The Discovery and Exploration of the New World

1. The Discovery and Exploration of the New World Ch. 1-3 Notes

2. The Discovery • In 1492…. • Gold, God, Glory • United States of Columbus? • Vikings • Ice Age (12000-40000 yrs ago) • glaciation  Bering Strait • Aztecs, Inca, Maya = sophisticated civilizations • advanced agricultural practices based primarily on the cultivation of maize • agriculture accounted for the size and sophistication of the Native American civs. in Mexico and S. Amer.

3. Why Europeans Went Exploring • Crusades (1096-1291) • religion = big role in Eur society • Roman Catholic Ch. = center of life in Eur • Islam spread from the Middle East to Africa, Asia, and W. Eur – captured Jerusalem • huge failure, but helped bring W. Eur out of isolation • increase in trade – exposed to spices and silks • weakened power of nobles (held much of the land, many lost their lives and fortunes in the wars – kings able to regain power) • Crusades resulted in loss of prestige for the Pope and the Church  led to the Reformation (split within the Cath. Ch.; led to persecution of Protestants and Catholics – many fled to America)

4. Why Europeans Went Exploring 2. Rise of nation states • feudalism in decline • monarchs learned that conquest = route to wealth • mercantilism 3. Renaissance • origins in Italy • rebirth (revival) of questioning spirit of the Greeks • dev. of printing press allowed the news of Columbus’ voyage to travel farther and faster than the news of the Vikings’ expedition (Marco Polo’s adventures) • more knowledge of the earth as the result of the dev. of modern astronomy and revival of cartography

5. Why Europeans Went Exploring 4. Improvements in navigational skills • Prince Henry’s desire to replicate the feats of the Phoenicians led to the development of his school of navigation • trained sailors and encouraged exploration (ex. Bartolomeu Dias & Vasco da Gama) • Portuguese voyages demonstrated the feasibility of long range ocean navigation • dev. of the caravel, compass, & astrolabe = other navigational improvements

6. The Spanish Empire • Spain developed a modern nat’l state w/ the unity, wealth, and power to support the tasks of discovery, conquest, and colonization • Reconquista (1492) • looked to challenge Portugal (controlled the African coast and route to India) • Spain chose the westward route

7. The Spanish Empire • Oct. 12, 1492 – Columbus landed in the Bahamas, then to Cuba and Hispaniola • most successful failure in history?! • made 3 more voyages, died in 1506 believing he found the Indies • “Indians” = forced by Columbus and his men to work and pay tribute – all in the name of religion • many died from diseases the Europeans brought with them (no natural immunity) • this caused a serious decline in the labor force – needed a new source of labor  African slave trade • LWT – Why Is Columbus Day Still a Thing? • Adam Ruins Columbus

8. The Spanish Empire • Columbus’ voyages brought about permanent interaction between Europeans and Native Americans • His discovery eventually joined 4 continents – Eur, Africa, and the 2 Americas • interdependent global economic system emerged • Eur = markets, capital, technology • Africa = labor • New World = raw materials

9. The Spanish Empire • Columbian Exchange • New World: Au & Ag, corn, potatoes, pineapples, tomatoes, tobacco, beans, vanilla, chocolate, syphillis Old World • Old World: Horses, cows, pigs, wheat, rice, coffee, smallpox, measles, bubonic plague, influenza, typhus, diphtheria, scarlet fever  New World • Africa: Slave labor  New World

10. The Spanish Empire • Competition = result of Columbus’ voyages • 1494 – Treaty of Tordesillas (Spain & Portugal) • both countries agreed to divide all non-Christian lands between them (Sp = west; Por = east) • agreement difficult to enforce • later conquests by Cortes & Pizarro helped make Sp the wealthiest, most powerful nation in Eur in the 1500s • established missions (convert Indians & protection) • Roman Catholic mission = central inst. in colonial New Mexico • encomienda system – allowed Spanish gov’t to give Indians to certain colonists in return for the promise to try to Christianize them (basically it was slavery) • forced labor system

