Native American History & European Exploration ,

Early Americas

First Settlers

• Arrived in the Americas thousands of years ago from Asia.

• During a colder period, the Bering Strait between Russia and Alaska was ice, allowing passage.

• Scientists use genetic similarities to support this theory.

Population Density

• The Pacific Coast was the most densely populated area in what is now the United States due to plentiful food and natural resources.

• The Atlantic coast, plains, and Mississippi Valley were sparsely populated compared to Europe.

• Population density was about 1% of that in England.

Population Estimate

• Around 4 million people lived in the US and Canada at the time of European arrival (late 1400s), similar to England's population.

• This population was much more spread out than in England.

Sources of Knowledge

• Limited written language among Native American groups in this area before European arrival.

• Reliance on archaeological data: art, building foundations, pottery, and refuse heaps.

• After European arrival, their records provide additional information, though with a biased viewpoint.

• Oral tradition is a key source, but may contain inaccuracies; compared with archaeological data.

Native American Diversity

• Native American groups were diverse, with varied languages, political systems, and religions.

• Dozens of different, mutually unintelligible languages existed.

• The concept of a unified "Native American" identity was introduced by Europeans.

• Native Americans viewed Europeans as just another group among many.

• Similar to Europe, where a common European identity was not prevalent until the 20th century.

Similarities Among Native American Tribes

• Despite differences, similarities existed due to shared environmental conditions.

• Tribes interacted with the same plants, animals, and climate.

Limited Wildlife

• Limited range of animals available for hunting or domestication.

• Lack of large domesticable animals like horses or cows.

• Dogs were the largest domesticatable animal, used for guarding and hunting.

Impact on Transportation

• Limited ability to carry heavy loads due to lack of large animals.

• Little evidence of wheel use before European arrival.

Religious Beliefs

• Many tribes practiced animism: the belief that spirits inhabit animate and inanimate objects.

• Importance of respecting nature and avoiding waste to not disrespect the spirits.

Emphasis on Possessions

• Less emphasis on accumulating wealth or possessions.

• Necessity to move frequently and carry belongings personally limited possessions.

Social Hierarchies

• Simple social hierarchies, with basic class structures.

• Limited subdivision into upper, lower, and middle classes.

• Emphasis on contributing to the tribe's survival.

Land Ownership

• Land ownership was a foreign concept to most tribes.

• Land was used as needed and then abandoned, aligning with animistic beliefs.

Population and Food

• Population limited by food supply; balance between the two.

• Areas with better access to food supported larger populations.

Development of Agriculture

• Originally, tribes relied on hunting, fishing, and gathering wild crops, requiring nomadic or semi-nomadic lifestyles.

• Agriculture developed, starting in Mesoamerica (Mexico and surrounding region) around 700 to 1200 AD.

• Key crops: corn, beans, and squash.

• Farming spread north into what is now the United States.

Impact of Agriculture

• Better access to food led to increased populations and more sedentary lifestyles.

• Surpluses facilitated trade with neighboring tribes.

Disadvantages of Agriculture

• Limited nutrient variety from staple crops.

• Vulnerability to droughts and crop failures.

Regional Differences

• Similarities often based on regional conditions.

Pacific Coast

• Good access to wild food, especially salmon in the Northwest.

• Most densely populated region due to food availability.

• Less focus on agriculture because of natural abundance.

Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico)

• Arid climate with less access to wild food.

• Necessity to develop agriculture and irrigation.

• Complex civilizations with advanced buildings (pueblos).

• Drought in 1100 AD led to societal collapse and a return to hunting and gathering.

Central Region (Mississippi River Basin)

• Defining characteristic: building mounds.

• Mississippi River: vital for trade and transportation.

• Cahokia: Largest settlement prior to European arrival, with large mounds.

• Possibly peaked at 30,000 people around 1200 AD.

• Decline possibly due to overpopulation exceeding food supply; settlements later re-founded at smaller sizes.

