apush hemiler notes

Native Societies Before European Contact

  • Southwest

    • Farmers cultivating maize
    • Developed advanced irrigation systems
    • Established small urban centers using hardened clay bricks

  • Great Basin/Plains

    • Nomadic hunter-gatherers focusing on buffalo
    • Lived in small egalitarian kinship bands

  • Pacific Coast

    • Permanent villages with populations around 1,000
    • Abundant resources including fish, small game, and plant life
    • Engaged in coastal trade

  • Northeast

    • Engaged in farming with villages built around longhouses
    • Abundant timber, furs, and fish resources

  • Mississippi River Valley

    • Focused on rich soil for farming
    • Developed river-based trade networks

  • Specific Tribes

    • Pueblo and Anasazi in Southwest (Mesa Verde cliff dwellings)
    • Ute and Chumash in California
    • Chinook in Pacific Northwest
    • Iroquois and Cahokia (population of 10-30,000 with a strong centralized government)

Context of the Old World and European Exploration

  • Established strong centralized states in Europe
  • Increased demand for luxury goods from China and India spurred exploration
  • Islamic states hindered Eurasian trade for Europeans
  • Portugal developed a trading-post empire in Africa and India, owing to advancements in maritime technology and shipbuilding
  • The Reconquista united Spain, promoting the quest for new wealth sources through Asian markets
  • The Columbian Exchange
    • Transfer of people, animals, plants, and diseases between East and West
    • Resulted in significant population growth in Europe
    • Diseases like smallpox devastated Native American populations
    • Key crops included tomatoes, potatoes, maize, and turkeys from Americas; wheat, rice, horses, and pigs from Europe

Spanish Colonial Society

  • Establishment of colonial governance through royally appointed governors

  • Encomienda system utilizing forced Native labor, leading to African enslavement

  • Casta system creating a racial hierarchy

  • Encouraged and forced conversion of Native Americans to Christianity

  • Indigenous people impacted severely by disease and overwork, leading to increased reliance on African slaves who were unfamiliar with American conditions

  • Established plantations (haciendas), ranches, and mines drove economic wealth

  • Different racial categories included Peninsulares, Criollos, Mestizos, Indios, Mulattoes, Negros, etc.

  • Influences from the Protestant Reformation led to increased denominational tensions and socio-political debates

    • Examples include debates between Sepulveda and Las Casas over treatment of Natives

  • The Spanish adopted Portuguese methods leading to the establishment of chattel slavery in New World

Comparison of European Colonialism

Goals
  • Spanish: Conquest, wealth extraction, spread Christianity
  • French: Wealth extraction, trade, spread Christianity
  • Dutch: Trade focus
  • English: Wealth extraction, territorial expansion, quest for religious freedom
Economic Activities
  • Spanish: Sugar, tobacco, coffee, gold, silver
  • French: Fur, fish
  • Dutch: Shipping, fur, finance/banking
  • English: Joint-stock companies funding colonies (tobacco, timber, furs)
Native Relations
  • Spanish established encomienda and casta systems
  • French fostered intermarriage for trade relationships; faced minimal interaction with Natives initially
  • English experienced friendly relations that led to tension over land and eventual conflicts

Development of Colonial Regions

Chesapeake
  • Economically driven by tobacco plantations
New England
  • Subsistence farming, fishing, and shipbuilding
Caribbean/Carolinas
  • Agricultural economy focusing on tobacco, sugarcane, rice, and indigo plantations
Middle Colonies
  • Focused on crops like wheat, barley, and corn
Governance
  • Chesapeake with House of Burgesses; New England with Mayflower Compact and self-governance; Carolinas with proprietary charters
Religious and Social Makeup
  • Various dependent on region: Anglican in the South, Puritan in New England, diverse in Middle Colonies

Labor and Economic Changes

  • Colonies saw a shift from indentured servitude to African chattel slavery due to demand and inefficiencies
  • Enlightenment thought sparked new political ideas around natural rights and questioning authority
  • Prominent events included Bacon’s Rebellion showcasing class tensions
  • Social movements like the Great Awakening influenced a religious revival and questioning of authority