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Period 1: 1491–1607: The Meeting of Three People
Timeline
1492: Christopher Columbus (Italian, in the service of the Spanish monarchy) sails to the New World, beginning era of European colonization of the Americas
1498: Vasco da Gama (Portugal) sails to India
1517: Martin Luther challenges Roman Catholic beliefs and practices; initiates Protestant Reformation
1521: Spanish forces, led by Hernán Cortés, defeat the Mexica people, led by Montezuma
1530: John Calvin breaks with the Catholic Church
1532: Spanish forces, led by Francisco Pizarro, defeat the Inca people
1542: Bartolomé de Las Casas writes A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies
1549: The repartimiento reforms begin to replace the encomienda system
1587: Founding of the “lost” English colony of Roanoke
1588: English defeat of the Spanish Armada
1597: Juanilloʼs Revolt in Florida
1598: Acoma Pueblo Massacre in New Mexico
Native American Societies Before European Contact
Societies of the Southwest
Maize cultivation became important for the peoples of the Southwest, spreading from present-day Mexico across much of North America.
The Pueblo people lived in small towns called pueblos in the southwestern United States.
Ancestral Pueblo culture developed around 900 AD in the Four Corners region of the Southwest.
Early Pueblos or Anasazi became increasingly dependent on maize cultivation, leading to the development of complex societies and architecturally sophisticated structures.
Climatic change, including volcanic eruptions and severe drought, led to Pueblo dispersal from the Four Corners region and conflict with neighboring peoples.
Some Pueblos united with Zunis and Hopis in western New Mexico, while others joined settled communities in the Rio Grande valley.
The Pueblo dispersal weakened their communities on the eve of European contact.
Societies of the Great Basin and Great Plains
The Great Basin
A 400,000-square-mile area between Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada Mountains
Characterized by lack of natural resources and environmental diversity
Rise in temperatures approximately 5,000 years ago led to droughts from approximately 900 to 1400
Pre-contact American Indian tribes had a "desert culture" characterized by seasonable mobility and basketmaking
Three large groupings of native peoples were the Shoshone, the Paiute, and the Ute
The Great Plains
Vast stretch of land in the US and Canada from Mississippi River to Rocky Mountains
Plains Indians are the most commonly stereotyped native groups in American popular culture
Stereotype involves riding horses, wearing feathered headdresses, and hunting buffalo, which has little validity even for Plains Indians
Many Plains Indian groups depended on hunting buffalo for survival, but it was not until European contact that horses were introduced
Some American Indian groups of the Great Plains had sedentary, agrarian lifestyles, especially those closer to the Mississippi River
Societies of the East
Algonquian People
comprised of hundreds of American Indian tribes along the east coast and in the interior of the present-day United States.
Algonquians on the Atlantic coast relied on hunting, fishing, and agriculture, while those in northern New England and the upper Great Lakes region depended on hunting and fishing.
Iroquois Great League of Peace
Was formed in present-day New York state, comprising the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas, and later the Tuscaroras joined in 1720.
Formed to end infighting among the groups and became one of the most powerful forces in the pre-contact Northeast.
They lived in permanent villages and relied on farming, gathering, hunting, and fishing for sustenance.
Corn, beans, and squash were the three most important crops for the Iroquois, known as the “three sisters.”
They are a matrilineal society, and inheritance and descent pass through the mother's line.
Societies of the Pacific Northwest
Chinook People of the Pacific Northwest
People lived in the Pacific Northwest along the Columbia River.
Consisted of several groups with related languages and lived in settled communities.
Practiced foraging, hunting, and fishing as their main sources of livelihood.
A high degree of economic development and social stratification.
Higher caste of Chinook people such as shamans, warriors, and successful merchants lived in relative isolation from Chinook commoners.
Many lived in longhouses, which could contain up to fifty people.
European Exploration in the Americas
Factors Contributing to European Exploration
The Crusades and the Revival of Trade
Crusades were a series of religious wars in the 12th and 13th centuries with the goal of securing Christian control of the Holy Land, which shook the stability of European feudal society and increased European interest in foreign trade goods.
The Black Death
A pandemic outbreak of bubonic plague in the 14th century
Reduced the European population by 30 to 60 percent
Devastating Europe but also opening up opportunities for the survivors, including more plentiful food and land, increased risk-taking, and the undermining of the feudal system.
