chapter 1, section 1.2 - section review questions
Origins and Early Migrations of American Indians
Post-Flood Migration Theories
Ancestors of American Indians migrated from Asia to the Americas sometime after the Flood.
Migration occurred either by crossing the narrow Bering Strait in small boats or on foot across a bridge of ice.
Alternative historical theory proposes that a land body connected the two continents, allowing populations to cross directly on foot.
Pattern of Settlement
Asian immigrants moved slowly southward over generations.
Descendants settled across the entire hemisphere, extending down to the southern tip of South America.
Upon arrival, European explorers encountered a New World teeming with human populations living within highly developed civilizations.
Southwestern Pueblos Culture and Civilization
Etymology and Settlement Characteristics
The term "Pueblo" translates directly to "town."
Southwestern Pueblo peoples established fixed settlements, with some communities living in natural caves carved along canyon rims.
Pueblos operated as independent entities; individual towns were governed by a council of elected elders.
Pueblos never developed into larger cities due to the arid climate and constrained food supplies.
Agriculture and Material Culture
Pueblo Indians engaged in farming, relying on staple crops including maize (corn), squash, and beans.
Material craft included the production of baskets and specialized pottery.
Chronology and Environmental Decline
The Pueblo civilization attained its "golden age" around AD 1000.
A severe drought lasting from approximately 1275 to 1310 caused a significant decline in Pueblo civilization long before the arrival of Christopher Columbus.
Midwestern Mound Builders: Adena and Hopewell Cultures
Regional Cultures and Timeline
Developed in the Midwestern region of North America, establishing villages along the Ohio River Valley.
Adena Culture: Flourished from 1000 BC to AD 200.
Hopewell Culture: Flourished from AD 500 to 1600.
Agricultural Foundations and Population Growth
Communities lived in fixed agricultural settlements.
Cultivated crops included squash, gourds, sunflowers, and tobacco.
The reliable and substantial food supply sparked significant population growth.
Mound Construction and Significance
Built hundreds of massive earthworks, with some measuring more than in height and approximately in circumference.
Mounds served as sites for burying the dead and depositing cultural artifacts.
Great Serpent Mound: Located in southern Ohio, this is the most famous structure; it depicts a slithering snake over long with an open mouth appearing to swallow a small round earthwork.
Eastern Woodlands Native Societies
Geographic Distribution and European Contact
Developed throughout the Southeast and extended along the Atlantic coast into the Northeast.
Represented the primary native populations encountered by English, French, Dutch, and Swedish settlers.
Social and Political Structure
Maintained a matriarchal social order, wherein women held primary authority within the social framework and political decision-making processes.
Tribal Groupings by Region
Southeastern Tribes: Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles.
Northern Tribes: Mohawks, Oneidas, Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, and Tuscaroras.
Factors of Decline
Native populations gradually diminished over centuries due to a combination of environmental and external pressures:
Environmental factors: Severe droughts and famines.
European epidemic diseases: Smallpox, chicken pox, and measles.
Conflict and social changes: Tribal infighting, military clashes with European colonists, forced enslavement, and intermarriage.
Hernando Cortés and the Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire
The Conquistador Expedition (1519)
Hernando Cortés, recognized as the first great Conquistador (conqueror), arrived in Mexico in 1519.
Despite orders restricted strictly to exploration, Cortés disobeyed command and ordered his fleet run aground to prevent mutiny among his crew.
Marched inland with an force comprising over 500 men, numerous combat dogs, several cannons, and 16 horses.
Alliances and Aztec Imperial Demographics
Cortés forged strategic alliances with indigenous tribes previously subjugated by the Aztecs.
Subjected tribes despised Aztec rule due to heavy demands for monetary tribute and human sacrifices.
Aztec King Montezuma believed Cortés might be an Aztec deity and dispatched lavish gifts, including turquoise masks, gold figurines, and massive disks of hammered gold.
The display of gold reinforced Cortés's resolve to conquer the empire.
Fall of Tenochtitlán
Cortés advanced to the capital city of Tenochtitlán.
Spanish forces completely crushed Aztec military resistance despite being outnumbered by an estimated ratio of 100 to 1.
European Epidemic Diseases and Military Technology
Demographic Impact of European Pathogens
Infectious European diseases proved far more destructive to indigenous populations than firearms.
Diseases introduced included smallpox, measles, mumps, whooping cough, typhus, cholera, and influenza.
