Transatlantic Encounters and Colonial Beginnings

1. Transatlantic Encounters and Colonial Beginnings 1450-1690

2. Questions • How did the people in Mesoamerica and the Andes region compare and contrast with the people in North America? • What forces led to the Age of Exploration? • What are the similarities & differences among the Spanish, French, & British patterns of colonization in America? • What were the advantages & disadvantages of Spanish, French, & English colonial patterns in terms of long-termcolonization in America?

3. Early Inhabitants of the Americas • Migration began 35,000-15,000 years ago • Cut off from the Eastern Hemisphere • Agriculture independently invented • Nomadic hunters and gatherers • Spread throughout North and South America

5. Early Mesoamericans • 3,000 BCE – settlement in Central and South America • Crops such as maize, squash, beans, tomatoes, and potatoes are cultivated • Settlements developed into large, complex societies • Few animals were domesticated • Human labor supplied the work of agriculture • Religious centers developed into cities along the Gulf of Mexico • 1,200 BCE – emergence of the Olmec

7. The Maya • Emerged during the 3rd century BCE • Lived in modern day Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, and southern Mexico • Developed a system of writing • Made advances in math and astronomy • Developed an accurate calendar • Organized into city-states

9. Teotihuacan and the Aztecs • Teotihuacan was a center of religion and government • Believed to be the first great city of the Western Hemisphere • Population estimated to have been between 125,000-200,000 • The Toltecs unified central Mexico after the decline of Teotihuacan • The Aztec replaced the Toltec after the exile of the Toltec leader Topilzin

14. The Aztec • The main city was Tenochtitlan with an estimated population of 300,000 at its height • The Aztec drained swamps, constructed irrigation works and terraces, and used floating gardens (chinampas) • Chinampas boosted agricultural production • The Aztec rose to power through military might and aggressive expansion • Imposed a tribute system on conquered peoples to support Tenochtitlan

15. Andean Civilizations • The Chavin emerged in the region of modern day Peru around the time of the Olmec in Mesoamerica • After the decline of the Chavin, the Moche flourished from 100-700 CE • The Moche built an irrigation system and cultivated maize, beans, manioc, sweet potatoes, and coca • The Inca became the most powerful civilization in the Andes region • A system of roads connected the empire, and runners carried messages so the ruler could keep in touch with his subjects

18. The People of North America • No major civilization controlled large amounts of land in North America • Different languages and lifestyles emerged in North America • Some groups were nomadic hunters of bison, deer, whales, seals, and walruses (in the Arctic region) • Some groups gathered nuts, berries, and roots to supplement fish or meat • Development of agriculture did allow permanent settlements to grow

19. The Anasazi • Developed in the southwestern United States • Used river water to irrigate their crops of maize, beans, squash, and sunflowers • By 700 CE, the Anasazi constructed permanent pueblos (stone and adobe buildings) • Most pueblos contained a ritual enclosure called kivas • Villages were connected by roads • The Anasazi abandoned the area by about 1300

22. Eastern Woodland Cultures • Agricultural societies emerged in the woodlands east of the Mississippi River • Cultivated maize and beans • Lived in an environment with abundant trees and rain • Many built earthen mounds used for ceremonial stages, dwellings, and burial sites • The largest mound settlement was at Cahokia • Mound settlements began to be abandoned around 1300 – the same time the Anasazi began to abandon their dwellings

24. The People of North America • By 1450 most people lived in small kinship-based groups • Variety of languages spoken • Observed different customs • Nomadism and subsistence agriculture was common • Population estimated to be 10-25 million at the time of contact with Europeans • Settled societies generally traced lineage through matrilineal descent • Nomadic groups generally traced lineage through patrilineal descent

25. The Iroquois Confederacy • North American group that came closest to mirroring the organizations of the Aztecs and Inca • Loose alliance of the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas • Bound together by a common Iroquois language • Had the political and military organizational skills to dominate its neighbors • Hiawatha was leader who first organized the Iroquois

28. Voyages of European Exploration

29. The Columbian Exchange

30. Portuguese and Spanish Voyages • Portugal began explorations in the early 1400s • Henry the Navigator led ventures down the African coast and established a navigation school • Navigation technology and advances in ship design pushed exploration forward • Bartholomew Dias and Vasco Da Gama set out to sail around the tip of Africa • In 1500, Pedro Cabral reached South America and claimed Brazil for Portugal • Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic for Spain

