Chapter 24

New Worlds: The Americas and Oceania

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The Spanish Caribbean Spanish mariners meet indigenous Taíno

Originally from Orinoco River valley in South America; settled in Northern Caribbean in late centuries B.C.E. through 900 C.E.

What’s in a name? The native peoples of the Caribbean Taíno: People who had migrated up the Antilles to the Greater Antilles in

the northern part of the chain; spoke a language of the Arawakan family. Carib: People of the Lesser Antilles in the Southern Caribbean; language

is not in the Arawakan family, but the Cariban family. They had come from the mainland later than the Taíno. Early Europeans thought they were cannibals, but the archeological evidence is unclear. Some Carib women spoke Taíno since they had been captured in war.

Guanajatabey: Earliest settlers who were only in western Cuba at the time of contact; they became extinct before their language could be studied. It was not understood by Taíno speakers.

Garifuna: Also called “Black Caribs,” this people of the Lesser Antilles are descendents of Taíno, Caribs, and African slaves and speak an Arawakan language with many words borrowed from other languages.

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The Spanish Caribbean

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The Spanish Caribbean

Columbus uses Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic) as his main base for trading with Taíno

Disappointed that Taíno had no spices and silks as he expected East Asians would

Recruit locals to mine gold instead, although ultimately this endeavor produces meager results

Encomienda: forced labor by right of conquest that had its origins in the reconquista

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From Mining to Plantation Agriculture Taíno occasionally rebel, but outgunned by Spanish military

technology Smallpox epidemics begin 1518

Spaniards launch raids to kidnap and replace workers, spread disease further

Taíno society disappears by middle of sixteenth century Only words remain: barbecue, cannibal, canoe, hammock,

potato, etc. Limited gold production causes new interest in exploiting

Caribbean for sugarcane production Requires massive importation of slaves

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Conquest of Mexico and Peru Spanish conquerors (conquistadores) explore other territories

with the support and encouragement of the crown. Hernán Cortés used roughly 1,400 Spanish soldiers and at

least 80,000 indigenous allied troops to capture the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan (1519-1521), fighting 200,000 Aztecs. Spanish horrified by Aztec practice of human sacrifice, which was

a part of the society’s war rituals Initial advances over the causeways are turned back Cortés builds fleet of small ships to support the effort Smallpox greatly weakens besieged Tenochtitlan, as does the

cutting off of fresh water and food, leading to surrender

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Conquest of Mexico and Peru

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Contemporary artists’ recreations of Tenochtitlan

Image of Aztec human sacrifice from the Aztec Codex Magliabechiano (mid-1500s)

Conquest of Mexico and Peru Francisco Pizarro triggers the collapse of the Incan empire in

Peru through cunning and intimidation. In 1528, the Incan emperor Huayna Capac dies from smallpox acquired

from initial European contact, setting off a civil war between his two sons, Huáscar and Atahualpa.

In 1528 and 1529, Pizarro, having scouted Peru, returns to Spain to obtain royal permission top conquer it.

Pizarro and 170 men arrive in the midst of the civil war, at a point when Atahualpa’s forces had captured Huáscar.

Pizarro meets Atahualpa, who soon thereafter orders the execution of Huáscar for fear of him gaining the Spanish as allies; Pizarro captures Atahualpa for a ransom of gold, but eventually executes him by garrott out of paranoia that he was plotting against the Spanish.

Atahualpa’s death triggers rebellions throughout the Incan Empire and eventual Spanish conquest that took roughly forty years to complete.

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Spanish Colonial Administration

Spanish administration based in New Spain (Mexico) and New Castile (Peru), extended to Florida and Buenos Aires Mexico city built atop Tenochtitlan, founded Lima in

Peru Viceroys rule, but supervised by local courts called

audiencias designed to prevent buildup of too much localized power

Considerable dispute with Spanish homeland Treatment of indigenous people a point of conflict;

local rulers often used brutality to assert their authority

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Spanish Colonial Administration

Oñate’s Foot Northern Expansion: Colobial government

wanted to expand into what is now the U.S. Southwest; Mexican-born Spanish explorer Juan de Oñate colonizes northern region of “New Spain” in 1598 and comes into conflict with Pueblo Indians.

