The New World

Early Inhabitants of the Americas

About 2 million years ago the Great Ice Age covered the earth with about two-mile-thick ice sheets In North America the glaciers covered most of present-

day Canada and the United States as far south as Pennsylvania and Ohio

Evidence suggests that the earliest Americans arrived about 35,000 years ago over the Bering Straight Land Bridge These people were nomads who were following their food When the ice age ended about 10,000 years ago, these

people were stranded in North America and began to migrate south- 15,000 miles from where they started

Early Inhabitants of the Americas

Over the centuries they split into countless tribes, developed 2,000 separate languages and developed many diverse religions, cultures, and ways of life They were divided into 100s of tribes, spoke different

languages and practiced different culturesThe development of corn cultivation from

present-day Mexico into the American Southwest and beyond transformed their cultures from nomadic to settled agricultural villages Led to social diversification and economic development

American Indian Empires

Incas in PeruMayans in Central AmericaAztecs in Mexico (5,000 people were sacrificed

for the crowning of one Aztec chief)Mound Builders in Ohio River ValleyMississippian Culture of the midwest- Cahokia

(25,000 people near St. Louis)Anasazi in the Southwest (Built a pueblo of

more than 600 rooms in New Mexico)All cultures began to decline by 1300, which is

why most natives were living in small, scattered settlements on the eve of the European’s arrival

American Indian Cultures When Europeans Arrived

Three Sister Farming Grew beans, squash and maize in one filed. The beans

grew at the base of the cornstalks and the squash covered the mounds of the seeds to keep moisture in the soil Used by the Iroquois, Creek, Choctaw, and Cherokee of

the Atlantic coast

Division of Labor: women tended the crops while men hunted, fished, cleared fields for planting

Women had authority (could be chiefs), many Native American cultures passed family names and possessions on the mother’s side

First European Contact with Native Americans

In the year 1492, no more than 4 million Native Americans were in North America. They were unaware that their isolation was about to end forever

Norse sailors from Scandinavia had sailed to North America in about 1000 C.E. but their discovery was forgotten

Reasons for European exploration: European countries had consolidated and become more stable, the Crusades introduced Europeans to new products, the Renaissance nurtured a spirit of optimism and adventure, printing press facilitated the spread of scientific knowledge, new technology improved sea travel (compass)

American Indian Cultures When Europeans Arrived

Biggest difference b/w Natives & Europeans: Native Americans had neither the desire nor the means to manipulate nature They revered the physical world and believed nature

had spiritual properties So thinly spread about across the continent that the

land was virtually untouched by human presence

First European Contact with Native Americans

Christopher Columbus: one of the most successful failures in history Discuss homework

Columbian Exchange Exchange of plants such as tobacco, maize, beans,

tomatoes in the New World with horses, cattle, pigs of the Old World

Diseases from the Europeans- as many as 90% of the Native Americans died in the centuries after Columbus arrived

Make a t-chart of similarities and differences of each account

Identify factors/reasons for these differences Summarize the importance of Columbus and

how the interpretation of him changed over time

Look at the list of AP skills and identify what skills you used in this analysis.

Columbian Exchange

The arrival of Europeans in the Western Hemisphere in the 15th and 16th centuries triggered extensive demographic and social changes on both sides of the Atlantic Spanish and Portuguese exploration led to widespread

deadly epidemics, the emergence of racially mixed populations, and a caste system

Spanish and Portuguese traders reached West Africa and partnered with some African groups to exploit local resources and recruit slave labor for the Americas.

The introduction of new crops and livestock by the Spanish had far-reaching effects on native settlement patterns, as well as on economic, social, and political development in the Western Hemisphere.

Spain’s Empire in North America

Spain became the dominant exploring and colonizing power in the 1500s- Spanish Armada (navy) was the most powerful in the world

They were spreading Catholicism as well as searching for gold and glory

Conquistadores spread from the Caribbean in the mainland of America Florida (St. Augustine in 1565 is the first permanent city in North

America), New Mexico, Texas, California Encomienda system- gave Indians to colonists to try to

Christianize them, in all but name, was slavery. Beginning of the plantation society. In the economies of the Spanish colonies, Indian labor, used in the

encomienda system to support plantation-based agriculture and extract precious metals and other resources, was gradually replaced by African slavery.

