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Columbus brought back Native Americans to present to the king and queen ofSpain. After his arrival, Native Americans suffered cruelty, disease, and death.

Looking at Key Terms.Vikings. Crusades. Muslims. Indies

.colony: a permanent set-tlement controlled by amore powerful country.conquistador:

a Spanishsoldier-explorer

Looking at Key Words.navigator: a person who

can steer a ship accuratelyacross the water

.compass: an instrumentused for showing direction

What happened when the first Europeansmade contact with North Americans?

Until the year A.D. 1000, the people ofEurope knew nothing about North andSouth America. In that year, peoplefrol;Il northern Europe landed on theshores of what is today Canada. Thesepeople were fierce warriors calledVikings. The Vikings tried to settle inthe new land. They built homes, raisedcattle, and farmed.

The Viking settlement did not lastvery long. We do not know why it didnot last. Perhaps Native Americansdrove the Vikings away. Perhaps theVikings planned poorly and ran out ofsupplies. Whatever happened, Vikingships stopped sailing west.

Before long, the people of Europe forgotthe settlement. They even forgot that ahuge land lay across the Atlantic. Manypeople thought that the Atlantic stretchedall the way to Asia. Some people began towonder why they could not get to Asia bysailing west across the Atlantic.

of the religion of Islam. The Europeanswanted to seize Christian religiousplaces from the Muslims.

The crusaders won a number of battlesat first. However, they could not hold onto what they won. Still, the crusaderslearned about many new things whenthey were in the Holy Land. They tastedfor the first time the spices that people inAsia used to flavor their food. They sawfine silks used for expensive clothing.Europeans wanted to bring the spices andsilks of Asia back home to Europe.

These spices and silks had been pro-duced thousands of miles to the east.Europeans called this part of Asia "theIndies." Muslim traders brought thesilks and spices to the Holy Land.

European traders began to trade withMuslims for the spices and silks. Italianmerchants bought the goods and soldthem allover Europe. These traderscould charge whatever they wanted fortheir goods.

Search for a sea route For years,Europeans paid high prices for silksand spices. Then they realized that theycould save themselves a lot of money ifthey could get the goods directly fromthe Indies. Portugal began looking for away to sail to the Indies. In the late1400s, Portuguese sailors tried to find asea route to East Asia.

The person who led the search wasPrince Henry of Portugal. Henry wascalled "the Navigator." A navigator issomeone who can steer a ship accurate-ly across water. Prince Henry did notactually make sea trips. However, heopened a school for sea captains andsailors from allover the world.

At this school, sailors learned aboutbuilding ships and navigating. Theylearned how to use tools to help themnavigate across the ocean. One impor-tant tool was the compass. It had amagnetic needle that always pointed

Today when we sprinkle a little pepperon our food, it is to add flavor. Five hun-dred years ago, spices such as pepperwere far more important. There were norefrigerators to keep food from spoiling.Such seasonings as salt and cloves helpedpreserve food. If a piece of meat startedto go bad, spices could hide the taste.

The search for spices led Europe tothe Americas. Before 1095, Europeansknew little about the world beyond theirborders. That year, the Crusadesbegan.

The Crusades were a series ofwars fought over the part of the MiddleEast known as the Holy Land.Europeans who fought in the Crusadeswere known as crusaders.

At the time, Muslims controlled theHoly Land. The Muslims are followers

Why did Europea~ try to find new routesto Asia?

north. Sailors used the compass to tellthe direction a ship was sailing.

Soon, Portuguese explorers were travel-ing south along the coast of Africa, lookingfor a path to Asia. In 1488, a Portugueseship sailed around the southern tip ofAfrica. It was clear that Portugal hadfinally found a sea route to the Indies.Sailors from other countries wondered ifthey could find another way to the Indies.

Spain. His name was ChristopherColumbus. He had a plan for reachingthe Indies. Instead of sailing eastaround Africa, why not get to Asia bysailing west across the Atlantic?Columbus believed that this would be ashorter route to the Indies. Like otherEuropeans, he didn't know that Northand South America stood in the way.

