Presents an introduction and state-by-state study of the Spanish presence in the United States, from their arrival in 1492 to the late twentieth century.

William M. Denevan writes that, "The discovery of America was followed by possibly the greatest demographic disaster in the history of the world." Research by some scholars provides population estimates of the pre-contact Americas to be as high as 112 million in 1492, while others estimate the population to have been as low as eight million. In any case, the native population declined to less than six million by 1650. In this collection of essays, historians, anthropologists, and geographers discuss the discrepancies in the population estimates and the evidence for the post-European decline. Woodrow Borah, Angel Rosenblat, William T. Sanders, and others touch on such topics as the Indian slave trade, diseases, military action, and the disruption of the social systems of the native peoples. Offering varying points of view, the contributors critically analyze major hemispheric and regional data and estimates for pre- and post-European contact. This revised edition features a new introduction by Denevan reviewing recent literature and providing a new hemispheric estimate of 54 million, a foreword by W. George Lovell of Queen's University, and a comprehensive updating of the already extensive bibliography. Research in this subject is accelerating, with contributions from many disciplines. The discussions and essays presented here can serve both as an overview of past estimates, conflicts, and methods and as indicators of new approaches and perspectives to this timely subject.

The Hispanic heritage timeline from 1492 to 2020 evolved with Christopher Columbus and his famous discovery of America in 1492. The voyage for Columbus was sponsored by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand and the Royal Crown of Old Castile, present-day Spain. The voyage was done under the theory of Columbus that the world was round and not flat. Columbus sailed west to reach the East Indies to buy spices for the Royal Crown. Columbus did not find a short route to the East Indies by sailing west but found America for the Royal Crown of Old Castile. America had vast lands rich in gold, silver, and precious stones and large River Valleys. It was the ideal land for a new province to the Royal Crown of Old Castile. America was indeed claimed by the Royal Crown of Old Castile in 1492. At the time, it was not known that it was not just America but also the Americas--South, Central, and North America. So it was the Royal Crown of Old Castile that claimed the Americas, making a major impact on the rest of world. The Royal Crown sent the most trustworthy citizens to the New World, as it was known then, to explore, settle, and improve the new land. In essence, it was those of Hispanic heritage who explored, settled, and improved the Americas. The first settlers in present-day Texas, USA, and present-day USA were Hispanics. Without the Royal Crown of Spain and Hispanic heritage, Texas and the USA would have had a different status in the world of today. In essence versus consequences, the Hispanic heritage was the prelude to Texas, USA, and the USA regardless of how the belief has been for centuries. The Hispanic heritage, forever it will be.

For thousands of years, before the arrival of Christopher Columbus and the Europeans, the vast American landscape was home to millions of Native Americans, whose ancestors still remain on the land today. They formed a wide variety of regional cultures, dotting the unspoiled environs stretching from the stark, red rock formations of the Southwest to the thick forestlands of the Northeast. Through descriptive and captivating text enhanced by detailed images and informative sidebars, readers will examine how each Indian culture group adapted to their unique surroundings and turned nature into home, as they built their houses, hunted for food, raised their children, and worshiped their gods.

In this provocative and timely collection of essays--five published for the first time--one of the most important ethnohistorians writing today, James Axtell, explores the key role of imagination both in our perception of strangers and in the writing of history. Coinciding with the 500th anniversary of Columbus's "discovery" of America, this collection covers a wide range of topics dealing with American history. Three essays view the invasion of North America from the perspective of the Indians, whose land it was. The very first meetings, he finds, were nearly always peaceful. Other essays describe native encounters with colonial traders--creating "the first consumer revolution"--and Jesuit missionaries in Canada and Mexico. Despite the tragedy of many of the encounters, Axtell also finds that there was much humor in Indian-European negotiations over peace, sex, and war. In the final section he conducts searching analyses of how college textbooks treat the initial century of American history, how America's human face changed from all brown in 1492 to predominantly white and black by 1792, and how we handled moral questions during the Quincentenary. He concludes with an extensive review of the Quincentenary scholarship--books, films, TV, and museum exhibits--and suggestions for how we can assimilate what we have learned.

Their respective ancestral cultures in England and Spain, argue scholars Milo Kearney and Manuel Medrano, had common roots in medieval Europe, and both their conflicts and the shared understandings that may form the basis for their cooperation trace back to those days."--BOOK JACKET.