Early Contact with the New World 1491-1607

1. Early Contact with the New World1491-1607

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3. I. The Shaping of North America (cont.) • The Canadian Shield—a zone undergirded by rocks―became part of the North American landmass. • Other mountain ranges were formed, along with rivers and valleys. • After the glaciers retreated, the North American landscape was transformed.

4. Figure 1.1 p5

5. II. Peopling the Americas • The North American continent's human history was beginning to be formed, perhaps by people crossing over land. • Low sea levels exposed a land bridge connecting Eurasia with North America where the Bering Sea now lies between Siberia and Alaska. • This brought the “immigrant” ancestors of Native America. See Map 1.1.

6. Map 1.1 p6

7. Map 1.2 p9

8. Chronology • 7000 BC Agriculture developed in Mexico and Andes • 900-1200 AD Hopi and Zuni Tribes build planned towns • 1200s Cahokia city empire along the Mississippi • 1400s Iroquois League established

9. Earliest Americans • The Mound Builders were in the Ohio River valley. • 1392AD the “mound builders” flourished • The large community contained a series of giant semicircular mounds on a bluff overlooking the Mississippi R. • Commercial and government center with trade routes through the Mississippi R. and Ohio Valley • Archeologists have found copper and flint mined in Indiana

11. III. The Earliest Americans • The Mississippian settlement Cahokia rose after the fall of the mound builders in present day St. Louis. • The civilization had between 10,000-30,000 • They also built mounds of which the largest stood 100 ft high • A temple was built on the highest mound • The settlement was the largest until New York and Philadelphia in 1800.

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13. Hopi and Zuni 900-1200 • Largest town was Pueblo Bonita in Chaco Canyon, NM • Highest building stood 5 stories high and had more than 600 bedrooms • Organized towns, multiple family dwellings, constructed dams and canals to distribute water • Traded with groups in from Central Mexico to the Mississippi R. valley • Downfall-Drought • Survivors moved south and east where they perfected desert farming and irrigation systems. • These people were called the Pueblo Indians by the Spanish because they lived in small communities

15. The Earliest Americans • North American Tribes • Pueblo Indians • Lived on the side of cliffs • Pueblo = village • Very intricate irrigation system allowed them to farm • Contact with Spanish in 16th century

16. The Earliest Americans • North American Tribes • Corn did not reach region until 1000 C.E = no large centralized groups. • Three-sisters farming: (beans, squash, corn) beans used corn as trellis while squash covered mounds to retain moisture = higher populations due to sustenance.

17. III. The Earliest Americans(cont.) • Three-sister farming—maize, beans, and squash—supported dense populations. • The Iroquois Confederacy developed political and organizational skills. • The natives had neither the desire nor the means to manipulate nature aggressively.

18. The Earliest Americans • North American Tribes • In present day New York and Pennsylvania-Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca and Onondaga-formed a Great League of Peace, bringing stability. The met each year to coordinate how to deal with outsiders. • Iroquois- (Northeast woodlands, NE area) • Iroquois Confederacy-Chief Hiawatha brought six tribes together to form closest North American approximation to the great empires of Mexico/Peru • Created a robust military alliance which protected people from unwelcome neighbors (Natives/Europeans)

19. The Earliest Americans • North American Tribes • Southeast-Choctaw, Cherokee, Chicksaw united in a loose partnership. • Plains Indians (Midwest) • Nomadic buffalo hunters • Became good on horseback after Spanish brought horses from Europe. • They evolved which allowed them to survive longer than most tribes

20. The Earliest Americans • Mexico/South American Native Civilizations • Agricultural (Corn) accounted for the size and sophistication of the civilizations • Developed corn around 5,000 B.C.E • They are a centralized people (NOT NOMADIC) • Inca = Peru • Mayan = Central America • Aztec = Mexico

21. North American Tribes • Each indigenous group had their own political system and set of religious beliefs • The indigenous peoples of the Americas did not see themselves as one unified group • Their identity came from their confederacy, tribe and or settlement *When Europeans arrived on the scene tribes sought to use them to enhance their standing against other tribes.

22. Religion • Animism-The belief sacred spirits could be found in all kinds of living and inanimate things-animals, trees, plants, water, and wind. • Ceremonies tied the spiritual power of nature to secure crop yields and ward off evil spirits. • Medicine men and shamans held positions of respect and authority. • Native people believed in a single Creator • What did Europeans think of native religion?

23. Land and Property • Most of the time plots were assigned to individuals or family • Land was not owned rather there were rights given to use the land. • Land was a means to having an economic value • Every so many years tribes moved to find fertile soil • Trade • The exchange of goods was seen as more than an exchange, ceremonies accompanied trade • There were no hungry among the tribes or beggars

24. Gender • Women could choose their husbands, as well as divorce • Families were matrilineal, centered around joining the mother’s family • Women often selected chiefs • Women had property rights • Women mostly had agricultural and domestic duties while men hunted

25. How did Europeans view Indians? • Noble Savage • Witch Doctors • Indian men were lazy • Women had too much freedom • Unchristian like

26. II. Peopling the Americas(cont.) • The Incas in Peru, the Mayans in Central America, and the Aztecs in Mexico shaped complex civilizations: • These people built elaborate cities and carried on far-flung commerce. • They were talented mathematicians. • They offered human sacrifices to their gods.