For six years, Columbus tried to get aEuropean ruler to listen to his plan.Finally, the king and queen of Spainagreed to help him. On August 3, 1492,Columbus sailed from Palos with threesmall ships. Three months later,Columbus reached an island. He wassure he had found the riches of theIndies. However, instead of rich cities ofgold and spices, Columbus found NativeAmericans living in small villages. Hestill believed he had reached the Indies.So he called these people "Indians."

No one who was there could realizethat they were part of a turning point inworld history. The clash between Native

In May of 1492, a white-haired Italiansailor arrived at the port of Palos, in

The invention of the compass made it possible for sailors to crossunknown seas. This drawing from the 1500s shows a sea captain usinga large compass to plot out the direction of his voyage.

How did the arrival of Columbus changeworld history?

American and European cultures hadbegun. This clash would shake theAmericas for the next 500 years.

The people whom Columbus hadfound called themselves Taino (TEYE-noh). Columbus wrote of them: "Theyare very well built people, with hand-some bodies. If you ask for anythingthey have, they never say no. Rather,they invite you to share it. They showas much love as if they were givingtheir hearts."

Columbus continued his voyage. Helanded on a larger island that he namedHispaniola, (hihs-pan- YOH-Iah) or"Little Spain." There, he built a smallwooden fort. Columbus picked 39 crewmembers to stay at the fort. The restreturned to Spain with him.

Europe. Many believed he had actuallyreached the Indies. They were sure thatits wealth was just within reach.

In 1493, Spain sent Columbus backon a second trip. Columbus was sup-posed to set up colonies. Colonies arepermanent settlements controlled by amore powerful country. This time, hehad 17 ships and about 1,500 people.Most of these people wanted to settle inwhat they thought were "the Indies."Columbus also had on board five RomanCatholic priests. Their goal was to con-vert the "Indians" to Christianity.

This time, the Native Americans didnot welcome Columbus. They wereafraid that the strangers would takeover their land. Native Americans onwhat is today called Jamaica and theVirgin Islands attacked Columbus'sforces. When Columbus arrived atHispaniola, he found his fort burned. Inthe ruins, he found the bodies of the

Columbus's second voyage Back inSpain, Columbus received a hero's wel-come. His findings amazed the people of

New voyages Colwnbus made two morevoyages to North America. He explored thecoast of Central and South America andclaimed all this land for Spain. These placesbecame Spanish colonies. The trade withthese colonies would make Spain the rich-est nation in Europe.

Many Spaniards followed Colwnbus toNorth America searching for gold andglory. These Spanish soldier-explorerswere called conquistadors (kahn-KEES-tuh-dawrz). One of the mostfamous conquistadors was Juan Ponce deLeon (WARN POHN-seh deh leh-OHN).

Ponce de Leon sailed to the Americaswith Columbus in 1493. He took part inthe conquest of Hispaniola. In 1508, heled a force that took control of PuertoRico. Ponce de Leon had heard storiesabout a "fountain of youth." By drinkingthe water of the fountain, a person wassupposed to become young again. In

men he had left behind. The men in thefort had treated the Native Americanscruelly. In return, the Native Americashad attacked and killed them.

Columbus decided to strike back.Spanish soldiers riding horses attackedthe Native American villages. These ani-mals were unknown to Native Americans.They seemed huge and fierce. TheSpanish also used snarling attack dogs.

With this force, Columbus conqueredthe Taino. Then he forced them to builda new settlement. He ordered them tobring him gold. He also put more than500 Taino in chains and shipped themto Spain as slaves.

In 1494, the Taino rebelled againstColumbus. However, their simpleweapons were no match for Spanishguns and cannon. The Spanish hunteddown the Taino with attack dogs. ManyNative Americans were brutally killed.

This picture of Columbus landing in the Americas was made over a hundred yearsago. It shows Columbus as a hero. Native Americans are only shadows. Contrastthis picture with how Columbus is viewed today.

