The Americas, Europe, and Africa Before 1492 - Comprehensive Notes

The Americas, Europe, and Africa Before 1492

Introduction

Globalization isn't new; it sped up when Western Europeans found Eastern riches.
During the Crusades (1095–1291), Europeans desired Eastern spices, silk, porcelain, sugar, etc.
They traded fur, timber, and Slavic captives (slaves).
The Silk Road became risky/expensive, so Europeans sought sea routes, creating the "Atlantic World."
Searching for Asian commerce, 15th-century traders found a populated "New World." They mistakenly called inhabitants "Indians" believing they were in the East Indies.
West Africa was exploited for the slave trade to the New World.
Europeans couldn't dominate the New World without Africans and native peoples.

The Americas

Some theorize a land bridge, Beringia, existed between Asia & North America (9,000-15,000 years ago).
The first Americans migrated across Beringia for food.
Glaciers melted, Beringia was submerged, forming the Bering Strait.
Later settlers arrived by boat.
Genetic markers on the Y chromosome of Asians and American Indians supports migration theory.
Settlers moved southward, populating North and South America.
They developed unique cultures, such as the urban Aztec civilization in Mexico City, and the woodland tribes of eastern North America.
Recent South American research suggests coastal migration by water.
Around 10,000 years ago, humans domesticated plants/animals, adding agriculture to hunting/gathering.
Agriculture led to larger populations and permanent settlements.
Mesoamerica was a prime example of this development.

The First Americans: The Olmec

Mesoamerica stretches from north of Panama to central Mexico's desert.
The region had diverse topography, languages, and cultures, but shared similar characteristics.
Mesoamericans were polytheistic with male and female gods, demanding blood sacrifices.
Corn (maize), domesticated by 5000 BCE, was a dietary staple.
They developed a mathematical system, built edifices, and created an accurate calendar.
They created the only known written language in the Western Hemisphere.
Long-distance trade helped diffuse culture, including obsidian weapons, jade jewelry, cacao beans (chocolate).
The Olmec civilization (1200-400 BCE) was the mother of Mesoamerican cultures, flourishing along Mexico's Gulf Coast.
They produced art, architecture, pottery, and sculptures, including giant head sculptures and the La Venta pyramid.
Olmec aqueducts supplied water and irrigation.
They cultivated maize, squash, beans, and tomatoes and raised domesticated dogs for protein.
The Olmec's fate after 400 BCE is unknown, but their culture influenced the Maya and Aztec.
The Olmec worshipped a rain god, a maize god, and the feathered serpent (Quetzalcoatl for Aztecs, Kukulkan for Maya).
They also developed a trade system, leading to an elite class.

The Maya

After the Olmec decline, Teotihuacan became a major city in Mesoamerica's central highlands.
It was a large pre-Columbian population center with over 100,000 people around 500 CE, located near modern Mexico City.
Its inhabitants' ethnicity is debated, possibly multiethnic.
Agriculture allowed specialization in trades and skills.
Over 2,200 apartment compounds and over 100 temples were constructed, including the Pyramid of the Sun and Pyramid of the Moon.
Graves near the Temple of the Feathered Serpent suggest human sacrifices.
The city was a trade center connected to the Gulf Coast.
The Maya had strong ties to Teotihuacan and made significant architectural and mathematical contributions.
They flourished from 2000 BCE to 900 CE in Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala.
The Maya improved the Olmec calendar and writing system.
They devised a mathematical system for recording crop yields, population size, and trade.
They built city-states like Copan, Tikal, and Chichen Itza along trade routes.
They also constructed temples, statues, pyramids, and astronomical observatories.
Due to poor soil and a long drought, their civilization declined around 900 CE.
The Spanish met weak Mayan resistance in the 1520s and found Mayan history in glyphs recorded in codices (folding books).
In 1562, Bishop Diego de Landa burned most codices, fearing natives reverted to traditional religion; only a few survive.

The Aztec

In the 16th century, Hernán Cortés landed in Mexico and heard of Tenochtitlán, a wealthy city ruled by Emperor Moctezuma.
The city took tribute from surrounding tribes.
The Aztec (Mexica) migrated from Aztlán and began building Tenochtitlán in 1325 on an island in Lake Texcoco.
By 1519, it had over 200,000 residents, larger than any European city.
Tenochtitlán was well-planned, clean, and orderly, unlike European cities.
The city had specialized neighborhoods, trash collection, markets, aqueducts, and public buildings.
The Aztecs bathed daily, and wealthy homes had steam baths.
Slaves from conquered tribes built the city and causeways.
To farm, Aztecs created chinampas (floating gardens) irrigated by lake water, still used today in Xochimilco.
Each Aztec god represented aspects of the natural world.
Warrior nobles and priests practiced daily human sacrifice to sustain the sun, appease gods, and promote agriculture.
Sacrifice involved cutting open the chest of a victim with an obsidian knife and removing the heart.

