worldhistory
Europe built oceanic empires in the Americas (1450–1750) that permanently integrated the Atlantic world.
Reason / Cause
Atlantic location, steady winds
Improved maps, ships, navigation
State–merchant financing
Competitive states, missionary zeal, migrants seeking a new start
Conquest
Coalitional warfare with large indigenous allies
European: iron, gunpowder, horses
Decisive factor: microbes, unknown to Native Americans
Demography
Great Dying disease
Little Ice Age peaks in 17th
Columbian Exchange to the Americas, wheat / rice / grapes, horses / pigs / cattle / sheep
fields, ranching, horse cultures
maize, potatoes, cassava
population surge, global stimulants (coffee / chocolate / tobacco)
Consequences
Asymmetric benefits: Africans / Native Americans face slavery and disease
Western Europe gains markets, fuels Scientific and Industrial Revolutions
Colonial rule framed by mercantilism (closed markets, bullionism)
Spanish / Portuguese (Mesoamerica / Andes) vs. British / French (North America)