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The Meeting of CulturesChapter 1

Chapter Summary:Before European explorers arrived in the Americas, Native Americans had developed many forms of social organizations that differed from one another in their levels of achievement. Europeans, concerned first with exploiting the New World and its peoples, regarded the natives as savages and set out to destroy their societies and replace them with a variation of European culture. The biological disaster brought on by smallpox and other diseases made it easier for the Europeans to conquer the tribes and civilizations, and to impose on the Native Americans a number of different colonial systems. In the Spanish colonies the Catholic Church was instrumental in this effort. To help make up for the Native Americans’ labor lost through wars and epidemics, Europeans brought in African slaves, who added to the cultural diversity of America. Conflicts in the Old World spilled over into the new as different nations got into the race for colonies, and the many connections between events in the Americas and the rest of the world became apparent. By the end of the sixteenth century, the age of discovery was all but over, and the great era of colonization, especially English colonization, was about to begin.

Points for Discussion:1. What was the nature of the Indian societies and their geographic distribution before the

coming of the European explorers? What relationship existed between their subsistence patterns and their general culture?

2. What "discoveries" were made in America before 1600? Which of these led to colonization and which did not? What contributed to the success of these colonization efforts?

3. What did the Indian cultures contribute to the Europeans, and why, despite these contributions, did the invaders still think of the Native Americans as savages? (The document in the Study Guide, in which John Smith describes his meeting with the Indians will be useful in showing the attitude of Europeans toward Native American customs and values.)

4. How were the Spanish and English motives for colonization different? How were they similar? How were these motives reflected in the organization of the colonies they established?

5. What was the social and cultural background of the Africans brought to America? How did this background differ from that of the Indians? Europeans? In what ways were the backgrounds of these people similar?

6. In what ways did England, Spain, and other European nations use the experience gained in earlier exploration and colonization when they attempted to colonize America?

7. European colonization has often been said to have been motivated by "gold, God, and glory." Assess this interpretation of the motives behind the European colonization of America.

8. The arrival of Europeans in America resulted in a complex interaction of cultures. Explain how this interaction was harmful and/or beneficial to both Europeans and Native Americans.

9. How did the cultural interaction mentioned in question number 8 change with the arrival of African slaves? Examine the origins of the African slave trade and the impact that Africans had on the economy and culture of colonial America.

10. Who were the "positivists," and why has their approach to history been rejected by most scholars today?

Main Themes:1. The colonization of the Americas was a collision of cultures#the European and Native

American#that had been developing along completely different lines for thousands of years.

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2. A variety of ambitions and impulses (such as international rivalries, the quest for wealth and personal glory, and a desire to spread the Christian religion) moved individuals and nations to colonize the New World.

3. The motives of the colonizers and their experiences prior to immigrating shaped their attitudes toward Native American cultures.

Key Terms and Concepts: be able to identify and know the significance of the following:1. Mayans, Incas & Aztecs2. Woodlands Indians3. Cahokia4. Iroquois Confederation5. Five Civilized Tribes6. Nation-States 7. encomiendas8. Ordinances of Discovery9. St. Augustine10. Pueblo Revolt (1680)11. Columbian Exchange12. African slave trade13. English Reformation14. Enclosure Movement15. Chartered companies16. Mercantilism

17. English Reformation18. Puritan Separatists*19. Calvinist Puritans20. Church of England21. Plantation model (Ireland)22. Coureurs de bois23. New Amsterdam24. Spanish Armada25. Roanoke26. Black Death27. Mali28. Merchant capitalists29. Huguenots30. “Sea Dogs”31. Utopia

Important People1. Richard Hakluyt2. Elizabeth I3. James I4. Sir Francis Drake5. Sir Walter Raleigh6. Prince Henry the Navigator7. Christopher Columbus8. John Cabot9. Amerigo Vespucci10. Don Juan de Ornate11. Francisco Pizarro12. Hernando Cortes13. Ferdinand Magellan14. John Cabot15. Henry Hudson16. Sir Walter Raleigh17. Sir Humphrey Gilbert18. Virginia Dare

Internet ResourcesFor Internet quizzes, resources, references to additional books and films, and more, consult the text’s Online Learning Center at www.mhhe.com/brinkley11.

