Native American Histories and the European Encounter in America

1. NEW WORLD ENCOUNTERS America: Past and Present Chapter 1

2. Native American Histories before Conquest • 20,000 years ago—Ice Age “Land Bridge.” • 14,000 years ago--Humans reach southern point of South America. • These Paleo-Indians did not suffer from many communicable diseases

3. Routes of the First Americans

4. The Environmental Challenge:Food, Climate, and Culture • Native Americans enjoyed an abundant supply of meat • 5,000 years ago-- Agricultural Revolution • Crops include maize, squash, and beans • Shift from nomadic hunting and gathering to permanent villages or large cities

5. Mysterious Disappearances • Anasazi Culture—Chaco Canyon • Sophisticated irrigation • Well-built roads for transportation • Pueblo “apartment” buildings • Adena and Hopewell Peoples—Ohio Valley • Large ceremonial mounds • Extensive trade network • Cahokia (in Illinois) —Mississippi Valley • Large ceremonial mounds • Far-flung trade network [had evolved from Ohio Valley civilization]

6. Aztec Dominance • Aztecs settle valley of Mexico • Center of large, powerful empire • Highly organized social and political structure • Rule through fear and force

7. Eastern Woodland Cultures • Atlantic Coast of North America • Native Americans lived in smaller bands • Agriculture supplemented by hunting and gathering • Likely were the first natives encountered by English settlers • Spoke Algonquian, which included many dialects • Formed confederacies, ie Iroquois League

8. Locations of Major Indian Groups and Culture Areas in the 1600s

9. Threats to Survival: • TRADE created a dependency on Europeans, ultimately made Native craftsmanship obsolete. • DISEASE killed millions of Native people, even before Europeans set foot in North America. (smallpox, measles, influenza)

10. West Africa: Ancient and Complex Societies • Diversity of sub-Saharan Cultures • Islam • Strong traditional beliefs • A history of empires • Mali • Ghana • Daily life centered on elder-ruled clans

11. Trade Routes in Africa

12. Beginnings of theSlave Trade • 15th-century Portuguese chart sea lanes from Europe to sub-Saharan Africa • Native rulers sell prisoners of war to Portuguese as slaves

13. How Many Slaves? • 17th century--ca. 1,000 Africans per year • 18th century--5.5 million transported to the Americas • By 1860--ca. 11 million • Before 1831, more Africans than Europeans came to the Americas.

14. Building New Nation-States • Population growth after 1450 • “New Monarchs” forge nations from scattered provinces • Spain • France • England • “Middle class” a new source of revenue • Powerful military forces deployed

15. Imagining a New World • Spain the first European nation to achieve conditions for successful colonization • Unified under Ferdinand and Isabella • Conquest of Canary Islands provides rehearsal for colonization and for using slave labor.

16. Myths and Reality • Columbus persuades Queen Isabella to finance westward expedition to “Cathay” • 1492--Initial voyage • Three subsequent voyages to find cities of China • 1506--died clinging to belief he had reached the Orient • Made possible Spanish dominion in America

17. The Conquistadores • Independent adventurers commissioned by Spanish crown to subdue new lands • By 1512--Major Caribbean islands decimated • By 1521--Cortés destroys Aztec Empire (Moctezuma) • 1539-42--de Soto explores Southeast • 1540-42--Coronado explores Southwest

18. Voyages of European Exploration

19. From Plunder to Settlement • Encomienda System rewards Conquistadors • Large land grants • Indian inhabitants provide labor or tribute • Appointed officials answer only to Crown • Catholic Church • Advocates for Indian rights (Bartolomeo de las Casas) • Performs mass conversions • By 1650, 1/2 million Spaniards in New World • Unmarried males intermarry • Mixed-blood population emerges (mestizo and mulatto)

20. Portugal • Had turned down Columbus’ proposed expedition in favor of sailing around Africa (very profitably) • Treaty of Tordesillas gave Portugal a large swath of land in South America (Brazil)

21. The French Claim Canada • Fur trade underpins economy, little settlement of families, etc. • Indians become valued trading partners

22. The English Enter the Competition • John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) – 1st recorded transatlantic voyage by an English ship in 1497 • Makes claims of New World territory possible under Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547) • Colonization under Elizabeth would be fueled by a nationalist, anti-Catholic (anti-Spanish) spirit.

23. Protestantism • Lutheran Reformation • God speaks through Bible, not Pope or priests • Justification by faith alone for salvation • Calvinist Reformation • John Calvin stresses God’s omnipotence • Predestination—some persons chosen by God for salvation • Calvinist Christianity expands in northern Europe • France—Huguenots • Scotland—Presbyterians • England—Puritans

24. Birth of English Protestantism • English rise influenced by Protestant Reformation • 1517--Martin Luther sparks reform in Germany • 1536--John Calvin’s Institutes published in Geneva • Reformation pits European Protestants against Catholics

25. The English Reformation • Tudor monarchs bring political unity • Reformation under Henry Vlll (r. 1509-1547) strengthens Crown • Religious “see-saw” under Edward (Prot.), Mary (Catholic), Elizabeth (Prot.)

26. Elizabeth I • Elizabeth I (1558-1603) a very capable monarch • Elizabeth introduces Via Media • Protestant Doctrine • “Catholic” Ritual • Ends religious turmoil in England • Elizabeth’s excommunication by Pope prompts Spanish crusade against England • England aligned with Protestant nations against Catholic powers

27. Religion, War, and Nationalism • Spanish hostility makes Elizabeth the symbol of English, Protestant nationhood • Sea Dogs’ seizure of Spanish treasure makes them English heroes • 1588-- Spanish Armada defeated

28. Irish Rehearsal for American Settlement • English experiences in Ireland shaped how they would conquer the New World • To the English the Irish were wild and barbaric • They would view Native Americans the same way • One way of justifying Irish land grab was the “inefficient” way the Irish farmed. • Brutality fostered long-term resentment.

29. An Unpromising Beginning: Mystery at Roanoke • Sir Walter Raleigh established Roanoke colony in 1584 • He named the region Virginia after the “Virgin Queen” • The colony failed and Raleigh tried again in 1587 • The colonists disappeared without a trace and their fate remains a mystery

30. Campaign to Sell America • By 1600 no English settlements in New World • Richard Hakluyt advertises benefits of American colonization • Claimed that England needs American colonies • Book, The Principall Navigations, Voyages, and Discoveries of the English Nation, spurred colonization.

31. What is ethnocentrism? • Columbian Exchange? • “Age of Discovery” reloaded . . .