Lacking biological immunity, native populations suffered a collapse estimated at a 90 percent drop between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Socioeconomic and Military Dynamics
In the West Indies, the systemic collapse of indigenous populations created severe labor shortages for Spanish enterprise, prompting the introduction of imported African slaves.
Advanced indigenous cultures could not withstand European military hardware, which featured muskets, heavy artillery, cannons, and warhorses previously unknown in the Americas.
Spanish Exploration of North America
Juan Ponce de León (1513)
Sailed northwest from Puerto Rico in search of rumored wealth.
Navigated the Florida coastline and landed near present-day St. Augustine.
Claimed the territory for Spain, naming it Florida.
St. Augustine (1565): Established by Spain as the oldest continuously inhabited permanent European city in the present-day United States.
Hernando de Soto (1539)
Landed at present-day Tampa Bay, Florida.
Led an overland expedition north to modern Charlotte, North Carolina, and traversed the Deep South.
Discovered the Mississippi River during his inland journey.
Francisco de Coronado (1540)
Commanded a major expedition departing from Mexico into the modern Southwestern United States.
Discovered the Grand Canyon while attempting to locate the mythical Seven Cities of Gold.
The Anglo-Spanish Rivalry and the Defeat of the Spanish Armada
King Philip II and Imperial Ambitions
King Philip II of Spain (reigned 1556–1598) sought to eliminate Protestantism across Western Europe.
Assembled the largest and best-equipped land force in Europe, funded by Mexican gold and Peruvian silver extraction.
English Privateering and Sir Francis Drake
English Protestant sea captains, self-identified as "Sea Dogs," systematically attacked and looted Spanish treasure fleets in the New World.
Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe between 1577 and 1580, executing raids on Spanish outposts.
The Conflict of 1588
Spain launched the Spanish Armada, consisting of 130 ships and approximately 30,000 men, into the English Channel.
Francis Drake utilized fire ships to shatter the tactical formation of the Spanish fleet.
A violent storm, traditionally called the "Protestant Wind," destroyed much of the remaining armada.
Historical Consequences
Secured the ongoing existence of Protestantism in England.
Marked the official end of Spanish geopolitical dominance (the "Spanish century").
Initiated the rise of English naval dominance, paving the way for eventual English colonization of North America.
Sir Walter Raleigh and the Roanoke Voyages
Ideological Motives for English Colonization
During the 1580s, Sir Walter Raleigh and key proponents formulated arguments for colonizing North America:
Expanding the reach of Protestant Christianity.
Boosting domestic trade and economic growth.
Reducing domestic unemployment.
Establishing forward military outposts to counter Spanish assets.
The 1584 and 1587 Expeditions
Queen Elizabeth I granted Raleigh a formal patent in 1584 to establish a settlement in Virginia.
1584 Settlement: Settlers landed on Roanoke Island along North Carolina's Outer Banks; the venture was short-lived.
1587 Settlement: Raleigh funded a second group commanded by John White, which included women and children.
Virginia Dare: Granddaughter of John White, born in 1587 as the first English child born in North America.
The Lost Colony (1590)
Anglo-Spanish naval warfare delayed John White's return supply voyage until 1590.
Upon arrival, White found the colony abandoned with no human remains.
The sole clue remaining was the word "CROATOAN" carved into a tree.
The fate of the Lost Colony remains historically unverified.
Early French, Dutch, and English Settlements in North America
New France
French settlements in Canada remained sparsely populated and heavily dependent on the mother country.
The French monarch maintained absolute control over colonial administrative and economic policies.
Harsh, prolonged winters constrained agricultural production primarily to subsistence levels.
New Netherland and Dutch Rule
In 1609, navigator Henry Hudson explored and claimed the North Atlantic coastal zone for the Dutch.
The region was designated New Netherland, becoming an official Dutch province in 1624.
Its central trade hub was New Amsterdam (present-day New York City).
Peter Stuyvesant: The one-legged governor took office in 1647; while he attempted to secure the colony against Native American incursions, his authoritarian administration rendered him highly unpopular among residents.
English Conquest of 1664
In 1664, English forces seized control of New Netherland.
The English offered inhabitants guarantees of freedom regarding life, liberty, and property in exchange for peaceful surrender.
The province and its main municipality were officially renamed New York.
Demographics expanded from a population of 270 in 1628 to approximately 9,000 residents by 1664.