Beginnings of America

1. Beginnings of America Chapter1

2. The World before 1600 The Big Idea Diverse cultures existed in the Americas, Europe, and Africa before 1600. Main Ideas Who were the first people in the early Americas? In what ways were North American cultures before 1500 different, and in what ways were they similar? What characterized African cultures before 1500? How did European exploration begin?

3. Nomads Nomadic Siberian hunter-gatherers crossed into the Americas, began farming, and settled in villages. During the Ice Age, a land bridge called Beringia connected Asia and North America. Between 12,000 and 40,000 years ago, Siberians crossed this land bridge into North America. These early Americans were nomads. They moved from place to place and followed a hunter-gatherer way of life.

4. Villagers About 10,000 years ago many of the large North American animals died off. Early Americans began to hunt smaller prey and gather more plants. About 7,000 years ago, some groups started planting seeds. Farming allowed them to settle into villages. This change is called the Agricultural Revolution.

5. Empires of Mesoamerica Empires rose up in Mesoamerica, a region that is today Mexico and Central America. Olmec Olmec culture first began around 1200 BC. The Olmec people had a tremendous influence on later cultures. Maya The Maya began their rise around 400 BC. They built pyramids and developed writing and number systems. Aztec In the 1400s the militaristic Aztec formed a large empire in present-day Mexico. The Aztec capital was Tenochtitlán, today’s Mexico City.

6. Early Cultures of North America Early Native Americans encountered varied environments, including forests, deserts, and fertile land. In each region, different kinds of societies developed. For example: The Hohokam people farmed with irrigation systems in the Southwest. The Anasazi, ancestors of today’s Pueblo Indians, built adobe dwellings called pueblos in the Southwest.

7. The Adena and Hopewell, known as the Mound Builders, buried their dead in large earth mounds. The Mississippians were the most advanced farmers north of Mexico. They built towns across the Southeast and southern Midwest.

8. Native American Geography Native Americans in North America before the 1500s established diverse cultures based on geography and resources. Southwest: Lived in pueblos governed by council of religious elders Northwest Coast: Had an abundance of natural resources

9. California: Many animals and plants were available year-round. Far North: Lived in the freezing tundra and hunted wildlife Great Basin and Plateau: Lived in dry areas behind the Pacific Coast mountain ranges.

10. Geography Continued Great Plains: Plains Indians lived west of the Mississippi River and hunted buffalo. Eastern Woodlands: Groups in this dense forest region used forest resources to build homes. Southeast: Most Native Americans lived in settled farming villages for hundreds of years.

11. Native American Culture

12. Shared Customs and Traditions Native North Americans had diverse social systems and traditions, but shared a number of customs, practices, and religious ideas. Most villages and nations organized into clans by kinship, or blood relations Many shared the concept of a spiritual connection to the natural world.

13. Trade brought Native Americans together. By the 1400s thousands of miles of trade networks crossed North America. From their earliest days in North America, bands of hunters exchanged gifts and spear points Later, people traveled to exchange food, raw materials, and luxury goods.

14. Trade with The East North Americans and Europeans traded goods, and eventually slaves, with African trading kingdoms. Africa’s Sahara Desert was a fearsome barrier to travel. Despite the dangers, many trading caravans have crossed it since ancient times. Besides goods, desert traders brought the religious teachings of Islam to Africa, which some accepted.

15. Several African trading kingdoms developed in West Africa starting around AD 300, including: Ghana and Mali - grew wealthy by taxing traders Songhai - A large capital of Islamic learning Benin and Kongo - Coastal kingdoms; many European traders

16. Trade with the East

17. Triangular Trade

18. Demand for Slave Labor Gold and trade first attracted European sailors to Africa, but it was the demand for labor that caused Europeans to join in the African slave trade. The Portuguese, Spanish, and other Europeans built plantations off the African coast and in the Caribbean, Brazil, and North America. European planters began importing slaves to work the large plantations.

19. The slave trade expanded as American planters began importing slaves to the Americas. The slave trade devastated society in West Africa for 400 years. During this time an estimated 20 million enslaved Africans landed in the Americas.

20. Changes in New Lands Europeans made political, cultural, and religious changes and explored new lands. The Middle Ages 1096: The Crusades began in Palestine, opening European eyes to new lands. 1400s: European countries began to consolidate under monarchs, forming nation-states. The Magna Carta was signed, placing limits on royal powers.

21. The Renaissance and Reformation 1300s: Prosperity led to better education and cultural and scientific advances. Discontent grew in the Roman Catholic church. Martin Luther’s challenges began the Reformation and the birth of Protestantism.

22. Changes Continued The Age of Exploration Scientific advances led European nation- states to find new lands and trade sources. Marco Polo traveled to China. Prince Henry of Portugal sought a sea route to Asia. Vasco de Gama found one in 1498.

23. Columbus and America Christopher Columbus Born in 1451 in the trading city of Genoa, Italy While visiting Portugal, decided to attempt sailing west to reach Asia Called this mission “Enterprise of the Indies” Enterprise of the Indies Finally won support from Spanish monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand Began on August 3, 1492, with three ships: Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria – Columbus’s flagship Landed at dawn on October 12, 1492, on a small island in the Bahamas, which Columbus mistook for the Indies in Asia

24. Voyage Impacts European colonization in America and the downfall of the Native American people New plants and animals exchanged between continents, known as the Columbian Exchange This exchange brought European diseases to the Americas.

