“’The discovery of America,’ the Scottish writer Adam Smith announced…was one of the “two greatest and most important events recorded in the history of mankind.”…It is not surprising that looking back nearly three centuries after the initial voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492, Smith focused primarily on the economic results of the conquest and colonization of North and South America. The influx of goods from the New World, he insisted, greatly increased the “enjoyments” of the people of Europe and the market for European goods. Nonetheless, Smith did not fail to note the price paid by the indigenous population of the New World… ‘Benefits’ for some, Smith observed, went hand in hand with the ‘dreadful misfortunes’ for others…” - Eric Foner, Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History Vol. I, 2014

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