The Spanish forced the Native Americans to work for them like slaves. HereNative Americans on the island of Hispaniola bring in gold they have dug fromthe ground. The gold is then weighed by the Spaniard at the table.

served Spain for more than 30 years. In1538, he received an estate on Hispaniolaas his reward.

March 1513, he sailed from Puerto Ricoand landed in a place that he named LaFlorida, meaning "full of flowers." Hefound no fountain of youth. However, hewas the first European to explore themainland of what would become theUnited States.

Joining Ponce de Leon were other con-quistadors. One was Juan GaITido (gah-REE-doh), a free Mrican. Garrido wasknown as el conquistador negro, or theBlack Conquistador. In the 1490s, he hadtraveled from Mrica to Spain. There, hebecame a Christian. In 1494, Garridojoined the Spanish army. When GaITidoheard of Columbus's voyages, he decidedto make his fortune in the Americas. Hejoined Ponce de Leon in Puerto Rico.Later, he took part in the conquest ofMexico. (see the next chapter.) Garrido

Hispaniola Becomes the ~enter of ~pain's

American Empire.~y were the settlements on Hispaniolaimportant for Spain?

The first settlers found life onHispaniola very difficult. The hot cli-

mate was unbearable. Supplies ran out.Many colonists died from the heat andhunger. In 1496, Columbus abandonedthe original settlement. He started anew one on the south coast of the islandand named it Santo Domingo. This set-tlement was located at the mouth of ariver and had a good supply of freshwater. It also had fertile soil for farm-ing. Later, settlers discovered gold atSanto Domingo.

Columbus was a fine sailor, but he wasa poor governor. In 1500, the Spanishrulers took control of Santo Domingofrom Columbus. The king and queenwere upset by the violence against theNative Americans. They also were angrythat Columbus seemed to be alwaysarguing with the Spanish settlers.

others. They also worked the farms anddug gold and silver out of mines. The gold,silver, and cotton were sent to Spain. Theprofits from these products did not benefitthe Native Americans.

When the Native Americans rebelledagainst this harsh treatment, they werekilled or sent to Spain as slaves. A Tainoleader named Hatuey (ah-too-AY) fledHispaniola rather than become a slave. Helater fought the Spanish as they tried tosettle Cuba. Hatuey was killed. However,he became a hero to later Cubans.

By 1505, the first colonies in theCaribbean were set up. Native Americanswere firmly under Spanish rule. AllNative American rebellions had been putdown. Now, conquistadors arriving fromSpain were ready to conquer new lands inthe Americas.

Native American rebellion Under anew governor, Santo Domingo entered aperiod of growth. It soon became the cen-ter of Spain's empire in the Caribbean.Here, the government built the first cathe-dral, the first hospital, and the first uni-versity in the Americas. Enslaved NativeAmericans built these buildings and many

An old woodcut shows Hernando Cortez being greeted by worried Aztec noblesas he enters the Aztec city of Cholula. The Aztec had good reason to wolTy;

Looking at Key Terms.encomienda .griats

.vassal: a person protectedby another stronger personin exchange for service

Looking at Key Words.plantations: large farms

where one crop is grown.pilgrimage: a trip to a

religious shrine.slavery: the system of

owning people

How did European, Native American, andAfrican cultures come to clash in the Caribbean?

Tell me, by what right do youhold these Indians in such cruelslavery? Who gave you the right towage such terrible wars againstthese people? They lived so quietlyand peacefully in their land. Whydo you keep them so oppressed?Should you not love them as youlove fellow Spaniards? Don't youunderstand this?

Christopher Columbus's voyagesturned world history upside down.Before 1500, people in Spain andPortugal realized that Columbus hadnot reached "the Indies." Rather, hehad reached a vast land that they hadknown nothing about.

