GS

Period 1 (1491-1607)

Study Guide Notes

I. Native American Societies Before European Contact

  • Southwest (Pueblo): Built irrigation systems to grow maize in arid conditions; lived in cliff dwellings and adobe houses.

  • Great Plains (Ute): Nomadic buffalo hunters; developed horse culture after European contact.

  • Northeast/Atlantic Seaboard (Iroquois): Mixed agriculture (corn, beans, squash) with hunting and fishing; longhouses; Iroquois Confederacy = strong political alliance.

  • Northwest/California (Chinook, coastal tribes): Fishing, whaling, woodworking, totem poles; permanent and stratified societies.
    Key Concept: Native societies were diverse, shaped by environment/resources.

II. European Exploration

  • Motives (3 G’s): Gold (wealth/trade), Glory (competition for power), God (spread Christianity).

  • Technology: Compass, astrolabe, lateen sails, caravel, printing press, etc.

  • Spain: Conquest/colonization (Columbus, Cortés with Aztecs, Pizarro with Incas); encomienda system.

  • Portugal: Focused on maritime trade around Africa and Brazil (Treaty of Tordesillas/Line of Demarcation).

  • France & Netherlands: Fur trade, alliances with Natives; fewer settlers, cooperative relations.

  • England: Entered late; Jamestown 1607 marks Period 2.

III. The Columbian Exchange

  • Old World → New World: Horses, cattle, pigs, wheat, sugar, rice, smallpox, measles, influenza.

  • New World → Old World: Maize, potatoes, tomatoes, beans, cacao, tobacco, syphilis.

  • Impacts:

    • Europe: Population growth, rise of capitalism, joint-stock companies.

    • Americas: Massive Native population decline (up to 90%) from disease; disruption of societies; horses transformed Plains tribes.

    • Africa: Intensification of slave trade; millions enslaved for labor.

IV. Labor Systems & Colonial Impact

  • Encomienda System: Spanish crown gave colonists Native labor in exchange for Christianization. Often brutal/exploitative.

  • African Slavery: Expanded as Native populations collapsed; especially in Caribbean sugar plantations.

  • Caste System: Racial hierarchy → Peninsulares (born in Spain), Creoles (Spanish descent, American-born), Mestizos (Spanish + Native), Mulattos (Spanish + African), Natives & Africans (lowest).

V. Cultural Interactions & Resistance

  • Spanish Goals: Wealth extraction, conversion, dominance.

  • Debate:

    • Bartolomé de Las Casas: Advocated for Native rights, saw them as fully human.

    • Juan de Sepúlveda: Justified conquest/enslavement, saw Natives as inferior (Valladolid Debate, 1550–1551).

  • Resistance: Natives maintained cultural traditions, fled, or fought. Pueblo Revolt (1680) = successful uprising that temporarily expelled Spaniards from New Mexico.

VI. Key Concepts (APUSH Framework)

  • 1.1: Different native societies adapted to and transformed their environments.

  • 1.2: European overseas expansion → Columbian Exchange, reshaping the Atlantic world.

  • 1.3: Contact among Natives, Africans, and Europeans created a new world of trade, exchange, and conflict.

VII. Must-Know Terms & People

  • Christopher Columbus: 1492 voyage → permanent contact.

  • Treaty of Tordesillas (1494): Split New World between Spain and Portugal.

  • Hernán Cortés / Francisco Pizarro: Conquistadors who destroyed Aztec and Inca empires.

  • Encomienda System: Forced Native labor.

  • Bartolomé de Las Casas: Critic of Spanish treatment of Natives.

  • Juan de Sepúlveda: Defender of conquest/enslavement.

  • Columbian Exchange: Transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases.

  • Mestizo / Casta System: Spanish racial hierarchy in colonies.

VIII. Connections & Exam Tips *HELPFUL FOR SAQs*

  • Geography shapes culture → maize = settled SW societies; buffalo = nomadic Plains societies.

  • Columbian Exchange = demographic shifts: Native depopulation, European population boom, rise of African slavery.

  • Valladolid Debate (Las Casas vs. Sepúlveda) = evidence for cultural conflict.

  • SAQs/LEQs: Connect evidence to themes (migration, environment, cultural exchange, power, identity).

Key Terms

  • Astrolabe

    • a tool invented for navigation or astronomical calculations (identifies distance and time based on sun/stars).

  • Atlantic World

    • the interactions of people/plants/animals bordering the Atlantic Ocean (Africa, Americas, and Western Europe).

  • Aztec

    • an Indigenous people and empire; comprised of a network of city-states in present-day Mexico (empire fell after Spanish arrival).

  • Capitalism

    • an economic system based on private business, ownership of property, and the open exchange of goods between property holders.

  • Caravel

    • a narrow, small, and swift sailing ship invented by the Portuguese; it was especially useful because sailors could sail into the wind much faster.

  • Columbian Exchange

    • biological exchange of people/plants/animals/diseases between the Americas and the rest of the world.

  • Conquistador

    • Spanish name for conqueror. they were Spanish/Portuguese military leaders who invaded/conquered the lands of Native Americans in Central/South America.

  • Encomienda

    • system established by Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean. Spanish leaders in the Americas received land/labor of all Native Americans (this system amounted to slavery).

  • Spanish Caste System

    • system developed by the Spanish that defined the status of diverse populations based on a racial hierarchy that privileged Europeans.

SAQ Practice

from ChatGPT; good practice questions about a variety of topics.

SAQ 1: Native American Societies

Prompt: Using your knowledge of the period 1491–1607, answer the following questions:

a) Briefly describe ONE way Native American societies adapted to their environment before European contact.

b) Briefly explain ONE way Native American societies in the Great Plains differed from those in the Southwest.

c) Briefly explain ONE specific historical effect of these differences on European interactions with Natives.

SAQ 2: Columbian Exchange

Prompt: Answer the following questions about the Columbian Exchange:

a) Identify and explain ONE item introduced to the Americas by Europeans and its impact.

b) Identify and explain ONE item introduced to Europe from the Americas and its impact.

c) Explain ONE way the Columbian Exchange contributed to changes in African societies.

SAQ 3: Spanish Colonization & Labor

Prompt: Using your knowledge of Spanish colonization in the Americas:

a) Briefly describe ONE characteristic of the encomienda system.

b) Briefly explain ONE effect of the encomienda system on Native American societies.

c) Briefly explain ONE reason African slavery expanded as a labor source during this period.

SAQ 4: Cultural Encounters & Debates

Prompt: Using your knowledge of cultural encounters in the period 1491–1607:

a) Briefly describe ONE argument Bartolomé de Las Casas made regarding Native Americans.

b) Briefly describe ONE argument Juan de Sepúlveda made regarding Native Americans.

c) Briefly explain ONE historical effect of this debate on Spanish colonization.

SAQ 5: Continuity & Change

Prompt: Using your knowledge of the period 1491–1607:

a) Identify and explain ONE continuity in Native American life after European contact.

b) Identify and explain ONE change in Native American life after European contact.

c) Briefly explain ONE way these continuities or changes shaped later European colonization.