AI: Outline notes for the time period 1491 - 1607 in American history

• 1491: Native American societies are diverse and complex, with different cultures, languages, and political structures.

• 1492: Christopher Columbus arrives in the Caribbean, beginning European exploration and colonization of the Americas.

• 1513: Juan Ponce de León explores Florida, the first recorded European contact with what is now the United States.

• 1565: Spanish establish St. Augustine, the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in what is now the United States.

• 1585: English attempt to establish a colony at Roanoke Island, but it fails.

• 1607: English establish Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in what is now the United States.

Key Concepts

• On a North American continent controlled by American Indians, contact among the peoples of Europe, the Americas, and West Africa created a new world.

• Before the arrival of Europeans, native populations in North America developed a wide variety of social, political and economic structures based in part on interactions with the environment and each other

  • As settlers migrated and settled across the vast expanse of North America over time, they developed quite different and increasingly complex societies by adapting to and transforming their diverse environments

• European overseas expansion resulted in the Columbian Exchange, a series of interactions and adaptations, among societies across the Atlantic

  • The arrival of Europeans in the Western Hemisphere in the 15th and 16th centuries triggered extensive demographic and social changes on both sides of the Atlantic

  • European expansion into the Western Hemisphere caused intense social/religious, political, and economic competition in Europe and the promotion of empire building

• Contacts among American Indians, Africans and Europeans challenged the world views of each group

  • European overseas expansion and sustained contacts with Africans and American Indians dramatically altered European views of social, political, and economic relationships among and between white and nonwhite peoples

  • Native peoples and Africans in the Americas strove to maintain their political and cultural autonomy in the face of European challenges to their independence and core beliefs

Chapter 1: New World Beginnings

Consider the following questions:

• Concept 1

  • How did native populations in North America develop complex societies based on their interactions with the environment and each other?

    • Settlers migrated across North America over time and developed complex societies by adapting to and transforming their environments

  • How did maize cultivation in present-day Mexico and the America Southwest and a mix of foraging and hunting in the Northwest and parts of California support economic development and social diversification among native societies?

    • Maize cultivation in present-day Mexico and the American Southwest supported economic development and social diversification

  • Why did native populations in the Great Basin and western Great Plains develop mobile lifestyles?

    • The lack of natural resources in the Great Basin and western Great Plains caused Native American societies to develop largely mobile lifestyles

• Concept 2

  • How did European overseas expansion lead to the Columbian Exchange?

    • European overseas expansion resulted in the Columbian exchange (a series of interactions and adaptations among societies across the Atlantic)

  • How Spanish and Portuguese exploration and conquest of the Americas led to widespread deadly epidemics, the emergence of racially mixed populations, and a caste system?

    • Spanish and Portuguese exploration and conquest led to widespread deadly epidemics, emergence of racially mixed populations, and a caste system

  • How Spanish and Portuguese traders joined with some West Africans to recruit slave labor for the Americas

    • Introduction of new crops and livestock by the Spanish had far-reaching effects on native settlement patterns and economic, social, and political development in the Western Hemisphere

  • How was European exploration and conquest motivated by a desire for new sources of wealth, increased power and status, and converts to Christianity?

    • New crops from the Americas stimulated European population growth

  • How did new sources of mineral wealth from the Americas assist the European shift from feudalism to capitalism?

    • New sources of mineral wealth facilitated the European shift from feudalism to capitalism

• Concept 3

  • How did poor understanding of Native Americans on the part of the Spanish and Portuguese lead to debates about how to treat them?

    • Contacts among Native American Indians, Africans, and Europeans challenged the world-views of each group

    • Spanish and Portuguese explorers poorly understood the Native Americans and had debates over how to treat and “civilize” them

  • How European attempts to change Native American beliefs and world-views led to resistance and conflict

    • Many Europeans developed a belief in white superiority to justify treatment of Africans and Native Americans

    • Native Americans strove to maintain their political and cultural autonomy in the face of European challenges to their independence and core beliefs