Spain’s Empire in North America

Spain incorporated the conquered peoples of Central and South America into a highly organized empire. Few families came to settle in the New World, so the

explorers and adventurers intermarried with the Indians and the Africans

A rigid class system developed that was dominated by pure-blooded Spaniards

French Colonization

The French began exploring in 1524 with Giovanni da Verrazano

Slow to develop colonies in the New World- preoccupied with internal religious conflicts

Wasn’t until 1608 that they created their first permanent settlement in Quebec

Unlike the Spanish and English, the French maintained good relations with the Native Americans

Because the French had few colonists, farms, or towns, they posed little threat to the native population

Roanoke

British wanted to compete with the Spanish and develop their own colonies in America

Sir Walter Raleigh led the expedition in 1587Known as the “Lost Colony”- no one know

what happened to them

European overseas expansion and sustained contacts with Africans and American Indians dramatically altered European views of social, political, and economic relationships among and between white and nonwhite peoples. With little experience dealing with people who were different from

themselves, Spanish and Portuguese explorers poorly understood the native peoples they encountered in the Americas, leading to debates over how American Indians should be treated and how “civilized” these groups were compared to European standards. Juan de Sepúlveda, Bartolomé de Las Casas

Many Europeans developed a belief in white superiority to justify their subjugation of Africans and American Indians, using several different rationales.

SOAPSTONE ANALYSIS

Who is the Speaker? The voice that is speaking. Identification

of the historical person (or group of people) who created the primary source.

What do we know about this historic or contemporary person?

What role does he play in an historic event?

What is the Occasion? What is the time and place? The context

in which the primary source was created?

What is the Geographic and Historic intersection at which this source was produced?

Who is the Audience? The readers to whom this document is

directed. The audience may be one person, a

small group, or a large group; it may be

a certain person or a certain people. What is the Purpose?

What is the reason behind the text Why was it written? What goal did the author have in mind?

What is the Subject? What is the general topic, content, or

idea contained in the text? Summarize in a few words or phrase.

What is the Tone? What is the attitude expressed by the

speaker? Examine the choice of words, emotions

expressed, imagery used to determine the speaker's attitude.

Main Ideas

Native peoples and Africans in the Americas strove to maintain their political and cultural autonomy in the face of European challenges to their independence and core beliefs.

European attempts to change American Indian beliefs and worldviews on basic social issues such as religion, gender roles and the family, and the relationship of people with the natural environment led to American Indian resistance and conflict. Spanish mission system, Pueblo Revolt

In spite of slavery, Africans’ cultural and linguistic adaptations to the Western Hemisphere resulted in varying degrees of cultural preservation and autonomy. mixing of Christianity and traditional African religions

Main Ideas

European expansion into the Western Hemisphere caused intense social/religious, political, and economic competition in Europe and the promotion of empire building.

European exploration and conquest were fueled by a desire for new sources of wealth, increased power and status, and converts to Christianity.

New crops from the Americas stimulated European population growth, while new sources of mineral wealth facilitated the European shift from feudalism to capitalism.

Improvements in technology and more organized methods for conducting international trade helped drive changes to economies in Europe and the Americas. Joint stock companies

WHAT TO STUDY

What were Native American societies like before Europeans arrived?

What was the impact of European arrival on Native American societies?

To what extent did Native Americans resist European encroachment?

How did the Columbian Exchange affect European, Africa and North America? How did it affect interaction between and among Europeans, Africans and Native Americans?

How did cultural contact challenge the identities and value systems of peoples from the Americas, Africa and Europe?

Jamestown

English defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588- thus the English now had the most powerful navy in the world

1607 land in Jamestown- named for King James I

Captain John SmithMultiple problems- starvation, not prepared,

diseases, freezing Starving time

Tobacco saves the colony- John Rolfe