The Colonists that ruled over most parts of the world certainly did leave behind their influences. However, wherever they ruled, cultural practices certainly did not disintegrate. One may assert that they were influenced though, as there is a great deal of colonial tradition observed today in many parts of the world.
Aside from the colonial tradition and beliefs that the British especially left behind, there were other occurrences that people could have certainly done without (De Las Casas, 1999). This is something worth particularly considering the devastation that the colonists caused. Eight million Arawak Indians, in Hispaniola, a New World colony, was reduced to ten thousand by 1520. Twenty-five million Indians in Central Mexico were reduced to 1.9 million by 1585 (Lehrman, 2003).

With the Spanish realizing that the native Indians were heading for extinction and there would be no work force to work in the silver and gold mines they had to find alternative workers. To compensate for this, they decided to bring in the Africans who served as slaves under the Spanish (Wook, 2004). This trend was continued subsequently when other colonists came to the New World. However, it is the Spanish that exploited the region and had the economy there driven by the plantations and extracts from mines. Until the time the Spanish remained on this land, the economy survived; once they left, it fell into the hands of the subsequent colonists that transformed the economy from mining and ore extraction to agriculture. This apparently was more reliable as it was proved by the period these colonists survived there, which is in contrast to what the Spanish managed to do (Burns, 1992).

“As Spanish economy collapsed by the early eighteenth century, Spanish American economy had also declined since it became more isolated from the international economy. This happened because; on the one hand, other European countries? protectionism and the other hand Spain could not provide sufficient market” (Wook, 2004).
Slavery was also sustained, and the New World was being used to enrich Europe. It also must be pointed out that slavery may not have been initiated by the Spanish alone because it had also taken other forms where other nations had dominated too. However, it was the Spanish that began it in America (Vela, 1991).

Though the Spanish extracted all that they could, the British also did the same. The resources that the Europeans found here, they would take back with them to make sure that they gain everything and fortify their position in Europe. It appears from here that the British gained the most from this process that all started with the discovery of the New World in 1492, which is celebrated to this day.

Presently, the Americans of African descent, and the Native Americas would think of celebrating Columbus Day with negative feelings in contrast to the way that the Spanish and Italian descendents would celebrate it. This would be explained on the basis of who lost and who gained from this day in history, and how this day has shaped the economy of the world today.