Final answer:
The Native Americans had inhabited the Americas for 30,000 years before the first Europeans arrived. The Europeans' arrival had a profound impact on the indigenous populations, leading to conflicts and loss of land and wealth.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Native Americans had inhabited the Americas for 30,000 years before the arrival of the first Europeans in the late 1400s. They were the original people of the land and had developed their own unique cultures and civilizations over thousands of years. The Europeans, including the Spanish, English, and French, came to the Americas for various reasons such as wealth, glory, and the spread of their faith. Their arrival had a significant impact on the indigenous populations, leading to conflicts, forced religious conversion, and loss of land and wealth.