Chapters 1-5 Reading and Background

  • Indigenous Adaptation: Native peoples adapted to diverse American environments.

  • The Atlantic World & Columbian Exchange:

    • Exchange of resources between Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.

    • Spread of Eurasian diseases devastated Native American populations.

    • Triangular Trade & Middle Passage: Enslavement and forced transport of Africans to the Americas.Spanish and Portuguese Empires

    • Treaty of Tordesillas

    • Europe doesn’t know the size of America

  • Select North American settlements

    • 1498: Santo Domingo (Spain)

    • 1521: San Juan, puerto Rico (Spain)

    • 1565: Saint Augustine (Spain)

    • 1607: Jamestown (England)

    • 1608: Québec (France)

    • 1620: Plymouth (England)

    • 1625: New Amsterdam, New York (Dutch Republic)

    • 1634: St. Mary’s City, Maryland (England)

    • 1638: New Sweden, Delaware (Sweden)

  • Colonial Systems:

    • Encomienda System & Missions: Spanish labor exploitation and religious conversions.

    • Jamestown: Capitalist, profit-driven venture focused on tobacco.

    • New England Puritans: Settled for religious communities.