Early American History: Exploration, Colonization, and Conflict

Course Logistics, Administrative Context, and Historical Background

• Institutional Context & Athletics Update:

  • The BA and MA institution recently moved up to FCS (Division 1) status.
  • The institution played and won its first Division 1 game on Thursday night.
  • Cheering for the "frogs" in Ireland scheduled for Friday/Saturday.

• Course Announcements & Textbook Resolution:

  • An announcement was posted on B2L (Desire2Learn) on Thursday morning regarding textbook registration.
  • The digital gradebook was previously linked internally to an unassigned textbook.
  • Contact with the publisher (Norton) resolved the issue, and step-by-step registration instructions are posted online.

• Prior Lecture Content Review:

  • Early American history starting point: the Bering Strait and the Bering Ice Bridge.
  • Formation of distinct indigenous societies as the ice bridge melted.
  • Cherokee origin stories and the structural similarities and differences among diverse native societies.
  • West African societies and the initiation of direct trade between West African nations and European powers.

Fifteenth-Century Exploration, Navigation Technologies, and the Sugar Economy

• Portuguese and Chinese Trade Expansion ($1405$–$1433$):

  • Portugal spearheaded early European maritime expeditions along the West African coast.
  • Between roughly $1405$ and $1433$, trade connections developed involving Chinese and Portuguese merchants.
  • Portuguese merchants navigated down the African coastline, rounded the continent, and entered trade networks in India and China.
  • Post-$1433$, Portuguese focus shifted from passing Africa to pushing into the African interior and the Sahara Desert region.
  • Familiarity with North African trade stemmed from the Reconquista—the military push to expel Moorish Islamic invaders who had previously conquered Spain.

• Fifteenth-Century Maritime Innovations:

  • Carville (Caravel): A vessel designed in the $15\text{th}$ century with an aerodynamic bow, a widened middle hull, an aerodynamic stern, tall masts, and high sails to improve navigability.
  • Magnetic Compass: Adopted for directional orientation at sea.
  • Advanced Cartography: Production of updated, accurate maps made long-range navigation feasible.
  • Primary Motivation: Search for gold deposits along the African coast, within the interior Sahara, and across Asia.

• Atlantic Island Colonization and Sugar Cultivation:

  • Portugal colonized the Atlantic islands of the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands.
  • Sugar was introduced as the primary colonial crop on these islands.
  • Westward Migration Pattern of Sugar: Azores/Madeira/Canary Islands ($15\text{th}$ century) $\rightarrow$ The Caribbean ($17\text{th}$–$18\text{th}$ centuries) $\rightarrow$ Louisiana and Lower Carolinas $\rightarrow$ Hawaii ($20\text{th}$ century).
  • Barbados Case Study:
    • Colonized by Great Britain; one of the few Caribbean islands completely devoid of an indigenous population prior to European settlement.
    • Despite its tiny landmass, Barbados became the world's leading sugar producer in the $18\text{th}$ century before being surpassed by Jamaica.
    • Intensive, continuous sugarcane farming so depleted the soil nutrients that nothing can be grown on the island's depleted fields today.

• The Atlantic Slave Trade Initiated by Portugal:

  • Sugarcane is a dense, fibrous, stringy crop requiring heavy manual labor that cannot be cultivated by individual farmers alone.
  • To secure labor, Portugal initiated the transatlantic slave trade along the West African coast.
  • Larger coastal African tribes pushed inland, captured enemy warriors or war criminals, and sold these enslaved captives to Portuguese traders.
  • Between $1450$ and $1500$, approximately $100,000$ enslaved Africans were forcibly transported to work on sugar plantations in the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands.

The Transatlantic Voyages of Christopher Columbus

• Proposals and Funding:

  • Christopher Columbus, born in Italy, theorized that sailing due west across the Atlantic Ocean would yield a direct route to Asia.
  • Rejected by the Italian monarchy, the Holy Roman Empire (later the Austrian Empire), France, Great Britain, and Portugal.
  • Spanish Monarchs King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to finance the voyage in $1492$, utilizing financial assets acquired from fleeing Islamic rulers following the Reconquista.