Acoma Massacre: In retaliation for natives killing his nephew, Oñate kills 800 Acoma men, women, and children; enslaves surviving females; and amputates one foot from surviving men over 25.

Symbolism: In 1998, vandals cut off a foot from an equestrian statue of Oñate (pictured with foot restored).

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Portuguese Brazil

1494 Treaty of Tordesillas divides entire (non-Christian) world between Spain and Portugal

Portugal formalizes its claim on Brazil when a fleet bound for India led by Alvares Cabral lands there in 1500.

Little interest at first, but increases as other imperial powers take notice

Portugal begins to exploit Brazil for sugarcane production in the 1600s, fighting off French and Dutch claims.

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Settler Colonies in North America Spanish towns, forts, missions on east coast of North

America, like St. Augustine, founded 1565 Dislodged in seventeenth century by French, English, Dutch

colonizers First English attempt to colonize in Virginia on Roanoake

Island in 1585 fails mysteriously: the “Lost Colony” Permanent colonies in North America

France: Nova Scotia (1604), Quebec (1608) (earlier attempt at Quebec in 1541 failed)

England: Jamestown (1607), Plymouth (1620), Massachusetts Bay Colony (1630), Maryland 1634

Netherlands: New Amsterdam (1623) English take it in 1664, rename it New York

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Colonial Government

Exceptionally difficult conditions Starvation rampant, cannibalism occasionally practiced

as in Jamestown: two-thirds of Jamestown’s settlers died in the first year

French and English private merchants invest heavily in the expansion of colonies

Greater levels of self-government in English colonies than in Spanish and Portuguese colonies

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European Empires and Colonies in the Americas, about 1700

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Relations with Indigenous Peoples

North American peoples loosely organized, and semi-nomadic or fully migratory Unlike settled Aztec and Inca peoples who practiced

“sedentary agriculture” European colonists stake out forested land and

clear it for agriculture Increasing number of Europeans arrive seeking

ample land: 150,000 from England in seventeenth century

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Conflict with Indigenous Peoples

Colonists displace indigenous peoples, trespass on hunting grounds, put strains on indigenous trading networks, and bring firearms and alcohol

English settlers negotiate treaties that make no sense to Indians who do not share the same concept of land ownership

Military conflict frequent, in part due to indigenous people not sharing European concepts of property

Natives also devastated by epidemic disease, with disease sometimes showing up before the Europeans do in some places

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North American Populations

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The Formation of Multicultural Societies

European and African migrants to Latin America and the Caribbean are primarily men

Relationships with native women formed Mestizo (mixed) societies formed

People of Spanish and native parentage Descendants of Spaniards and African slaves (“mulattoes”) Descendants of African slaves and natives (“zambos”)

Less pronounced in Peru, to where more Spanish women migrated

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The Social Hierarchy

Race-based hierarchy Top: peninsulares, i.e. migrants from Iberian

peninsula Criollos (creoles), i.e. children of migrants born in

the New World Mestizos, mulattoes, zambos, other combinations of

parentage Bottom: slaves, conquered peoples Defining factor in social standing: sexual hierarchy

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North American Societies

Higher ratio of French and English female migrants than in South America

Higher social stigma for Europeans attached to relationships with natives and African slaves

Fur traders have relationships with North American native women Métis: People of mixed indigenous and French

ancestry, especially in Western Canada

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Mining in the Spanish Empire

Hunt for gold and silver Conquistadores loot Aztec, Inca treasures and melt

them down for their value as raw precious metals Gold not extensive in Spanish holdings, but silver

plentiful Extensive employment of natives

Spaniards co-opt the Incan mita system of conscripted labor Dangerous working conditions in mines

