Chapter 2 - Motives and Methods of European Exploration

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North America

• Landscape included:
  • Forests + Great Plains
  • Appalachians + Rocky Mountains
  • Great Lakes + Grand Canyon
  • Missouri River + Ohio River + Mississippi River (drains into Gulf of Mexico @ New Orleans)
  • Arctic stretches + southwest deserts (Death Valley)
• ^^The coastal plain permitted river transportation, which helped early settlements^^
• Native Americans adapted to different regions

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Bering Strait

• 8000 BC - North America was accessible by land
• Bering Strait was a stretch of ocean containing a land bridge
• Large glaciers lowered ocean levels
• Humans migrated in search of game
• When the Bering Sea submerged the land bridge, people crossed by boats
• Was there migration by sea directly to South America? (historians unsure)
• 300 AD - Native Americans populated Hawaiian islands

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Iroquois Native Americans

• 6 separate tribes - Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Tuscarora
• Lived in New York
• Allied against Huron Matriarchal society
• ^^Extremely developed societal structure^^
• Useful allies to British
• 1350 - Settled in fortified (protected against attacks) villages

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Vikings

• The Vikings were traveling warriors
• Lived in Denmark, Sweden, Norway
• Expertly designed ships
• Late 10th Century - Erik the Red settled Greenland
• Discovered Americas before Columbus
• 980 AD - Vikings explored North America
• Because of pressure faced from Native American tribes, the Vikings could only create temporary settlements

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Cahokia

• 700 AD - Cahokia was a thriving culture based on maize cultivation
• 30k-40k inhabitants disappeared for no known reason
• Well-connected trade center
• 1300 AD - Cahokia civilization collapsed
• Stockade circling main city that provided protection
• Were large pyramids the tombs of leaders? (historians unsure)
• ^^Cahokia was an example of when Native Americans failed to produce a lasting civilization^^
• EXTREMELY advanced

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Reciprocity

• Exchanging things for mutual benefit (gifts & favors + sleights & injuries)
• Native Americans regularly fought wars with each other
• Europeans exploited the reciprocity system by trading unusual goods for property rights (hurt Native Americans by tricking their land away)
• Would lead to inevitable wars between Europeans + Native Americans

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Crusades

• “Deus volt” - God wills it (reasoning for the Crusades)
• 1095 - Pope Urban II launches 1st military campaigns to take back Palestine from Muslims
• Moderately successful BUT wouldn’t achieve lasting control of Holy Land
• Sought-after silks, spices, etc. that would benefit travel + trade
• ^^Renewed trade led to the Renaissance and early exploration^^
• Europe wanted to find a water route to India + China

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Marco Polo

• 1271-1295 - Journeyed along the Silk Road (Mongolia to China)
• Received into Kublai Khan’s court
• Published Discourse Concerning Various Experiences
• Because Europe wanted Asian goods, it fought for access to Far East

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Renaissance

• 1440 - Begins to spread
• ^^The invention of the printing press + international commerce led to greater interest in learning + spread of ideas^^
• Rediscovered Roman law, literature, art
• Renaissance = “Rebirth”
• Ended medieval period
• Wealth + artistic achievement led to greater navigation + exploration
• Eventually the desire to reform the Catholic Church led to the Protestant Reformation

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Capitalism

• Originated from the commercial revolution by Renaissance bankers
• Coined money for the international market
• Motivated acquisition of private property

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Amerigo Vespucci

• 1454-1512
• 3 voyages exploring the South American coast (Amazon River)
• ^^Calculated longitude + sailing distance^^
• Descriptive letters detailing his adventures
• A German scholar drew a comprehensive map from his letters

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Prince Henry the Navigator

• Took advantage of Renaissance
• Founded a school that taught navigation, cartography, shipbuilding
• Invented the caravel, which made it possible to make extremely long voyages
• His exploration of the African coast allowed Europe to dominate the Indian spice trade
• 1384-1460

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Vasco da Gama

• Discovered Cape of Good Hope with Bartholomew Dias
• ^^By 1498, he made a voyage around Africa, to India, back to Portugal^^
• Brought back spices for Portugal trading posts
• Died in 1524
• Inspired Spanish exploration

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Plantation System

• Large-scale commercial agriculture
• Large land holdings
• Exploited African American labor in New World

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Christopher Columbus

• Both praised and hated
• ^^Blamed for Native American disease, war, famine, enslavement^^
• King Ferdinand + Queen Isabella approved his journey west to Far East
• 1492 - Sailed to the Western Hemisphere
• Proved that the Earth is round
• Opened Caribbean Sea + Central America to Spanish colonization
• Died in 1506

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Treaty of Tordesillas

• Dispute between Portugal + Spain
• Alexander VI decided that Spain can possess new lands, which divided up the land + gave Spain more land
• 1494 - Treaty of Tordesillas extended boundary line west
• Because of hatred of Christendom, the treaty banned England, France, Netherlands

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Hernando Cortés

• Explored Mexico for Spain
• 1519 - Landed + subdued Native American tribes
• ^^Destroyed Aztec Empire^^
  • Killed Montezuma (leader)
  • Crushed Aztec revolt
  • Opened for Spanish settlement + found gold & silver

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Three-Sister Farming

• Native Americans grew maize, beans, squash
• Crops were better grown together
• Healthy nutrition helped the Native American diet

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Francisco Pizarro

• Most brutal treatment of Native Americans
• 1530 - Landed in South America
• ^^Conquered Inca Empire^^
  • Captured Atahualpa + demanded ransom of gold/silver to release him
  • Conquered Peru + ruled with iron fist (tyranny)
• Assassinated in 1541

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Cabeza de Vaca

• 1528 - Survived expedition to explore Florida
• Set out across Gulf of Mexico + landed in Texas
• 1st European to see Southwest
• Reported bison + gold, which led to further Spanish exploration into New Mexico
• Provincial governor

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Hernando de Soto

• ^^1st Spaniard to explore Florida^^
• 1539 - Landed in Florida + explored Southeast
• Discovered Mississippi River
• Died of fever in 1542

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Black Legend

• Negative impact of Spanish conquest - War, slavery, disease
• New nations built on blended societies (clash of cultures)

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John and Sebastian Cabot

• ^^Father-son team that worked for English Crown^^
• Father died before journey
• 1509 - Sebastian claimed fishing beds off Canadian coast for England
• Helped start English influence in New World

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Giovanni de Verrazano

• Claimed land for France

• 1523 - Steered ship toward Carolinas and Nova Scotia

• Reported back to king, which spurred French interest in further colonization

• 1528 - Killed + eaten by Native Americans

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BIG PICTURE

• North America - Small populations, different biomes, huge land tracts, natural resources
• 1st settlers - Came over land bridge; spread through Western Hemisphere; varied cultures but no lasting civilizations
• Rise of nations + return of trade + Renaissance → Discovery + exploited colonies’ riches
• Christopher Columbus → Large empire + God, glory, gold
• Portugal, England, France, Netherlands are jealous of Spain → Laid claims to land in New World

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