasslands, and forests, its established networks of trade, and resource competition.The early use of iron implements raised productivity and subsequently increased the continents population, which reached about 50 million by the fifteenth century. Much of that population was organized politically under large empires, like the Kingdom of gold coast. Ghana achieved architectural and artistic wealth principally through important trading contacts with the Middle and Far East. other(a) kingdoms also developed skilled craftsmanship, codes of law, and trading networks. Alongside these trade relationships, Muslim influences, which had spread throughout Africa since the 11th century, also shaped African community life.African societies differed most markedly from those in Europe in terms of familial organization (matr ilineal rather than patrilineal). For example, property rights and inheritance descended through the mother. Europeans did not engage with Africa until the early fifteenth century, though they had been fascinated with the East for hundreds of years prior to contact. They were particularly eager to control the Mediterranean trade routes that tapped into the vast markets and goods.Throughout the Middle Ages, the East also served as a battleground for two of the worlds fastest growing religions, Islam and Christianity, as evidenced in the Crusades. The Catholic Church and the Holy Roman imperium ruled supreme over Europe in opposition to the growing Ottoman (Islamic) Empire. By the fifteenth century, the invention of the printing press and improvements in navigation techniques (like the compass and the hourglass) helped spawn the Renaissance, an era known for contest the power of the Church and celebrating human possibility though exploration, ideas, art, and literature.Spain joined in this creative celebration, but also gained political power by successfully defeating Islamic forces in Granada and by consolidating two powerful Catholic monarchies through the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castille. In 1492, the two Catholic leaders launched the Inquisition to make Spain, once part of the Ottoman Empire, into a fully Catholic country. Their efforts spawned the Reconquista, an era fueled by violence and religious fanaticism as Spain sought to expel all Jews and Muslims from its borders.Amidst this political climate and activity, Ferdinand and Isabella granted a Genoan explorer, Christopher Columbus, funding to balloon Spains empire. 1492 Americas Indians Encounter the Spanish After he landed on the islands we know today as the Bahamas, Columbus explored the island of Hispaniola where he met the lands native inhabitants. He and his crews returned to the Caribbean three more times. Columbuss so called discovery offered Spain tremendous opportunit ies for wealth, particularly from the minelaying of gold and silver. It also provided new soil for European plants like sugar, cof