APUSH Period 1 1492-1607

Pre-Columbian Societies

Diverse Native American cultures existed across North America with distinct social, political, and economic structures.

Environmental Adaptation

Native American groups developed agricultural techniques and complex societies based on their environments.

Motivations for Exploration

Europeans sought new trade routes, wealth, and religious converts driven by Gold, Glory, and God.

Christopher Columbus

Explorer who reached the Caribbean in 1492, initiating the Columbian Exchange.

Hernán Cortés

Conqueror of the Aztec Empire between 1519 and 1521.

Francisco Pizarro

Conqueror of the Inca Empire between 1532 and 1533.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of goods, ideas, people, and diseases between the Old World and the New World after Columbus's voyages.

Impact on the Americas

Introduction of horses, cattle, pigs, and diseases like smallpox that devastated Native populations.

Impact on Europe

Introduction of new crops such as potatoes and maize, leading to population growth.

Atlantic Slave Trade

The forced migration of millions of Africans to the Americas due to labor demand.

Spanish Empire

Established a vast empire in the Americas, extracting wealth through mining and agriculture.

Encomienda System

A labor system allowing Spanish landowners to use Native American labor in exchange for Christian conversion.

Bartolomé de las Casas

Spanish priest who advocated for Native American rights and criticized their mistreatment.

Mestizo Population

A mixed-race population that emerged from intermarriage between Europeans and Native Americans.

Syncretism

The blending of Native American and European religious practices, particularly in Catholicism.

French Exploration

Focused on the fur trade and established cooperative relations with Native Americans.

English Exploration

Aimed at establishing colonies in North America, with significant efforts beginning after 1607.

West African Societies

Complex social structures and extensive trade existed in West African kingdoms before European contact.

Demographic Collapse

Diseases like smallpox caused significant population declines among Native Americans.

Resistance and Adaptation

Native American groups either resisted colonization or adapted by forming alliances and adopting technologies.

Key Concept 1.1

Native populations in North America developed diverse social, political, and economic structures before European arrival.

Key Concept 1.2

European expansion led to the Columbian Exchange, resulting in interactions and adaptations among societies.

Key Concept 1.3

Contacts among American Indians, Africans, and Europeans challenged the worldviews of each group.

Important Document 1491

Highlights the complexity and diversity of pre-Columbian societies before Columbus's arrival.

Important Event 1492

Columbus's first voyage, marking the beginning of sustained contact between the Old and New Worlds.

Important Event 1607

Establishment of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in North America.