Unit 1: 1491 - 1607

NA'S were diverse before colonization:

  • coastal regions: fishing villages

  • some hunter/gatherer groups

  • others lived in large empires → vast trading networks

Utah & Colorado (Pueblo people):

  • Farmers (settled population), grew maize, had advanced irrigation by diverting river water

  • Built small urban centers & made cliff dwellings

Great Basin region & Great Plains:

  • more nomadic: Hunter/gatherer

  • hunted buffalo, didn't build cities

  • small egalitarian (equality) kinship groups

  • eg. Ute people

Northwest:

  • permanent settlements because of abundance of fish

  • eg. Chumash people: villages sustaining 1000 people, regional trade networks

Northeast (Iroquois):

  • farmers → maize, irrigation systems

  • lived in long houses (communal): made of abundant timber

Mississippi River Valley:

  • farmers: Rich soil

  • trade through main waterways

  • eg. Cahokia people: 10,000 - 30,000 people → centralized gov led by powerful chieftains

Europeans in the Americas:

  • wealthy upper class wanted goods from Asia but Muslims controlled many trading routes → Europeans looked for sea based routes.

  • first sea based trader: Portugal → established trading post empire around Africa (possible because of new maritime technology)

  • Spain inspired by Portugal maritime success, motivated to spread Catholicism

Christopher Columbus:

  • sponsored by Ferdinand & Isabella to sail west to Asian markets (economic motives)

  • landed in San Salvador & gained wealth → word spread & competition started between European nations to explore the New world

Colombian exchange:

  • from Americas, food like potatoes, tomatoes, & maize went to Europe

  • from Europe, wheat, rice, & soy beans went to Americas

  • from Americas, turkeys went to Europe

  • from Europe, cattle, pigs, horses to Americas

  • gold & silver went to Europe

  • Europeans & enslaved Africans went to Americas

  • diseases to both: Small pox from Europeans→ killed huge NA populations

Wealth to Europe from Americas:

  • shift away from feudalism (peasants worked on nobles land for protection) to capitalism (private ownership) → rise of joint stock companies helped capitalism

  • joint stock company: a bunch of investors to fund expedition, limited liability

Spain:

  • first major European player in Americas

  • encomienda system, then asiento system

  • casta system (social classes based on race)

European & NA relations

  • hostile relations, Europeans looked down on NA

  • but, learned things from each other: Europeans learned how to hunt & cultivate maize, & NA adopted iron tools & weapons

  • Europeans justified mistreating NA: "they're less than human" → except bartolome de las casas who defended NA’s humanity