26. Claims on America The Spanish and Portuguese claimed the Americas, but other European powers challenged those claims. After Columbus returned from the Americas, the Spanish and the Portuguese debated claims to newly discovered lands. The Treaty of Tordesillas settled the dispute, granting Spain a much bigger land claim.

27. A wave of exploration followed the Treaty of Tordesillas, and the Spanish conquistadors, or conquerors, led the way in the 1500s.Their goals were “God, gold, and glory.” Juan Ponce de Léon claimed Florida for Spain. Hernán Cortés conquered the wealthy Aztec Empire in 1521 Francisco Vásquezde Coronado discovered the Grand Canyon. Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo: explored the coast of California Juan Ponce de Leon

28. Claims in the New World

29. Spain’s Empire in the Americas Politics Aspects of colonial government Viceroyalties, provinces ruled by viceroys representing monarchs The ecomienda system, which granted landowners the right to control people of a certain area

30. Social hierarchy based on ancestry Peninsulares, people from Spain Creoles, people born in Americas of European descent Mestizos, people of Spanish and Native American descent People of mixed Spanish and African descent, Africans, and Indians

31. Spain’s Empire Continued Religion In addition to finding gold, the Spanish wanted to spread Christianity. Spain sent missionaries, people who convert others to a religion. Missionaries converted Native Americans to Christianity. Their work continued for centuries in the West and Southwest. In 1769 Fray Junípero Serra, a Franciscan friar known for his self-discipline, started the first California mission in San Diego and later headed eight more missions in California.

32. Spanish Conquest

33. Other Nations Explore the Americas During the late 1400s and 1500s, explorers from England, France and the Netherlands began to explore America. English explorers Francis Drake and John Cabot challenged Spain’s claim to the Americas. Queen Elizabeth I built England into a sea power, which began a key chain of events: Religious issues caused Spain and England to go to war. In 1588 the Spanish king sent a fleet of 130 ships, called the Spanish Armada, to invade England. England’s superior navy defeated the Spanish Armada, leaving England free to build American colonies. Francis Drake

34. American Explorations

35. England Defeats Spain The English defeated the Spanish Armada and established several North American colonies After the defeat of the Spanish Armada, English colonists came to America for many reasons, including economic opportunity and adventure. King James I issued a charter dividing North America between two groups of investors, the London Company and the Plymouth Company. King James I

36. These companies were joint-stock ventures in which investors pooled their money, hoping to make a profit. The companies governed and maintained the colonies and received most of the profit. Joint Stock Companies

37. The English in Virginia Roanoke In 1584 Sir Walter Raleigh sent a group to America. They claimed land along the Atlantic seaboard and named it Virginia. In 1587 they founded the colony of Roanoke. In 1590 when the colony’s leader returned from England, he found the colony mysteriously empty of people.

38. Jamestown Settled in 1607, this was the first English colony to survive, despite disease, contaminated water and lack of food. John Smith, who imposed military discipline on the colonists, helped them survive hardships. John Rolfe, who discovered tobacco and learned to cure it from his wife Pocahontas, made the colony profitable.

39. Virginia Continued Key Events in Virginia History Formation of the House of Burgess, which was America’s first legislature, or law-making body Use of indentured servants, who worked for a number of years in exchange for food, shelter and paid passage to America Transition to slave labor by the late 1600s

40. Puritans The Puritans, seeking religious freedom, founded the Northern Colonies (New England). English Protestants who thought the Reformation did not go far enough were known as Puritans. Some Puritans, known as Separatists, wanted total separation from the established church. Separatists who left for America were known as the Pilgrims.

41. In 1620 a group of Separatists sailed to America on a ship called the Mayflower. Two months later, they reached present-day Massachusetts. The Pilgrims signed the Mayflower Compact, a legal contract agreeing to make laws to protect the people. It was one of the first attempts at self-government in the English colonies.

43. Northern Colonies Plymouth Colony The pilgrims who signed the Mayflower Compact established this colony. They grew their own food and built their own houses. Harsh conditions, which killed many of the colonists, included cold, hunger, and sickness. Those who survived had help from the friendly local Indians.

44. Massachusetts Bay Colony This colony was established as both a religious haven and the headquarters of the Massachusetts Bay Company. The colony’s success inspired the Great Migration, when 16,000 English settlers crossed the Atlantic Ocean and settled in New England.

45. The Plymouth Colony

46. Northern Colonies Continued Other Northern Colonies In time, the strict rules of the Puritan colonies caused dissenters to leave and settle new towns in other parts of New England. These new colonies included: Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.

47. Jamestown

48. King Charles II King Charles II granted friends and family land to rule, and they formed the Middle and Southern Colonies In the late 1600s, a new and different phase of colonization began in the middle and southern regions. A new king, Charles II, owed money and favors to many people. He repaid them with American land grants.

49. The colonies created New York New Jersey Pennsylvania Carolina Unlike joint-stock colonies, these were not ruled by investors or colonial legislatures, but by their owners. New York Colony

50. The Thirteen Colonies