It quickly became clear that therewas great wealth in these lands acrossthe Atlantic. One Spaniard said it best:"We came here to serve God and theking, and also to get rich." When Bartolome de las Casas heard

these words, he felt very guilty. LasCasas had come to Hispaniola in 1502.As a young man, he had helped to setup the encomienda system. He sawSpanish soldiers with fierce attack dogsattacking Native American villages.After hearing the sermon, Las Casastried to repent for his actions. Hebecame a Roman Catholic priest. Hebegan to write to important people inSpain criticizing the way NativeAmericans were treated.

To win these riches, the governmentof Spain had to get the Spanish to settleon the Caribbean islands of New Spain.It offered Spanish settlers a large grantof land called an encomienda (en-kom-ee- EN -dah). Anyone with this grant hadthe right to use the labor of NativeAmericans living on the land.

However, the landowner also hadresponsibilities. He was supposed toteach the Native Americans theChristian religion. The landowner wasalso expected to pay Native Americansfairly for their work.

It was easy in faraway Spain tomake these rules to protect NativeAmericans. However, it was a lot hard-er to get landowners in New Spainto follow the rules. Most landownerstreated Native American workersbadly. Native Americans were forcedto work from dawn to dusk and werewhipped for almost nothing. Wasthere no one who would speak for theNative Americans?

Conquering Puerto Rico andCuba Las Casas moved to Cuba in1511. He gave up his lands and becamea parish priest. He watched as NativeAmericans were shipped in chains toSpain. Las Casas wrote the rulers ofSpain: "This action will end only whenthere is no more land nor people to con-quer. We will destroy the people in thispart of the world."

Las Casas then devoted his life toending the unjust system. However,the conquest of Cuba and PuertoRico helped make the system evenmore unjust.

After the conquest, the Spanish plant-ed sugarcane on both islands. The sugar-cane was grown on large farms calledplantations. Many workers were neededto plant the cane and cut it for the mill.

Sugar quickly became the main cropon Puerto Rico and Cuba. NativeAmericans were worked so hard by the

The encomienda system In 1511,a young conquistador heard a sermonprotesting abuses of Native Americansthat was preached in Santo Domingo.

How did Spain conquer the CaribbeanislandS'?

landowners that many died. Diseasessuch as smallpox killed many moreNative Americans. Smallpox wiped outwhole villages of Native Americans.

As the Native Americans died, theSpanish became short of labor. Theybegan bringing enslaved Africans totake the place of the Native Americans.These Africans had been taken fromtheir homes in chains and shipped tothe Caribbean as slaves. The first fewenslaved Mricans came to Hispaniola in1505. In years to come, this trickleswelled into a flood. Millions of enslavedAfricans were forced to leave theirhomeland. They were torn from a landin which they had built up rich andvaluable traditions.

Reading a Map. To the Spanish, it was a"New World." But not for long. Which explorerstraveled in what is today the state of Florida?

Ancient Egypt Mrica was hometo one of the greatest civilizations of theworld. The ancient Egyptians builtmany fine buildings, but none weremore impressive than the pyramids.These huge stone structures were builtas tombs for the rulers of Egypt. Theyare still among the largest buildings inthe world. The Egyptians also developeda system of writing and made importantadvances in math and medicine.

Empires of gold Wealth ofanother kind developed in Mrica afterEgypt's decline. Far to the west, threegreat kingdoms arose between A.D. 500and 1600.

The first kingdom was Ghana. Thename Ghana meant gold. The ruler ofGhana was called "king of gold." Whenthe king met his subjects, he wore a tallgolden cap. At his side walked dogs withgolden collars. Ghana's king was so richthat he had the largest army in theworld at that time. Over 200,000 sol-diers served him!

Americas.What was the rich heritage that Africansbrought to the Americas?

1519Hernan Cortes

begins hisconquest of the

Aztec Empire inMexico. I

1415Timbuktubecomes centerof learning.111235

Mali isfounded.

1508Conquestof PuertoRicobegins.

1312Mansa Musatravels toMecca.

1511Cuba isconqueredby Spanish.1505

First enslavedAfricans brought to

Caribbean by Spain.