11. The Spanish Empire • Pope’s Rebellion (1680) – missionaries attempted to suppress native religious customs which sparked an uprising by the Indians • Pueblo rebels destroyed every Catholic Ch. in the area and killed several priests and hundreds of settlers • “Black Legend” • Spain erected an empire from CA  FL  S. Amer, grafting their culture, laws, religion, and language onto the native societies and laying the foundations for several Spanish speaking nations • New World bullion transformed the world economy and helped fuel the growth of capitalism

12. The British Colonies • Rise of England • Elizabeth I (Protestant) • Spain (Philip II) = Catholic, viewed Eng as a political, military, and religious rival • Eng’s power built at Spain’s expense • Philip II decides to invade England • Defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588) • defeat of the Armada  Eng able to move aggressively towards colonization • Eng attempted to find their own direct sea route to the Americas – Northwest Passage

13. The Chesapeake Colonies

14. Jamestown • Roanoke (1587) – “The Lost Colony” • CROATOAN • 1607 – Jamestown • joint-stock colony • 1st permanent English settlement • “What had happened was….” • site chosen for settlement in the middle of a malarial swamp • most of the settlers = unused to the work required to carve out a colony • many = born into wealthy families  no experience with manual labor • poor leadership • argued about minor matters, yet in danger of starving

15. Jamestown • John Smith – emerged as the leader of the colony • policy = “no work, no eat” • est. trade with the Powhatan tribe (taught the colonists how to grow crops and survive) • also got the company to send over people accustomed to working with their hands - Adam Ruins Pocahontas • Winter of 1609-1610 = “The Starving Time” • colonists reduced to cannibalism

16. Jamestown • John Rolfe • introduced tobacco to the colony (1st cash crop) • solid economic base • tobacco requires extensive labor  colony needs to attract laborers • headright system = 50 acres of land given to each immigrant who paid own passage and any plantation owner who paid for an immigrant’s passage • because indentured servants = free after 4-7 years  another labor shortage, colonists turned to slave labor • plus, most died before acquiring their own land • 1st Africans to colonies (1619) were indentured servants and not held in permanent bondage although enslaved Africans arrived to the colonies a few years later

17. 1st Anglo-Powhatan War • As more English colonists arrived  tensions between colonists and Indians increased • 1st war ended in 1614 and sealed by marriage of Pocahontas and John Rolfe • the Native Americans in VA served no economic function for the VA colonists • they did not provide a reliable labor source and after the Virginians began growing their own food crops, the NA had no valuable commodities to offer in commerce therefore they could be disposed on with no threat to the colonial commodity • Chesapeake Indians banished from their ancestral lands in 1646

18. Jamestown • House of Burgesses (1619) • 1st elected assembly in Amer • landowning males over 17 = vote • Amer. representative gov’t grew from the HoB • indentured servants (no land) = little rights in society, rebelled in 1676 • Bacon’s Rebellion • failure • lasting problems: • 1 – sharp class differences bet. wealthy planters and landless farmers • 2 – colonial resistance to royal control

19. Maryland • Proprietary colony • Lord Baltimore • intended to be a haven for Catholics, but most of the settlers = Protestant • Toleration Act of 1649 • mandated religious toleration for all Christians • VA = mainly a business venture • New England = different - money was a motivation, but religion = primary focus

20. The New England Colonies • Massachusetts Bay – Puritans • New Hampshire – trade • Connecticut – trade/relig. freedom • Rhode Island – relig. freedom (Roger Wms) • dominated by MA Bay • wealthy • shipping (fish) • social life centered around towns

21. New England Colonies • Puritans • Pilgrims (Separatists) • Sept. 16th, 1620 – Plymouth (Mayflower) • Mayflower Compact – considered the first written constitution in America • based on the idea that society should be based on a set of rules chosen by its members • first steps towards self-gov’t; usually the will of the king or the Church • Rock? What rock??

