Source: Landing of Columbus (2), John Vanderlyn, Wikimedia

This painting depicts a very European-centered view of Columbus's arrival in the New World. What things about this painting might be different if it were done from the perspective of an American Indian artist?

The first Europeans to settle in the "New World" we know as North and South America were the Spanish and Portuguese (the Portuguese settling mostly in Brazil). Later the British and French would colonize North America.

Of course, this world was only "new" to the Europeans. Millions of Native Americans were already living there, and the arrival of the Europeans would spell disaster for most Native American civilizations.

However, as more Europeans moved across the Atlantic, a new system of trade and exchange between Europe, America, and Africa would emerge that would affect the world in many different and unexpected ways.

Triangular Trade Routes