In the middle of the 15th century, these were roughly the territories known to Europe. Despite the discovery 500 years earlier of a tip of North America by a Viking tribe, the continent and the tens of millions of souls that populate it are still unknown to European powers. For centuries, Europe is mainly oriented towards Asia from where silk, spices and other goods originate.
Trade routes from China and East Indies are lucrative for those who control them. By weaving a maritime network across the Mediterranean Sea, the powerful republics of Venice and Genoa dominate trade in Europe. But the monarchies of the Iberian Peninsula aim to break this monopoly and set off in search of new routes.
More efficient ships are built, boosting exploration of the Atlantic Ocean. A native of the Republic of Genoa, Columbus lived in Lisbon. The young navigator dreams of discovering a new road to Cathay and Cipango, found in present day China and Japan.
According to his calculations, the territories are close enough to attempt a crossing. He presents the project to the Portuguese king who refuses to finance it as the country focuses on exploration of a route via Africa. Columbus then tries his luck with Spanish Catholic kings.
After some hesitation, they eventually agree to fund the expedition. Christopher Columbus sets off on his voyage in 1492 as the head of three ships and a crew of 90 men. After 70 days of sailing, the expedition discovers an island in the Bahamian archipelago.
The first encounter with the natives is peaceful and cordial. Convinced he found the East Indies, Columbus calls them Indians. For three months, he hops from island to island in search of Cipango.
Upon his return to Spain, he is welcomed as a hero. He sets sail again the following year, this time with 17 ships to establish a permanent settlement on the island of Hispaniola. La Isabela is created in honor of the Queen of Castile, with Columbus as governor.
He continues to explore surrounding areas. To avoid wars in newly discovered lands, the Spanish and Portuguese kings meet and come up with a plan to share the territories. A meridian is defined, with newly discovered lands to its west going to Spain, and those in the east to Portugal.
Moreover, the Pope tasks Spanish kings with evangelizing the new territories. England also tries to reach Cathay, but from the north, leading it to discover new lands. For its part, Portugal, with Vasco da Gama, eventually succeeds in opening a new sea route to India.
During the second expedition, Portuguese ships head westward to bypass strong sea currents, thereby discovering a new land located east of the meridian of Tordesillas. Colonies are quickly established there. In 1506, Christopher Columbus dies without knowing he had discovered a new continent.
It is Amerigo Vespucci, another navigator who had traveled several times to the land, who first suggests that it's a new world. The continent is then named America after him. Around Hispaniola, explorers called the Conquistadors set off to discover and conquer new lands.
Rapidly, the condition of the natives deteriorates. Lands are stolen, people are enslaved, and, moreover, previously unknown diseases imported by Europeans spread through the continent and decimate populations. In Cuba, conquistador Hernán Cortés hears of a city called Tenochtitlan, a supposed city of gold.
Having reached land during his expedition in search of the city, Cortés realises he is in the Aztec Empire, which rules over surrounding territories and peoples. He takes advantage of the situation to propose or impose by force that the locals become part of the Spanish empire. His strategy pays off.
Cortés is guided by locals to their capital where they receive a warm welcome. Just south of the continent, Ferdinand Magellan, seeking to go around the world, discovers a strait that would would bear his name and enters the Pacific Ocean. The following year, war breaks out in Tenochtitlan.
The Spanish and their allies impose a siege of 75 days around the capital. Moreover, a smallpox epidemic eventually exhausts the Aztecs people, who surrender. Cortés enters the city and becomes the governor of New Spain.
Spanish colonies cultivate local products previously unknown in Europe, such as maize, potato, tobacco and cocoa. These products, as well as gold and silver obtained from conquests and from mines, are exported to Europe. Settlements also take a religious turn with the arrival of the Franciscans, who wish to establish an even purer church than back home and baptize natives.
Cortés now begins a conquest of the Mayan people, while further south, conquistador Francisco Pizarro hears of the supposedly rich Inca Empire. After several unsuccessful expeditions, he returns with an army in 1531. The Inca Empire is already weakened by smallpox, with the disease claiming the life of its emperor a few years earlier, sparking a succession war.
During a meeting between Pizarro and the new emperor Atahualpa, the latter is captured and executed despite several tons of gold received for his release. French Protestants also try to colonize the New World. But they fail because of existing Spanish and Portuguese forces, and because of adverse climatic conditions and diseases.
Eventually, more resources are allocated into colonization and New France is founded in order to develop trade in fishing and furs. The English and Dutch quickly follow suit and settle along the coast. The colonies would face off many times, following the patterns of war taking place in Europe.
Generally, the French ally with local tribes, while the English fight alongside the Iroquois. In the mid-17th century, the slave trade blows up. European ships go to Africa loaded with goods which are exchanged against slaves, who are then transported in harsh conditions to America where they are exchanged against local products and gold.
Slaves are then mainly used in plantations, while the ships returning to Europe sell American products at high prices. In 1763, New France lost the fourth and final intercolonial war. The colony then comes under control of the British who cede a portion to Spanish territories in exchange for Florida.
With war taking a financial toll on the United Kingdom, colonies are made to pay through new taxes. In response, 13 colonies rebel and declare independence. Thus begins a new war between the United Kingdom and these colonies, who are supported by France, Spain and the United Provinces of the Netherlands.
In 1783, the British are forced to recognize the independence of the United States. While Russia begins to establish settlements in northwestern coastal territories, Spain finds itself weakened because of a war against France. Its colonies begin to proclaim independence and Spain is quickly forced to withdraw and recognize the new states.
Texas declares independence from Mexico and asks to join the United States, creating tension between the two countries. A war breaks out and swings to the advantage of the United States who also seize California and New Mexico. Oregon is then shared between the British colonies and the United States.
In 1867, the United States buys Alaska from Russia. In the south, the Mapuche are the last natives to have resisted attempts at colonization. However, Argentina and Chile launch the southern conquests in order to have access to both oceans.
With the Mapuche defeated, the entire continent is conquered.
