Americas

Mesoamerican Civilizations

• The Zapotec ($1500$ BC to AD $750$)     * Location: Southern Mexico.     * Created Monte Alban, the first true city in Mesoamerica, with a peak population of $35,000$.     * Declined rapidly, potentially due to loss of support for leadership.

• The Olmec ($1200$ BC to AD $300$)     * Location: southern Mexico.     * Built the first large towns;    * Olmec elite controlled trade networks stretching to central Mexico and the Pacific coast.     * Exports: Rubber, pottery, furs, and cacao.     * Imports: Shells and valuable stones.

• The Toltec (AD $900$ to $1200$)     * Location: Highlands of central Mexico with the capital at Tula.     * Known as fierce warriors; Tula was a major trade center because of obsidian mines.

The Maya Civilization

• Growth and Agriculture     * around $1000$ BC; at its height     * Slash-and-burn agriculture

• Classic Age (AD $250$ to $900$)     * Maya governed as independent city-states; they were never united into a single empire.     * Linked together by trade networks and frequent warfare.

• Maya Society and Religion     * Polytheistic; believed gods influenced all aspects of daily life.     * Kings were seen as intermediaries who communicated with gods.     * Rituals: Blood offerings and human sacrifice (e.g., losing teams in the ritual ball game).     * Social Classes:      

•    1. Upper Class: Priests and professional warriors (responsible for obtaining sacrifice victims).        

•  2. Upper Middle Class: Merchants and skilled craftspeople.       

•   3. Lower Class: Farmers and slaves (the majority population).

• Achievements of the Maya     * Architecture: Impressive buildings and canals.    

•  * Mathematics: One of the first cultures to use the concept of zero.     * Astronomy: Developed a dual calendar system:         * $365$-day farming calendar.         * $260$-day religious calendar.         * More accurate than contemporary European calendars.     * Writing: Complex system of Glyphs (symbols representing objects and sounds).         * Stelae: Large stone monuments carved with writing.         * Codex: A bark-paper book used for written records.

• Decline of the Maya (around $900$)     * Factors may include environmental damage (overuse of resources/drought), increased warfare over land, and abuse of power by kings leading to rebellion.

The Aztec Empire

• Rise of the Aztecs ($1100$s)     * Originally a small group of farmers from northwestern Mexico.     * Settled in the Valley of Mexico and founded the capital Tenochtitlan.     * Rule through alliance and conquest: Ruled $400$ to $500$ city-states with a total population of $5$ million.     * Economy was based on Tribute (tax) paid by conquered peoples.

• Tenochtitlan     * Covered $5$ square miles with a population of $200,000$.     * Chinampas: Floating gardens built to provide land for farming.     * Connected to the market at Tlatelolco by canals and causeways.     * Currency: Cacao beans or gold stored in goose quills.

• Aztec Social Structure     * King: Part of a royal family but elected by nobles.     * Upper Class: Nobles (advisors), Priests (interpreted calendars, performed $20,000$ sacrifices per year), and Warriors.     * Middle Class: Merchants and artisans.     * Bottom: Farmers (poor, landless) and Slaves (captured in battle or debtors).    

• Aztec Achievements     * Advanced stonework and bright featherwork (headdresses/shields).     * System of writing for tax records and business deals.     * Calendars: $260$-day religious and $365$-day solar.

South American Civilizations: The Chavin, Moche, and Nazca

• Regional Context     * Western South America features extreme contrasts: the dry coastal desert and the Andes mountains.

• The Chavin ($900$ to $200$ BC)     * Located in the Highlands of Peru; urban center at Chavin de Huantar (pop. $3,000$).     * Agricultural diversity due to the slopes of the Andes mountains.

• The Moche ($400$ BC to AD $600$)     * Located in the coastal desert of Peru.     * Navigated the environment using irrigation canals from the Andes.     * Best known for skilled metalwork in gold and silver, and pottery.     * Ruled by warrior-priests who expanded territory through war.

• The Nazca ($200$ BC to AD $600$)     * Desert-dwelling culture famous for Nazca Lines (huge geometric shapes and animal outlines like monkeys).     * Highly dependent on irrigation for survival.

The Inca Empire

• Incan Government     * United the entire Andes region into one empire by $1500$ spanning the Pacific coast.     * Pachacuti: Leader who used political alliances and military force to expand territory.     * Capital city: Cuzco.     * Population at height: $12$ million people.     * Ensured stability by replacing local leaders of conquered lands with loyal Incan leaders.

• Incan Economy and Record Keeping     * Mita: A labor tax required of all common people (no currency or markets).     * Quipu: A set of colored, knotted cords used for record-keeping (taxes, livestock, census) because there was no written language.     * Extensive road networks linked cities to facilitate communication and economic control.

• Incan Society and Achievements     * Ayllu: Cooperative communities of families working together on activities like farming.     * Religion: Worship of the sun god was central; humans were rarely sacrificed.     * Engineering: Remarkable builders whose structures still stand.     * Arts: Life-sized gold and silver cornfields and status-specific textile patterns.     * End of the Empire ($1532$): Lasted approximately $100$ years; fell due to internal conflict and Spanish arrival.

The Age of Exploration in Europe

• The Foundation ($1400$-$1700$)     * A period of worldwide discovery and colonization by European sailors.     * Driven by: Search for wealth (spices, silk, perfume from China and India), fame and glory, spreading faith (Christianity), and curiosity.     * The desire to find new routes to Asia was fueled by high prices charged by Italian merchants.

• Timeline of Exploration    

•  * C. $600$ BC: Phoenicians explore West Africa.    

