Unit 1 1491-1607
Unit 1.2 - Native Americans before European Colonization
Natives were very Diverse like Europe
There were different regions, each of them with their own language, culture, complex societies, etc
Some were nomadic hunter-gathers, that would typically follow the buffalo
Others lived in massive cities.
Geography and the Cultivation of Maize played a role in this
Geography
Great Plains/Great Basin
Hot and dry climates
Nomadic
mobile lifestyles caused them to have a lack of Natural resources
Great Basin - Area Between rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada mountains
Great Plains - Mississippi River to Rocky Mountains
Desert and arid conditions, drought
“Desert Culture” - Baskets opposed to Sedentary groups that made pottery
Small Societies that lived far apart from each other
Shoshone, Paiute, Utes
Groups of 20-100, which consisted of Extended family Groups
Move by season (Didn’t Deplete one area of resources)
mobile shelters with animal skin tepes
Men hunted, Women Gathered
Northeast
East Coast Indigenous Group (NE, MS, and ATL coast) created much larger and complex societies since their environment was better for farming
Semi-sedentary
Relying on the cultivation of Maize and other stable crops
Used Timber to build longhouses
Multiple generations lived together, sometimes up to 200 people (usual 30-50)
Iroquois confederacy or Iroquois Great League of peace
Settlements: Mohawk, cayuga, Oneida, onomdaga, Senca, and Tuscorora
end fighting between Groups
Food came from hunting, fishing, and gathering
3 sister method: Corn - Supports climbing bean, Beans - enriches soil fertility, squash - retains moisture
Matrilineal society - inheritance passed down on mothers side
Upper Great Lakes/N.E. - cold = no agriculture, relied on hunting and fishing
Mississippian
Larger and more complex societies
Fertile soil - allows settled agriculture and development
trade via routes
Canada to Florida
Maize allowed for more complex civilizations
social hierarchy
Mound builders
A view into their religious traditions, organization of labor
Hopewell
Lived in towns of 4k-6k people
Traded extensively with other regions
Cahokia
Boasted the largest settlements
10k-30k people
led by powerful Chieftains with centralized Government and extensive trade networks
Atlantic Coast
Maize, beans, and Squash in 1000 BCE
agriculture society
Semi-Sedentary
Men Hunted
Women Grew crops
Matrilineal
Women had a lot more social capital then Europeans women
Cherokee
Farmed and fished
Pacific Northwest
Area of modern day California
foraging, hunted, resources of the Pacific Oceans and Rivers
Communities along ocean hunted whales, salem, totem poles, and canoes
Chinook
Chinook people lived in Washington and Oregon
High degree of economic development and social stratification
A higher caste of people - Shamons, warriors, wealthy, merchants - lived separated from the commoners
many Chinook people lived in longhouses - 50 people
Southwest
Depend on Maize
Spread from Mexico to North America
Fostered economic development and social diversification among Native Americans
Abundance of food from ocean
Built permanent settlements
They were supported by traditional Agricultural and trade
Different from groups in arid regions and similar to those in fertile agriculture regions
Chumas People
Pueblo people
lived in small towns - Pueblos starting from year 900
4 corners - Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico
Sedentary
Farmers of maize and other crops
built adobe and masonry homes
Central and South America
Aztecs
Central Americas
Complex political systems
written language
Large Urban Centers
irrigation systems
human sacrifices
Mayans
Yucatan Peninsula
Large cities
complex irrigation and water storage system
stone temples and palaces
rulers were believe to be descended from Gods
Incas
Andes Mountains, Pacific coast (Peru)
Massive empire
Ruled 16 million people
very large
cultivated potatoes
other crops infertile Mountains Valleys
Cultivation of Maize
The cultivation of Maize determined if Native Settlements stayed in one spot or moved with small groups or big tribes. Became a staple in settlements and allowed to create more complex societies and stopped migration. It supported economic development, settlement, advanced irrigation, and social diversification
Economic development
Trade networks developed between societies
Permanent settlements
Agriculture requires people to stay in one place
Advanced Irrigation techniques
Better Irrigation = more food
more food = more people
Social diversification
As a settlement becomes bigger and more complex, labor becomes more specialized and social Hierarchie are adopted
Some people become more important than others
Unit 1.3 - European Exploration in the Americas
How and why did Europeans Explore?
