CHAPTER 1 - THE MEETING OF CULTURES

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AMERICA BEFORE COLUMBUS
The Civilizations of the South (current day Mexico/South America)
Incas (in Peru) - 6 million, complex political system, big network of paved roads bringing
together many tribes under one rule
Mayas (Yucatan peninsula of Mexico) - culture (written language, numerical system, accurate
calendar, agricultural system). Succeeded by Aztecs, once-nomadic warrior tribe in the
north .
Aztecs (central/southern Mexico) - great administrative, educational, medical systems,
religion w/ human sacrifice. Capital is Tenochtitlan with public buildings.
All 3 societies have their own remarkable religious/ceremonial structures w/o technology.
The Civilizations of the North (current United States and Canada territory)
Eskimos (Arctic Circle) - thousands of miles of frozen land, fished/hunted seals, dogsled
Northern Forests - big game hunters led nomadic lives in pursuit of moose and caribou
Tribes of Pacific Northwest - salmon fishing, permanent settlements along coast, frequent
violent competition w/each other for natural resources
Far West - wealthy, densely populated, fishing, hunting small game, gathering, arid land
Southwest - most elaborate agriculture, large irrigation system (had dry land),
towns=center of trade, crafts, religious/civic ritual, pueblos (stone/adobe structures in
Chaco Canyon)
Great Plains - sedentary farming (corn/grains), permanent settlements, some small nomadic
tribes subsisted by hunting buffalo (popular in 18th century when horse introduced by
Europe)
Woodland Indians (Eastern 3rd of U.S) - forests, best food resources, farming, hunting,
gathering. South: for a time, permanent settlements/trading networks for corn/grains.
Southwest: cities=political/trading centers (like Cahokia)
Northeast - exploit land quickly then move on, corn/beans/squash/pumpkins
Algonquin (east of Mississippi River) - largest language group
Iroquois Confederation - mid 15th century, 5 distinct nations (Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga,
Oneida, and Mohawk), links to the Cherokees and Tuscaroras
Muskogean - 3rd largest language group, tribes: Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, Seminoles
**Indians not a single nation even when Europeans came, thought for themselves, rarely
united

Tribal Cultures

agricultural revolution before Europeans came, more sedentary, new food/clothes/shelter,

population growth, social customs/rituals, religion of many gods of nature
women = matrilineal, children caretakers, cooking, gathering foods, control social/economic
organization b/c males away hunting, sometimes males gather depending on the tribe

EUROPE LOOKS WESTWARD (in the 15th century)

Before: if crossed to New World, was just to show it was possible to cross oceans, very
confined small civilizations, not adventurous, merchants didnt look past own regions, Roman
Catholic Churchs authority of continent, power widely dispersed, no single powerful leaders

Commerce and Nationalism

1) Europe wanted new land b/c population growth, therefore rise in land values/commerce/
prosperity, interest of goods from far regions, better sea travel and trade routes,
2) stronger govt (monarchs) w/ centralized nations, nation courts, armies, tax systems
leads to wealth+commercial growth b/c Marco Polo (exotic goods/stories) -> fund
exploration voyages
First to do so: Portuguese Prince Henry the Navigator. Goal: west coast of Africa for
Christian empire to aid wars against Moors, new source of gold. Result: went off route to
New World

Christopher Columbus

Columbus wanted to find another route to Asia by going not east but west except world is
bigger than he thought, Asia not that big, New World between Europe and Asia
Turned to Spain/Queen Isabella (not yet that powerful but improving) b/c rejected by
Portugal. 1492 Queen Isabella agreed. Ships: Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria.
Reached Bahamas and Cuba, thought it was Japan and China. Tried again a year later, found
several islands, 3rd trip 1498, reached South America and realized it was not China but a
separate continent but he believed he found the fringes of the Far East
Columbus ignored after Amerigo Vespucci recognized the Americas as new continents
Vasco de Balboa crossed Isthmus of Panama in 1513. Ferdinand Magellan wanted to cross
the came ocean, went to Philippines, died in conflict there but expedition continued all the
way around the world(1519-1522). 1550 Spaniards explored N. America coasts to Oregon
and Labrador in the east and some interior of the continent.

