APUSH Unit 1 (1491-1607) Guided Notes

The Americas Before European Contact

  • Southwest:
    • Farmers specializing in maize cultivation.
    • Developed advanced irrigation systems.
    • Established small urban centers constructed from hardened clay bricks.
    • Examples include Pueblo and Anasazi (Mesa Verde cliff dwellings).
  • Great Basin/Plains:
    • Nomadic hunter/gatherers who relied on buffalo.
    • Organized in small, egalitarian kinship bands.
    • Example: Ute.
  • Pacific Coast:
    • Established permanent villages with populations nearing 1,000.
    • Relied on abundance of fish, small game, and plant life.
    • Engaged in coastal trade.
    • Examples include Chumash in California and Chinook in the Pacific Northwest.
  • Northeast:
    • Farmers living in villages with longhouses.
    • Access to abundant resources such as timber, furs, and fish.
    • Example: Iroquois.
  • Mississippi River:
    • Farmers who benefited from rich soil.
    • Established river-based trade networks.
    • Example: Cahokia, a large settlement with a population of 10,000-30,000, featuring a strong, centralized government.

"Old World" Meets "New World"

  • Context of the Old World (Europe, Africa, and Asia) that Prompted and Allowed for European Exploration in the Late 15th Century:
    • Development of stronger, more centralized states.
    • Increased demand for luxury goods from China and India.
    • Islamic states making Eurasian trade difficult for Europeans.
    • Portuguese "trading-post empire" in Africa and India.
    • Advancements in maritime technology and shipbuilding (e.g., astrolabe, sternpost rudder, lateen sail).
    • Reconquista and unification of Spain (Christian Spain v Muslim Moors).

Primary Objectives of Spanish Exploration and Colonialism

  • Initial Objective: Find new sources of wealth in Asian markets.
  • Evolved Objective: Extract resources (gold/silver/tobacco/sugar) from the land and to spread religion.

The Columbian Exchange

  • Definition: The transfer of people, animals, plants, and diseases from the East (Old World) to the West (New World) and from the West to the East.
  • Effects:
    • Transfer of crops and animals resulted in a significant population increase in Europe.
    • Diseases (e.g., smallpox) brought by Europeans decimated Native American populations.
    • Examples of Transfers:
      • From Americas: Tomatoes, potatoes, maize, turkeys.
      • From Europe: Wheat, rice, soybeans, horses, cows, pigs.

How the Spanish Established and Maintained Their New Colonies

  • Political Factors: Royally appointed colonial governors.
  • Economic Factors:
    • Encomienda system: Using forced native labor.
    • Later, enslaved Africans were used for labor.
    • Haciendas: Plantations, ranches, and mines.
  • Social Factors:
    • Casta system established racial hierarchy:
      • Peninsulares (Spaniards born in Spain)
      • Criollos (Spaniards born in the New World)
      • Mestizos (Spanish and Native American)
      • Indios (Native Americans)
      • Mulattoes (Spanish and African)
      • Zambos (Native American and African)
      • Negros (Africans)

Role of Religion in Spanish Colonial Society

  • Incentivized and forced conversion of Native Americans.
  • Religion used to support further subjugation of Native Americans as well as better treatment.
  • Religion used to justify slavery in some cases.
  • After Reformation in Europe, denominational differences become much more significant.
  • Examples: Sepulveda vs. Las Casas and the "Mark of Ham".

Development of African-Based Chattel Slavery in the New World

  • Native Americans were more familiar with the environment and were dying from disease and overwork.
  • Africans were unfamiliar with Americas, and the slave trade was inexpensive and already flourishing.
  • The Spanish copied the Portuguese blueprint for implementation of African-based chattel slavery.