1521Last Aztec holdoutssurrender toSpanish.

and scholars in the Arab world to returnwith him to Mali. They helped enlargethe city of Timbuktu (tim-buk-TOO).Workers built many handsome newbuildings. Timbuktu became a majorcenter of learning. The city had greatuniversities and wonderful libraries.Scholars taught religion, law, and medi-cine at Timbuktu's universities. Studentscame from across Mrica to study there.

Like Ghana and Mali, the empire ofSonghai (sahng-HY) grew wealthy fromtrade. It was powerful from 1450 toabout 1600. Songhai was even largerthan Mali, covering most of West Africa.Its greatest ruler was Askia Muhammad(AHS-kee-uh moo-HAM-uhd). He set upa strong and fair government. He alsocreated a system of fair taxation.

The "silent trade" The wealth ofthese African kingdoms depended ontrade. Ghana was located on a major

Around the early 1200s, the empire ofMali became powerful. Mali was aslarge as Western Europe. It was evenwealthier than Ghana. Mali's greatestruler was Mansa Musa (MAHN-suhMOO-suh). Mansa Musa was a Muslim.In 1324, he began a pilgrimage to theMuslim holy city of Mecca, in Arabia. Apilgrimage is a trip to a religious shrine.

From generation to generation,African griots have told the story ofMansa Musa's trip. Griots are Africanstorytellers who memorize and passdown the history of their people.

Mansa Musa's caravan consisted of60,000 people. He had 80 camels, eachone carrying 300-pound bags of golddust. Mansa Musa arrived in Cairo,Egypt, in the summer of 1324. The peo-ple of Cairo were stunned. They hadnever seen a group of people so rich.

When Mansa Musa was in Mecca, hepersuaded some of the finest builders

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A Spanish map that was drawn in 1375 shows the African kingdom of Mali andMansa Musa'sjourney across Africa to the holy city of Mecca. Mansa Musa is shownwearing a crown and seated on his throne.

trade route. To the south was a regionrich in gold. The salt regions of NorthAfrica lay to the north. The people ofWest Africa depended on salt in theirfood to replace body salts lost in theheat of the region.

The rulers of Ghana held tight controlover the supply of gold. They charged taxeson all gold and salt that went throughtheir empire. The traders paid these taxesin gold. With their income, the kings hadhuge armies to protect the trade routes.

Because there was no common lan-guage, the trade in gold and salt tookplace through silent trade. Not a wordwas spoken between the traders. The salttraders left their blocks of salt on theground at some distance from the gold.Then they retreated a distance. The goldtraders approached to examine theamount of salt. They left what theybelieved was a fair amount of gold, andthen they withdrew. The salt traderscame back to examine the amount of gold.If they accepted it, the deal was made. Ifthey did not, the process was repeateduntil an agreement was reached.

The slave trade Humans alsomoved along the trade routes. In Africa,there was slavery, or the system ofowning people. It went back hundredsof years. Slavery existed in many otherparts of the world, including ancientGreece and Rome.

Enslaved people in Africa had usuallybeen captured in wars. They worked asfarm laborers and servants. Slaves wereoften able to buy their freedom after atime. Some became members of thefamilies to whom they were enslaved.

Slavery was about to change. In 1502,a Portuguese ship from Europe landedon the coast of West Africa. ThePortuguese ship carried away Africansas slaves to another land. TheseAfricans were the first of many millionswho were taken from their homes.

Slave trading became a big business.African rulers now allowed slave raidingin their territories. Slave raiders roundedup thousands of captives for sale to thePortuguese. The slaves were brought inchains to Portuguese slave-collecting fortsalong the coast of West Africa.

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In 1517, the Spanish king had 4,000enslaved Africans shipped toHispaniola. Soon enslaved Africanswere working on plantations in PuertoRico, Cuba, and Jamaica. By the middleof the 1500s, there were more Mricansthan Europeans on some islands.