Fifth of mined silver and gold is reserved for crown (quinto)

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Global Significance of Silver

Major resource of income for Spanish crown Rich mines found in Potosí (now in Bolivia) in the

Andes in 1545, and in Zacatecas in Mexico in 1546 Manila galleons take it to the Pacific rim for trading,

especially for Chinese luxury goods like silk, spices, and porcelain Spanish ships carrying silver become targets of Dutch and

English privateers and pirates “Spanish Dollar” silver coin was valid currency in the U.S.

until 1857

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The Hacienda Started as feudal land grants to conquistadors from the crown Encomienda system of utilizing forced native labor, but

rampant abuses lead to its abolishment by 1720. Gradually replaced by debt peonage that evolves into the

hacienda system throughout the Spanish New World colonies Peasants own no land and repay rent and loans with labor

The hacienda was a large estate that aims for economic self-sufficiency; owned by a patrón Often was farm that produced crops of European origin like wheat and

grapes; could also grow New World crops like bananas or cocoa Could also be a sugar plantation with African slaves, could involve

mining operations, or could involve cattle-ranching especially in South America

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A Hacienda in Chile

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Resistance to Spanish Rule Rebellions

1680 Pueblo Revolt – Also known as Popé’s Revolt, it took place in what is now Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pueblo Indians rebelled against Spanish authorities, killing 400 Spaniards and drove away 2,000. Probably sparked by Spanish attempts to destroy Indian religious practices, like dances and making of dolls to worship kachina (spirits). Took twelve years for the Spanish to restore their authority.

1780 Túpac Amaru Rebellion: Indigenous Peruvian leader Tupac Amaru II captures and executes a local Spanish governor and starts an uprising; he is eventually defeated and executed in the cruelest fashion: drawn-and-quartered after having his tongue cut out and witnessing the execution of his wife and eldest son. Becomes a Peruvian folk hero and inspiration for the independence fight.

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Resistance to Spanish Rule

Half-hearted work and sabotage Retreat into mountains and forests outside of the

control of Spanish authorities Appeal to Spanish crown

Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala (ca. 1535 – 1616): The most interesting appeal was a 1,200-page illustrated letter written by this indigenous nobleman and sent in 1615. It catalogued the abuses of the colonial authorities and proposed a better system of government. But it never received by its intended recipient, King Philip III of Spain (reigned 1598-1621).

Rediscovery: The manuscript had been kept in the Royal Danish Library since the 1660s, returning to public attention when a German scholar found it in 1908.

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Resistance to Spanish Rule

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Illustrations from Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala’s letter, including one depicting the execution of the last royal Incan ruler, Tupac Amaru I (1545-1572), and the maltreatment of blacks by Spaniards.

Sugar and Slavery in Portuguese Brazil Sugar mill: engenho, refers to complex of land, labor, etc.

all related to production of sugar Sugarcane to molasses, or refined to sugar for export Low profit margins

Unlike Spanish system of forced native labor, Portuguese rely on imported African slaves Natives continually evaded Portuguese forces, slipping into the

Amazon Large-scale importation of slaves into Brazil begins

1580s Working conditions poor: 5-10% die annually Approximately one human life per ton of sugar

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Sugar and Slavery in Portuguese Brazil

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Idealized painting of a Brazilian engenho

Fur Trading in North America

Indigenous peoples trade pelts for wool blankets, iron pots, firearms, alcohol

Beaver hunts cause frequent incursions into neighboring territories, conflicts Beaver Wars, Iroquois against Hurons

European settler-cultivators also displacing natives from traditional lands Initially dependent on native assistance, as European

grains did not grow well in many areas

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Development of Cash Crops Products developed for European markets

Tobacco – cultivation adopted from indigenous example Rice – knowledge of planting comes fro West African slaves; can only

be grown in warm coastal regions as in South Carolina Indigo – first cultivated by Spanish in Central America in the 1560s Cotton – Cultivated by Spanish as early as the mid-1550s, but huge

global demand does not come about until the industrial revolution

Increases demand for imported slaves and other unfree laborers (often confusion in status) In the 1600s in North America, European indentured servants with four-

to seven-year terms were widely used; shifts to African slaves by 1690s Governments also shipped over the chronically unemployed