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28. III. The Earliest Americans • Agriculture, especially corn growing, became part of Native American civilizations in Mexico and South America. • Large irrigation systems were created. • Villages of multistoried, terraced buildings began to appear (Pueblo means “village” in Spanish). • Map 1.2 –Native American Indian peoples.

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30. Map 1.2 p9

32. IV. Indirect Discoverers of the New World • Norse seafarers from Scandinavia came to the northeastern shore of North America, near present-day Newfoundland, to a spot they called Vinland. • Ambitious Europeans started a chain of events that led to a drive toward Asia, the penetration of Africa, and the completely accidental discovery of the New World.

33. Zheng He 1405-1433

35. Zheng He Expeditions • 7 Expeditions in the Indian Ocean • 62 ships larger than any European nation • 25,000 men • Explored East Africa • Purpose was to impress other nations with China’s might • 1433 China no longer supported the expense • Portugal extended trade and travel using new technology

36. Indirect Discovery of New World 1. Norse explorers from Scandinavia (Vikings) • Around 1000 CE Norse seafarers from Scandinavia came to the northeastern shore of North America, near present-day Newfoundland, to a spot they called Vinland. • Ambitious Europeans started a chain of events that led to a drive toward Asia, the penetration of Africa, and the completely accidental discovery of the New World. 2. Crusades • Purpose: take back the Holy Land from Muslim rule • Cultivated a taste for fine goods (Crusaders) • Brought back desire for wealth to Europe • B/C of expense it led to search for less expensive route to Asia or another source for goods.

37. IV. Indirect Discoverers of the New World (cont.) 3. Marco Polo • 20yr voyage to China (Prob never got there) • His book intensified European desire for cheaper route • Marco Polo’s tales also stimulated European desire for a cheaper route to the treasures of the East.. • They founded the modern plantation system. • They pushed further southward. • The Christian crusaders rank high among America’s indirect discoverers. • The crusaders aroused desire for the luxuries of the East from the Spice Islands (Indonesia), China, and India; Muslim middlemen exacted a heavy toll en route. • See Map 1.3—Major Trade Routes with Asia, 1492.

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39. V. Europeans Enter Africa(cont.) • Spain was united by the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, and by the expulsion of the “infidel” Muslim Moors. • The Spanish were ready to explore the wealth of India. • Portugal controlled the southern and eastern African coast, thus forcing Spain to look westward.

40. Indirect Discovery of New World (Cont’d) 3. Technology • New ship design (Caravel). Allowed ships to sail more directly into wind. • Mariners compass was invented • Also found new current in 1450 which allowed sailors to return to Europe by sailing Northwesterly from Africa. New doors for exploration. 4. Portuguese • Prince Henry the Navigator- created school for explorers = encouraged by the government • Set up trading posts in Africa (coast) for gold and slaves • Bartholomeu Dias • 1488 rounded the southern tip of Africa = New way to Asia • Vasco da Gama • 1498 reached India by sailing south around Africa • Fueled desires by returning with small cargo of jewels

41. Portuguese • In 1434, the Portuguese sailed below the Sahara into Mali • The Portuguese established fortified trading posts on the western coast of Africa • They began to conquer Maderia, Azores and the Canary Islands off the west coast of Africa • The Portuguese established sugar plantations on the islands and used African slaves replacing the native populations. • This was a precedent for what would happen in the New World

42. Indirect Discovery of New World (Cont’d) • Spain • Spain is unified under Ferdinand and Isabella and the expulsion of Muslim Moors out of Spain after centuries of warfare • Spain are rivals with Portuguese = competitive spirit • B/C Portugal already controls the African Coast Spain must look for another route to Asia

43. Map 1.3 p11

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46. VI. Columbus Comes upon a New World • Christopher Columbus persuaded the Spanish to support his expedition on their behalf. • On October 12, 1492, he and his crew landed on an island in the Bahamas. • A new world was within the vision of Europeans.

47. Christopher Columbus • Sailed for Spain in 1492 • Many were scared to sail west into the unknown • At this time the world was believed to be flat but that idea is fading. • Sailed on the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria • Landed in Bahamas on October 12, 1492 (six weeks at sea) • Almost had to turn around due to mutiny by the crew • Why is Columbus considered one of the most successful failures in History?

48. Driving Forces of Exploration • European desire for more/cheaper goods from Mediterranean and beyond • Africa is source for cheap slave labor for agriculture (Portuguese) • Portuguese proved long-range ocean navigation possible • Spain was now a modern nation-state with unity, wealth and power to handle discovery, conquest and colonization. • The dawn of the Renaissance nurtured an ambitious spirit of optimism and adventure. • The Printing Press (1450) facilitated the spread of scientific knowledge • The Mariners compass was invented which made navigation easier. New Technology

49. When Two Worlds Collide • What Happens When You Take Two Different Things (People, Places, Customs, ETC) And Mix Them? • Columbian Exchange- The exchange of two ecosystems both good and badbetween the New World and Old World. • What is good and bad about the sharing of ideas/ways of life from Old World to New World?

50. VI. Columbus Comes upon a New World (cont.) • Columbus called the native peoples “Indians.” • Columbus’s discovery convulsed four continents—Europe, Africa, and the two Americas. • An independent global economic system emerged. • The world after 1492 would never be the same.