The Inca

The Inca had the most advanced society in South America.
Their name means "lord" or "ruler" in Quechua.
The Inca Empire (15th-16th centuries) stretched 2,500 miles along the Pacific coast and the Andes Mountains.
Cities were built at high altitudes (14,000 feet above sea level).
Their road system rivaled Rome's, facilitating communication and army movement.
They built stepped roads for pedestrians due to the impracticality of wheeled vehicles.
Runners (chasquis) ensured quick communication.
They lacked a writing system but used quipu (colored strings and knots) for record-keeping.
The Inca people worshipped their lord, who held absolute authority.
The ruling class lived off peasant labor, accumulating wealth for the afterlife.
They farmed corn, beans, squash, quinoa, and potatoes on terraced land.
Peasants received one-third of their crops; the ruler and a welfare system received the rest.
Storehouses held food for times of need.
Peasants performed the mita (labor tax) on public works projects.
The ruler provided laws, protection, and famine relief.
The Inca worshipped the sun god Inti and considered gold the "sweat" of the sun.
They rarely practiced human sacrifice, offering food, clothing, and coca leaves, except in emergencies.
Children were the ultimate sacrifice, believed to go to a better afterlife.
In 1911, Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu, built around 1450 and abandoned a century later.
It was likely used for religious ceremonies and housed priests.
The city's architecture is unmatched, using polished stones fitted without mortar.
In 1983, UNESCO named it a World Heritage Site.

North American Indians

North American native cultures were more dispersed than those of the Maya, Aztec, and Inca.
They had smaller populations and less organized social structures.
Many Indians still practiced hunting and gathering, with corn cultivation spreading north.
Horses, introduced by the Spanish, aided Plains Indians in hunting bison.
Some societies were complex but declining by Columbus's arrival.
The Pueblo peoples of the southwestern U.S. lived in stone-and-mud villages.
The main groups were the Mogollon, Hohokam, and Anasazi.
The Mogollon (150 BCE - 1450 CE) painted bowls with geometric figures and wildlife.
The Hohokam (from 600 CE) built irrigation systems, supporting large populations and decorated pottery with red-on-buff designs and turquoise jewelry.
The Anasazi carved homes from cliffs, accessed by ropes or ladders.
Roads connected Pueblo urban centers to Chaco Canyon, becoming the administrative center by 1050 CE.
Drought likely caused the abandonment of these cities a century later.
The Hopi and Zuni tribes are their descendants.
The Hopewell culture of the Ohio River Valley (1st - 4th century CE) lived in small hamlets and practiced agriculture, supplemented by hunting and fishing.
They traded from Canada to Louisiana, exchanging shells, copper, and obsidian, and created necklaces, mats, and carvings.
Their burial mounds and earthworks remain.
Archaeological finds suggest social stratification.
Cahokia, near modern St. Louis, was a major cultural center along the Mississippi River.
Around 1100 CE, it covered five square miles with over ten thousand residents and contained 120 mounds.
Each mound housed a leader with authority over the area.
It was a hub for politics and trade but declined after 1300 CE, potentially due to overpopulation.

Indians of the Eastern Woodland

English, Dutch, and French explorers sought wealth in North America but found small communities ravaged by European diseases.
They discovered land, timber, and fur instead of gold and silver.
Indians east of the Mississippi lived in small, autonomous clans or tribes that adapted to their environments.
These groups were not unified, and warfare was common.
A chief or elders made decisions (usually male, but women advised them).
Gender roles were less rigid than in Europe or Meso/South America.
Women cultivated crops and gathered nuts and berries, while men hunted, fished, and provided protection.
Both were responsible for raising children, and most major eastern societies were matriarchal.
In tribes like the Iroquois, Lenape, Muscogee, and Cherokee, women had power and influence, advising chiefs and preserving traditions.
This matriarchy changed with European arrival, who forcibly introduced their customs.
Conflicts arose over land ownership and resource use.
Indians claimed hunting grounds but didn't practice private land ownership.
Europeans viewed land as wealth and believed they could take it freely.

Europe on the Brink of Change

The Middle Ages extend from the fall of the Roman Empire (476 CE) to the European Renaissance (late 14th century).
Europe lacked centralized power, leading to political/military conflict.
People retreated into walled cities due to pillagers (Vikings, Mongols, Arabs, Magyars).
They submitted to lords for protection.
Few traveled far from their birthplace.
The Christian Church remained unified and powerful.
Priests preserved knowledge by copying manuscripts with artwork.
The bubonic plague (Black Death) arrived in the 1340s, killing about one-third of Europe's population.
Entire villages disappeared.
A high birth rate and good harvests caused population growth in the next century.
By 1450, a rejuvenated European society was nearing significant change.

