| 1500's | PERIODS | ||||||
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| from 1500's |
Spanish conquest and exploitation of the larger Caribbean islands (the "Greater Antilles") and Central and South America commences in earnest. During this period the native people of Cuba and Hispaniola were decimated by disease (inadvertently introduced by the invaders), forced labour, and social disruption. Colonial settlement was founded on the basis of cheap labour by enslaved people. With the drastic decline in native populations, Africans were introduced as slaves, by the Portugese, then by Dutch, English and French traders. |
| 1500's | PERIODS | ||||||
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