31. The Treaty of Tordesillas • Did Portugal or Spain control newly discovered lands? • In 1493, the Pope drew an imaginary line from north to south • Spain claimed all lands to the west of the line • Portugal claimed all lands to the east of the line • Brazil became Portugal’s only claim in the Eastern Hemisphere • Spain began to explore and colonize the Americas

32. Spanish Empire in the Americas • Conquistadors set out in search of gold and to convert Native Americans to Christianity • Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztec in 1519 • Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca in 1532 • Native populations were decimated by disease • At the end of the 16th Century, Spain had a massive empire in the New World

33. A World Transformed • Native Americans were eager for European trade; they were not initially victims of Spanish exploration • They became dependent on and indebted to Europeans • Disease decimated perhaps 95% of Native American population

34. Spanish Conquests & Colonies The Spanish used the encomienda system to create large cash crop plantations using Native American & African slave labor

35. From Plunder to Settlement • By 1650, 1/2 million Spaniards immigrated to the New World • Mostly unmarried males came to New World; intermarriage led to mixed-bloodmestizos&mulattos • Distinguished between social classes: peninsulares & creoles • The Spanish gov’t operated strict control over the colonies

37. Spanish Settlements in North America Spanish missionaries focused heavily on converting Native Americans & establishing missions • Juan Ponce de Leon came to FL in 1513, searching for wealth and the fountain of youth • Francisco Cornoado searched for the seven golden cities of Cibola in 1540 • Hernan De Soto led an army in search of gold across the Southeast, and discovered the MS River • In 1565, St. Augustine, FL became the first permanent settlement in North America • Missions were established in FL and in NM and CA

38. Dutch Exploration and Settlement • Organized joint-stock companies like the Dutch East India Company • Initial Dutch explorations focused on East and Southeast Asia • In the late 17th century, the Dutch entered the trans-Atlantic slave trade • In 1624, the Dutch West India Company established the colony of New Netherland • Henry Hudson sailed into New York Harbor and claimed the area for the Netherlands

39. Dutch Exploration and Settlement • Interested in extending trading network • Little interest in conquest • Took a practical approach with Native Americans that did not involve conquest or religious conversion • New Netherland was not a democracy • Land given to patroons who ruled like medieval lords • No elected assembly, but more religious freedom • Developed a diverse population • Women had some legal rights

40. French Explorations and Settlements • In 1608, Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec; French Empire eventually included St. Lawrence River, Great Lakes, Mississippi • Because the fur trade was the basis of the colonial economy, Indians became valued trading partners (not exploitive like Spain) • Jesuit priests tried to convert the natives to Christianity • Population grew slowly in the French colonies due to the cold Canadian climate

41. Like Spain, the French gov’t encouraged converting Native Americans & establishing missions

42. British Beginnings in the New World • Britain was late in their attempts to explore and colonize the New World • Internal struggles and religious conflict took focus off colonization • Queen Elizabeth I brought stability to Britain • Defeat of the Spanish Armada made Britain a superior naval power • Britain’s first attempt at colonization was a failure (the “Lost Colony”)

43. British Beginnings in North America • In the 1600s, English settlers arrived in North America • Several joint-stock companies were formed to begin English settlement • English colonization differed from Spanish & French because the English gov’t had no desire to create a centralized empire in the New World • Different motivations by English settlers led to different types of colonies

44. Migrating to the English Colonies • 17th century England faced major social changes: • The most significant was a boom in population – led to competition for land, food, and jobs • British gov’t supported efforts to relocate their surplus population to North America (preserved law and order at home)

45. Migrating to the English Colonies • Motives for migration to America: • Religious: purer form of worship • Economic: Escape poverty or the threat of lifelong poverty • Personal: to escape bad marriages or jail terms • Migration to America was facilitated by the English Civil War & Glorious Revolution

47. Four Colonial Subcultures • The values of the migrants dictated the “personality” of the newly created colonies; led to distinct (not unified) colonies • The Chesapeake • New England • Middle Colonies • The Carolinas & Georgia

49. By the early 1600s, Spain, England, & France had large territorial claims in North America (but these colonies were not heavily populated, especially in Spanish & French claims) These colonial claims came largely at the expense of the Native Americans already living there

50. Governments in North America • Govt’s in English colonies had more independence from Britain than Latin American colonies • Colonial govt’s were all organized differently • Govt’s had assemblies, often with two houses • Colonists came to think they should share the right to determine colonial rules and regulations • No authoritarian viceroys were established • Large urban areas did not develop until much later