Period 1 apush notes 2025

What were the three “Gs” that motivated European exploration?

Gold, God, Glory — wealth through trade/mining, spread Christianity, and national/personal prestige.

Why did Europeans seek new routes to Asia?

Fall of Constantinople (1453) cut off land trade → need for sea routes. Portugal went around Africa; Columbus tried going west.

Which European nations led early exploration?

Portugal & Spain first, later France, England, and the Dutch.

What goods went from Americas → Europe/Africa?

Maize, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, tobacco. Increased European population.

What goods went from Europe/Africa → Americas?

Horses, pigs, sugar cane, iron tools, wheel, guns.

What diseases crossed the Atlantic?

Smallpox, measles → Native depopulation (up to 90%). Syphilis → Europe

Why were Africans brought to the Americas?

Europeans wanted cheap labor for mines & plantations; native populations dying.

What was the asiento system?

Spanish agreement to import enslaved Africans in exchange for a tax to the crown.

How did Africans resist slavery?

Revolts, sabotage, escape, preserving culture (music, religion, folkways).

Where did Spain and Portugal establish early colonies?

Spain: Mexico, Peru, Caribbean; Portugal: Brazil.

How did these colonies generate wealth?

Mining (silver & gold), sugar plantations, forced native & African labor.

What made Spain the wealthiest empire in 1500s–1600s?

Silver mines in Mexico & Peru.

Who were the Mayas?

Yucatán Peninsula (300–800 CE); built cities, calendars, trade networks.

Who were the Aztecs?

Central Mexico; capital Tenochtitlán (~200,000 people); tribute empire, maize farming.

Who were the Incas?

Peru/Andes; vast road system; potato farming; centralized empire.

How did North American societies differ from Central/South?

Smaller, less complex; many semi-permanent villages of 300 or fewer people.

What was the Iroquois Confederacy?

Political union (Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, later Tuscarora) — powerful alliance.

What were regional adaptations?

Southwest: Pueblos (irrigation). Plains: buffalo hunters (later horses). Mississippi Valley: Cahokia mound builders. Northeast: longhouses.

What Renaissance changes encouraged exploration?

Curiosity, scientific/tech advances, humanism.

What was the Protestant Reformation’s role?

Religious zeal → Catholics & Protestants both sought to spread faith abroad.

How did nation-states help exploration?

Strong monarchs (Spain’s Ferdinand & Isabella, Portugal’s Henry the Navigator) funded voyages.

What technologies enabled exploration?

Compass (from Arabs/Chinese), gunpowder, improved maps, caravel ships.

How did the printing press aid exploration?

Spread knowledge and reports of discoveries quickly across Europe.

What was the Reconquista (1492)?

Spanish Christians defeated Moors in Granada; Ferdinand & Isabella funded Columbus the same year.

What was the Protestant Reformation?

Movement against Catholic Church starting in 1517; led to Catholic-Protestant wars.

How did religion motivate exploration?

Both Catholics & Protestants wanted to spread Christianity abroad.

Why did Europeans seek new trade routes?

Desire for Asian luxury goods (spices, silk, porcelain).

Who was Vasco da Gama?

Portuguese explorer; reached India around Africa (1498).

What was Columbus trying to find?

A shorter westward route to Asia.

What is a nation-state?

A country with common culture, loyalty, and central gov’t.

Examples of early nation-states?

Spain, Portugal, England, France, Netherlands.

Why did monarchs support exploration?

For wealth (taxes from trade) and religious legitimacy.

What was the Line of Demarcation (1493)?

Pope gave Spain lands west of line, Portugal east.

What was the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)?

Moved line west → Portugal claimed Brazil; Spain got the rest.

Why did other nations reject this?

England, France, Netherlands later challenged Spain/Portugal’s dominance.

Who funded Columbus?

Ferdinand & Isabella of Spain.

When did Columbus reach the Americas?

October 12, 1492 → landed in Bahamas.

Why is Columbus controversial?

Heroic navigator vs. conqueror who enslaved/abused natives.

What replaced feudalism?

Capitalism — wealth based on trade, money, and production.

What were joint-stock companies?

Businesses where investors shared risk/cost → encouraged exploration.

How did New World wealth fuel capitalism?

Silver/gold and crops (sugar, tobacco) expanded global trade.

Who was Cortés?

Conquered Aztecs (1521).

Who was Pizarro?

Conquered Incas (1533).

What was the encomienda system?

Land grants + native labor for Spanish colonists.

How did Spanish wealth change Europe?

Gold & silver → Spain richest kingdom in 16th c.

What was the Spanish caste system?

Social hierarchy by race/heritage.

Who were at the top?

Peninsulares (born in Spain).

Who were at the bottom?

Pure Native Americans & Africans.

What groups were in between?

Creoles, mestizos (Spanish + Native), mulattos (Spanish + African).

How did Europeans generally view Native Americans?

Inferior, to be exploited for labor, conversion, or alliances.

How did European treatment vary?

Spain = subjugation; English = expulsion; French = alliances.

Who was Bartolomé de Las Casas?

Spanish priest; advocated for natives; helped pass New Laws of 1542.

What were the New Laws of 1542?

Ended Indian slavery & encomienda system (partially repealed later).

What was the Valladolid Debate (1550–51)?

Las Casas: natives = fully human; Sepúlveda: natives inferior, should serve Spaniards.

How did early English colonists interact with natives?

Initially traded (corn, hunting methods), later conflicts over land.

Why was marriage rare between English & natives?

English families migrated, unlike Spanish single men.

How did English policy differ from Spanish?

Expelled natives instead of enslaving them.

Why did French colonists come to America?

Fur trade & spread of Catholicism.

How did French treat natives?

As allies for trade & war (esp. with Hurons vs. Iroquois).

Why were French less threatening?

Few settlers, no large farms or towns.

How did natives resist European power?

Alliances (with French/English/Spanish), migration, and warfare.

Why was resistance often weak?

Strong tribal identity prevented a unified front.

What happened over time?

Native groups slowly developed a shared identity as “Native Americans.”

What agricultural skills did Africans bring?

Rice cultivation (important in SC & Louisiana).

What cultural contributions did Africans make?

Music, rhythms, call-and-response, banjo.

How did Europeans justify slavery?

Biblical passages → later argued racial inferiority.