• Voyages and Discoveries ($1492$–$1506$):

  • First Voyage: Departed Spain in $1492$; made initial landfall in The Bahamas on October 12, $1492$ ($10/12/1492$).
  • Named the island of Hispaniola (present-day Dominican Republic and Haiti).
  • Second Voyage ($1493$): Returned to Hispaniola and left approximately $100$ soldiers to establish the first permanent Spanish Caribbean settlement.
  • Columbus completed $4$ total transatlantic voyages, dying in $1506$ steadfastly believing he had discovered an Asian sea route.

• Conflict with the Crown and Atrocities:

  • By his third and fourth voyages, Columbus fell out of favor with the Spanish Crown.
  • Imprisoned following his fourth voyage due to reported misgovernance and brutal atrocities committed in the Caribbean.
  • Spanish forces committed widespread atrocities against native populations, including deliberately distributing smallpox-contaminated blankets to indigenous communities.

• Burial and Posthumous Travels:

  • Died in Spain in $1506$; body was initially transported to Hispaniola for burial.
  • Exhumed and reburied in Puerto Rico under orders from his son, who served as the colonial governor of Puerto Rico.
  • Remains went missing for roughly $200$ years (with his skull ending up in Russia under unknown circumstances).
  • DNA analysis confirmed that authenticated remains—consisting of a fibula, two toe bones, and a finger bone—reside in the Seville Cathedral (Cathedral in Sevilla).
  • Elevated Tomb: Columbus's will stipulated that he must not be buried in Spanish soil; consequently, his casket inside the cathedral is suspended above the floor.

Spanish Exploration of the Americas and the Pacific

• Amerigo Vespucci ($1499$–$1502$):

  • Explored the eastern coast of South America.
  • The continents of North America and South America derive their names directly from Amerigo Vespucci.

• Vasco Núñez de Balboa ($1513$):

  • Became the first European to reach and view the Pacific Ocean from the New World.
  • Crossed the Isthmus of Panama, disassembled his ships, transported them overland to the Pacific coast, reassembled them, and navigated the Pacific Ocean.

• Expedition of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca ($1528$–$1537$):

  • Departed Santiago, Cuba, as part of a military settlement expedition to Florida (originally claimed in $1513$).
  • Struck a coral reef in Tampa Bay, stranding the expedition.
  • Expedition members slaughtered their horses, tanned and dried the horse hides to construct crude rafts, and crossed the bay to Apalachee (Apalachicola).
  • Upgraded their rafts with help from the local Apalachee population.
  • The expedition split: half sailed along the Gulf Coast while the other half (including Cabeza de Vaca) marched overland along the shoreline.
  • The coastal sailing vessel was destroyed by a hurricane near the present-day Florida-Alabama border, killing all on board; the walking group faced mutiny and starvation.
  • Cabeza de Vaca turned inland near the Florida-Alabama border, undertaking a $9$-year journey across Louisiana, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, El Paso (New Mexico), and southward to Mexico City.
  • Published a detailed journal/diary in Spain upon his return, providing one of the earliest documented descriptions of North American geography and indigenous tribes.

• Ferdinand Magellan ($1519$–$1522$):

  • Led the first expedition to successfully circumnavigate the globe.