Life in Feudal Europe

Most Europeans lived in small villages with a manor house/castle, a church, and homes for peasants/serfs (60% of the population).
Feudal society was a mutually supportive system.
Lords owned the land.
Knights provided military service and justice.
Serfs worked the land for protection.
Land was initially communally farmed, but lords extended ownership and rented land.
Serfs were bound to the land, supporting themselves, their families, and the lord.
The Catholic Church owned land and collected tithes (10% of earnings) and rents, becoming wealthy.
A serf's life was difficult.
Women often died in childbirth, and many children died before age five.
Without sanitation or medicine, diseases were deadly, and few lived past forty-five.
Families lived in small, cold, dark, dirty hovels.
Fires were dangerous and smoke affected health.
People owned few clothes and bathed rarely.
Seasons dictated life in an agrarian society.
Everyone worked hard, and idleness meant hunger.
In spring, peasants tilled the soil and planted crops.
Bad weather, disease, or insects could cause starvation.
In early summer, hay was harvested for winter animal feed.
Men and boys sheared sheep, and women spun wool into yarn.
In fall, crops were harvested and prepared for winter, livestock was butchered and preserved, and people celebrated and gave thanks.
In winter, people wove fabric, sewed clothing, threshed grain, and kept fires burning, and celebrated Christmas.

The Church and Society

After Rome's fall, the Christian Church was the only organized institution in medieval Europe.
In 1054, the eastern branch of Christianity, led by the Patriarch of Constantinople, established its center in Constantinople and adopted Greek.
The western branch, under the Pope, remained in Rome, becoming the Roman Catholic Church and using Latin.
After the Great Schism, each branch had a hierarchy.
The Roman Church was the most powerful international organization.
Village and family life revolved around the Church.
Sacraments marked life stages and brought people to church.
Christianity replaced pagan views, explaining events in its terms.
A benevolent God controlled events, warring against the Devil.
Events had spiritual meaning (e.g., sickness as sin).
Penitents confessed sins to priests, who assigned penance.
The parish priest held power over parishioners.
The Pope decided theology and temporal matters.
The Church could excommunicate people, so monarchs feared challenging it.
It was the seat of knowledge, and Latin unified isolated regions.
Serfs relied on priests to interpret the Bible.

Christianity Encounters Islam

In 622, Muhammad received a revelation near Mecca, founding Islam.
The Koran affirmed monotheism but viewed Christ as a prophet, not God.
After Muhammad's death in 632, Islam spread through conversion and conquest across the Middle East, Asia Minor, India, and North Africa, reaching Spain in 711.
Islamic conquest in Europe ended in 732 at the Battle of Tours, led by Charles Martel.
Muslims retained control of much of Spain, where Córdoba became a major center of learning and trade.
The Reconquista (reconquest) began to slowly push Muslims from Spain.
This was part of the conflict between Christians and Muslims for the Holy Land (Palestine), known as the Crusades.

Jerusalem and the Crusades

Jerusalem is holy to Jews, Christians, and Muslims.
King Solomon built the Temple there.
The Romans crucified Jesus there, and Christians believe he ascended into heaven.
Muslims believe Muhammad traveled to heaven from there.
The three religions coexisted for centuries.
In 1095, European Christians sought to retake the city and the Holy Lands from Muslims, initiating the Crusades.
Knights were motivated by religious zeal, adventure, land acquisition, and forgiveness of sins.
Crusaders retook Jerusalem in 1099, resulting in slaughter.
In 1187, Saladin's Muslim forces retook the city,
Richard I (the Lionheart) led another action.
The battle for the Holy Lands concluded in 1291 when Crusaders lost their stronghold at Acre.
The Crusades had positive and negative effects.
Negative: Persecution of Jews began, hatred between Muslims and Christians grew, intolerance increased.
Positive: Maritime trade between East and West expanded.
Desire for Eastern goods created new markets.
Venice prospered from trade with Islamic merchants along the Silk Road.
Finding a direct water route to the East was needed.
Sailors also sought a route to the Spice Islands, kept secret by Muslim rulers.
Rivals of Venice, Genoa and Florence also looked west.