How Europeans could explore
A bunch of interweaving developments occurred before this
From 1200-1450, Europe was not a world power, they were decentralized and weak
6 factors allowed Europe to grow so they could explore
Climate warmed
Improved Agricultural Productivity
Population growth
After the black plague, Europe population rebounded
An increase demand for good and resources
More food = more people
Economic Interests
a desire for Asian luxury goods
The Renaissance
created a cultural rebirth in various Europe states
spirt of exploration
Scholar spirit to map new years
Gutenbergs printing press
Political unifications
Strength the government of several European states
Centralized Government
led by powerful monarchs
enabled the rise of a wealthy upper class seeking luxury good from Asia
Why Did Europe Explore?
Gold, God, and Glory
Gold
Demand for eastern luxury Goods
European were getting more wealthier and wanted more luxury goods
Most Trade routes were land (silk Road)
In 1453, the Ottoman Empire conquered Constantinople which stepped European trade with Asia
Trade routes were also controlled by Muslims, limiting European Access to Asian Market
Trade routes and international economic activity shifted power
Became interested in finding new trade routes with the east
improved Banking system
help facilite trade
Portugal was first
Prince Henery the Navigator
Led the charge in finding a water-based route to Asia
Established trading post all around African coast and through Indian Ocean
trading post empires, instead of colonies
Portugal established a network of trading post along the African coast, eventually dominating the Indian Ocean trade
Maritime technology
By the end of the 16th century, the Portuguese had come to dominate the Indian Ocean trade and made them rich
Caravels - nimble, trade-focus ships
Maritime charts and astronomical tables: Aided in route planning
Astrolabe and sternpost rubber: borrowed technologies that improved navigation
Spain’s entry
Spain wanted to join in, however Portugal had already claimed the Indian Ocean, Spain needed a new way to Asian Markets
Isabella and Ferdinand: United Spain under the Catholic Church to spread Christianity and gain economic power
Christopher Columbus: An Italian sailor had proposed sailing west to find a route to Asia
He asked the Spanish Monarchs to fund it and they said yes
Spain got a lot of Wealth out of this.
God
Europe was going through a period of religious crisis in the 15th and 16th century.
Roman Catholic Christianity was the dominant belief
The Church had played a significant role in creating a common culture throughout Europe
Simony
a few reformed-minded Catholics, didn’t liked certain things that they saw as abuse and corruption
One was simony
Buying and selling of important church officials
It wasn’t the most spiritual people it was just the people that had money
Sale of Indulgences
exchange of money inreturn for forgiveness and a secure spot in heaven
In 1517 Martin Luther wrote a series of complaints about the corrupted elements of the church
This was known as the 95 thesis
it started a protestant reformation
Led to a permanent spilt in the Christian Church
Catholic Christianity V. Protestant Christianity
No Separation of church and state
led to political feuds and power Struggles
Spain’s Kingdom Combine
The Marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand II of Argon
Led Spanish Inquisition
Eliminate Religious Dissent in Spain
Expelled 200k Jewish people from Spain
With Spain new found power they were more than willing to fund Columbus trip when he asked.
They were swimming in success from k!lling and Tortur1ng a bunch of denters to prove supremacy of Jesus
Jesuits devote themselves to spreading their gospel throughout the world
Cause 3 - Glory
Political Motives
Competition for Colonial Possessions
wanted to shift a balance of power so they had to moce to get some power
Political change was occurring in some European states in which large, multi-ethnic empires were breaking apart while small kingdoms were uniting and becoming more powerful
Isabella and Ferdinand
New Political Reality: The Nation-State
A political entity that governs a single, unified people
Promotes fierce competition to become most powerful. (with religious competition at the same time)
Spain V. Portugal
regarding their colonial claims in the Americas
Resolution through Diplomacy
Since they both were Catholic states, pope settled disputes
Drew a line of Demarkation to settle new world territory in question
Which was later moved a little the codified in the treat of Tordesillas, which gave Brazil to Portugal and everything else to Spain
Pope didn’t invite the indigenous people into this talk
Unit 1.4 – Columbia Exchange & Spanish Conquest
Columbia exchange
Growth of trade
Europeans were establishing colonial empires in the 16th century as well as dominating trade in the Indian Ocean, for the sole purpose of getting wealthier
Increased trade: Causes
Improvement in Maritime (Sea-based) Trade.
