Key Concepts

• How native populations in North America developed complex societies based on their interactions with the environment and each other

• How maize cultivation in present-day Mexico and the American Southwest anda mix of foraging and hunting in the Northwest and parts of California supported economic development and social diversification among native societies

• Why native populations in the Great Basin and western Great Plains developed mobile lifestyles

• How European overseas expansion led to the Columbian Exchange

• How Spanish and Portuguese exploration and conquest of the Americas led to fatal epidemics, the creation of racially mixed populations, and a caste system How Spanish and Portuguese traders joined with some West Africans to recruit slave labor for the Americas.

• How European exploration and conquest were motivated by a desire for new sources of wealth, increased power, and status, and converts to Christianity How new sources of mineral wealth from the Americas assisted the European shift from feudalism to capitalism.

• How poor understanding of native Americans on the part of the Spanish and Portuguese led to debates on how to treat them.

• How European attempts to change Native American beliefs and worldviews led to resistance and conflict

PreColumbus

• Nomadic EuroAsian hunters crossed the Bering Isthmus (land bridge) for 25,000 years, which led to the creation of many diverse tribes, cultures and religions.

• Incas in Peru, Mayans in Central America and Aztecs in Mexico relied on the cultivation of maize to sustain a large population, because it was quickly produced using three sister farming: beans, squash, and maize were grown on the same cornstalk to save field space and maximize profits.this spread to America and transformed nomadic., hunter-gatherer tribes into sedentary ones.

  • Sioux hunted Bison b/c of lack of resources.

  • Pueblo Southwest natives created irrigation systems

  • Iroquois in the Northeast area developed a confederacy

• Christian crusaders faced conflicts in foreign lands → craved new goods and fueled efforts for European expansion

• middlemen, placed along vital trade routes, took a large part of the profits with their fees, further inspired exploration.

• Some obstacles of exploration are overcome with the caravel, a ship that could sail more closely to the wind, allowing Portuguese explorers to travel through new routes and discover new areas.

  • Bartolomeu Dias: rounded Southernmost tip of Africa

  • Vasco de Gama: went to India and returned with jewels and exotic spices

Hernán Cortés and the Aztecs (post Columbus)

Hernán Cortés goes on an expedition to Mexico City, where the Aztecs live. Montezuma, the Aztec emperor, believes Cortes is a God and gives in to all his requests. He soon realizes Cortes is greedy and tries to drive him out on noche triste, but Cortes immediately lays siege on the city and they're forced to surrender.

Soon after, Francisco Pizarro attacked the Inca and brought many precious metals back to Europe, and the growth in the European money supply led to capitalism

1492: Columbus

• King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella send Columbus West to compete with the Portuguese explorers

  • Renaissance and inventions inspired scientific exploration

  • Gold God and Glory

• the discovery of gold in the Americas led to the enslavement of natives in the encomienda system

• Spanish established control with the Treaty of Tordesillas

• Debate over Columbus' treatment of natives: Bartolome de Las Casas calls it 'unholy'

• Ethnocentrism: idea that one religion (Christianity) was superior to all others

Resistance: Pope’s Rebellion: Natives show they will not let Christian missionaries suppress their native customs and religions by killing priests and burning churches.

Was Columbus good or bad?

Columbian Exchange: transatlantic exchange of goods and ideas between the Old and New World

Pros: food from the New World revolutionized the European diet and fueled population growth. Columbus gave the natives cattle, which transformed native life.

Cons: many of the animals from the Old World had diseases like smallpox that the Natives weren't immune to, which led to a steep decline in the Native population. Columbus also terrorized the natives in the plantation system, brutally punishing them when they didn't meet their quota (cruelty is also seen in Battle of Acoma (1599): Spanish abused the Pueblo natives and cut a foot off survivors

Black Legend: false idea that Columbus had a negative impact on the natives. This is not entirely true: he changed their lifestyle and was responsible for creating mestizos