NATIVE AMERICANS AND EUROPEAN EXPLORATION
Initial Settlement of the Americas
The first settlers in the Western Hemisphere came from Asia beginning about 25,000 B.C. There is some evidence that some of these early Americans arrived by boat, but the vast majority arrived across the Bering Strait and through Alaska when the last Ice Age create a land-bridge across the strait. It is possible that these settlers were not consciously migrating but were simply following animals that they hunted.
By the time that the Spanish arrived in the Americas in the late fifteenth century, there were approximately 4 million Native Americans living in Canada and the United States and over 20 million living in Mexico. Most groups of Native Americans in the Americas were hunter-gatherers, although some were farmers.
European Exploration of the Americas
There are several important reasons why Europeans were interested in the Americas in the period 1450 to 1500. Some historians emphasize that only limited economic growth appeared possible in Europe itself. European monarchs and entrepreneurs therefore had to look abroad for future profits. Europeans could now travel faster and further, because of better shipbuilding techniques and the perfection of the astrolabe and the compass. The Crusades had whetted the appetites of Europeans for the luxury goods provided by Asia, thus further encouraging exploration abroad. In addition, the growth of nation-states (governed by kings) during this period increased the competition between European powers for both wealth and territory.