Colonization

What was North American society like before colonization?

• first human populations migrated from Siberia 12-40 thousand years ago
• agriculture began about 9000 years ago in present-day Mexico and then it gradually spread
• by 15th century, 50-60 million people (north and south america)   * huge diversity of culture and life ways (spoke hundred of languages)   * deeply interconnected
• complex world already in motion
• much hunting and gathering   * relied on corn

How and why did European colonization first begin?

• politically and culturally fragmented   * many different cultures and different political sides that divided people
• christianity and catholic church were the only real unifiers   * brought groups together with common religion
• peasant majority
• increasingly powerful elite minorities in port cities:   * merchants, soldiers, clergy, political class
• growing demand for luxury goods from “the east”
• powerful islamic neighbors

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