The Conquests of the Aztec and Inca Empires

• Hernán Cortés and the Conquest of the Aztecs ($1519$):

  • Spanish soldier stationed in Cuba ordered to conduct basic reconnaissance along the Gulf of Mexico.
  • Defied colonial orders and marched directly into central Mexico toward Tenochtitlan (Tenetu / Tenetu Telemont), the capital of the Aztec Empire.
  • Tenochtitlan had an estimated urban population of $1,000,000$ residents.
  • Aztec scouts reported mysterious soldiers wearing shiny metallic helmets and armor approaching the city.
  • Cortés forged military alliances with native tribes hostile to Aztec rule.
  • Approximately $1,000$ Spanish soldiers and native allies entered Tenochtitlan and conquered an empire of $1,000,000$ inhabitants.
  • Primary Factors in Aztec Defeat: Superior steel weaponry (swords, firearms) and smallpox epidemics. Smallpox killed roughly $90\%$ of Tenochtitlan's population, as the city was an island with limited entries and exits that trapped infected residents.

• Francisco Pizarro and the Conquest of the Incas:

  • Led an expedition into Peru during the early $1530\text{s}$.
  • Defeated the Inca Empire using advanced weaponry and Old World pathogens.

The Columbian Exchange and Demographic Impacts

• Biological and Material Transfers:

  • Goods Exported from the Americas to Europe, Africa, and Asia: Cocoa, corn, vanilla, sweet potatoes, squash.
  • Goods Imported to the Americas from the Old World: Coffee, cattle, horses, onions, pears, and infectious pathogens.

• Demographic Collapse:

  • Pathogens were the most consequential transfer of the Columbian Exchange.
  • During the first half of the $16\text{th}$ century, approximately $80,000,000$ indigenous people died from Old World diseases due to a complete lack of acquired immunity.
  • Indigenous medical practices were unable to halt disease transmission.
  • Island native populations, such as the Taíno (Hano) people of the Caribbean, were virtually eradicated, allowing European powers to seize territorial control.

Governance, Social Hierarchy, and Demographics in the Spanish Colonies

• Imperial Structure and Ideology:

  • Spanish colonial society was strictly hierarchical, with immovable socioeconomic tiers.
  • The Catholic Church provided moral justification for conquest under the mandate of converting indigenous souls to Catholicism.
  • Church leaders feared that failure to convert native populations could lead to an Islamic or non-Christian conquest of the New World, reflecting anxieties remaining from the Reconquista ($1519$ was roughly $27$ years after the end of the Reconquista in $1492$).
  • The driving motive for European imperial powers (Spanish, French, Dutch, English) was acquiring land to enhance European geopolitical standing.

• Social Hierarchy and Blood Purity:

  • Creole (Criollo): Persons of pure Spanish/European descent born within the New World colonies. Held theoretical legal parity with Spanish-born citizens, but faced restrictions regarding top administrative posts.
  • Spanish legal systems defined $15$ distinct racial classifications ranging from pure Spanish lineage to mixed ancestries.
  • Mestizos: Population emerging by $1600$ born to one full-blooded Spanish parent and one indigenous parent.
  • Initial migration consisted primarily of young, single Spanish men; women arrived later through arranged marriages.
  • During the Spanish colonial period, approximately $750,000$ people migrated to Spanish territories, the vast majority being forced migrants (enslaved indigenous peoples and enslaved Africans).

Papal Treaties, Geopolitics, and the Division of the Globe

• The Treaty of Tordesillas ($1494$):

  • A dispute arose between Spain and Portugal over territorial rights to the New World.
  • Pope Alexander VI mediated negotiations in the northern Spanish town of Tordesillas (Torre De Cias / Tortuguese / De Hordencias).
  • The treaty established a vertical meridian line dividing the globe into spherical zones:
    • East of the Meridian (Portuguese Domain): Entire continent of Africa, the Azores, trade routes to India/Asia, and the eastern bulge of South America (present-day Brazil).
    • West of the Meridian (Spanish Domain): The Caribbean, Mexico, central/western South America, and North America.

• Portuguese Brazil:

  • The Treaty of Tordesillas awarded Portugal legal claim over eastern South America (Brazil).
  • Brazil became the primary destination for the transatlantic slave trade, receiving more enslaved Africans than any other region in the Americas.
  • Brazil developed into Portugal's primary sugar-producing colony.
  • Historical Site: The Tordesillas treaty building features a bar inside its arches containing a plaque commemorating the global division.