Barrowed from Muslims and Chinese explorers.
New ships that were built for trade
Caravel: fast and highly navigated ships, used lateen’s triangular sails, and magnetic compass
Technological Advances and a Revolution in Navigation
Compass
Astrolabe
Quadrant
Hourglass
Portolani - detailed maps
Joint-stocks companies
Made it so anyone with some money could invest in exploration with the hopes of getting a good return
Limited liability businesses.
Charted by state and funded by investors.
States had limited funds to invest in such risky ventures
money came from a pool of investors that shared risk
Relied on stated for safety and monopolies.
Important engine for exploration and colonization
Investors propelled expeditions to the New World
Risks were spread out across multiple shareholders
Since this new way of financing exploration opened investment to a whole lot more people who could potentially strike it rich, that had the effect of multiplying expeditions and creating more trade routes around the world.
Effect on trade
Columbian exchange – occurred as a result of all this exploration and contact across the Atlantic Ocean.
The Columbian Exchange refers to the transfer of diseases, plants, animals, minerals, and people between the Old and New Worlds.
Europe had the resources and technology to establish colonies far from home.
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.
The Columbian Exchange
Diseases
Because Europe and Asia have been in close contact for a while they had good immunity to each other diseases, the isolation of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas made European diseases devasting.
Smallpox introduced by the Spanish
Spread through Mexico and central America
Taino, an indigenous group of people on Hispaniola, lost 90% of its population to smallpox. Mexico and central America lost half of their population also.
Measles introduced by the Spanish
Which in some cases proved just as deadly as smallpox
Often referred to as ‘The Great Dying’
Food & Plants
Had major effect on both Old and New Worlds
Europeans : Wheat, olives, and grapes
Staple of European Diets
Eventually introduced African and Asian foods; rice, bananas, and Sugar
Indigenous Peoples: maize, potatoes, and manioc
Enslaved Africans also brought new foods like okra,
The introduction of new food created the occasion for a more varied diet, which meant Healthier population
Led to Europe’s post-1700 population explosion.
Animals
Horses had most significant Impact to the Americans
Using the horse provided indigenous groups in the great plain like the Apache’s and the Comanches and the Kyas even more effective means to hunt large herds of buffalo which was a staple foot item for them and it gave them an advantage in their conflicts with other indigenous groups which shifted the balance of power in favor of those that had adopted the horse.
Pigs, sheep, Cattle
Multiplied quickly since there was no predators
Since sheep eat grass it caused erosion that affected indigenous farmers and pigs and cattle have a habit of trampling and eating crops
Minerals
Silver and gold
When Spanish conquistadors conquered both Aztecs and Inca empire, they plundered them for their massive quantities of golf and silver, making spain really rich
Spanish used enslaved indigenous people to get gold from the Potosi Mt.
Caused the Price Revolution
Prices for European goods rose steadily for 150 years
Caused a shift from Feudalism to Capitalism
Feudalism: a social and economic system that created a closed system focused on land ownership
Capitalism: A social and economic system that created a more open system focused on manufacturing and goods
This shift was a massive change and the Columbian exchange was right there in the middle making it all happen
Economic Impact
The Columbian Exchange contributed to the transformation of Europe's economy and society.
The influx of wealth from the Americas led to the end of the feudal system and the rise of capitalism.
Key features of capitalism:
Private ownership
Free and open exchange of goods between property owners
Spanish Conquest
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.
Economic Impact of Conquest
Conquest did not necessarily bring improvements to Spain
The influx of gold and silver caused inflation
Taxes went up fivefold to pay for military expenditure
Spain went into debt and borrowed money from European banks, eventually ending in a depression on the Spanish economy
Unit 1.5 – Spanish Empire in the Americas
Spain takes over
Spain was the first European state to try and access Asian markets by sailing west across the Atlantic. Spain made 4 trips over to the Caribbean over about a decade. Spainiards built houses and towns, over which the Columbus aimed to rule as governor, but they just wanted gold, and wen the indigenous groups cut off trade with them, the colonizers started taking by force. The Spainsh conquered and subjugated various islands in the Caribbean. But they wanted more wealth and sent more people to the mainland to look for anything else and ended up conquering more people.
