solved Start off by looking at the development of national states

Start off by looking at the development of national states in Europe, a development that took place over several centuries (from the 13th to the 17th). You may notice that the Renaissance and the Reformation both occurred within this lengthy period. Both played a role in the development of national states as you will see. We will look primarily at the development of Spain, France and England into national states and the failure of the Holy Roman Empire (not holy, not Roman, and not an empire, as is often said) to unify Germany. The Holy Roman Empire was a union of many central European states including the German principalities. Germany would not unify until well into the 19th Century. The notion of all these national states following unification was to expand. That brings us to the Age of Exploration whose primary goal was to establish trade with India and China. As you know, Christopher Columbus set out to establish trade with these European countries only to “discover” the Americas. Of course, there were tens of millions of people already there, but European explorers managed to decimate that population with one writer summarizes as “guns, germs, and steel.” The problem then for the Europeans who settled in the Americas was to find a source of labor, which brought about the importation of Africans, who were deemed slaves by the Europeans and forced to work the various plantations that emerged following European settlement. Intermingled with these developments, was the emergence of mercantile (or state) capitalism, which is defined in the text and in the slides assigned for this week. This is a very simplified explanation of what occurred and the primary goal this week is for us to arrive at a better understanding of these processes. According to Marvin Perry, the author of our textbook, one small part of the world (Western Europe), rose to “become the lord of the sea-lanes, the master of many lands throughout the globe, and the banker and profit maker in an emerging world economy.” (Perry, 229) First, describe some of the ways in which Western European countries achieved what Perry describes as “global hegemony,” or predominance. Then assess some of the effects Western Europe’s overseas expansion had on native populations in the Americas and in Africa. Must be 250 words or more.Both Bartolome de las Casas and Malachy Postlethwaite had strong opinions on what was “good” for native populations. In de las Casas’s case, he is ostensibly defending the “Indians” of the Americas. In his document, Postlethwaite is justifying enslaving native Africans by stating that their lives as slaves will be an improvement over their lives in Africa. Read both primary documents and then choose one to analyze. In the document you choose, how does the author characterize the native population he is talking about? What prejudices and assumptions of his own does he bring to bear in his writing? Must be 250 words or more.Reference: Western Civilization A Brief History, vol. II Since 1600. Eleventh Edition