Spanish slave owners treatedenslaved Mricans harshly. The Spanishwere afraid that the Mricans would riseup and kill them. Often, the Spanishbranded and whipped slaves.Sometimes, they even hanged them.However, Africans managed to keeptheir traditions alive. Over time, Mricanand Spanish ways mixed with those ofNative Americans. Out of this mix cameentirely new cultures. They are the cul-tures of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and theDominican Republic.

The Caribbean islands brought tremen-dous wealth to Spain. Now many youngSpanish nobles began to look to the main-land. They wanted to find adventure andgold. One of these young men was HemanCortes (air-NAHN kohr-TES).

Sugar cane being harvested by enslaved Mricans. This print dates fromthe 1600s. Why was the labor of enslaved people from West Mrica soimportant to the Spanish colonies in the Americas?

How did the Spanish conquer the Aztec inwhat is today Mexico?

In this Aztec drawing, Cortez is shown with Aztec messengers. At his side isMalinche, the Native American woman who spoke the Aztec language. Cortez greet-ed the Aztec coldly. When they gave him gold, he said: "Is this all?"

Malinche (muh-LIN-chay). Malinchehated the Aztec. She spoke the Azteclanguage as well as that of some of thevassal people. She helped Cortesbecome allies with other NativeAmerican people. Without Malinche,Cortes might have failed.

From Malinche, Cortes heard storiesof the wealth and power of the Aztec.Malinche also told Cortes of a god whomthe Aztec believed would return one dayfrom the east. Knowing about the godgave Cortes an advantage.

The march to Mexico In 1511Cortes helped conquer Cuba. Corteswas given land and gold mines, but hewanted more. He heard NativeAmericans tell tales about a rich nationto the west. Cortes asked the governorof Cuba to let him lead an army to con-quer this land. When Cortes said hewould pay for the trip himself, the gov-ernor agreed. Cortes sailed from Cubain February 1519.

The land that Cortes found is todaycalled Mti(xico. In the 1500s, it was ruledby the Aztec, a powerful warrior people.(See page 22.) The Aztec had many vas-sals, or people who had, been conqueredby a stronger people. The Aztec hadtreated their vassals cruelly. The vas-sals hated their conquerors and wantedto help the Spanish destroy the Aztecempire. As Cortes headed for the Azteccapital, many vassals joined him.

The return of a god The Aztecemperor was Montezuma (mon-teh-SOH-moo). When Montezuma heard of Cortes'sarrival, he believed Cortes was the return-ing Aztec god. Montezuma made a decisionthat would cost him dearly; He sent Aztecmessengers with rich gifts to the coast. Hegave them these instructions: "When yousee the god, say to him: 'Your servantMontezuma has sent us to you. Here arepresents to welcome you home to Mexico."'

Cortes and Malinche. One ofthese vassals was a woman named

~hapter ~J ~

Cortes greeted the messengers coldly.He said, "Is this all?" He made it clearwhat he had come for. "I and my sol-diers suffer from a disease of the heart.It can be cured only by gold."

their deadliest weapon was smallpox.This disease killed many more Aztecthan did Spanish bullets.

On August 13, 1521, the Aztecsurrendered to Cortes. The Spanishdestroyed the Aztec city and began tobuild a new city on its ruins. The newcity was called Mexico City. The Aztecand other Native Americans worked asslaves. They built the new Mexico Cityin three years. Some Aztec worked inmines digging gold and silver. Thesemetals were shipped to Spain. TheAztec empire was gone. A new Spanishempire took its place.

Conquest of the Aztec InNovember 1519, Cortes and his armyentered the Aztec capital. The Spanishwere amazed by the city's large stonebuildings and wide streets. "These greatbuildings seemed like a dream," wroteone soldier.

At first, the Aztec were friendly andtreated the Spanish as gods. But theAztec soon saw the Spanish were justmen. Cortes's men took Montezumahostage. They then killed hundreds ofAztec during a festival. Montezumadied in the fighting that followed.

The Aztec warriors fought fiercelyagainst the Spanish. But the Spanishhad guns and cannon. They also hadmany Native American allies. But