Comprehensive Study Guide: Pre-Columbian Societies, Exploration, Reformation, and Imperial Dominance

Pre-Columbian Civilizations and West African Empires

• Pueblos:

  • A Southwestern indigenous group known for their agricultural lifestyle as farmers.
  • Inhabited structured villages, caves, and cliff dwellings.

• Mound Builders:

  • Refers to Midwest indigenous cultures, specifically the Adena and Hopewell.
  • Constructed massive dome-shaped earthwork mounds.
  • Established extensive regional trade networks.

• Eastern Woodlands Indians:

  • Geographically located in the Southeast and extending along the Atlantic coast into the Northeast.
  • Formed highly structured and organized societies.

• Aztecs:

  • The former ruling indigenous empire based in Mexico.
  • Conquered by Hernándo Cortés, who also subdued their ruler, Montezuma.

• Inca Empire:

  • A major South American empire conquered by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro.

• West African Empires and Timbuktu:

  • Prominent West African empires included Ghana, Mali (ruled by Mansa Musa), and Songhai.
  • Timbuktu served as a prominent West African center of scholarship and trade alongside these powerful empires.

Early European Exploration and the Age of Discovery

• The Crusades:

  • Major military conflicts between Muslim and Christian European cultures.
  • Sparked a significant increase in European trade as participants returned home with products from Asia.

• Bartolomeu Dias:

  • Portuguese explorer who sailed southward along the African west coast.
  • Successfully rounded the southern cape of Africa, naming it the Cape of "Good Hope".

• Vasco da Gama:

  • Portuguese explorer who successfully established a direct sea route around Africa to India.

• Christopher Columbus:

  • Reasoned that the shortest route to the East (Asia) was by sailing west.
  • Sailed west across the Atlantic and landed in the Bahamas.
  • His arrival helped shift the focus of the Age of Discovery to the New World.

• The Columbian Exchange:

  • The widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, communicable diseases, and ideas between the Old World and the New World.

• Amerigo Vespucci:

  • Navigational explorer who completed at least two distinct voyages to the Caribbean and South America.

• John Cabot:

  • Italian explorer who reached Newfoundland in 1497 while searching for a passage to China.

• Ferdinand Magellan:

  • Led the historic expedition that completed the first circumnavigation of the globe.

Religious Transformations and Political Thought

• Martin Luther:

  • German monk who took a public stand against the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church.
  • Sparked the Protestant Reformation.
  • Inspired foundational concepts of freedom from authoritarian control, spiritual individualism, and equality.

• John Calvin:

  • Geneva's most influential religious teacher, whose ideas heavily influenced Protestant movements.
  • Emphasized that government should protect the liberty of the people.
  • Directly challenged absolute monarchy.

Papal Demarcation and Spanish Colonization

• Pope Alexander VI and the Line of Demarcation:

  • In 1493, issued a papal directive drawing a line dividing the non-Christian world between Spain and Portugal.

• Spanish Imperial Dominance and Institutions:

  • Spain was the primary nation that dominated early exploration and colonization of the New World.
  • Established harsh dictatorial rule focused on wealth extraction.
  • Slavery: Introduced by the Spanish and Portuguese to the New World to replace the dying native labor force.

• Spanish Explorers and Conquistadors:

  • Hernándo Cortés: Spanish conquistador responsible for conquering the Aztec Empire and ruler Montezuma in Mexico.
  • Francisco Pizarro: Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire in South America.
  • Juan Ponce de León: Sailed northwest from Puerto Rico in search of rumored wealth; claimed Florida for Spain and established the permanent settlement of St. Augustine.
  • Francisco de Coronado: Explored parts of the American Southwest in search of rumored wealth.
  • Hernando de Soto: Landed at present-day Tampa Bay, explored the Deep South, and discovered the Mississippi River.

French and Dutch Colonial Ventures

• Jacques Cartier:

  • French explorer who navigated the St. Lawrence River.
  • Claimed extensive lands along the river for France.

• New Netherland / New York:

  • Dutch territory founded following the exploration of Henry Hudson.
  • Later seized by England and renamed New York.
  • Surrendered to the English under the administration of the one-legged governor, Peter Stuyvesant.

English Colonization, Naval Conflict, and Sea Dominance

• Sir Walter Raleigh:

  • Financed the first English attempts to settle North America.

• Roanoke Island:

  • The location chosen for Sir Walter Raleigh's early settlement attempt, which became mysteriously known as the "Lost Colony".

• Devastation of Native Populations and English Control:

  • England furthered its control over North America while European communicable diseases devastated native populations, who had no biological immunity or defense against them.

• King Philip II:

  • King of Spain who was intensely focused on crushing Protestantism across western Europe.

• Sir Francis Drake:

  • The most famous English admiral during Queen Elizabeth I's rule.
  • Attacked Spanish outposts and led privateering sea captains who called themselves "sea dogs".

• Defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588):

  • The Spanish Armada consisted of 130 ships and about 30,000 men entering the English Channel.
  • Protestant Wind: A fierce storm known as the "Protestant Wind" aided the English fleet in destroying the Spanish Armada.
  • Impact of the Victory:
    • Defeat in 1588 secured the future for Protestantism in England.
    • Ended the "Spanish century".
    • Marked the beginning of English dominance on the seas and in North America.