Spanish empire
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella Issued Requeriminento.
legal doc claiming Spain possessed biblical authority to rule in the Americas
threaten violence to indigenous groups who resisted it (which they didn’t care).
It was read in Spanish
this is an example of Spanish attempting to justify their right to conquer and pillage
By 1521, the conquistador, Hernan Cortez, had toppled the Aztec Empire and claimed it for Spain. Even though Cotez had less Spaniards with him, and the Aztec eventually resisted the attack, Cotez had advantages
Cortez had two advantages.
Spanish disease weakened Aztecs
smallpox
and made them vulnerable to attack
Cortes had joined with other indigenous groups that were under Aztec rule
Fought alongside Spainsh to secure their own liberation
A few years later another concisador by the name of Francisco Pizarro used similar tactics to defeat and Conquer the Inca Empire in South America
This gave Spain a lot of gold and silver from these 2 empires and they start colonizing even more. They found ways to keep this wealth from the Americas going.
Spanish labor system
Encomienda system
The Encomienda system was introduced by Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean and soon spread throughout the Spanish settlements. It was a system in which leading men called Encomenderos were granted a portion of land, and all the natives who happened to live on that land became the coerced labor force for farming, mining, or boat work.
Spanish would say they never forced anyone and there was a mutual benefit to encomando.
A System of coerced labor in which the Spain crown granted tracts of land to Spanish encomenderos who forced the indigenous people within its borders into mining the plantation-based agriculture and gold and silver.
Encomenderos forced indigenous people to work for them.
In return they had to provide protection and Christianization
Encomienda = $lavery
Silver and the Encomienda System
Spanish settlers were granted tracts of land and the right to extract labor from natives
Old World Feudalism
Bartholomew de Las Casas
Justification of the Encomienda System
The Encomienda system was justified on religious grounds. Ferdinand and Isabella, the monarchs of Spain, issued a legal document called the Requerimiento, which granted Spanish monarchs the authority to claim lands in the Americas and to try to convert the natives they found there.
Limitations of the Encomienda System
The Encomienda system didn't work out for the Spanish because:
Native Americans kept dying from European diseases.
Natives knew the land better than the Spaniards and could escape their slavery.
Two sources of Wealth
mining for gold and silver
export of cash crops
cotton, sugarcane, and tobacco
Indigenous Labor breaks Down
in order to extract wealth, the Spanish used Native Americans to mine and farm within bounds of Spanish Territory. Spanish reliance on indigenous labor began to break down for 2 reasons
Enslaved workers knew the land much better than Spanish
Allowed for frequent escapes
Enslaved worked died from Spanish diseases
Importation of enslaved Africans
Turn to Enslaved Africans
Southern landowners turned increasingly to enslaved Africans for labor
Unlike Native Americans, enslaved Africans did not know the land, so they were less likely to escape
Removed from their homelands and communities, and often unable to communicate with one another because they were from different regions of Africa, enslaved Black people initially proved easier to control than Native Americans
Dark skin of West Africans made it easier to identify enslaved people on sight
English colonists associated dark skin with inferiority and rationalized Africans’ enslavement
Worked in the mines and plantations
Spanish merchants partnered with West African groups
Traded good like weapons for labor
This Trade had existed since Ancient Egypt, Europeans joined in and the demand for all people and items in this trade rose. This ended up starting the middle passage and 20% died due to disease and malnutrition.
