Unit 1: 1491-1607A New World of Many Cultures

Created by: Ellie DinsmoreAP US History 2013-14Mr. Hoefler’s Teacher’s Aide 2014-15

Original Settlers in the Americas

• First people in North and South America came at least 10,000 years before Columbus• Probably from Asia -> crossed on land

bridge that once connected Siberia and Alaska (now covered by water)• Over time, dispersed to all corners of

continent• Estimates of native population by 1490

= appx 50-100 million people

Cultures of Central and South America• Native pop. concentrated in three

highly developed areas: • Mayans on Yucatan Peninsula• Aztecs in central Mexico (Tenochtitlan as

capital, with population equivalent to largest European cities)• Incas in Peru -> vast empire

• Highly organized societies -> trade, scientifically accurate calendars, stable food supply (corn for Mayans and Aztecs, potatoes for Incas)

Cultures of North America

• Natives societies smaller and less sophisticated than those of Central/South America -> b/c slow northward spread of corn cultivation from Mexico• A lot of societies disappeared by 15th century ->

unclear why• By time of Columbus, most lived in semi-

permanent settlements in small groups ( > 300 people) • Men -> making tools , hunting for game• Women -> gathered plants and nuts, grew crops

such as corn, beans, and tobacco

Cultures of North America: Language• More than 20 diverse types of

language families*• Algonquian in Northeast, Siouan on

Great Plains, Athabaskan in Southwest

• Together these 20 families included more than 400 languages

*language family- group of languages related through descent from a common ancestor, i.e. English is part of Indo-European family

Cultures of North AmericaSouthwest Settlements• Southwest = region that now includes

Arizona and New Mexico • Farming with irrigation systems -> arid

land• Lived in caves, under cliffs, and in

multistoried buildings -> used stone and masonry• Faced challenges such as extreme

droughts and other hostile natives• i.e. the Hokokam, Anasazi, and

Pueblos

Northwest Settlements• Along Pacific coast -> Alaska to

northern California• Lived in permanent longhouses or

plank houses• Hunting, fishing gathering nuts,

berries and roots• Recorded stories on carved totem

poles• High mountain ranges -> isolated

tribes and created barriers to development

Cultures of North AmericaGreat Plains Settlements

• Nomadic hunters -> buffalo, lived in tepees, • Sedentary farmers & traders ->

permanent earthen lodges along rivers, grew corn, beans and squash, trade• Didn’t get horses until 17th cent.• Migration = common• i.e. Apaches and Lakota Sioux

Midwest Settlements• East of Mississippi River ->

“Woodland American Indians”• Rich food supply -> hunting,

fishing and agriculture• Permanent settlements (especially

in Mississippi & Ohio River Valleys)• One of largest settlements =

Cahokia• Adena-Hopewell -> woodland

mound builders

Cultures of North AmericaNortheast Settlements• Hunting and farming -> farming

techniques quickly exhausted soil• Iroquois Confederation- political

union between 5 independent tribes in NY• Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, & Mohawk

• Multiple families related thru mother lived in longhouses

Atlantic Seaboard Settlements• New Jersey south to Florida• “Coastal Plains”• Timber and bark lodgings

along rivers• Rivers and Atlantic ocean =

rich source of food

Europe Moves Toward Exploration• Improvements in technology -> Renaissance

(rebirth of classical learning) -> gunpowder, printing press, sailing compass, improvements in ship building and mapmaking• Religious conflict -> Roman Catholic Spain

pushed Moors out of Europe, funded Columbus’ journey -> all signaled new leadership, hope, and power for RC Europeans• Protestant Reformation -> “Church of

England” split from Roman Catholic church -> added religious motive for exploration and colonization

Protestant: BlueRoman Catholic: OliveIslamic: Red

Expanding Trade• Needed to find new routes b/c Ottoman Turks seized control of

Middle East• Either go south along African coast or west across Atlantic Ocean• Portuguese went south -> Vasco de Gama first to India

• 15th cent -> Portuguese started slave trade of W. Africans to use on sugar plantations -> very profitable• Africans resisted slavery -> ran away, sabotaged work, revolted

-> held on to their culture (music, religion, folkways)• Developing nation-states -> countries in which majority of

people shared common culture and loyalty to central government (i.e. Spain, France)• Depended on trade for revenue, church to justify right to rule• Used power to search for riches and spread Christianity (esp.

overseas)• Henry the Navigator of Portugal

Early Explorations• 1492- Columbus gets financial backing from King

Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain -> landed in Bahamas -> didn’t find valuable trade route to Indies• His voyages brought about permanent interaction

between people from all over the globe• Columbian Exchange – transfer of plants, animals

and germs from both sides of Atlantic -> disease killed millions• Spain and Portugal disagreed of who got lands ->

Pope drew line of demarcation (which was later moved a little by Treaty of Tordesillas) -> Spain = west, Portugal = east

Early Explorations cont’d.• Spanish dominance in New World -> power of

conquistadores (i.e. conquest of Aztecs by Hernando Cortes, conquest of Incas by Francisco Pizarro)• Increased gold supply by 500% -> Spain = richest

and most powerful European country• Encomienda system – Spanish king gives land grants

and native fruits to individual Spaniards, Indians had to work as slaves on farms

• Asiento system -> Spanish had to pay tax to king on each slave they imported to Americas

• English claims -> based on voyages of John Cabot -> didn’t really do anything in 15th century b/c of religious drama (breaking away from Roman Catholic Church)

Early Exploration cont’d.• England’s Roanoke Island colony venture

literally disappeared• French claims based on Jaques Cartier’s

voyages -> slow to develop colonies b/c of conflict with Huguenots• First permanent French settlement =

Quebec in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain• French explored and claimed Louisiana

territory in late 1600s• Dutch explorer Henry Hudson = Hudson

River -> surrounding area became New Amsterdam (later New York) -> controlled by Dutch West India Company

Spanish Settlements in North America• Florida- hostile natives and multiple failures,

eventually established St. Augustine in 1565• New Mexico- Santa Fe est. as capital in

1610, harsh efforts to Christianize natives lead to Pueblo revolts, Spanish driven from area until 1680• Texas- attempted to resist French expansion

down Mississippi River• California- San Diego and San Francisco est.

1769 in response to Russian exploration of Alaska, series of “missions” (settlements) along coast by Franciscan order (religious)

European Treatment of Natives• Viewed natives as inferior people to be exploited for economic

gain, converted to Christianity, or used as military allies• Spanish Policy- natives died of disease or were forced into

slavery, a lot of intermarriage, rigid class system dominated by pure-blood Spaniards• Bartolome de Las Casas- advocate for better treatment of Indians,

got king to make New Laws of 1542- ended Indian slavery/forced labor, economienda system

• Valladolid Debate- Las Casas (above) vs Juan Gines de Sepulveda (Indians less than human)

• English Policy- initially, coexisted, traded and shared ideas, soon gave way to conflict and open warfare• English viewed Indians as “savage,” Indians saw way of life

threatened• Took native lands -> made Indians leave instead of making them

slaves

European Treatment of Natives cont’d.• French Policy- maintained good relations,

built trading posts to control fur trade -> traded with Indians• Few colonies meant French were less of a

threat to natives

• Native American Reaction- no unified response b/c saw themselves as distinct groups• Initially, goods such as copper pots and guns

motivated Indians to trade• Violence and disease decimated native pop.• Some allied with one European power or

another• Some migrated to new land