Apush Unit 1

Big Picture

Natives of the Americas were diverse, with societies shaped by their environments. European arrival transformed these societies.

Pueblo People

Farmers in the Southwest who grew maize, beans, squash; used irrigation; built cliff dwellings and clay brick structures.

Great Plains

A large, flat area of grasslands in central North America where Indigenous groups like the Sioux hunted bison and developed nomadic lifestyles, especially after the introduction of the horse.

Columbian Exchange

The widespread transfer of plants, animals, people, diseases, and ideas between the Americas and Europe/Africa following Columbus’s voyages, which drastically reshaped global economies, diets, and populations.

Chumash (California)

Built villages up to 1,000 people; engaged in regional trade networks.

Chinook (Pacific Northwest)

Built plank houses; sustained large kinship groups; relied on fishing and trade.

Iroquois (Northeast)

Farmers; grew maize, beans, squash; lived in longhouses made from timber; strong communal society.

Cahokia (Mississippi River Valley)

Civilization of 10,000–30,000; rich soil for farming; large trade networks; centralized government led by chiefs.

Impact of Environment

Native societies developed complex, distinct cultures shaped by geography and environment.

European Motives for Exploration

Political unification, monarchies, desire for Asian luxury goods, blocked land routes by Muslims → led to sea routes.

Portugal’s Trading Post Empire

Established posts around Africa; dominated Indian Ocean trade; used maritime technology (astrolabe, caravel, sternpost rudder, lateen sail).

Spain’s Motivation

After Reconquista, wanted to spread Catholicism and gain wealth.

Christopher Columbus (1492)

Sponsored by Ferdinand & Isabella; sailed west to find Asia; instead reached Caribbean, sparking European competition and colonization.

From Americas to Europe

Maize, potatoes, tomatoes, turkeys.

From Europe to Americas

Wheat, rice, cattle, pigs, horses, smallpox.

Impact of Disease

European diseases like smallpox devastated Native American populations, who lacked immunity, leading to demographic collapse and aiding European conquest.

Economic Shift in Europe

Influx of American silver/gold fueled capitalism and joint-stock companies (investor-funded ventures, shared profits/limited liability).

Encomienda System

Spanish forced labor of Natives in agriculture/mining; collapsed due to resistance and disease → led to African slavery.

African Slavery

Africans less likely to escape, had more immunity to disease; imported to replace Native labor.

Spanish Casta System

A rigid social hierarchy in Spanish America based on racial ancestry, with Spaniards at the top and Indigenous and African peoples at the bottom, used to maintain colonial control.

Native-European Interactions

Brutal and exploitative; some cultural exchange (Natives taught farming/hunting; Europeans provided iron tools/weapons).

Bartolomé de las Casas

Defended Natives, persuaded king to outlaw slavery (later repealed).

Religious Justifications for Slavery

Europeans misused Bible story of Noah’s son Ham to justify African slavery as divinely ordained.

Reasons for European Exploration

European nations sought new trade routes, access to wealth (especially gold and spices), territorial expansion, and the spread of Christianity—often summarized as "God, Gold, and Glory."

Horses

Introduced by the Spanish, horses transformed Native life on the Great Plains by increasing mobility, hunting efficiency, and power dynamics among tribes.

Slave Trade

The transatlantic slave trade forcibly brought millions of Africans to the Americas as laborers, becoming a cornerstone of colonial economies and contributing to centuries of racial inequality.

Mestizo

A person of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in Spanish America, representing a growing mixed population that reflected colonial interactions and shaped social hierarchies.