Pre-Columbian Amercia History

The Olmecs

“Mother Culture” - heavy influence on other cultures

Built pyramids, ceremonial centers & ritual ball games

Famous for their giant stone heads

1st know civilization in the Americas

Unknown reason for decline

The Mayans

Emerged around 250 and thrived between 250-900

Polytheistic—-prayed and offered gods food, blood, and human sacrifices]

Glyphs-System of writing

Technology involved the 365 day calendar, mathematics, and astronomy

Glyphs

System of writing

-Record historic events

-Make calendars

-Pass stories

Aztec Empire

Emerged around 1200, thrived around 1400 and 1500

Polytheistic—-public ceremonious with human sacrifices - priest job to make sure the gods received the offerings

Planned Cites- Tenochitlan(easy defense system)

Conquered by Spanish

Decline due to many physical and human resources were used for religious activities

Inca Empire

Located in the Andes Mountains (Peru)

Terrace farming was used in the mountains

Polytheistic

Government Ruler had to be a descendant from the Sun God

Bureaucratic = Mita System

Can be compares to socialism or welfare state

Decline due to many physical and human resources were used for religious activities and people struggled to care for themselves

Invasions of Spanish conquistadors caused collapse of empire

Reasons for the Age of Exploation

Gold, Glory and God

European Exploration

7 voyages of exploration were launched in 1405 by Zheng He

Most known for remarkable size

Purpose was to distribute gifts of silver and silk to show Chinese superiority

Scholar-officials argued that the voyages wasted valuable resources that could be used to fighter barbarian attacks from the north

After the last voyage in 1433, china withdrew into isolation

Advances in Technology

Cartographers

-map makers began to create maps that were more accurate

Improved magnetic compass

-Astrolabe

-European Star charts

-European mariners came to understand the prevailing winds

-Ships

ASTROLABE

ALLOWS YOU TO

MEASURE YOUR DISTANCE FROM

THE EQUATOR

Invented by the Greeks and perfected in Islam

EUROPEAN STAR CHARTS

LIMITED TO THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE, BUT 12 MORE CONSTELLATIONS WERE ADDED & CHARTS LIKE THIS WERE MADE

Henry the Navigator

Man who sparked the start of Europe’s long distance sea exploration.

Encouraged his father to take the Moroccan city of Ceuta

-learned the advantage of the Trans-Saharan Trade

-found his navigation school at Sagres

1488: Bartolomeu Dias Rounds the Southern Tip of Africa

Explored the SE coast of Africa

Considered sailing to India, but exhausted crew and low food supplies forced him to return home

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Begins in Portugal

Henry’s explorers went down the coast of Africa and brought African slaves back to Europe—eventually sending them to their colonies

King of Portugal made treaties with kingdoms in Africa

Portugal has a near monopoly on slave trade for 100 years

Middle Passage

Journey of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean (From Africa to the Americas)

Contributions to the Atlantic Slave Trade

1. European colonization of the Americas

2. Portuguese settlement of Brazil

Who was the first explorer to reach the Caribbean

Christopher Columbus

What was the goal of Christopher Columbus expedition?

Find a shorter route to Asia

Christopher Columbus

Found a shorter route to Asia

First European since the Vikings to discover the new world

Caused increase tensions between Spain and Portugal

Opened up the Americas to European exploration

Vasco de Gama

Reached the Port of Calicut on the Indian Ocean

Explored East Asia on his way to India

Explorations led to the discovery that there was a direct sea route to Asia!!!

Ferdinand Magllan

Led a Spanish expedition to the PHILIPPINES

1st person to lead an expedition around the world (Circumnavigate) - never actuality made it but dies in a war in the Philippines

Given credit for naming the Pacific Ocean (because of its calm waters) and discovers the Strait of Magellan on the Southern Tip of South America

Amerigo Vespucci

Was the first European to recognize that the new continents discovered by Columbus were not past of Asia in 1502

As a result, North and South America were names after him

Empires that fell to the Spanish

1. Aztec Empire

2. Inca Empire

Herman Cortes

Spanish Conquistador who defeated and conquered the Aztec Empire

Why was the Spanish able to defeat the Aztec and Inca Empire

1. Superior weaponry

2. Aid from some other groups of natives

3. European diseases killed many

Francisco Pizarro

Conquered the Inca Empire

-created a large mestizo population

-imposed Spanish culture

-exploited native Americans as laborers

Potosi Silver Mine

Europeans may have gone looking for gold, but found silver instead

-minded 60% of the Earths silver in the 16th country

-founded in 1545; population 200k

James Cook

Circumnavigated the globe twice

First British ship commander to circumnavigate the globe in a LONE ship

First known European to reach the Hawaiian Islands

Explored area around Australia and ventures south toward Antarctica

Samual de Champlain

Explored and established New France

Cartier Explores Canada

Only french explorer of any significance

3 voyages

Names “Canada”

St. Dominique: Pearl of the Antilles

Spain focused efforts on mainland

Became a haven for piracy

Most prosperous colony in the Caribbean

The Columbian Exchange

Global transfer of animals, plants, cultures, humans, technology, diseases, and ideas between old and new world in the 15th and 16th century

Mercantilsim

Goal: to strengthen the national economic concerns over the concerns of the merchants

-sell more than you buy