The Impact of the Renaissance
The Renaissance spirit of curiosity about the world led to exploration, mapping, and dissemination of knowledge through universities, scholarly books, and the printing press developed by Johannes Gutenberg in the 1440s.
The Protestant Reformation
Was the most important religious movement of the 16th century
Led by theologians Martin Luther and John Calvin
They broke with the Roman Catholic Church over church practices and beliefs, including the sale of indulgences, and inspired others, such as King Henry VIII of England and the Puritans, to break away as well.
The Catholic Counter-Reformation
Focused on renewing spirituality and gave rise to the Jesuits, a Catholic order devoted to spreading their gospel throughout the world.
Columbian Exchange, Spanish Exploration, and Conquest
The Impact of Exploration and Conquest on Europe
Columbian Exchange
It introduced crops and livestock from the Americas to Europe in the 1500s.
This exchange brought turkeys, corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cacao, and tomatoes, which revolutionized agricultural and culinary traditions in Europe.
Syphilis was also brought back to Europe as a result of sexual encounters in the New World.
Tobacco was introduced and became popular among Europeans.
Economic Impact of Conquest
The position of ordinary Spaniards declined during the age of exploration and conquest.
The influx of silver and gold into Spain caused inflation, taxes went up more than fivefold, and Spain went into debt.
The interest on this debt depressed the Spanish economy and ordinary Spaniards did not recover from this period until the nineteenth century.
Technological Advances and New Economic Structures
Revolution in Navigation
Developments in maritime technology transformed the global economy and encouraged exploration
The compass, astrolabe, quadrant, and hourglass aided navigation and helped sailors plot direction, determine speed, and assess latitude
Portulanos and detailed maps helped navigators find their way around the world
Portugal's maneuverable and sturdy ships called caravels were popular for exploration
Joint-stock Company
This model was developed in Europe in the 1500s
Shareholders control part of the company in proportion to the number of shares they own
It was embraced by European nations for exploration, colonization, and trade
Risks were spread out among multiple investors
Limited liability is a key advantage of the joint-stock company, where shareholders can only be held liable for the face value of their shareholding.
The Spanish and Portuguese Models
Portugal and Spain Lead the Way
Portugal searched for new trade routes to Asia, with the help of Prince Henry the Navigator, and successfully rounded the Cape of Good Hope and reached India and China by sea.
Bartolomeu Dias sailed around the Cape of Good Hope in 1488.
Vasco da Gama reached India by 1498.
Spanish monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand, funded Christopher Columbus's voyage west across the Atlantic.
Columbusʼs three ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María, set sail in 1492 and, six weeks later, reached a Caribbean island that he named San Salvador.
He assumed he had reached the East Indies and named the Taino people as “Indians.”
Spanish and Portuguese Ambitions
The Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 settled competing claims between Spain and Portugal to the newly explored lands outside of Europe, with Portugal granted lands to the east of a longitudinal line and Spain granted the rest of the Americas.
Ponce de León reached Florida in 1513.
Spaniards later established the first permanent European settlement in what would become the United States, at St. Augustine, Florida (1585).
Conquistadores and the Defeat of Native Peoples
Spanish explorers established settlements throughout Central and South America and extended their dominance over much of the New World, leading to the brutal conquest of native peoples and devastating impacts on their populations from diseases brought by foreign explorers and settlers.
Defeat of Mexica (aka Aztecs, led by Montezuma) was one of the brutal episodes of violence, led by Hernán Cortés.
The Incas of South America were defeated by a Spanish expedition led by Francisco Pizarro
Disease and Death
New World people had no immunity to Old World infection brought by foreign explorers and settlers
Diseases included bubonic plague, influenza, cholera, scarlet fever, and smallpox
Between 50 and 90% of the native peoples of the Americas died between 1500 and 1650
Spanish policies focused on subjugating the native peoples of the New World
Warfare, brutal conquest, and harsh working conditions contributed to the decline of native populations
Many were killed outright, physically weakened, and became susceptible to disease.
Columbian Exchange
This brought useful products and crops to the New World, including sugar, wheat, and bananas, as well as domestic livestock and horses, which transformed many native cultures.
