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The Atlantic World

The Atlantic World. Before Columbus. Focus Question. When does U.S. History begin?. One View. “Three Separate histories collided in the Western Hemisphere half a millennium ago, and American history began” --Edward Countryman, 1996. Three Worlds Meet. Native Americans West Africans

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The Atlantic World

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  1. The Atlantic World Before Columbus

  2. Focus Question • When does U.S. History begin?

  3. One View • “Three Separate histories collided in the Western Hemisphere half a millennium ago, and American history began” --Edward Countryman, 1996

  4. Three Worlds Meet • Native Americans • West Africans • Europeans • Little interaction prior to 1492

  5. Native Americans • Arrive around 45,000 years ago • Traveled across the Bering Land Bridge • Cut off at end of the Ice Age • Quickly spread throughout the hemisphere. • 54 million people • Spoke 2000 languages

  6. Early Native Americans • Some 2 to 15 million lived in the U.S. and Canada in 1500 • Spoke 375 languages • Lived in a variety of climates

  7. Cultural Groups • North America divided into 8 major groups

  8. Shared Patterns • Trade Links connected peoples • Permanent Settlements known • Known trade routes existed • Religious Beliefs • Natural World inhabited by spirits • Rituals tied into daily routines

  9. Shared Patterns (2) • Land Usage • The land could not be owned • Land was owned by all and used by all • Could not be sold

  10. Shared Patterns (3) • Society revolved about the extended family • Many nations were matrilinear • House and property owned by women • Families traced through the mother • Nations often divided into bands and villages

  11. Eastern Woodlands • Saw population increase in 1400s • “Three Sister” Agriculture • Maize (Corn) • Beans • Squash • Enough food to support population

  12. Eastern Woodlands (2) • Highly decentralized society • Scattered villages • Gender roles split • Women farmed • Men hunted, fished, and cleared the land

  13. West Africa • Saw robust cultures in the 1400s • Songhai • Controlled Sahara trade • Muslim • Kongo • Maintained trade links with Southern Africa • Converted to Christianity

  14. Trade • Trade linked West Africa to the outside world • Began to trade with Portuguese exploring the coast • Africans provided food, water, gold, cloth and people • Europeans provided metal goods, cloth, and guns

  15. Europe • Earlier customs weakening • Growth of scientific reasoning • Rise of the Nation-State • Reformation saw a splintering of Christianity

  16. Desire for Wealth • Lacked resources in Europe • Required to look overseas • Spice trade dominated by Turks and Italians • Western Europeans looked to the Atlantic

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