The Conquistadores

Spanish began to claim the New World instead (except for a piece of todays Brazil for
Portuguese): early settlers tried to enslave Indians to find gold.
1518 Hernando Cortes led military expedition into Mexico to find gold but met resistance
from Aztecs and its emperor Montezuma. They released smallpox to the Indians, decimating
the pop.
Wave of search for fortune led to rise of colonies/settlements. Francisco Pizarro
(conquered Peru 1532-1538) showed Europe wealth of the Incas through expeditions, first
white to cross Mississippi River. Conquistadores are very brutal and greedy, empire spread
thru New World

The Spanish Empire

Spanish exploration was individual, had to get licences to permit control of labor on a
territory that only gave rights. Equipment, finance, etc. is personal

Spanish America

Aztecs/Incas forced into submission by Spanish explorers. 3 Phases. 1) age of discovery/

exploration (Columbus past 16th century), 2) conquistadores (established rule over natives),
3) 1570s Ordinances of Discovery banned brutal military conquests so expanded through
colonization. First wave gold, second wave agricultural economy
Pope VIII signed treaty w/ Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain 1486: recognize Spains claim to
America from Mexico south but Pope established Catholicism must be the only religion.
Number one reason for settlement= religious missions to convert natives

Northern Outposts

First permanent settlement= Spanish fort at St. Augustine in 1565. 1598 Don Juan de
Onate led army north from Mexico and claimed land of Pueblos Indians. Sante Fe founded
1609.

Onate was harsh so was removed as governor in 1609. Overtime Pueblos and Spanish
relations improved. Heart of colony was cattle and sheep not gold.
Colony almost destroyed in 1680 when Pueblos rose to revolt because they practiced
religious rituals despite being converted to Catholicism. Drove Spanish out but came back 12
years later
Spanish crushed Pueblo Indian revolts in 1696. Realized couldnt prosper in New Mexico if
relations with Indians were bad so they tried to baptize Indian children and practice
Catholicism rituals. Allowed Indians to own land and practice tribal religious rituals, stopped
commandeering labor.
Pueblos and Spanish relationship improved (more intermarriage), population increased but
Pueblos decreased. New Mexico still isolated from Spanish empire

The Empire at the High Tide

1580 Spanish and Portuguese temporarily united. 16th century Spanish empire the biggest
Spanish empire extended governance to colonies so colonists didnt set up political
institutions independently.
Big difference between Spanish empire and later British one; Spanish more successful in
getting gold/silver but less emphasis on agriculture and commerce.
Required all trade of colonies to go through a single Spanish port/few colony ports: stifled
economic growth
Northern colonies of British/Dutch/French rule focused on permanent settlement and
family life so population quickly surpassed natives but Spanish population remained small
compared to natives even with the decline in population from disease

Biological and Cultural Exchanges

Importation of disease from Europeans that had partial immunity to them. Natives
population were devastated.
Conquistadores exterminated natives and their cities because they were savages
Introduced new crops (i.e sugar, bananas), domestic living stock (cattle, pigs, sheep), and
horse which changed/helped native societies
Europeans learned new farming techniques from natives, discovered new crops (maize/corn)
Crops (corn, squash, pumpkins, beans, sweet potatoes, etc) introduced to Europe by
Columbus, becoming more important than gold and silver
Spanish spread Christianity to natives who combined it with their tribal religion, learned
Spanish/Portuguese and combined it w/ native language
Woman underpopulated (only Colonial officials brought wives) so men married native women
to create a mixed race, mestizos.
Hierarchy based on race (Spanish bottom, mestizos middle, natives bottom) but anyone
could become Spanish if successful
Intermarriage for labor, native men population depleted, form alliances, some forced
marriage
Europeans needed natives as a work force but native population declined due to war and
disease so could not meet needs of colonists so started importing slaves from Africa (1502)

Africa and America

Africans were well-developed in northern Guinea, more isolated in southern Guinea, had
gold/crops, were matrilineal, worshipped many gods/nature, systems of social ranks
Africans on the bottom were slaves. Demands in Portuguese (took prisoners of war) but
dramatic increase in 16th century b/c demand in sugar cane. 17th century Dutch. 18th

English. 1700 slavery spread from Caribbean and South America to English colonies of the
north
THE ARRIVAL OF THE ENGLISH
1497 John Cabot sponsored by King Henry VII but was unsuccessful. Colonies after 16th century

The Commercial Incentive

Thomas Mores Utopia describing perfect society on mythical land; new start in New World

