Technology
Dublin Core
Title
Technology
Description
Technology was crucial to the development of colonies in the Americas. Developments in weapons, shipbuilding, agriculture, and fortifications all contributed to European dominance in the Americas and the creation of new American societies.
Accumulation of wealth became a driving factor in the development of the Americas and new technology often was designed to increase efficiency or exploit a new resource/market in order to profit. The technology of war also developed as European colonists wanted to conquer and expand into new territory, displacing indigenous populations. Technology was also used to defend, coastal forts and ship designs changed in order to meet new needs as piracy was on the rise.
Technology touched all people's lives in the America and shaped patterns of consumption, expectations for life, and standard of living. It enabled the conquest and colonization of the Americas and fundamentally shaped the environment, human settlement patterns, and relationships between peoples regardless of distance. The Transatlantic story was enabled by technology, and created one of the first great global trade networks across Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
Accumulation of wealth became a driving factor in the development of the Americas and new technology often was designed to increase efficiency or exploit a new resource/market in order to profit. The technology of war also developed as European colonists wanted to conquer and expand into new territory, displacing indigenous populations. Technology was also used to defend, coastal forts and ship designs changed in order to meet new needs as piracy was on the rise.
Technology touched all people's lives in the America and shaped patterns of consumption, expectations for life, and standard of living. It enabled the conquest and colonization of the Americas and fundamentally shaped the environment, human settlement patterns, and relationships between peoples regardless of distance. The Transatlantic story was enabled by technology, and created one of the first great global trade networks across Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
Creator
Dustin Hillenburg
Collection Items
Early Colonial Spanish Artillery
Four types of artillery, a) the culverin, b) cannon, c) pedrero, and d) mortar. These guns saw extensive use by the Spanish during the early colonial period in the conquest of the Americas. Guns and guns like this were a technological edge Europeans…
Coastal Defenses
The Valdivia fort system is located in at Corral Bay in Chile and were used to protect the city of Valdivia as well as resupply Spanish ships. Coastal defenses such as these were crucial in the colonies as they provided protection from pirates and…
Early Firearms
A Spanish soldier aiming an arquebus. The arquebus was a primitive type of early firearm that saw extensive in the Americas use during the early colonial period. As with artillery, guns had a psychological effect on Native populations and as firearm…
Potosi and Silver Mining
The Cerro Rico holds high quantities of silver ore, and a large proportion of silver that flowed from the Americas back to Europe came from this mountain. The mining process was brutal, and the Spanish colonial government coerced many natives into…
Tobacco Production
This depiction shows a 17th century tobacco plantation in Virginia. Tobacco was an extremely important cash crop and its production fueled many early colonies and was shipped across the world to fuel growing markets. Tobacco production was extremely…
Horseback Riding
A 1561 engraving of a Spanish conquistador on horseback. Horses were one of the animals brought to the new world by the Spanish, and their use was crucial in colonizing the Americas. The native populations had never seen horses before and Europeans…
Caravela de armada of João Serrão
The Caravel was an innovative new ship design that was extremely maneuverable and enabled the ship to sail into the wind, greatly increasing the potential for long voyages at sea. The caravel was critical in early Portuguese exploration of Africa as…
Exterior of a Distillery
Sugar production was crucial in the Americas. Molasses and rum were sugar products with lucrative trades, and these products found their way across the world. Alcohol was often the only ready supply of clean drinks, and rum in particular was…
Colonial Sugar Plantations
During the colonial period many European nations took advantage of the favorable climate and environment for sugar production in the Caribbean. Sugar is still an extremely valuable crop to this day in the region, and the production process is…
Colonial Currency
The various colonial empires in the Americas had currencies they either brought from Europe, or developed as the colonies progressed. Currencies such as the Spanish dollar pictured were accepted across the Americas and the widespread use of them…