Africans had been in contact with European diseases
Had better immunity
Became the dominant coerced labor system in the Americas
Spain and the African Slave Trade
Impact of the Slave Trade
Slavery existed in Europe even before the discovery of the New World
Destabilized African communities by taking out strong, young people
Introduction of European goods undermined the African economy
Resistance to Slavery and the Development of Maroon Communities
Africans developed cultural resistance that attempted to preserve traditional cultural patterns and maintain autonomy
Maroons were Africans who escaped slavery in the New World and established independent communities - many in Carribean and Brazil
Preserve African traditions using medicinal herbs, special drumming and dancing as part of healing rituals
Most significant Maroon communities - Palmares - 30,000 residents independent until conquered by Portuguese in 1694
The Slave Trade
Majority of the slave trade, right up to the Revolution, was directed toward the Caribbean and South America
More than 500,000 enslaved people were brought to the English colonies (of the over 10 million brought to the New World)
By 1790, nearly 750,000 Black people were enslaved in England’s North American colonies
The Middle Passage
Shipping route that brought enslaved people to the Americas
Was the middle leg of the triangular trade route among the colonies, Europe, and Africa
Conditions for the Africans aboard were brutally inhumane
Some committed suicide, many died of sickness or during insurrections
It was not unusual for one-fifth of the Africans to die on board
Most reached the New World, where conditions were only slightly better
End of the Atlantic Slave Trade
Mounting criticism (primarily in the North) of the horrors of the Middle Passage led Congress to end American participation in the Atlantic slave trade on January 1, 1808
Slavery itself would not end in the United States until 1865
Slavery in the South
Flourished in the South due to nature of land and short growing season
Chesapeake and Carolinas farmed labor-intensive crops such as tobacco, rice, and indigo
Plantation owners bought enslaved people for this arduous work
Treatment at the hands of the owners was often vicious and at times sadistic
Slavery in the North
Did not take hold in the North the same way it did in the South.
Used on farms in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
Used in shipping operations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Used as domestic servants in urban households, particularly in New York City
Northern states would take steps to phase out slavery following the Revolution.
Still enslaved people in New Jersey at the outbreak of the Civil War
Ownership of Slavery
Only the very wealthy owned enslaved people.
The vast majority of people remained at a subsistence level.
Slavery in the South
Flourished in the South due to nature of land and short growing season.
Chesapeake and Carolinas farmed labor-intensive crops such as tobacco, rice, and indigo.
Plantation owners bought enslaved people for this arduous work.
Treatment at the hands of the owners was often vicious and at times sadistic.
Slavery in the North
Did not take hold in the North the same way it did in the South.
Used on farms in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania
Used in shipping operations in Massachusetts and Rhode Island
Used as domestic servants in urban households, particularly in New York City
Efforts to end slavery
Northern states would take steps to phase out slavery following the Revolution.
Still enslaved people in New Jersey at the outbreak of the Civil War
Ownership of Slavery
Only the very wealthy owned enslaved people
The vast majority of people remained at a subsistence level.
New Spain – New Society
The Spainsh had imposed a completely new and foreign social structure in the Americas know as the Casta (or Caste) system. In South Asian history the casta system has divide their society into rigid layers at birth. The Top people were generally Wealth and Powerful while the people at the bottom were treated badly and held no social power in the system. There was no way for people to move around in the tiers. Spanish Casta system resembled this scenario.
Spanish Caste
No Traditional Spanish nobility in the New World.
Spanish conquistadors imposed new social hierarchy on the people of the New world.
Casta System
Spaniards were always outnumbered by natives
Spanish men outnumbered spanish women → intermarriage
Organized colonial society into a ranked social hierarchy
Based on race and heredity
The more “white” blood = more social power. And visa versa
Caste:
Peninsulares - born in Spain
Creoles - born in the New World of Spanish Parents
Mestizos - children of Spanish men and Indian women - 4-5% of Spain’s New World Empire
Mulattos - children of Spanish men and African women
Native Americans
Africans
Caste System Erased Cultural Complexity
Ordered society by standards of small minority
Category dictated education, occupation, tax payments, etc.
Altered spatial makeup of towns and villages
Spanish settlement had a church and a town hall in the Center, which was home to those in upper levels of the social hierarchy
Those on the lower levels were forced to live in the outskirts of those settlements
The Spanish had consolidated control over American Possessions
Unit 1.6– How Europeans, Native Americans, and Africans Shaped Each Other
Differing Worldviews
This is how Indigenous People, Africans, and Europeans all together in the Americas interactions changed perspectives.
As contact between the Europeans and the various indigenous peoples of the Americas increased, they asserted divergent worldviews
Worldview: A people’s constellation of cultural experiences – their history, belief system, language, etc. – That dictates ow that people make sense out of the world’s people and events.
They are deeply embedded in the world and people will assume that their worldview is better than anyone else.