(“paupers”), political prisoners, and convicted criminals to help populate new colonies

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Export of Tobacco from Virginia

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Slavery in North America African slaves brought to Virginia beginning in 1619 Increasingly replace European indentured laborers, late

seventeenth to early eighteenth centuries Less prominent in north due to weak nature of cash-crop

industry, although urban slavery practiced widely Slave trading and products derived from slave labor are

important part of northern colonial economy Rum, based on sugar from plantations, began to be refined in

Northeastern colonies and New England especially in the late 1600s and became an important commodity in the slave trade

Salted cod caught in New England fishing grounds would be sold to feed Caribbean slaves

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Missionary Activity in the Americas

Franciscan, Dominican, Jesuit missionaries came to the Spanish colonies in the 1500s and French in the 1600s

Taught Christian doctrine and literacy Often accumulated indigenous cultural knowledge to

better communicate their message Bernardino de Sahagún (1499-1590): Franciscan friar who

studied Aztec culture and translated parts of the Bible into the Aztec language of Nahuatl.

Due to conquest and plague, many natives in Spanish America concluded gods had abandoned them; converted to Catholicism But often retained elements of their indigenous religion in

Christian worship

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The Virgin of Guadalupe

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Indigenous peasant Juan Diego is reported to have seen a vision of Mary in 1531; she appeared at a site outside of Mexico City associated with the Aztec female deities who share the collective title of “Tonantzin.” She has since become a symbol of the Mexican nation. Some historians question Juan Diego’s existence since the first sources written about him date from the mid-1600s.

French Missions and English Contact

French missions were less effective than Spanish Spaniards ruled native populations more directly Migration patterns of North American natives made it

more difficult for sustained contact needed for meaningful conversion

English colonists had little interest in converting natives, with only a few exceptions, like Massachusetts Puritan John Eliot (ca. 1604-1690). He translated and published the Bible into the local Algonquian Massachusett language in 1663.

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Australia and the Larger World Portuguese mariners long in the region, but Dutch sailors

make first recorded sighting of Australia in 1606 VOC surveys territory, conclude it is of little value

Limited contact with indigenous peoples Nomadic, fishing and foraging societies

British Captain James Cook lands at Botany Bay in 1770. Roughly 1,000 British settlers arrive in 1788 at Botany Bay

“First fleet” has 500 male convicts and almost 200 female ones, military personnel and family, and assorted free people.

Convicts shipped to Australia outnumber free settlers until 1830

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Australian Aborigine

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Pre-1788 Australia: Anywhere between 315,000 and 750,000 indigenous people may have lived on the continent.

Epidemic diseases like such as chickenpox, smallpox, influenza and measles sweep through population weeks after 1788 settlement.

Conflict persists through the nineteenth century By the 1920s, indigenous population had dropped

to between 50,000 and 90,000.

Pacific Islands and the Larger World

Manila galleons interested in quick trade routes, little exploration of Pacific Islands of Guam and the Marianas in the Western Pacific

are strategically significant, laying on Manila galleon route 1670s-1680s: Spain took colonized the Marianas in 1667

and Guam in 1668; smallpox nearly wipes out the local population

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Manila Galleon Route and the Lands of Oceania, 1500-1800

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Pacific Islands and the Larger World James Cook visits Hawai`i in 1778

British explorer Cook maps out much of the Pacific beyond the Manila galleon route in three voyages in the 1760s and 1770s

“Discovers” Hawai`i on the third voyage, but after sailing to find the Northwest Passage, is forced to return to Hawai`i due to damage.

Cook was initially welcomed in 1778 and again in his 1779 return, but was killed in dispute with locals over the theft of one of his ship’s boats.

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