Phase I: Pre-Columbian Native Americans to Late-Colonial Era Vocabulary

Pre-Columbian Native American Origins, Eras, and Economies

  • Geographic Origins of Native Americans:

    • Siberia

    • Mongolia

    • Manchuria

    • Migration Mechanism: The Bering Straits theory

    • Subsequent diffusion of Native Americans across North, Central, and South America

  • Economic Systems:

    • Hunting and Gathering economies

    • Pastoral economies

    • Agricultural economies

  • Demographic Density and Chronological Eras:

    • High demographic density of Native Americans prior to European arrival

    • Chronological and cultural developmental stages:

    • Paleo-Indians

    • Archaic Indians

    • Classical Indians

  • Major Mesoamerican and South American Civilizations:

    • The Mayas or Mayans

    • The Incas

    • The Aztecs

Native American Religions, Beliefs, Customs, and Regional Groupings

  • Religious Beliefs and Spiritual Concepts:

    • Pantheism: Native Americans frequently prayed for an animal's spirit to transmigrate after a successful hunt.

    • Manitou: Spirits or spiritual forces.

    • Shamans: Spiritual leaders who interpreted and explained the unseen, conveying origins through deeply moving myths.

    • Customs: Structured rules surrounding family structure, marriage, and property allocation.

  • Regional Groupings in the Continental United States:

    • Southwest Region: The Anasazis (Pueblos).

    • Midwest Woodland Indians:

    • Cultures: Adena, Mississippian, and Hopewell.

    • Key Cultural Artifact: The construction of earthen mounds.

    • East Woodland Indians:

    • Major Alliances: The Iroquois Confederacy and the Powhatan Confederacy.

    • Additional Cultural Regions: The Plains Indians and the Pacific Northwest Indians.

Ancient African Civilizations and Trade Networks

  • Northeast Africa and the Nile Valley (7000BCE-350CE):

    • Pre- and proto-dynastic Egypt and Nubia:

    • Among the first civilizations to engage in agriculture.

    • Among the first civilizations to urbanize.

    • Among the first to establish systems of writing, engineering, science, and mathematics.

    • Nilotic civilizations had a profound influence on the Greco-Roman world, the Middle East, and sub-Saharan Africa.

  • West Africa and the Niger Valley Civilizations:

    • Nok culture (1000BCE-200CE)

    • Ancient Ghana (200CE-1230CE)

    • Ancient Mali (1200CE-1460CE)

    • Ancient Songhai (1460CE-1600CE)

    • The Trans-Saharan Trade Route (600CE-1885CE):

    • Involved vigorous commercial trade and the generation of great wealth.

    • Facilitated significant Islamic influence throughout the West African region.

European Eras, Maritime Technology, and Early Exploration

  • Historical Eras in Europe:

    • Classical period and the rise of Christianity (800BCE-600CE).

    • The Medieval Era / Dark Ages / Middle Ages (600CE-1300CE).

    • The Renaissance and Reformation (1300CE-1600CE).

  • Trade and Commerce Between Europe and the Venetian/Arab World:

    • Arab exports of African gold and other goods.

    • Native Arab goods.

    • Arab exports of Asian goods originating from India and China.

  • European Maritime Borrowings from the Arabs:

    • Caravel

    • Compass

    • Quadrant

    • Astrolabe

    • Telescope

  • European Exploration Milestones:

    • Portuguese explorations throughout the 1400sAD.

    • Spain and the completion of the Reconquista in the 1490sAD.

Christopher Columbus and Trans-Atlantic Colonization

  • Christopher Columbus' Background and Experience:

    • Extensive background and nautical experiences.

    • Guided by maritime theories, including the Northwest Passage theory.

  • Contact and Trans-Atlantic Expeditions:

    • First trans-Atlantic voyage conducted in 1492AD.

    • Subsequent voyages focused on active colonization.

    • Columbus stated that Native Americans would make good slaves/servants.

    • Columbus stated that Native Americans would make good Christians.

  • Political Shift: The arrival of Amerigo Vespucci and the political fall of Columbus.

The Transition to the New Slavery and Early Modern European Racism

  • Historical Shift in Enslavement Dynamics:

    • Pre-1500sAD Period: Characterized by "Old Slavery" and general ethnocentrism.

    • Historiography: Winthrop Jordan's work White Over Black documents this evolution.

    • Emergence of the "New Slavery" and modern racism in the 1500sAD:

    • Race-based: Exclusively bound to racial identity.

    • High-volume business: Transformed into a mass commercial enterprise.

    • Lifelong and hereditary: Enslavement was permanent and passed down generation-after-generation.

    • Legal deprivation: Slaves possessed no legal rights and were legally relegated to chattel.

    • Division of labor: Slaves were confined predominantly to oppressive outdoor work as opposed to indoor/domestic duties.

Spanish and English Conquests in the Americas

  • Methods of Conquest: Conquistadors acquired land and riches primarily through violent means.

  • Spanish Conquistadors and Expansion:

    • Hernand Cortez: Directed the sack of the Aztec empire in 1519AD.

    • Major Explorers: Balboa, Ponce de Leon, de Coronado, and de Soto.

    • Strategic Settlements: St. Augustine, Florida.

  • English Conquerors and Early Colonization:

    • Key Figures: Francis Drake, John Hawkins, Walter Raleigh, and John Smith.

    • Jamestown, Virginia: Early English settlement financed by joint stocks.

The Tripartite Anglo-American Compact

  • Three Geographic and Economic Sectors of Settlement:

    • The Chesapeake:

    • Financed/Organized by: Virginia Company of London.