•  * $1271$-$1292$: Marco Polo travels through China.   

•   * C. $1325$-$1350$: Ibn Battuta (Muslim writer) travels through Asia, Africa, and India.     

• * $1405$-$1433$: Zheng He (Chinese Admiral) explores the Indian Ocean.    

•  * $1492$: Christopher Columbus sails to the Americas.     * $1768$-$1779$: Captain James Cook explores the South Pacific.

Explorers from Portugal and Spain

• Portuguese Explorers    

•  * Prince Henry the Navigator: Patron of exploration; established a navigation court in the early $1400$s.    

•  * Bartolomeu Dias ($1488$): First European to sail around the southern tip of Africa (Cape of Good Hope).     

• * Vasco de Gama ($1497$): Reached Calicut, India after $10$ months, establishing rich trading centers.

• Spanish Explorers    

•  * Christopher Columbus ($1492$): Supported by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella; sought China by sailing west. Misidentified the Americas as the "Indies," calling inhabitants "Indians."     

• * Amerigo Vespucci ($1502$): Concluded that the Americas were a new landmass, not Asia.   

•   * Vasco Nunez de Balboa ($1513$): Crossed the Isthmus of Panama to see the Pacific Ocean.     

• * Ferdinand Magellan ($1519$): Reached the Philippines (where he was killed); his survivors became the first to circumnavigate the world in September $1522$.

Northern European Exploration

• The English   

•   * John Cabot ($1497$): Sailed to the Atlantic coast of Canada.  

•    * Sir Francis Drake: Second man to circumnavigate the globe while exploring the west coast of South America.    

•  * Henry Hudson ($1607$): Sought a shorter route to Asia.

• The French     * Sought a "Northwest Passage" around North America.  

•    * Jacques Cartier ($1534$): Claimed lands along the St. Lawrence River as New France.

• The Dutch    

•  * Henry Hudson ($1609$): Explored the river that bears his name while seeking the Northwest Passage.

Conquest and the Build-up of Empires

• The Encomienda System     * Used by the Spanish in the Caribbean (Hispaniola/Cuba).     * Land and Native Americans were given to a colonist for labor; the colonist was required to teach Christianity.     * Resulted in overwork, mistreatment, and the spread of devastating diseases (smallpox, tuberculosis, measles).     * Native populations dropped by more than $90\%$ (from $50$ million to $4$ million).

• Conquest of Mexico: Hernan Cortes     * Conquistador: Spanish military leader who fought against native people.     * Targeted the Aztec Empire and ruler Moctezuma II.     * Malinche: A Native American woman who served as Cortes' translator.     * Advantages: Native American allies who hated the Aztecs, metal weapons/armor, guns, horses, and European diseases.     * Tenochtitlan fell on November $8$, $1519$.

• Conquest of Peru: Francisco Pizarro     * The Incan Empire was weakened by smallpox and a civil war between Atahualpa and his rivals.     * Atahualpa: New ruler captured by Pizarro. Despite paying a fortune in gold/silver, he was killed.     * Cuzco was taken, and the empire destroyed.

• Colonial Life and Struggles     * Viceroys: Officials chosen by the Spanish king to rule American holdings.     * Bartolome de Las Casas: Spanish priest who advocated for Native American protection, though he suggested replacing them with African slaves.     * Treaty of Tordesillas ($1494$): Divided the Atlantic; lands west belonged to Spain, lands east (Brazil) to Portugal.

New France, New Netherland, and English Colonies

• New France (Canada)     * Focused on fish and fur trade rather than gold/silver.     * Small population; did not enslave Native Americans (allied with native hunters).     * Samuel de Champlain: Founded Quebec in $1608$.

• New Netherland     * Located in the Hudson River valley; focused primarily on trade for valuable spices from Southeast Asia.

• English Colonies     * Jamestown, Virginia ($1607$): First English colony; $80\%$ of settlers died the first winter.     * Plymouth, Massachusetts ($1620$): Established by Pilgrims.

• The French and Indian War ($1754$)     * Conflict between the English and French over the Ohio River valley.     * Outcome: France surrendered Canada and all territory east of the Mississippi to England.     * Consequences: British debt from the war led to heavy taxes on American colonists, fueling the American Revolution.

The Columbian Exchange and Economic Shifts

• The Columbian Exchange     * Transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds.     * From Americas: Potatoes, corn, tomatoes, turkey, peanuts.     * To Americas: Horses (primary labor/transport source), llama (only previous domestic animal), coffee, oranges, rice.    

• Introduction of Diseases     * Native Americans had no resistance to smallpox or malaria.     *

• Principles of Mercantilism     * A nation's strength is based on gold and silver wealth.     * Wealth is finite; nations compete for their share.     * Goal: Favorable balance of trade (maximize exports, limit imports via tariffs).     * Colonies exist solely to benefit the mother country by providing raw materials and markets.     * Subsidies: Government grants provided to start new industries.

•     * Joint-Stock Companies: Investors buy shares to fund large businesses (e.g., British East India Company, established $1600$). It spread the risk and cost of establishing colonies.

The Atlantic Slave Trade

• Origins and the Triangular Trade     * Driven by labor shortages on Plantations (cash crops like sugar) after Native American populations died out.     * Triangular Trade Structure:         1. First Leg: European goods to Africa in exchange for slaves.       

•   2. Second Leg (Middle Passage): Africans transported to the Americas.    * A horrific $3$-to-$6$ week journey.     * Africans were chained in dark, cramped quarters; between $10$-$20\%$ died during the voyages  

•   3. Third Leg: American products (sugar, rice) transported to Europe.