The Iberian Peninsula

Norse explorers, like Leif Ericson, reached Canada before Columbus.
Portuguese and Spanish explorers initiated an age of exploration and contact with North America.
Portugal, with Lisbon, became a trade center, undermining Venice's hold.
Prince Henry "the Navigator" fostered exploration of western Africa.
Portuguese sailors used caravels (lighter ships) and triangular sails.
In 1469, King Ferdinand of Aragon married Queen Isabella of Castile, uniting Spain.
Isabella initiated the Inquisition in 1480 to eliminate Jews, Muslims, and heretics.
They centralized authority and funded exploration and trade.
Their daughter, Catherine of Aragon, married King Henry VIII of England.

Motives for European Exploration

Historians recognize three motives: God, glory, and gold.
Spain and Portugal sought to convert people to Christianity and reclaim land from Muslims.
Prince Henry wanted to spread the Christian faith.
Tales of monsters, exotic worlds, gold, silver, and jewels motivated explorers.
Marco Polo's Travels inspired Columbus.
In 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella completed the Reconquista and expelled unconverted Jews from Spain.
Christopher Columbus persuaded them to fund his voyage to the Far East.
Isabella wanted to spread Christianity, and Ferdinand sought wealth.
Most knew the Earth was round, making Columbus's plan plausible, though he underestimated its circumference.
In August 1492, Columbus sailed with three caravels.
After six weeks, he landed on an island in the Bahamas and named it San Salvador.

West Africa and the Role of Slavery

West Africa, vital to the Atlantic World, extends from Mauritania to the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
It included rainforests, savannas, and drier lands.
Until about 600 CE, Africans were hunter-gatherers.
Herders maintained animals where water was scarce.
Farmers grew yams, palm products, or plantains in wooded areas and rice, millet, and sorghum in savannas.
Sub-Saharan Africans had little maritime experience.
Most lived inland, connected to the coast by major rivers.
Most West Africans lived in villages and identified with their families or clans.
Wives, children, and dependents (including slaves) signified wealth.
Polygyny was common.
Relatives assisted in supplying food or security.
Clannish society distinguished between "we" (family) and "they" (everyone else).
Hundreds of dialects emerged, with nearly five hundred still spoken in Nigeria.

The Major African Empires

After Muhammad's death in 632 CE, Islam spread across North Africa, bringing faith, politics, and law.
Muslim armies instituted Islamic rule as local chieftains converted.
Only Muslims could rule or trade.
The Ghana Empire was the first major West African empire by 750.
The Soninke farmers taxed trade passing through their area.
The Niger River basin supplied gold to Berber and Arab traders, who brought cloth, weapons, and goods.
Saharan salt mines supplied minerals to the Mediterranean coast and inland areas.
By 900, Muslims controlled trade and converted elites.
Most maintained tribal animistic practices.
Ghana's king controlled gold and maintained a strong military.
By 1200 CE, Mali replaced Ghana under Sundiata Keita.
Miners discovered new gold deposits east of the Niger River.
In the 14th century, Mansu Musa's hajj to Mecca caused price inflation with his gold gifts.
Timbuktu became an Islamic center for education, commerce, and the slave trade.
In the east, Gao strengthened under Sonni Ali and eclipsed Mali.
Timbuktu sought Ali's help against the Tuaregs.
By 1500, the Tuareg empire of Songhay supplanted Mali.

The Role of Slavery

Slavery is an old institution, with most civilizations practicing it.
African empires were no different.
Famine or enemies might force one tribe to seek aid from another.
Those seeking protection became servants like European serfs.
Debt was also worked off through servitude.
Servants typically joined the tribal family.
Chattel slavery existed in the Nile Valley.
There was a slave trade route through the Sahara to Rome.
Arab slave trading exchanged slaves for goods from the Mediterranean, existing before Islam's spread.
Muslims expanded the trade, enslaving Africans and Europeans.
Male captives built fortifications and served as galley slaves; women joined harems.
The major European slave trade began with Portugal's exploration of Africa for an Eastern trade route.
By 1444, slaves worked on Madeiran sugar plantations.
The slave trade expanded as New World colonies needed workers for tobacco, sugar, rice, and cotton.
Most African slaves went to Brazil and the Caribbean.
New World slavery became a permanent, identifiable labor supply due to mercantilism.
African slaves were identified by skin color and were plentiful due to the slave trade.
This led to a race-based slavery system.
The Spanish initially forced Indians to farm, but they died from disease or abuse.
Bartolomé de Las Casas suggested using black (and white) laborers.
Africans proved hardier.
The profitability of the African slave trade and the Catholic Church's denunciation of Christian enslavement made race a dominant factor.
In English colonies, indentured servants initially filled labor needs in the North.
In the South, labor-intensive crops led to reliance on slaves.
Whereas children of slaves were often freed in Africa, in the Americas slavery became permanent and inherited.
This development, along with slavery's association with race, changed the institution.