Eastern Region (Atlantic Coast)

• Hunting, fishing, and agriculture (corn, beans, squash).

• Frequent warfare and trading between tribes.

• Formation of alliances and confederacies for protection, such as the Iroquois Confederacy.

• First area to interact with Europeans, leading to a different historical trajectory.

European Exploration

Motivation for Exploration

• Desire to trade with Asia (India and China) for goods like sugar, porcelain, silk, and tea.

• European merchants profited immensely from this trade.

• In 1453, the Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople, disrupting trade routes.

• Ottomans taxed merchants, raising the cost of Asian goods and reducing European access.

• Europeans sought alternative trade routes to avoid Ottoman taxes.

• Portugal found success traveling around Africa by water, but access was limited to other countries.

Knowledge of the World

• Europeans knew the world was round due to Greek and Roman knowledge.

• Main reason for not traveling west across the Atlantic: the perceived long journey across a vast ocean.

• Europeans were unaware of the existence of the Americas.

• Too much ocean to cross, not enough supplies for the trip.

Christopher Columbus

• Italian map maker who believed the world was smaller than previously calculated.

• Thought Europe was much closer to Asia.

• Convinced Spain to fund a voyage.

• In 1492, Columbus sailed west and landed on an island in the Bahamas.

• Believed he had reached the Indies (islands off the coast of Asia).

• Called the people he encountered "Indians".

• Returned to Spain with plants and animals, hailed as a success.

• Made three more voyages to the Americas, searching for Asia.

• Eventually, Europeans realized Columbus had found a new continent.

Columbus's Significance

• Columbus did not "discover" America, as people already lived there.

• He initiated European exploration, conquest, and settlement in the Americas.

• Some evidence suggests Vikings had traveled to North America 500 years prior, but the information was not widely known.

• Columbus's voyage sparked European interest in the Americas and awareness of land between Europe and Asia.

The Columbian Exchange

• Exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and culture between the Eastern Hemisphere (Europe, Africa, Asia) and the Americas.

• Species were different between Americas and the rest of the world.

• New World to Old World plants: corn, tomatoes, potatoes, vanilla, rubber, chocolate, tobacco.

• Old World to New World plants: citrus fruits, bananas, coffee.

• Animals: Horses, cows, sheep, and pigs were introduced to the Americas.

Impact of Disease

• Europeans carried diseases like smallpox, yellow fever, and typhus.

• Native populations lacked immunity, leading to high death tolls.

• Historians estimate that as much as 90% of the native population died over one or two generations.

• Caribbean populations were particularly devastated, with 100% mortality in some areas.

• Diseases spread even before direct European contact, due to native trade networks.

• Europeans also died from these diseases, but at a lower rate due to some built-up immunity (two thirds of deaths).

Spanish Conquest

Economic Model

• Spain subcontracted American expeditions to Spanish adventurers and incentivized the missions with profit potentials.

• The Spanish government received a fifth of the profits.

Motivations of Explorers

• Spread Christianity.

• Riches, finding gold and silver.
  *Making a name, known for braveness
  *God, Gold, and Glory.

Conquest of the Aztec Empire

• Spanish, led by Hernán Cortés, landed on the mainland in 1519 with 400 people and some fire arms.

• They had heard about the Aztec.

• The Spanish allied with the Tlaxcala, who hated the Aztecs.

• Cortés took over and there was a Spanish governor in charge.
  Aztecs contributed much wealth to his people from the other tribes.

• 1521 defeated Aztec then conquered Spain.

Spanish Exploration in North America

• Initially, Spain focused on Central and South America due to wealth.

• Some expeditions into North America, spurred by tales of wealth.

• The stories were false and the Spanish didn't find anything.
  They spread disease which ended up killing a large native population.

Spanish Outposts

*Late 15,1600s
*Spanish began looking for defense outposes.
Set up in southeast (Florida, St. Augustine, 1565) and southwest (New Mexico).!