Religious Reform, Atrocities, and the "Black Legend"

• The Protestant Reformation ($1517$):

  • Martin Luther, a Catholic priest in Germany, nailed his $95$ Theses to his church door in $1517$, condemning Catholic Church corruption and launching the Protestant Reformation.
  • Protestant reformers incorporated critiques of Spanish atrocities against indigenous peoples into their theological objections.

• Bartolomé de las Casas and Native Labor Mines:

  • Bartolomé de las Casas (Bartolomo de la Casas / Bartolome de la Pazos), a Catholic priest in the Caribbean, documented extreme violence against indigenous populations forced to work in Spanish gold and silver mines in Mexico and South America.
  • Wealth extracted from native forced labor was exported to Spain to construct elaborate cathedral treasuries (e.g., the Cathedral of the Americas in Cádiz).

• The "Black Legend" (Leyenda Negra):

  • Las Casas's published journals popularized the "Black Legend"—the propaganda concept that Spanish colonizers treated indigenous people with unique cruelty unmatched by other European powers.
  • This reputation persisted for centuries; for example, when Spain acquired Louisiana in $1763$, widespread indigenous resistance nearly erupted into war due to fear of Spanish brutality.

• Imperial Legal Reforms vs. Metropole Realities:

  • In $1537$, Pope Paul III officially banned indigenous slavery.
  • In $1542$, Spain enacted the New Laws, outlawing indigenous slavery both within the overseas colonies and inside Spain.
  • Metropole vs. Periphery Dynamics: Imperial mandates issued from distant capitals (Madrid, Paris, London) were routinely ignored in remote Atlantic and American colonies, where colonial elites governed independently.

Spanish Expansion in Florida, the Gulf Coast, and the Southwest

• Ponce de León and Early Florida Missions:

  • Juan Ponce de León (Buenos Aires De Leon) established a permanent settlement on Puerto Rico in $1508$.
  • In $1513$, Ponce de León (Juan Jose Leon) led an expedition to Florida, naming it La Florida ("land of the flowers").

• Additional Spanish Explorations:

  • Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo: Explored the Pacific Coast of California in the $1530\text{s}$.
  • Hernando de Soto (DeSoto): Led expeditions throughout the Gulf Coast region, the American Southeast, and the Great Plains.

• Early Florida Settlements:

  • Pensacola ($1561$): Established as the first Spanish military outpost and city in North America; destroyed by a hurricane in $1563$ and temporarily abandoned.
  • St. Augustine ($1565$): Spanish forces expelled a French outpost near Jacksonville and established St. Augustine, the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in North America.

The Establishment of New Mexico and the Pueblo Revolt

• Spanish Settlement of New Mexico ($1598$):

  • Spanish conquistador Juan de Oñate (Juan De Anote) established the colony of New Mexico in $1598$, founding Santa Fe as the regional capital.
  • Oñate's forces committed severe atrocities against the local Pueblo population, including forced labor, physical violence, rape, and mass killings.

• The Pueblo Revolt ($1680$):

  • In $1675$, Popé (p o p e), a Pueblo religious leader, reported spiritual visions instructing him to unite indigenous communities and restore pre-Spanish culture.
  • In $1680$, Popé organized and executed a coordinated uprising involving $2,000$ Pueblo warriors.
  • The Pueblo forces killed $400$ Spanish settlers and forced the remaining Spanish population to surrender Santa Fe.

• Pueblo Autonomy and Spanish Reconquest:

  • The Pueblo nation maintained independent rule over New Mexico for a full decade ($1680$–$1690$).
  • Following Popé's death in $1690$, Spanish forces returned in $1692$ to reconquer Santa Fe and resettle New Mexico, maintaining control until the territory was transferred to the United States.