Comparing Worldviews
| Europeans | Indigenous Peoples |
Land Use | Could be owned by individuals | Land contained a spiritual quality, and belonged to all people |
Religion | Christian, complex set of dogmas/doctrines, belief in a single God | Belief in multiple gods and spirits, no separation of Spiritual and material world |
Gender Roles | Patriarchal (men have the power) | More egalitarian (equal, even to the extend that some family and power structures were matrinial, meaning they passed through the mother’s descendants.) |
Family Structure | Nuclear Family | They lived together in extend families, containing multiple gens. |
Misunderstand & Cultural Adoption
The early years of contact between the 2 were full of misunderstanding. But in some cases, Europeans and Native Americans adopted some useful aspect of each other’s culture.
Cultural Adoption
Indigenous peoples Converted to Christianity
Largely due to Spanish effort to establish Christian missions in South West North America
polytheist
Saw no conflict in adding Christian God to worship of other gods
Also saw how the Spanish weren’t effect by the smallpox epidemic
Indigenous People Adapted Christianity
Syncretism: adapting to own worldview
For example, a man of Aztec lineage began receiving visitations from the Virgin Mary. In these visions, she told him to build a church in her honor on the side of a torn down Aztec Temple, which became known as the Virgin of Guadalupe.
Out of this encounter with Christianity and Indigenous belief system, a blending occurred in which the indigenous people developed a form of Christianity that reflected their own worldview
Europeans adopted Aspects of Indigenous Culture
English settlers learned local agriculture techniques
French Settlers intermarried with Indigenous women to benefit fur trade relations
Indigenous Resistance
As European colonist continue to claim land for themselves and therefore challenge native sovereignty, conflicts occurred between the 2 groups, and that led to 2 outcomes
Resistance
Diplomacy
Native Americans defended themselves from Europeans by allying with them against other Native Groups.
This occurred when several groups under Aztec power allied with the Spanish in order to topple their oppressors.
Violence Through Military resistance
Taino Rebellion
In 1511, the Native people of Modern Day Puerto Rico rebelled against the Spanish.
They got tired of the encomenida system and the threat to their cultural tradition as the Spanish people tried to convert them. So they tried to drive the Spainsh out with force.
Since the Taino had more people they were successful at first but over time the Spanish gained power and suppressed the Rebellion
Racial Debates
The interactions between the groups sparked a debate back in Spain asking if this is ok, due to the brutality of the Encomienda system. Which sparked the Valladolid debates
Racial debates
Bartolomé de Las Casas
Who was previously a conquistador in the Americas
He participated in the Encomienda system and even fought in a war against them.
But changed his mind and argued indigenous people were fully human
Should not be subjected to inhumane encomienda system.
Still held a very paternalistic view of them
He advocated for them, but still saw them as uncivilized compared to the Spanish.
Juan Gines de Sepulveda
Argued indigenous peoples were less than human
Subjugation and brutality helped transform them into full humanity
Curse of Ham
From the Book of Genesis in the Bible
Unit 1 Review
The Impact of Exploration and Conquest on Europe
New sources of wealth helped the transition from feudalism to capitalism
New crops + livestock = population growth in Europe
The Impact of the Columbian Exchange on Europe
Revolutionized agriculture
Supplemented the meager diets of the peasants
Introduction of tobacco
Economic Impact of Conquest
Conquest did not necessarily bring improvements to Spain
The influx of gold and silver caused inflation
Taxes went up fivefold to pay for military expenditure
Spain went into debt and borrowed money from European banks, eventually ending in a depression on the Spanish economy
Economic Impact
The Columbian Exchange contributed to the transformation of Europe's economy and society.
The influx of wealth from the Americas led to the end of the feudal system and the rise of capitalism.
Key features of capitalism:
Private ownership
Free and open exchange of goods between property owners
Spanish and Portuguese Models
First expeditions were by the Spanish and Portuguese
Portugal and Spain Lead the Way
Prince Henry the Navigator searched for new trade routes to Asia that avoided the Mediterranean
Eventually sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and reached India
Spain sent Columbus and reached the Carribean
Spanish and Portuguese Ambitions
Treaty of Tordesillas
Spaniards later established the first permanent European settlement at St. Augustine, Florida
Conquistadores and the Defeat of Native Peoples
Defeat of the Aztecs by Cortes and defeat of the Incas by Pizarro
Disease and Death
No immunities to European diseases
90% of them died