Chapter 2 - The American Yawp

What was the Columbian Exchange?

A transformative exchange between the Old World and the New World that included the transfer of diseases, food, and cultures.

What were the contrasting outcomes of the Columbian Exchange for the Americas and Europe?

New diseases devastated Native American populations, while Europe experienced a population boom due to the introduction of nutrient-rich foodstuffs.

Which European country benefited most immediately from the wealth of the Aztec and Incan Empires?

Spain.

What was the impact of Spain's newfound wealth on its position in Europe?

Spain gained an advantage over other European nations, which was soon contested by Portugal, France, the Netherlands, and England.

How did Native peoples respond to European visitors during the Columbian Exchange?

Responses ranged from welcoming cooperation to aggressive violence.

What major event marked the beginning of an age of colonization in the Americas?

The Columbian Exchange and the subsequent establishment of European settlements.

Who was Juan Ponce de León and what did he discover?

He arrived in La Florida in 1513 and found between 150,000 and 300,000 Native Americans.

What factors led to the decimation of Florida's Indigenous population?

Contact with European and African peoples through war, slave raids, and foreign disease.

What was the encomienda system?

A system granting Spanish settlers the right to extract labor from Native Americans.

What was the significance of the mission system in Florida during the 1630s?

It extended into the Apalachee district, promoting settlement and religious conversion.

What crops did the Apalachee tribe grow?

An abundance of corn and other crops.

What was the Camino Real?

The royal road that connected the western anchor of the mission system with St. Augustine.

What was the extent of Spain's territorial reach in Florida at the dawn of the seventeenth century?

From the mouth of the St. Johns River south to the environs of St. Augustine, covering roughly 1,000 square miles.

What happened during Juan de Oñate's expedition to New Mexico in 1598?

He led settlers and soldiers into New Mexico and brutally sacked the Pueblo city of Acoma, killing nearly half of its inhabitants.

What was the fate of the French Protestants, known as Huguenots, in Florida during the 1560s?

They were expelled by Spain from the area near modern-day Jacksonville.

What role did missionaries play in Spanish Florida?

They were granted the right to live among Native villagers and were part of the efforts to establish control.

What was the outcome of Spanish colonization efforts in Florida?

Spain held Florida tenuously despite establishing settlements and ranches.

What was the significance of St. Augustine in Spanish Florida?

It was one of the earliest European settlements in the Americas and a focal point for Spanish control.

How did the Spanish attempt to establish control in Florida?

By duplicating methods used previously in Mexico, the Caribbean, and the Andes.

What was the demographic impact of European contact on Florida's Indigenous peoples?

A significant decline in population due to disease and conflict.

What was the primary goal of Spanish expeditions in the Americas?

To establish religious and economic dominance in new territories.

What brutal order did Oñate give to surviving males over age fifteen?

One foot was to be cut off every surviving male over age fifteen.

When was Santa Fe established and what significance does it hold?

Santa Fe was established in 1610 as the first permanent European settlement in the Southwest.

Why did few Spaniards relocate to the Southwest?

The distance from Mexico City and the dry, hostile environment made relocation difficult.

What was the population of Spanish New Mexico by 1680?

About three thousand colonists.

How did the Puebloan population change from 1600 to 1680?

It plummeted from as many as sixty thousand in 1600 to about seventeen thousand in 1680.

What strategy did Spain shift to for colonization in North America?

Spain shifted to establishing missions as the engine of colonization.

Which religious order primarily established missions in North America?

The Franciscan religious order.

What role did Catholicism play in Spanish colonization?

Catholicism justified Spanish conquest and carried religious imperatives for colonization.

What did Spanish friars accomplish by the early seventeenth century?

They established dozens of missions along the Rio Grande and in California.

What was the impact of the Reformation on European powers contesting Spain?

It threw England and France into turmoil, draining resources and lives.

What inspired European monarchs to invest in exploration and conquest?

The Spanish exploitation of New Spain's riches and reports of Spanish atrocities.

What was the title of the English reprint of Bartolomé de Las Casas' writings?

"Popery Truly Display'd in its Bloody Colours: Or, a Faithful Narrative of the Horrid and Unexampled Massacres, Butcheries, and all manners of Cruelties that Hell and Malice could invent, committed by the Popish Spanish."

How did English writers describe the Native Americans in relation to Spanish exploitation?

They described them as simple and plain men who lived without great labor, but were forced into slavery by the Spaniards.

What was the 'Black Legend' in the context of Spanish colonization?

