APUSH unit 1
Native American Societies
<aside> 💡 Before Europeans arrived, Native Americans organized themselves into diverse cultures depending on where they live
</aside>
Central/South America - large urban centers, well-formed religions, and complex political systems. All grew maize, which supported economic development, settlement, etc. Maize spread north.
Aztecs/Mexica (Central/Mesoamerica)
Large cities → magnificent capital (Tenochtitlan) → 300,000 people
Written language
Complex irrigation systems
Human sacrifice
Grew maize
Maya (Yucatan Peninsula → southeast Mexico)
Also developed large cities
Complex irrigation and water storage systems
Giant stone temples and palaces
Grew maize
Inca (South America → Andes mountains)
Massive empire → 16 million people
Cultivated fertile mountain valleys, watered by elaborate water irrigation systems
Grew maize
North American Continent
Pueblo (Southwest → New Mexico/Arizona)
Sedentary (didn’t move around)
Farmed maize and other crops
Built adobe and masonry homes
Highly organized with administrative offices, religious centers, etc.
Pacific Northwest - Lived by sea in longhouses settled in fishing villages and relied on elk
Chinook
Used great cedar trees around them to create giant plank houses
Chumash
Lived on in permanent settlements on the coast, hunters and gatherers
Northeast America
Iroquois
Lived in villages of several hundred people
Grew crops like maize and squash
Built longhouses
Ute (Great Basin/Plains )
Lived in small egalitarian kinship-based bands
Nomadic people → hunter/gatherers
Needed a lot of land to hunt and gather because of the aridity of the region
Mississippi River Valley - fertile soil around the river meant societies could stay put and develop
Hopewell
Lived in towns of 4-6k
Traded extensively
Cahokia
Largest settlement in the region
The government was composed of powerful chieftains
Engaged in extensive trade networks
European Exploration
Reasons for exploration
Population Increase/Rebound
Political unification, resulting in centralized governments led by powerful monarchs
Agricultural and commercial profits led to a wealthy class who had a desire for luxury goods
In Portugal, Prince Henry the Navigator attempted to find a passage to Asia. They established a trading post empire along the African coast. Portugal used updated maritime technology.
Spain saw Portugal’s success, and granted Columbus a sponsorship
Columbus landed in the Caribbean but thought he was in the East Indies. Because of this, he called the inhabitants Indians. Columbus brought back natives of which he had enslaved, alongside gold jewelry, of which he claimed there would be more to be found.
The Columbian Exchange
<aside> 💡 The transfer of food, animals, minerals, people, and diseases between Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Fundamentally changed the societies, economies, and environments of all 3 continents
</aside>
Spanish had a newfound mission to conquer and remake the Americas, one motive being the spread of Christianity
Transfer of Disease
When the Spanish showed up with a new disease it decimated the native peoples (they had no immunity)
When the Spanish showed up to Hispaniola they brought smallpox, devastated the native Arawak and Taino peoples
Also destroyed the population of the Incas, Maya, and Aztecs
Tenochtitlan fell to Hernando Cortes despite the number advantage of Tenochtitlan because their numbers were wiped out by disease
Transfer of Food
Americas to Europe
Maize
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Cacao
Tobacco
Europe/Africa to Americas
Rice
Wheat
Soybeans
Rye
Oats
Lemons
Oranges
Horses
Pigs
Cattle
Chickens
Food, especially grain crops, transformed America as it became a staple food item. Pigs and cattle transformed the diet of the native peoples, while the introduction of horses revolutionalized farming & warfare.
Spanish plundered the empires after they conquered them for gold and silver. It made Spain very rich and attracted more colonizers.
Before this wealth, Europe’s main system was feudalism, where peasants worked for the land of a noble in exchange for protection. After the sudden surge of wealth, capitalism took over.
Transfer of People
Native Americans were taken back to Spain and enslaved
Far larger transfer of Africans to the Americas
The Spanish colonization was driven by mercantilism (depended on heavy governmental direction and interventions). Later other nations would utilize joint-stock companies
Labor Systems and Societal Restructuring
African Slave Trade
Usually slaves had some legal rights and it wasn’t a permanent situation
Europeans began establishing ports along the African coast
Europeans attempted to justify slavery by stating that Africans had descended from Kanan
Encomienda system: system that leading men were granted a potion of land, the natives who lived on the land were then the coerced labor force. Natives who converted to Christianity were meant to be spared (not necessarily true)
Labor system of Natives wasn’t working because the Natives kept dying and knew the land better to escape → African people replaced the Natives
Caste System
The Spanish created a racial hierarchy that determined how much taxes you owed
Peninsulares (born in Spain) → Criollos (Spanish but born in Americas) → Mestizos (Spanish and Native American ancestry) → Mulattoes (Spanish and African ancestry) → Africans → Native Americans
Cultural Interactions
Hegemony = the domination of one nation/group by another
Spain changed their method of expansion. They stopped sending soldiers and started sending missionaries to convert the Natives to Christianity (Mission System). Sometimes worked. The Pueblo and other groups adapted Christ, but retained their other gods.