Demand for wool, so closed pastures for sheep and instead grew wool, led to thousands
evicted tenants, begging and stealing from more fortunate households
Govt passed laws but enclosure movement continued, limited food source, population surplus
Merchants eventually joined forces and created chartered companies (Muscovy, Levant,
Barbary, Guinea, and East Indian Company)
rise of mercantilism - nation as a whole was the principal actor in the economy, not the
individuals in it where economic goal should be to increase nations wealth, finite wealth; get
rich at the expense of another
1550s cloth (wool) market collapsed so merchants must look overseas; new market to
alleviate poverty/unemployment, surplus population, and obtain new products

The Religious Incentive

Protestant/English Reformation in Germany 1517 - Martin Luther challenged Roman Catholic

Church ~ denied salvation achieved only through good works/loyalty to church and God
communicates through pope/clergy. Bible real voice of God/salvation through faith.
Catholic Church threw Luther out, Luther leds followers out.
John Calvin - chosen people by God to be saved determined by fate before birth
English Reformation started after Henry VIII broke ties with Catholic Church after it
refused to grant him a divorce. Daughter Bloody Mary restored allegiance with Church/
killed anyone who refused to return to Catholic fold. After Marys death in 1558, Elizabeth
took over
Elizabeth broke off ties with Catholic Church/alliance with Spain
official religion= Church of England, some tenets of Calvinism but not enough, in the middle
to of loyals to pope and reformists
Puritans - reformers who wanted to purify the Church, reduce power of corrupt bishops,
focus on worship/spirit and less worldly ambitions
Radical= Separatists, who wanted to worship whenever they wanted, which goes against
English law, rejected role of women in worship (as preachers. etc.)
Death of Elizabeth, James I new king who rejected Puritans and like high church forms of
ceremony so religious groups starts to look for refuge outside England

The English in Ireland

1560s and 1570s colonists moved to Ireland. English considered Ireland natives savages
that must be suppressed/isolated and if necessary destroyed
Sir Humphrey Gilbert= governor of one Irish district, suppressed native rebellions, natives
inhuman, (later first to establish colony in the New World),
When colonizing, must be in the pale of settlement = area isolated from the natives to
preserve the purity of English culture

The French and the Dutch in America

French 1st colony in Quebec 1608, less than a year after England founded 1st colony in
Jamestown. French mixed with the Indians but English only traded and hugged coasts

Not many French people in colonies but lots of influence b/c close/direct ties: missionaries,
coureurs de bois= fur trappers/traders+foundation of French colony
Coureurs de bois created partnership w/Indians, seignuries= agricultural estates, trade/
military centers in @Montreal/Quebec, alliance w/Algonquins but enemies with Iroquois
(Algonquins enemy), allowed them to compete well w/British
Dutch has powerful merchant fleet, 1609 Henry Hudson (English) in employ of Dutch sailed
to New World, thought Hudson River was route to Pacific Ocean (wrong but) led to
explorations/ claimed land in America. Active in trade of fur in NY
1624 Dutch West India Company established trading posts on
Hudson/Delaware/Connecticut Rivers, company encouraged settlement, transported families
+ granted feudal estates to landlords (patroons) if bring more immigrants. Result: weak
leadership of New Amsterdam and New Netherland

The First English Settlements

1st colony: 1607 in Jamestown, VA (had prior failed attempts)

was unsure about colonization b4 b/c of Spain but after sea dogs (i.e Sir Francis Drake)
defeated Spanish ships, confidence increased
Pioneers of English colonization= Humphrey Gilbert, Walter Raleigh.
1578 Gilbert got grant to possess lands not owned by any Christian prince + founded
Newfoundland in 1583. He went south to find a place for military outpost but ship sunk

Roanoke

Raleigh got same grant as Gilbert. Sent men + came back with 2 Indians/new crops/ found
new land Roanoke and named mainland Virginia
1585 Richard Grenville led colonists to Roanoke, antagonized Indians and left. Francis Drake
came in spring with supplies long overdue, so beleaguered colonists boarded ship and left
Raleigh tries again in 1587 with people for plantation. John White left to get supplies and
hoped to return a few months later but hostilities w/Spain made him return in 3 years.
When returned, island deserted w/ only Croatoan carved on a post, called Lost Colony
1603 James I accused Raleigh of plotting against the king so he imprisoned him
London merchants renewed charter for colonization in VA so King James I divided America
into two: London group colonize south + Plymouth merchants colonize north