A narrative that drew on religious differences and political rivalries, portraying Spain as barbaric.

What did English writers argue about the Spanish conquests?

They argued that Spanish barbarities were foiling the opportunity for the expansion of Christianity.

What was the French crown's focus in exploration during the early sixteenth century?

They subsidized exploration seeking a fabled Northwest Passage to Asia.

What did early French explorers believe the St. Lawrence River could be?

They believed it could be a passage to Asia, stretching deep into the continent.

What economic motives accompanied the religious justifications for rival nations arriving in the New World?

The desire for wealth and resources from the New World.

What was the condition of Europe as Spain plundered the New World?

Unrest plagued Europe due to the Reformation and long conflicts.

How did the Spanish respond to their critics regarding their treatment of Native Americans?

They accused their critics of fostering the 'Black Legend'.

What was the effect of Spanish atrocities on European perceptions of colonization?

They provided a humanitarian justification for European colonization.

What was the population of the Puebloan peoples by 1680?

About seventeen thousand.

What did the Spanish missions serve as in North America?

They served as an advance guard for Spain's colonization efforts.

What was the primary focus of French colonial possessions in North America?

French colonial possessions centered on trade, particularly the fur trade, and extended down the Mississippi River to New Orleans.

What role did private trading companies play in French colonization?

French colonization developed through investment from private trading companies, which established trading posts like Port Royal in Acadia.

Who founded Quebec and when?

Quebec was founded in 1608 under the leadership of Samuel de Champlain.

How did French fur traders approach relationships with Indigenous peoples?

French fur traders valued cooperation with Indigenous peoples over establishing dominance, as it was crucial for accessing skilled Native American trappers.

What was the impact of the 1685 criminalization of Protestantism in France on emigration?

Persecuted French Protestants (Huguenots) sought to emigrate, but all non-Catholics were forbidden in New France.

What was the French preference regarding settlement and trade?

The French preferred trade over permanent settlement, leading to more cooperative relationships with Native Americans compared to the Spanish and English.

How did Jesuit missionaries differ from Spanish Franciscans in their approach to Indigenous peoples?

Jesuit missionaries lived alongside Indigenous peoples and adopted different conversion strategies, unlike Spanish Franciscans who brought Natives into enclosed missions.

What term did the French develop for the children of Native American women and French men?

The French developed the term Métis(sage) for the offspring of Native American women and French men.

What was the relationship between the Huron people and the French?

The Huron developed a close relationship with the French, converting to Christianity and engaging in the fur trade, but suffered from European diseases and conflicts.

What was the 'middle ground' created by Algonquian-speaking peoples and the French?

The 'middle ground' was a cross-cultural space allowing for interaction, negotiation, and accommodation between Native peoples and Europeans.

What pressures led Algonquian-speaking peoples to seek French territory?

Pressure from the powerful Iroquois in the East pushed many Algonquian-speaking peoples toward French territory.

How did Dutch women differ legally from women in other European nations?

Dutch women maintained separate legal identities from their husbands, allowing them to hold property and inherit estates.

What was the significance of the Netherlands breaking away from the Hapsburgs in 1581?

The Netherlands gained a reputation as one of the freest new European nations, achieving considerable colonial success.

What was the Dutch approach to religious tolerance during the Reformation?

The Dutch embraced greater religious tolerance and freedom of the press, attracting various religious groups, including Radical Protestants, Catholics, and Jews.

Where did the English Pilgrims flee before sailing to the New World?

The English Pilgrims initially fled to the Netherlands before their journey to the New World.

What was the primary economic system that the Dutch utilized to build their colonial empire?

The Dutch were advanced capitalists and created innovative financial organizations such as the Amsterdam Stock Exchange and the Dutch East India Company.

What was the role of slavery in the Dutch colonial empire?

Slavery was essential to Dutch capitalist triumphs, as the Dutch advanced the slave trade and brought enslaved Africans to the New World.

Who did the Dutch commission in 1609 to discover the Northwest Passage?

The Dutch commissioned the Englishman Henry Hudson.

What significant river did Henry Hudson discover, and what did he claim for the Dutch?

Henry Hudson discovered the Hudson River and claimed modern-day New York for the Dutch.

What was New Netherland?

New Netherland was an essential part of the Dutch New World empire established in the area of modern-day New York.

What company did the Netherlands charter in 1621 to establish colonies?

The Dutch West India Company.

What was the purpose of the patroon system implemented by the West India Company?