When the Spanish tried to make it exclusive, some tried to keep their other practices hidden, while others resisted.
The Pueblo Revolt
The Pueblo decided the root of their problems were the Spanish and Christ
The Pueblo killed 400 Spanish colonizers and burned the churches down
12 years later the Spanish returned and reconquered
Natives
Animists
Land was not a commodity
Kinship networks (extended family)
Spanish
Catholic
Land existed for private ownership
Nuclear family (parents and children)
Both groups adopted culture that the found useful. Natives wanted guns and tools, Europeans wanted to partake in the fur trade.
There were debates on the morality of Spanish conquest. Some argued that because of Native inferiority, conquering them was bringing them riches. Others, like priest Bartolome De Las Casas, argued that Native’s souls would be lost go god and they would grow to resent Christianity. He argued that instead the Africans should replace then in the labor system, which is what the Spanish did.
Overall Review
<aside> 💡 The Native Americans developed distinct and increasingly complex societies which were affected by the environment in which they lived
</aside>
Pueblo
Planted and harvested crops (maize)
Evidence of advanced irrigation system
Built small urban centers (cliff dwellings)
Northeast
Iroquois: farmers who planted crops
Lived in longhouses (constructed from abundant timber)
Great Basin
Nomadic hunter/gatherers
Organized in small egalitarian kinship bands → Ute
Mississippi River Valley
Also farmers because of rich soil
Participated trade
Most famous → Cahokia (10k-30k)
Had a centralized government
Pacific Coast
Permanent settlements along the coast because of the presence of fish (Chumash)
Participated in trade
Growing wealthy class who developed a taste for luxury goods from Asia (wanted Asia route)
Portugal was 1st, developed trading post along Africa (new maritime technology)
Spain joined after seeing Portugal success
Wanted to spread Christianity
Sought new economic opportunities
Columbus sailed in 1492, ran into continent (Caribbean)
Created competition to seek wealth he claimed
Columbian Exchange: transfer of people, animals, plants, and diseases
Potatoes/tomatoes/maize came to Europe
Wheat/rice/soybeans to Americas
Gold and silver
People, introduced enslaved Africans
EXCHANGE of DISEASE
Wealth shifted economics in European states (from feudalism to capitalism)
Rise of join-stock companies to fund exploration
Spanish realized that the Americas was valuable for agriculture
Encomienda system: forced Natives to work on their plantation
Struggled to stop Natives from escaping, and they kept dying from disease → African slaves
Spain introduced Caste system (based on racial ancestry)
People stole what they saw valuable of the others culture.
Native American Societies
<aside> 💡 Before Europeans arrived, Native Americans organized themselves into diverse cultures depending on where they live
</aside>
Central/South America - large urban centers, well-formed religions, and complex political systems. All grew maize, which supported economic development, settlement, etc. Maize spread north.
Aztecs/Mexica (Central/Mesoamerica)
Large cities → magnificent capital (Tenochtitlan) → 300,000 people
Written language
Complex irrigation systems
Human sacrifice
Grew maize
Maya (Yucatan Peninsula → southeast Mexico)
Also developed large cities
Complex irrigation and water storage systems
Giant stone temples and palaces
Grew maize
Inca (South America → Andes mountains)
Massive empire → 16 million people
Cultivated fertile mountain valleys, watered by elaborate water irrigation systems
Grew maize
North American Continent
Pueblo (Southwest → New Mexico/Arizona)
Sedentary (didn’t move around)
Farmed maize and other crops
Built adobe and masonry homes
Highly organized with administrative offices, religious centers, etc.
Pacific Northwest - Lived by sea in longhouses settled in fishing villages and relied on elk
Chinook
Used great cedar trees around them to create giant plank houses
Chumash
Lived on in permanent settlements on the coast, hunters and gatherers
Northeast America
Iroquois
Lived in villages of several hundred people
Grew crops like maize and squash
Built longhouses
Ute (Great Basin/Plains )
Lived in small egalitarian kinship-based bands
Nomadic people → hunter/gatherers
Needed a lot of land to hunt and gather because of the aridity of the region
Mississippi River Valley - fertile soil around the river meant societies could stay put and develop
Hopewell
Lived in towns of 4-6k
Traded extensively
Cahokia
Largest settlement in the region
The government was composed of powerful chieftains
Engaged in extensive trade networks
European Exploration
Reasons for exploration
Population Increase/Rebound
Political unification, resulting in centralized governments led by powerful monarchs
Agricultural and commercial profits led to a wealthy class who had a desire for luxury goods
In Portugal, Prince Henry the Navigator attempted to find a passage to Asia. They established a trading post empire along the African coast. Portugal used updated maritime technology.
Spain saw Portugal’s success, and granted Columbus a sponsorship
Columbus landed in the Caribbean but thought he was in the East Indies. Because of this, he called the inhabitants Indians. Columbus brought back natives of which he had enslaved, alongside gold jewelry, of which he claimed there would be more to be found.
