If the term conquest is being defined as replacing one civilization with the other, then the success of the Europeans in doing that is clear. In fact, in discussing conquests in general, European conquests of the New World may sit at the top as the some of the most successful conquests for an array of reasons. Something the Europeans had on their side in their conquest were the diseases that they carried that the natives were not immune to. This along with their advanced weapons and the upper hand they would gain from the sheer obliviousness of the civilization that they were destroying help the Europeans succeed in just about every way imaginable. Many cities and countries that are still around today were a result of the European conquests. Explorers such as Christopher Columbus, Hernan Cortes, Francisco Pizarro, and others were integral parts in the destroying of civilizations in the time period that spanned the fifteenth to eighteenth century. In discussing these important figures and their roles in world history one can easily answer the question of whether European conquests were generally successful or nothing more than failed experiments. In 1492 Christopher Columbus, sponsored by Spain, traveled across the Atlantic Ocean with a carrack and two caravels and ended up on the island that is now the Bahamas. The first colonies settled on the island were in Hispaniola. He also founded La Navidad in what is now Haiti only for it to be destroyed by the native Taino people. On his second voyage there Columbus founded the town of Isabella. By 1502 many of the Taino people had succumb to disease or became slaves to the Spanish who were colonizing the area. By 1508 there were around 10,000 people living in the settlements and the process of replacing the Taino people was almost complete. Though Columbus was not the first person to reach the New World, he did pave the way for Europeans who followed after him in order to build trade network