The patroon system granted large estates to wealthy landlords who paid for tenants to work their land, encouraging colonization.

How did the Dutch approach land transactions with Native Americans?

Colony leaders insisted that land be purchased, as illustrated by Peter Minuit's purchase of Manhattan from the Munsee people.

What was wampum and its significance in trade?

Wampum consisted of shell beads valued as a ceremonial and diplomatic commodity, used as currency to trade for goods like beaver pelts.

How did the Dutch's economic activities affect their relations with Native Americans?

Expanding Dutch settlements led to deteriorating relations with local Native Americans, resulting in armed conflicts over land.

What was the impact of labor shortages on Dutch colonization efforts?

Labor shortages crippled Dutch colonization, as the patroon system failed to attract enough tenants and indentured servants.

What role did enslaved people play in the development of New Amsterdam?

Enslaved laborers were tasked with building New Amsterdam, including roads and a defensive wall, and maintaining its port.

What was the Dutch perspective on colonization compared to the Spanish?

The Dutch sought to profit rather than conquer and aimed to avoid Spanish atrocities by fashioning guidelines for their colonies.

What was the significance of the Iroquois in Dutch colonial trade?

The Dutch retained valuable alliances with the Iroquois to maintain Beverwijck as a hub for the fur trade.

What was the Black Legend and how did it influence Dutch colonization?

The Black Legend referred to the negative portrayal of Spanish colonial practices, influencing the Dutch to adopt a more peaceful approach to colonization.

What was the economic activity that became central to New Netherland?

Trade with Native peoples became the central economic activity of New Netherland.

In what year did Peter Minuit purchase Manhattan, and from whom?

Peter Minuit purchased Manhattan in 1626 from the Munsee people.

What were the consequences of the Dutch settlers' increasing demand for land?

The increasing demand for land led to armed conflicts as colonial settlements encroached on Native villages and hunting lands.

How did the Dutch view Native peoples' rights according to Hugo Grotius?

The Dutch believed that Native peoples possessed the same natural rights as Europeans, as influenced by legal philosopher Hugo Grotius.

What was the initial intention behind the Dutch colonization of New Netherland?

The Dutch aimed for a more peaceful process of colonization compared to other European powers.

What was the significance of the island of Manhattan for the Dutch?

Manhattan served as a launching pad to support Caribbean colonies and attack Spanish trade.

What were the limitations of Dutch liberties in their colonies?

Despite offering liberties, the Dutch provided very little democracy, with power concentrated in the hands of a few.

What was the economic relationship between Dutch traders and Native Americans?

Dutch traders exchanged wampum for beaver pelts along Native trade routes, establishing a trade network.

What led the Dutch to import enslaved women in New Amsterdam?

Fears of racial mixing.

When did the first African marriage occur in the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam?

In 1641.

How many enslaved Africans were in New Amsterdam by 1650?

At least five hundred.

What was significant about New Amsterdam by 1660?

It had the largest urban enslaved population on the continent.

How did Dutch slavery in New Amsterdam differ from later American slavery systems?

It was less comprehensively exploitative; some enslaved Africans could sue for back wages.

What was 'half freedom' in the context of New Amsterdam?

A status allowing enslaved people to work their own land in exchange for paying a tithe to their enslavers.

What happened to the children of 'half-free' laborers in New Amsterdam?

They remained held in bondage by the West India Company.

What cultural and religious objections did some New Netherlanders have regarding slavery?

They protested the enslavement of Christianized Africans.

What treaty divided the New World between Spain and Portugal?

The Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494.

What did the Treaty of Tordesillas dictate regarding land claims?

Land east of the Tordesillas Meridian was given to Portugal, and land west was reserved for Spain.

What industries powered early colonial Brazil?

Sugar and the slave trade.

Which country enslaved more Africans than any other colony in the Atlantic World?

Brazil.

What was the role of Jesuit missionaries in Brazil?

They brought Christianity to Brazil.

What unique religious culture emerged in Brazil?

A mix of African and Native spirituality with orthodox Catholicism.

What were quilombos in Brazil?

Free settlements created by escaped enslaved individuals and Natives.

What caused high mortality rates on sugar plantations in Brazil?

The brutal conditions and demands of sugar production.

What was the impact of the Spanish Armada's destruction by the end of the sixteenth century?

It marked the decline of Spanish dominance in the New World.

What was the main reason for the rivalry between Spain and Portugal in the New World?

The competition for colonial supremacy and wealth from the New World.