Unit 1: Period 1: 1491-1607 (copy)

1.1 Context: European Encounters in the Americas

Period 1 (1491-1607)

Christopher Columbus Arrival

Christopher Columbus arrived in the New World in 1492
He was not the first European to reach North America, the Norse had arrived in modern Canada around 1000
But his arrival marked the beginning of the Contact Period, during which Europe sustained contact with the Americas.
The period ends in 1607 because that is the year of the first English settlement.

Bering Land Bridge

Bering Land Bridge (Connected Eurasia and North America)

First people to inhabit North and South America came across Bering Land Bridge.
Ancestors of the Native Americans could walk across the Bering land bridge from Siberia (in modern Russia) to Alaska.
During this period, the planet was significantly colder.
Much of the world's water was locked up in vast polar ice sheets, causing sea levels to drop.
As the planet warmed, sea levels rose, and this bridge was submerged forming the Bering Strait.

Native Americans in Pre-Columbian North America

The Pre-Columbian era refers to the period before Christopher Columbus' arrival in the "New World".
North America was populated by Native Americans, not to be confused with native-born Americans.

Culture clash between European settlers and Native Americans

European settlers brought different culture, religion, and technology.
Native Americans had their own complex societies, cultures, and religions.
Conflicts and misunderstandings occurred between the two groups.

Conflicts throughout American history

Native Americans resisted European colonization and expansion.
Many wars and battles between Native Americans and European settlers.
Enslaved Africans by European settlers first arrived in 1501.
Policies of forced relocation and assimilation were implemented by the US government.
Native American populations were greatly reduced and their cultures were suppressed.

1.2 Native American Societies Before European Contact

The marker of 1491 serves as a division between the Native American world and the world that came after European exploration, colonization, and invasion.
North America was home to hundreds of tribes, cities and societies.
Indigenous societies in North America before Europeans were definitely very complex.

Permanent Settlements

The spread of maize cultivation from present-day Mexico northward into the present-day American Southwest and beyond supported economic development.
Along Northwest coast and in California, tribes developed communities along ocean to hunt whales and salmon, totem poles, and canoes.
In the northeast, the Mississippi river valley, and along the Atlantic seaboard, some indigenous societies developed.

Nomadic Hunting and Gathering Tribes

Natives in the Great Plains and surrounding grasslands retained the nomadic lifestyles.
In Southwest, people had fixed lifestyles.
The Great Plains was more suitable for hunting and gathering food sources.

1.3 European Exploration in the Americas

Columbus Sails Circa 1492

New ships, such as caravel allowed for longer exploratory voyages.
In August of 1492, Colombus used three caravels, supplied and funded by the Spanish crown, to set sail toward India.
After voyage, when reached land and found a group of people called the Taino and renamed their island San Salvador and claimed it for Spain.

The Age of Exploration

Columbus voyage pleased the Spanish Monarchs.
Other European explorers also set sail to the New World in search of gold, glory and spread the word of their God.

1.4 Columbian Exchange, Spanish Exploration, and Conquest

The Columbian Exchange

Period of rapid exchange of plants, animals, foods, communicable diseases, and diseases.
Europe had the resources and technology to establish colonies far from home.

Flow of Trade

It’s between the Old world and the New world.
Old world refers to Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Old World to New World: horses, pigs, rice, wheat, grapes
New World to Old World: corn, potatoes, chocolate, tomatoes, avocado, sweet potatoes.
The introduction of new crops to Europe helped to increase food production and stimulate growth.

Colonization

A colony is a territory settled and controlled by a foreign power.
Columbus arrival initiated a long period of European expansion and colonialism in the Americas.

Spanish Colonial Power

During the next century, Spain was the colonial power in the Americas.
Spanish founded a number of coastal towns in Central and South America and in the West Indies
Conquistadors collected and exported as much of the area's wealth as they could.

Native vs. European Views

Native Americans	Society	Europeans
Regarded the land as the source of life, not as a commodity to be sold.	View of Land	Believed that the land should be tamed and in private ownership of land.
Thought of the natural world as filled with spirits. Some believed in one supreme being.	Religious Beliefs	The Roman Catholic Church was the dominant religious institution in western Europe. The pope had great political and spiritual authority.
Bonds of kinships ensured the continuation of tribal customs. The basic unit of organization among all Native American groups was the family, which included aunts, uncles, cousins, and other relatives.	Social Organization	Europeans respected kinship, but the extended family was not as important to them. Life centered around the nuclear family (father and mother and their children).
Assignments were based on gender, age, and status. Depending on the region, some women could participate in the decision-making process.	Division of Labor	Men generally did most of the field labor and herded livestock. Women did help in the fields, but they were mostly in charge of child care and household labor.