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It would be easy to discuss many of the ancient Greeks inventions that took place which were associated with warfare. Almost everybody is aware of the fact that Alexander the Great and his conquests were some of the most renowned throughout all history. In just a short period of time, he and his army overtook most of the then known world and if his life would not have been cut short, he would have continued his conquests. There were, no doubt, many ancient Greek inventions which helped to make his conquests successful. The one invention that I will discuss, however, is the canon.  It is thought that they were one of the first to use a Canon although it did not use gunpowder. By using compressed air, these canons were able to hurl a projectile over long distances.  One well-known ancient Greek invention is the Antikythera mechanism. Believe it or not, this was a type of calculator that is thought to have been invented some 2000 years ago. As a matter of fact, many people consider this to be the world's first computer, although it was nothing like the computers that we see today. Through the use of a complex system of gears, it was able to calculate the relative positions of the sun, moon and stars whenever a date was entered. This is one of the ancient Greeks inventions that was truly far ahead of its time. The ancient Greeks were also well known for their work that took place under water. Aristotle first described this type of contraption some 2400 years ago. It is thought that this is one of the ancient Greeks inventions that was used in order to salvage the floor of the ocean for various items. It is unknown what other applications this ancient Greek invention had but it was ingenious that they were able to come up with the concept.  Another one of the ancient Greek inventions that is rather interesting is that of the shower. Although nothing was known about germs at that particular time, the Greeks thought that it was a healthful practice to wash the body with water. The fact that there were showers during this time period is recorded in various art murals that have been excavated . It is hard to know what other ancient Greeks inventions were in existence during that time. One thing's for certain, they were a society that was rather enlightened and well ahead of their time. Perhaps with some more archaeology work on our part, we may be able to discover that they were behind some other ingenious ideas as well.

deeply affected by the invaders’ interactions with indigenous groups—interactions that, through a combination of violence and disease, resulted in massive declines in indigenous populations.

The Spanish Empire

Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadors and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries.

motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions.

The Exploration and Conquest of the New World

Major French exploration of North America began under the rule of Francis I, King of France. In 1524,

A major French settlement lay on the island of Hispaniola, where France established the colony of Saint-Domingue on the western third of the island in 1664.

Shortly after Columbus’ first voyage to the New World, the British Empire funded an exploratory mission of its own led by John Cabot. Cabot explored the North American continent,

Upon the death of Christopher Columbus,

An army of life-size clay warriors famously guards the city-sized tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shi Huang, who died in 210 B.C. The main burial chamber of Qin Shi Huang has yet to be excavated, but according to legend, it has rivers of mercury and a ceiling encrusted with gems. Archaeologists recently found the emperor's palace complex at the site near the city of Xi'an.

disease.

They go as naked as their mothers bore them, even the women, though I only saw one girl, and she was very young. All those I did see were young men, none of them more than thirty years old.… They do not carry arms and do not know of them, because I showed them some swords and they grasped them by the blade and cut themselves out of ignorance

They ought to make good slaves for they are of quick intelligence, since I notice that they are quick to repeat what is said to them, and I believe that they could very easily become Chirstians, for it seemed to me that they had no religion of their own. God willing, when I come to leave I will bring six of them to Your Highnesses so that they may learn to speak

Columbus believed he had every right to take their land and make them into “servants.

With the native population gone, the Spanish began to import slaves from Africa to grow their sugar cane

superiority to their enemies who had rejected Christianity, and they developed rules of war based on that superiority — including the right to enslave the people they conquered. Once Spain was reconquered, Muslims and Jews were forced to convert to Christianity or be expelled from Spain.

In 1519 Hernán Cortés arrived in Mexico from Cuba with 11 galleons, 550 men, and 16 horses — the first horses on the American continent. Within two years his conquistadores, conquerors, had won control of the Aztec kingdom that spanned most of present-day Mexico and Central America.

One of Cortés’ soldiers had smallpox, and he started an epidemic that killed a third of the population of the Aztec empire.

Cortés for the deity Quetzalcoátl, or Plumed Serpent, who according to prophesy would return from the east to reclaim his kingdom — perhaps in 1519. When Cortés arrived — from the east, with fair skin, riding four-legged creatures never before seen in Mexico, wearing shining armor and looking for all the world like someone who wanted to reclaim a kingdom — Moctezuma feared that he might be Quetzalcoátl and did not immediately meet him in battle.

What Cortés and his men saw in Tenochtitlán horrified them.

The Spanish, more convinced than ever of their superiority, forced most of the people of Mexico to convert to Christianity. Priests burned Aztec books and destroyed idols and temples. Indigenous people were enslaved to work in gold mines. Disease reduced the population of Mexico from more than 20 million when Cortés arrived in 1519 to about 2 million by 1600.

By the 1600s, Spain was easily the most powerful kingdom in Europe.

We can estimate very surely and truthfully that in the forty years that have passed, with the infernal actions of the Christians, there have been unjustly slain more than twelve million men, women, and children. In truth, I believe without trying to deceive myself that the number of the slain is more like fifteen million.…

They attacked the towns and spared neither the children nor the aged nor pregnant women nor women in childbed, not only stabbing them and dismembering them but cutting them to pieces as if dealing with sheep in the slaughter house.

With still others, all those they wanted to capture alive, they cut off their hands and hung them round the victim’s neck, saying, “Go now, carry the message,” meaning, Take the news to the Indians who have fled to the mountains.

Many of Alexander's accomplishments were made possible by his father, Philip of Macedon.

In 338 B.C.E., King Philip of Macedon invaded and conquered the Greek city-states. Philip took advantage of the fact that the Greek city-states were divided by years of squabbling and infighting. Philip succeeded in doing what years of fighting between city-states had not done. He united Greece.

Alexander's the Great's tutor was the Greek philosopher Aristotle.

For years, the massive Persian Empire threatened the very existence of the Greek way of life

Alexander, took the throne in 336 B.C.E., he vowed to complete the plans of his father. In 334 B.C.E., Alexander invaded Persia, which lay across the Aegean Sea in Asia Minor

Alexander smashed the Persian armies at the Tigris River and conquered the mighty Persian Empire, including the legendary city of Babylon. For many Greeks, this victory marked a moment of sweet revenge against a bitter foe

at the age of 25, Alexander ruled an expansive empire

Alexander conquered Egypt and founded a city at the mouth of the Nile River.

ntil he reached India and the Indus River in 326 B.C.E. At this point, his exhausted troops refused to fight further.

Without the support of his army, Alexander had no choice but to turn back and begin consolidating and organizing his far-flung empire. On his way home, Alexander died from disease in 323 B.C.E.

First, his father was able to unite the Greek city-states, and Alexander destroyed the Persian Empire forever. More importantly, Alexander's conquests spread Greek culture, also known as Hellenism, across his empire.

Without Alexander's ambition, Greek ideas and culture might well have remained confined to Greece.

in 13 short years he amassed the largest empire in the entire ancient world

Alexander's reign marked the beginning of a new era known as the Hellenistic Age