The Columbian Exchange
<aside> 💡 The transfer of food, animals, minerals, people, and diseases between Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Fundamentally changed the societies, economies, and environments of all 3 continents
</aside>
Spanish had a newfound mission to conquer and remake the Americas, one motive being the spread of Christianity
Transfer of Disease
When the Spanish showed up with a new disease it decimated the native peoples (they had no immunity)
When the Spanish showed up to Hispaniola they brought smallpox, devastated the native Arawak and Taino peoples
Also destroyed the population of the Incas, Maya, and Aztecs
Tenochtitlan fell to Hernando Cortes despite the number advantage of Tenochtitlan because their numbers were wiped out by disease
Transfer of Food
Americas to Europe
Maize
Tomatoes
Potatoes
Cacao
Tobacco
Europe/Africa to Americas
Rice
Wheat
Soybeans
Rye
Oats
Lemons
Oranges
Horses
Pigs
Cattle
Chickens
Food, especially grain crops, transformed America as it became a staple food item. Pigs and cattle transformed the diet of the native peoples, while the introduction of horses revolutionalized farming & warfare.
Spanish plundered the empires after they conquered them for gold and silver. It made Spain very rich and attracted more colonizers.
Before this wealth, Europe’s main system was feudalism, where peasants worked for the land of a noble in exchange for protection. After the sudden surge of wealth, capitalism took over.
Transfer of People
Native Americans were taken back to Spain and enslaved
Far larger transfer of Africans to the Americas
The Spanish colonization was driven by mercantilism (depended on heavy governmental direction and interventions). Later other nations would utilize joint-stock companies
Labor Systems and Societal Restructuring
African Slave Trade
Usually slaves had some legal rights and it wasn’t a permanent situation
Europeans began establishing ports along the African coast
Europeans attempted to justify slavery by stating that Africans had descended from Kanan
Encomienda system: system that leading men were granted a potion of land, the natives who lived on the land were then the coerced labor force. Natives who converted to Christianity were meant to be spared (not necessarily true)
Labor system of Natives wasn’t working because the Natives kept dying and knew the land better to escape → African people replaced the Natives
Caste System
The Spanish created a racial hierarchy that determined how much taxes you owed
Peninsulares (born in Spain) → Criollos (Spanish but born in Americas) → Mestizos (Spanish and Native American ancestry) → Mulattoes (Spanish and African ancestry) → Africans → Native Americans
Cultural Interactions
Hegemony = the domination of one nation/group by another
Spain changed their method of expansion. They stopped sending soldiers and started sending missionaries to convert the Natives to Christianity (Mission System). Sometimes worked. The Pueblo and other groups adapted Christ, but retained their other gods.
When the Spanish tried to make it exclusive, some tried to keep their other practices hidden, while others resisted.
The Pueblo Revolt
The Pueblo decided the root of their problems were the Spanish and Christ
The Pueblo killed 400 Spanish colonizers and burned the churches down
12 years later the Spanish returned and reconquered
Natives
Animists
Land was not a commodity
Kinship networks (extended family)
Spanish
Catholic
Land existed for private ownership
Nuclear family (parents and children)
Both groups adopted culture that the found useful. Natives wanted guns and tools, Europeans wanted to partake in the fur trade.
There were debates on the morality of Spanish conquest. Some argued that because of Native inferiority, conquering them was bringing them riches. Others, like priest Bartolome De Las Casas, argued that Native’s souls would be lost go god and they would grow to resent Christianity. He argued that instead the Africans should replace then in the labor system, which is what the Spanish did.
Overall Review
<aside> 💡 The Native Americans developed distinct and increasingly complex societies which were affected by the environment in which they lived
</aside>
Pueblo
Planted and harvested crops (maize)
Evidence of advanced irrigation system
Built small urban centers (cliff dwellings)
Northeast
Iroquois: farmers who planted crops
Lived in longhouses (constructed from abundant timber)
Great Basin
Nomadic hunter/gatherers
Organized in small egalitarian kinship bands → Ute
Mississippi River Valley
Also farmers because of rich soil
Participated trade
Most famous → Cahokia (10k-30k)
Had a centralized government
Pacific Coast
Permanent settlements along the coast because of the presence of fish (Chumash)
Participated in trade
Growing wealthy class who developed a taste for luxury goods from Asia (wanted Asia route)
Portugal was 1st, developed trading post along Africa (new maritime technology)
Spain joined after seeing Portugal success
Wanted to spread Christianity
Sought new economic opportunities
Columbus sailed in 1492, ran into continent (Caribbean)
Created competition to seek wealth he claimed
Columbian Exchange: transfer of people, animals, plants, and diseases
Potatoes/tomatoes/maize came to Europe
Wheat/rice/soybeans to Americas
Gold and silver
People, introduced enslaved Africans
EXCHANGE of DISEASE
Wealth shifted economics in European states (from feudalism to capitalism)
Rise of join-stock companies to fund exploration
Spanish realized that the Americas was valuable for agriculture
Encomienda system: forced Natives to work on their plantation
Struggled to stop Natives from escaping, and they kept dying from disease → African slaves
Spain introduced Caste system (based on racial ancestry)
People stole what they saw valuable of the others culture.