22. Thanksgiving • 1st Thanksgiving (became a holiday in 1864) • Squanto (Tisquantum) = means of survival for the colonists • Plymouth became part of Massachusetts Bay in 1691

23. New England Colonies • Great Puritan Migration (1629-1642) • MA Bay • self-governing colony • the Puritans believed they had a divine purpose and were an example for others to follow • “City Upon a Hill” • not tolerant of other beliefs and believed their way was the right way • Roger Williams – minister in Salem in 1635; taught “radical” notions of separation of church and state and paying Indians for land • he was banished by Gov. John Winthrop in 1636, and eventually founded Rhode Island where all religions were tolerated and church & state separated • both Roger Wms. and Anne Hutchinson posed threats to the Puritan community, which resulted in their banishment

24. Salem Witch Trials, 1692 • Religion’s power to order society = weakening • Trials reflected tensions behind social change • Halfway Covenant • younger generations were less committed to religious faith and more interested in material success. The Halfway Covenant allowed people to take part in Church services without making a formal declaration of their total faith in Christ – strict practices were weakened to maintain Church membership • Farmers vs. New merchant lifestyles • Women who did not conform to the subordinate place demanded of Puritan females

25. The Middle Colonies • 2nd round of colonization (Restoration) • Delaware – trade • New York – trade • Pennsylvania – Quakers/trade • New Jersey – trade • breadbasket colonies • wheat, corn, rye

26. The Middle Colonies • New York – originally settled by the Dutch (New Netherland) • founded for trade, anyone allowed to settle there • became New York in 1664, as the result of conflict between Holland and England • Pennsylvania – primarily founded to allow the Society of Friends (Quakers) a place to worship • Quakers = founded by George Fox around 1650 • did not believe in a formal clergy – word of God = in every human soul, not necessarily in the Bible • strict pacifists • every colony except RI passed anti-Quaker laws; they were hanged in MA • colony attracted many European immigrants (PA Deustch)

27. The Southern Colonies • Maryland – Catholics • Virginia – trade • North Carolina – trade • South Carolina – trade • Georgia – charity/buffer • large plantations (tobacco, rice, indigo) • wealthy planters • small farmers • landless tenants • enslaved Africans • self-sufficient plantations = social unit in the South

28. The Southern Colonies • Georgia began as a refuge for England’s poor (debtor’s haven) • 1732 – James Oglethorpe named colony after King George II; settlers arrived in 1733 • oldest city = Savannah • all spirits and slavery were to be banned – these restrictions did not last (1740s) and GA eventually became a royal colony • SN: after the American Revolution, GB sent its prisoners to Australia

29. Colonial Society • 1640-1700 – Colonial population – 25,000  250,000 (25 million by Amer. Rev.) • Rise of trade  Northern ports  large cities • Charleston, SC = largest urban center in the South • Shipping dominated New England; large scale farming dominated the Middle & Southern colonies • Social Structure (North) • wealthy merchants (small minority) • skilled artisans (half of urban population) • people w/o skills or property (some = servants); 30% of population • enslaved Africans = 10-20% of population

30. Triangular Trade • Plantations = heavy demands on labor • slave labor = more practical and profitable • imported from Africa as part of the Triangular Trading network • connected Eur, Africa, and the Americas • NE merchants and Southern plantations owners benefitted greatly • slavery = important part of the colonial economy; South = more slaves than any other region • 1690 – 13,000 • 1750 – over 200,000

31. Middle Passage • Passage from Africa to the Americas • 10-12 million (@ 2 million died at sea) • 80-90% worked in the fields, the rest as artisans and domestics • Slavery developed slowly in the Chesapeake colonies simply because English law did not recognize chattel slavery – treated more like indentured servants • could obtain freedom by converting to Christianity • by the 1660s, new laws created a system of slavery that was hereditary and based on race • enslaved people could not own property, testify against whites in court, move about freely, or assemble in large numbers

32. Slavery in the Colonies • Slaves were branded and controlled by violence and threats of being sold away from their families • 1739 – Stono Rebellion • group of Africans in South Carolina rebelled against their overseers and tried to escape to Spanish Florida • rebellion ended by the local militia; 44 Africans, 21 whites killed • others rebelled by refusing to work or losing tools • slavery did exist in the North, but did not play as big a role as in the South

33. Effects of European Colonization • Exchange of plants, animals, goods, and ideas begins between Europe and the America; European diseases devastate the Native populations; American diseases spread to Europe • England establishes colonies along the eastern coast; Spain in the Caribbean; France along the St. Lawrence River • Cultivation of cash crops allow the Southern colonies to flourish; lead to the rise of the slave trade • Triangular trade allows northern cities to prosper and leads to the rise of cities along the East coast.