    • Colonies: Virginia and Maryland.

    • Anglo-West Indies:

    • Primary Islands: Barbados and Jamaica.

    • Primary Commodities & Labor: Driven by sugar production and slave labor.

    • New England:

    • Financed/Organized by: Virginia Company of Plymouth or Massachusetts Bay Colony/Company.

    • Colonies: Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

  • Emigration Trends: Substantial English emigration to Anglo-America occurred throughout the 17th century.

English Religious Movements and the Puritan Dilemma

  • Factions Among 17th Century English Puritans:

    • Separatists: Favored complete separation from the established state church.

    • Non-Separatists: Favored reforming the church from within.

  • Puritan Criticisms of the Anglican Church (Church of England):

    • The Mass

    • Church decorations

    • Kneeling during service

    • Priestly vestments

New England Governance, Religious Ideology, and Settlement Patterns

  • Governance and Religious Frameworks:

    • Mayflower Compact and the leadership of John Winthrop.

    • Massachusetts Bay Colony Characteristics:

    • Formed as Covenant societies.

    • Winthrop's model of Social Reciprocity.

    • Influence of Christian socialist utopianism.

    • Structural organization via Congregationalism and "The New England way."

    • Spiritual requirements: The conversion relation, piety and plain style, and strict rules regarding Saints and Sainthood.

  • Institutional and Settlement Patterns:

    • Higher Education: Establishment of Harvard College.

    • Layout of Communities: Free households situated directly within the village, accompanied by free farmland placed outside the village center.

    • Social Units: Close-knit communities built around the nuclear family and strict property rights.

  • Dissent and Evolution:

    • Key Dissidents: Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson.

    • Religious Adaptations: Implementation of the Half-Way Covenant.

    • Social Crises: The Salem Witch Trials.

    • Economic Transformation: Cultural shift from initial Social Reciprocity to competitive Marketplace Values.

The Anglo-West Indies and the Plantation Economy

  • Maritime Activity and Early Settlement:

    • Active presence of pirates and buccaneers throughout the Caribbean.

    • English squatters and mercenaries engaging in island skirmishes with the Spanish and other competing powers.

    • Major Settlements: Barbados, Jamaica, Antigua, and adjacent islands.

  • Plantation Development and the Shift to Slavery:

    • Initial Economy: Struggling small tobacco planters relying on English indentured servants.

    • Dutch Intervention: In the 1660s, the Dutch introduced sugar cultivation and African slave labor to English planters.

    • Demographic and Legal Realities:

    • Rapid emergence of Black majorities across the Anglo-Caribbean.

    • Characterized by enormous abuse and economic exploitation.

    • Codified through punitive legal systems such as the (Barbados) slave codes.

    • Enormous wealth realized by English plantation owners.

    • Commercial Trade Routes: Tri-lateral trade linking the West Indies with New England and the Chesapeake.

Chesapeake Society: Development of Virginia and Maryland

  • Colony of Virginia:

    • Major Settlement: Jamestown.

    • Primary Commodity: Tobacco cultivation.

    • Labor System: Importation of African forced labor.

    • Social Framework: Active role of religion in structuring Virginia society.

    • Conflict: Bacon's Rebellion.

  • Colony of Maryland:

    • Leadership: Founded by Lord Baltimore and Catholic investors.

    • Religious Purpose: Established explicitly as a haven for English Catholics.

    • Political Shift: Subsequent English Protestant takeover of Maryland.

The Restoration Colonies and Intellectual Movements

  • Expansion of Restoration Colonies:

    • South Carolina

    • North Carolina

    • Georgia

    • New York

    • New Jersey (East and West)

    • Pennsylvania

    • Delaware

  • Cultural and Intellectual Movements:

    • The Enlightenment and the rise of Deists.

    • The Great Awakening religious revivals.

  • Imperial Regulation: The Navigations' Act (1661AD).

Regional Dynamics: The Carolinas, New Netherlands, and Georgia

  • The Carolinas:

    • Political Foundations: Intellectual involvement of John Locke.

    • The Fundamental Constitution of Carolina:

    • Attempted implementation of colonial feudalism and formal nobility.

    • Economic and Social Developments:

    • Early reliance on tobacco estates, followed by the tobacco bust.

    • Major Port: Charles Towne (Charleston).

    • Labor System: Large-scale reliance on African slaves to power the rice economy.

    • Resistance: The Stono Rebellion (1739AD).

    • Diversified Industries: Ranching, tar production, and lumber.

  • New Netherlands / New York:

    • Dutch Governance: Controlled by the Dutch under Peter Stuyvesant, centered at New Amsterdam (New York City).

    • English Conquest: Target of an English invasion in 1664AD, after which control was granted to James II (Duke of York).

    • Regional Economy: Centered around the Hudson economy.

  • Pennsylvania and Quaker Settlement:

    • Spiritual Roots: Influenced by George Fox and the Society of Friends (Quakers).

    • Proprietorship: Founded by William Penn through proprietary colonization.

    • Principles: Defined by widespread religious tolerance and cultural diversity.

  • The Colony of Georgia:

    • Governance and Vision of James Oglethorpe:

    • Strong personal dislike of slavery and hard liquor.

    • Envisioned a yeoman-driven colony populated by family farmers.

    • Expressed an explicit desire to treat Native Americans fairly.

    • Initial Policies: Strict prohibition of slavery and large plantations; focus on producing rice and silk.

    • Structural Decline: The fall of Oglethorpe led directly to the rise of a full slavocracy by 1750AD.