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Points for Discussion:1. Answer2. Prior to 1600, several discoveries were made in the Americas, including the “discovery” of

the continent itself, by early voyagers - such as Leif Eriksson in the eleventh century. Knowledge of the initial contact with the Americas did not become widespread; even if the knowledge of the continent’s existence had propagated, there would have been little reason to follow the initial voyagers as European outlook was not yet focused outward. By the late 1400s, however, enough central power had developed in Europe that interest in exploration outward began to increase. ¶ Christopher Columbus sailed in hopes of reaching Asia with the Niña, Pinta and Santa María in 1492. Instead of reaching his target - Japan - Columbus landed in the Bahamas. Pushing on to what he assumed to be China, Columbus then landed in Cuba. Returning again a year later, Columbus landed a colony on Hispaniola. Additionally, in 1500, a fleet of Portuguese ships bound for India were blown off course and landed upon the coast of Brazil. Later, Hernando Cortés led, in 1518, a military expedition into Mexico resulting in, at first, a failed assault. Due to the Aztec’s exposure to the European assailants’ diseases, a smallpox epidemic ensued, allowing the Spanish to easily capture Tenochtitlán. Much of the resulting colonization of the New World was assisted by the practical absence of the indigenous peoples, due to the wide spread of European epidemics. After it was reported that silver could be found in Mexico, a rush of conquistadores from the island colonies and Spain rushed to the new world, hoping to find a fortune, much comparable to the later gold rushes elsewhere in the Americas. In 1564, the first permanent settlement within the bounds of the present-day United States was established at St. Augustine, Florida, serving as both a military outpost and administrative center for Spanish presence in the region.

3. Answer4. Initially, many Spanish conquistadors arrived in the New World interested only in getting

rich. However, after the initial onslaught, many Spaniards emigrated to the Americas in the hopes of creating a profitable agricultural economy, helping to build the fundamentals of European culture and civilization in the Americas, altering both the landscape and social structures. Like the later British colonies to the North, the Spanish colonies were under control of the thrown by the late 1500s. However, unlike the Spanish, the British were mostly unsuccessful in regard to extracting gold and silver, leading to a more agriculture based society. Also in contrast, the British (as well as the Dutch and French colonies to the North) populated their own colonies by promoting family life, as opposed to the pittance of settlers sent from Europe to the colonies by Spain. Instead, the Spanish opted to create a ruling class over the remaining indigenous population. Motivation for the British was created by what became known as the Enclosure Movement, which effectively evicted rent-paying tenants from their land, forcing them to find elsewhere to provide sustenance. Chartered companies, such as the Muscovy Company in 1555 or the East India Company in 1600 were granted monopolies in specific regions for certain goods, resulting in fantastic profits. These chartered companies were fundamentally based on the concept of Mercantilism, which assumed that the nation was the primary factor of an economy, as opposed to the individuals within it. Richard Hakluyt argued in favor of creating British colonies, as they would become new markets for English goods in addition to relieving Britain of its overpopulation.

5. Answer6. England based much of its philosophy of colonization on the earlier colonization of Ireland,

in the mid-to-late 1500s. Learning from the effectiveness of vicious techniques to subdue native peoples, the British applied the same methodology used in Ireland to the Americas. Instead of attempting to integrate the existing indigenous society into their own (the Spanish technique), the British opted to create a completely new society based fundamentally on their own. Assumptions that the native peoples, with their own language, religious beliefs and culture were barbaric influenced the British to screen them self off from such “unrefined” peoples. The assumption that such people could not possibly be tamed or integrated into British society led to the belief that the entire native culture should simply be subordinated.

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7. Answer8. The most obvious detrimental interaction between the Europeans and the Native Americans

would be the rampant smallpox epidemics that struck down as much as 90% of the Native American population. Further detriments include the actions of Don Juan de Oñate; his intolerant treatment and policies strained the relationship between the Spanish and the Native Americas. However, after Oñate was removed as the governor, relations improved between the two parties. The Spanish cultured a strong trade relationship with the Native Americans, further working to convert the natives to Christianity and assimilate them into their culture and population. The French worked with the coureurs de bois - trade agents working for the Algonquin and Huron Indians - to trade pelts and other items from the natives. In contrast, the British mostly relied upon an intermediary for trade with the Native Americans, keeping sharp separation between the native peoples and their own citizens.

9. Answer10. The “positivists” were a group of scholars who believed that, if groups of scholars analyzed

and discussed historical records, a definitive history of the time could be produced, removing any controversy from the era. Most modern historians believe that it is controversy at the heart of the effort to understand history, making the positivist position fatally flawed. Differences of opinion occur not because of fallacies, but because, often, “straightforward facts” are not as simple as they appear. While some facts are not in dispute, many others are harder to definitively answer.