Labor, Slavery, and Caste in the Spanish Colonial System
Spanish Exploitation of New World Resources
Silver and the Encomienda System
Spainʼs encomienda system granted settlers land and labor extraction rights
Encomenderos acted as feudal lords with free management
Encomienda required sending a percentage of gold and silver to the monarchy
The system led to brutal exploitation, criticized by Bartolomé de Las Casas
Repartimiento reforms were issued by the Crown in 1549 for better governance
Treatment of native peoples did not improve significantly
Control of Spanish America became more direct under the Crown
Spain and the African Slave Trade
Impact of the Slave Trade
Africans were taken from their villages and forced into slavery.
Captured Africans were thought of as slaves for life, and their children were also considered slaves
African slaves were considered property, with no rights.
The slave trade had two main impacts on Africa from the 1500s onward
Entire generations of strong, young people were kidnapped and taken out of the continent
The introduction of European manufactured items undermined the traditional African economy.
Resistance to Slavery and the Development of the Maroon Communities
Africans developed cultural resistance to preserve traditional patterns and autonomy during slavery
Maroons were Africans who escaped slavery in the New World and formed independent communities
They existed throughout the New World, particularly in the Caribbean and Brazil
Communities were often formed by the first generation of slaves brought from Africa
They preserved African traditions in the New World, including healing rituals that involved medicinal herbs, drumming, and dancing
Palmares, a significant Maroon community, was established in Brazil in the early 1600s and had more than 30,000 residents
Maroons in Jamaica joined communities of Arawak Indians and over time, came to control large areas of the Jamaican interior.
The Social Structure of Spanish America
The Casta System
Despite ideas of Spanish "pure blood" superiority, intermixing occurred in Spanish colonies.
Spaniards were outnumbered by native peoples and men greatly outnumbered women.
Intermarriage was common, leading to a variety of mixed race people called casta.
Casta system included:
peninsulares and creoles at the top,
mestizos in the middle, and
mulattos, American Indians, and Africans at the bottom.
Casta system recognized finer gradations based on the specific percentage of each background an individual had.
Cultural Interactions Between Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans
Interactions, Trade, and Cultural Adaptations in the New World
Cultural Misunderstandings
Early encounters between American Indians and Europeans were marked by profound misunderstandings
American Indian societies were often matrilineal, while European societies were patrilineal
The two groups had very different ideas about wealth and material possessions
American Indians did not understand the concept of individual ownership of land; Europeans put a high premium on it
These cultural differences often led to conflicting understandings of arrangements made between the two groups over the status of land
Religious Adaptation in the New World
Some native peoples in the Americas made accommodations with the Spanish, adopting Christianity and adapting it to fit their needs and circumstances
Some native peoples adopted Catholicism completely, while others incorporated certain Spanish spiritual beliefs into traditional religious practices
Resistance by American Indians and Africans
Native American Resistance in Spain's New World Colonies
American Indians responded differently to the conquest of their lands.
Some fled, causing population pressure and conflicts elsewhere.
Native people used violent and passive cultural resistance.
The Guale people in Spanish Florida revolted against missionaries in 1597.
Juan de Oñate and the Acoma Pueblo People
The Acoma Pueblo people in New Mexico attacked Spanish occupiers in 1598.
The Spanish, led by Juan de Oñate, responded by killing over 800 Acoma people.
Survivors were put on trial, cutting off one foot for males over 25 age.
80 men had their food cut off.
500 Acoma people were enslaved.
Debates around Perceptions of American Indians
The Development of the Belief in White Superiority
Racist ideas developed in Europe to justify subjugation of non-white people in the New World
These originated from traditional notions of race in Europe, such as "pure blood" for those without Jewish or Muslim ancestry
The idea of "pure blood" superiority shaped Spanish understanding of race in the New World
Miscegenation led to the creation of an elaborate hierarchy of racial classes, where one's degree of "pure blood" determined their place
Indians and Africans were placed at the bottom of the hierarchy
This model drew on traditional Spanish beliefs and justified their position at the top of the hierarchy and the continued subjugation of those at the bottom.
Debates over Spainʼs Actions in the New World
Priest Bartolomé de Las Casas criticized Spanish actions in his book "A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies"
It chronicled atrocities against native peoples in the New World
He was criticized for paving the way for the enslavement of Africans, but later came to believe that all forms of slavery were morally wrong
Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, a Spanish theologian, defended Spanish treatment of native peoples and argued they were "natural slaves" who could only perform manual labor
He justified the battles of conquest as "just wars" and his justifications would later resonate with Spanish policymakers in their assertion of power in the New World.