Period 1: The Spanish Colonial System, Encomienda, and Transatlantic Slave Trade

Time Limits: AP US History Period 1 ends in $1607$ with the settlement of Jamestown. It moves directly into Period 2, which covers the development of the $13$ Colonies.
Learning Time Periods: History requires matching specific topics to their time periods. A period matching cheat sheet packet is used mid-year to help with essays and multiple-choice questions.
Main Topics: Lessons focus heavily on tricky topics like the Spanish colonial system, the American Civil War, the Spanish-American War, and the role of the US in World War II.

Treaty of Tordesillas: Spain claimed almost the entire New World under this treaty, giving them early control over American colonization.
Where New Spain Was: By the $1600\text{s}$ , Spain controlled vast lands under New Spain, including:
- The Caribbean Islands
- Mexico
- South America
- Florida
- The American Southwest (modern New Mexico, Arizona, and areas south of California)

Reasons for Colonization ("The Three G's"):
- God: Spreading Roman Catholic Christianity to native people.
- Glory: Gaining national power, fame, and personal status.
- Gold: Finding gold, money, and valuable economic resources.

Main Cash Crop: Spanish plantations focused heavily on sugarcane as their most profitable crop.

The Encomienda System:
- Definition: A forced labor system created by Spain where settlers (encomenderos) were given control over specific groups of Native Americans.
- Spanish Rule: Settlers were required to care for native workers and convert them to Christianity in exchange for their labor.
- Abuse: Settlers broke the rules and forced native people to work in dangerous sugar fields and mines under harsh conditions.

The Repartimiento System (1550 Reform):
- In $1550$ , a reform system replaced the Encomienda system.
- Official Rules: Stated that native villagers were legally free and deserved pay for their work.
- Continued Abuse: Due to a total lack of enforcement, settlers kept forcing native people to work without pay in mines and fields for long stretches of time.

The Great Dying (Population Collapse):
- European diseases brought through the Columbian Exchange killed millions of native people who had no natural immunity.
- Central Mexico Example:
  - In $1550$ , the native population in Central Mexico was $2,600,000$ ( $2.6\text{ million}$ ).
  - By the early $1600\text{s}$ , the native population dropped to about $1,000,000$ ( $1\text{ million}$ ).

- Whole communities died off quickly, creating massive labor shortages that forced Spain to find new labor sources.

Shift to West African Labor:
- In the $1500\text{s}$ , Spain turned to West Africa to replace the declining native labor force.
- Existing Trade: Portuguese traders already had coastal trading posts in West Africa, where slavery was sometimes used as a legal punishment for crimes.
- Kidnapping and Trade: Spain first bought enslaved people from West African traders, then later began direct raids and captures along the coast.

Numbers for the Middle Passage:
- Transport Across the Ocean: Around $76,000$ enslaved Africans were brought across the Atlantic Ocean to Spanish America.
- Deaths at Sea: An estimated $76,000$ Africans died during the voyage from disease, torture, starvation, and overcrowded ships.
- Immigration Numbers ( $1500$ \text{to } $1800$ ): Between $1500$ and $1800$ , fully $50\%$ of all people brought to the New World were forced African workers.

Growth of Lifetime Chattel Slavery:
- Early Spanish slave use included intermarriage and mixed social classes.
- Over time, European colonies passed laws making slavery permanent and hereditary, meaning children of enslaved parents were born slaves for life.

False Justifications vs. Historical Fact:
- European Justifications: European powers falsely claimed African societies were primitive and uncivilized to justify human enslavement.
- Historical Reality: West African populations had advanced civilizations with strong economies, political systems, geometry, agriculture, and calendar systems.

Why Colonizers Wanted African Workers:
- Disease Immunity: West Africans had natural immunity to European diseases that wiped out native populations.
- Farming Skills: Enslaved Africans already possessed strong skills in farming and metal mining.

Why Escaping Was Harder for Africans:
- Native American Escape: Native Americans knew the local land, wild plants, and neighboring tribes, making escape easier.
- African Escape: Enslaved Africans were brought to an unfamiliar continent with no knowledge of the land, geography, or languages.
- Racial Identification: Skin color made blending into European colonial towns impossible for escaped Africans.
- Passing: In rare cases, very light-skinned mixed individuals tried to "pass" as white, though this was extremely rare.

Population of New Spain ( $1550$ ):
- By $1550$ , the European population in New Spain was around $100,000$ people, forming a small ruling group over millions of native inhabitants.

Gender Disparity and Marriage:
- Most Spanish immigrants were male settlers and conquistadors, with very few Spanish women.
- This caused frequent intermarriage and relationships between Spanish men and native women (often forced).

Social Hierarchy (Las Castas):
- Spanish law created a strict social pyramid based on race and skin color:
  1. Peninsulares: Spanish-born people living in the New World (highest social standing).
  2. Criollos (Creoles): People of pure Spanish descent born in the Americas.
  3. Mestizos: People of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry.
  4. Mulattoes: People of mixed Spanish and African ancestry.
  5. Indios: Native Americans.
  6. Negros: Enslaved and free Africans (lowest social standing).

- Lighter skin tone gave individuals higher social status, better economic opportunities, and legal advantages in the caste system.