HIST_1301_Ch_1

Chapter One

THE NEW WORLD

Natives of Asian descent traveled here during the Ice Age over the land bridge between Asia and North America

Roughly 15,000 to 40,000 years ago

Some historians believed they traveled via boat through the Bering Sea (near the Arctic Ocean)

An estimated 8 to 10 million came to North America via the Bering Strait

THE BERING STRAIT

Built roads, trade networks, and irrigation systems

Geologic and climate changes killed off large game (mammoths) and forced Indians to grow crops and hunt smaller game

North American Indians lacked literacy, wheeled vehicles, metal tools, and scientific knowledge

Significant agricultural centers at Chaco Canyon, New Mexico and Cahokia, Illinois

They died off by the time the Europeans arrived in N.A.

The Anasazi Indians were the largest tribe in the Northwest

Other significant tribes were the Hoh, Maka, and Quiluete

NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS

Adenda-Hopewell

Largest civilization in the Eastern part of the United States

(along the Mississippi River Valley)

Known as the Mound Builders

Series of semi-circular mound built around 3500 near present-day

Poverty Point

This was a center of trade along the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers

NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS

GRAVE CREEK MOUND (WV)

Iroquois

Natives of the Eastern United States woodlands (Great Lakes area)

Had a powerful and specific language

Diets of corn, squash, beans (also fished and hunted)

Iroquois Confederacy

Frequently warred with other tribes and formed loose alliances with other tribes

This was an important component of the “wilderness promotes democracy” theory by Frederick Jackson Turner in the late 1800s

“The history of America went from savagery to industry”

This confederacy was a prime example of the beginning of this phenomenon

THE IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY

South American Indian societies were grander in scale than their North American counterparts

S.A. Indians were literate, had scientific knowledge, and knew how to navigate long-distance

The Mayan civilization was the largest (near present-day Mexico City)

The Aztec civilization was prominent in Central America

Had an advanced calendar system and was notable for their penchant for human sacrifice and cannibalism

Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztec Empire in 1521 after one failed attempt and a small pox epidemic

SOUTH AMERICAN INDIANS

AZTEC CALENDAR

An Animistic Religion

Blending of the natural and supernatural

Spirits inhabited various inanimate objects, animals, ceremonies related to farming, the four seasons, and hunting

Land was communal and tied closely with religious worship

INDIAN RELIGION AND CULTURE

Indian Culture

Men were primarily responsible for hunting, fishing, and protection

Men typically lived with the wife’s family after marriage

Strong matrilineal connections

Women had the right to divorce men

Iroquois women served in politics as clan leaders

Women in the Eastern U.S. tended to crops and children primarily

They also were gatherers, cooked meals, and sometimes built homes

INDIAN RELIGION AND CULTURE

Generally thought Indians lacked genuine religion; seen as savages

Thought Indians were not “using” all of their land and did not have property claims

In the European view: No property deed, no right to land

Viewed Indian men as savages who were mentally and spiritually weak

Often seen as abusers who mistreated Indian women

Europeans believed the idea of freedom was alien to Indian society

Ironically, the Europeans believed the Indians were “too free” because they did not have laws that conformed with European society

EUROPEAN VIEWS OF INDIANS

European ideals of freedom were based on:

Personal Independence

Ownership of private property

People governed under a set of laws

Fusion of religion and politics

Obedience to Christ meant freedom from sin (religious views)

Obedience to laws mean freedom in the European political/social mentality

Women had little to no rights and had to be obedient to their husbands

Freedom was a function of social class

For the masses: Limited freedom and “obedience” was the cost of a well-ordered society

For the rich: “Masterless men” enjoyed liberties that the majority did not

EUROPEAN IDEALS OF FREEDOM

The Portuguese began exploration before 1492

Prince Henry the Navigator established an exploration school in 1420

Had new technology such as the caravel, compass, cannons, and

quadrant.

The goal: make travel along the African coast as efficient as possible

Objectives:

Explore the African coastline to find a better route to the Indies

Make cash from trading in the Indies

PORTUGUESE EXPANSION

“New Monarchs” Movement

Portugal, Spain, England, and France fell into this movement that stressed economic gain through exploration over constant warfare

Additionally the notion of “God and Country” began tied with this movement

Results:

The Portuguese establish trading posts along the west coast of Africa

They begin colonizing the African Islands on the Atlantic

Establish sugar plantations and begin the Atlantic Slave Trade

PORTUGUESE EXPANSION

Slavery in Africa

Slavery existed as a form of labor in Africa before Europeans became interested

Warfare was common due to influence from the Islamic empires

(The rise and fall of Mali, Ghana, and Dahomey)

Wealthy war lords would take POWs as slaves and sell them

European Interest

Portugal was the first European nation to establish a trading empire in Africa

They traded textiles and guns for African slaves

Roughly 1000 slaves per year were traded along the Middle Passage initially

(Route from Europe to West Africa, to North America)

By 1800, 5 ½ million adults and 11 million children were transported as slaves

Europeans saw slavery as a great economic boon

They did not notice the social impact that slavery had in Africa

As a result, they transplanted the ‘economic mentality’ of slavery to the rest of Europe

ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE

Essentially, Spain got jealous of Portugal’s economic boom and had to get involved

Spain had recently gotten over the Spanish Reconquista (pushed the Moors out of Spain) and wanted desperately to become a big economic power

The Spanish Reconquista was the only successful crusade

The goal of the Reconquista was to purge Spain of Islamic factions

Basically, they ordered all Muslims to convert to Catholicism or get out

By the end of the 1400s, Spain was sending numerous explorers to find a way to the Indies

SPANISH EXPANSION

Christopher Columbus

Believed that it was possible to reach the Indies by sailing west from Europe

Did not buy into the theory that the world was

flat

Persuaded Queen Isabella of Spain to fund his journeys

Landed in Hispaniola in 1492; began colonizing a year later

After four trips, he refused to believe he did not reach China

However, he found a new world full of gold and

silver

He died in disgrace and poverty

Ironically, he made Spain very rich

NOTABLE EXPLORERS

Amerigo Vespucci

Sailed along the coast of South America around 1500

He received the credit for discovering the New World

Essentially took Columbus’s claim

Vasco da Gama

Actually found a passage to the Indies

Sailed around the southern tip of Africa

Cape of Good Hope

His claim was largely ignored because Europe was too busy staking a claim in the New World

NOTABLE EXPLORERS

Amerigo Vespucci Vasco da Gama

Spanish used a system called the “Encomienda system” for receiving land grants and commission cuts on all the Indian villages that were sacked

Basically, the Spanish crown granted a person a partial of land and a

number of natives that they would “look after” and use as labor

The Catholic Church was very influential in this system

Power flowed from the King to the Council of the Indies to Viceroys to local officials (overall, it was an effective chain of command)

Gold and silver mining was the primary economic source in Spanish America

SPANISH COLONIZATION

Mercantilism

The economic theory Spain used in Spanish America

Basically, the prosperity of a nation is based upon its supply of capital (gold, silver, trade value) and the global volume of international trade is static

Positive balance of trade with other nations is expected at all times

Encourage exports and discourage imports (using tariffs andsubsidies)

The Royal Fifth

A tax used by the King of Spain in Spanish America

The King received 1/5 profit on all taxable goods produced in Spanish America

This helped him pay for the frequent and prolonged wars Spain got involved with

SPANISH COLONIZATION

Spain and Portugal were both Catholic countries involved in exploration

The Catholic Church played a large role in the administration of

the colonies

Appealing to a higher power made conquest look legitimate

A conflict arose over the two countries’ claims in South America

The Catholic Church stepped in and set a line of demarcation

Portugal took everything east of the line

Spain took everything west of the line

Both countries agreed to Christianize the native ‘savages’ after the treaty was signed

Spain goes a step further and calls for all “inferiors” to convert to Christianity

Results:

Native Americans put an animistic twist on Christianity

Along with the transfer of religion, small pox and other diseases were transferred to the natives

TREATY OF TORDESILLAS (1494)

France got interested in exploration because of Spain and Portugal’s wealth

The French did not honor treaties with the Catholic nations

France was an odd case religiously

Structurally Catholic, but a large portion of the population was

Protestant

Martin Luther’s 95 theses (Halloween 1517) and Calvin’s theory of predestination fueled the conflict between Protestants and Catholics

Exploration Goals:

The French wanted to find gold and a Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean

FRENCH COLONIZATION

Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec in 1608

Helped establish an empire from the St.

Lawrence River to the Great Lakes and

down the Mississippi River

The French adopted a humane policy toward the Indians

All they wanted was trade

However, they brought disease anddepleted animals for the fur trade

The first French colonists were the Huguenots (a Protestant variation)

All of their settlements failed due tofamine, native attacks, or Spanishinvasions

Overall, initial French colonization efforts were weak

FRENCH COLONIZATION

England became interested in exploration because of Spain and Portugal’s wealth

Religiously, England was thoroughly Protestant because of Henry VIII’s marriage issues and his daughter, Elizabeth I’s push for Protestantism

Elizabeth executed her Catholic cousin, Mary Queen of Scots

for numerous assassination attempts

This upset King Phillip II of Spain and he sent the Spanish navy to invade Britain in 1588

ENGLISH COLONIZATION

COMPARISONS

Traditional Henry VIII Post-Modern Henry VIII

The English “Sea Dogs” (pirates) and the navy easily defeated the illustrious Spanish Armada on a very foggy day

The British knew the English Channel much better than the Spanish

The defeat of the Spanish Armada gave the English a valid claim to the New World

English pirates like Sir Francis Drake discovered San Francisco

Sir Walter Raleigh founded the

Roanoke Colony in North Carolina

which later mysteriously disappeared

In 1600, there were no English settlements in the New World

ENGLISH COLONIZATION

The 5 G’s

Gold, God, Glory, Greed, Gold (in that order)

Essentially sums up what all European nations were after

Claims of abundant gold and silver drove warriors, sailors, and other ambitious men to seek glory while serving the Church

A true win-win situation for God and Country

National glory and religious mission went hand in hand

Native Americans really did not buy into this

However, Europeans believed souls that could be saved could make a great labor force

WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?