Chapter 2 - Motives and Methods of European Exploration

\ 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

\ 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

\ 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

\ 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

\ 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

\ 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

\ 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

\ 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

\ 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

\ Capitalism

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

\ 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

\ 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

\ 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

\ Plantation System

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

\ 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

\ 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

\ 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

\ Three-Sister Farming

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

\ 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

\ 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

\ Hernando de Soto

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

\ Black Legend

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

\ 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

\ 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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