Chapter 1: the Collision of Cultures

Chapter 1: The Collision of Cultures

“BIG PICTURE” QUESTIONS FOR SECTION I:

1)  What were some important civilizations in the Americas before Columbus arrived, and what characteristics did they have?

I.  America Before Columbus

A.  The Peoples of the Precontact Americas

1. The “Clovis People”—How do scholars believe that the first humans arrived in the Western Hemisphere, and how long ago was it?

2. Archaeologists and Population Diversity—More recent archeological evidence suggests that early migrants took what routes? Where did the migrant come from?

3. The “Archaic Period”

B.  The Growth of Civilizations: The South—Where did the most elaborate Western Hemisphere civilizations develop? What were the civilizations called? What was each civilization’s important advances/beliefs?

C.  The Civilizations of the North

1. Complex and Varied Civilizations

2. Agricultural Revolution—How did agriculture change early northern civilizations? What were their religions like? How did gender roles vary?

“BIG PICTURE” QUESTIONS FOR SECTION II: Why did Europeans begin to look westward to expand? How did the Spanish accomplish expansion, and what was the Spanish model of colonization (what type of governments and societies did they establish in the New World)? What exchanges affected life both in Europe and the colonies?

II.  Europe Looks Westward—What was the name of the earliest European to reach North America? How was power distributed in Europe (was it centralized or dispersed)?

A.  Commerce and Nationalism

1. A Reawakening of Commerce—What two incentives caused Europeans to look for new lands?

2. Centralized Nation-States—How had governments changed in Europe by the 15th century, and what economic effects did these political changes have? With what region did Europeans want to trade, and how did they get there?

3. Prince Henry the Navigator—What country was the first maritime (sea-bound) exploring power in Europe, and where did they explore?

B.  Christopher Columbus—What was Columbus’s background? What was his goal? How was he misguided in his beliefs?

1. Columbus’s First Voyage—When did Columbus first sail? What did he discover? What did he think he had discovered?

2. Religious Motives for Exploration—How did Columbus view himself, in a religious sense?

3. Ferdinand Magellan—What did Magellan’s fleet accomplish?

C.  The Conquistadores—How did the Spanish view of the Americas change?

1. Cortes Conquers the Aztecs—How did Cortes ultimately defeat the Aztecs? How did his men explain their success? Who defeated the Incas? Who explored what would become the American Southwest?

2. Brutality and Greed—How did the conquistadores interact with native populations?

D.  Spanish America

1. Ordinances of Discovery—After the conquistadores, what two important forces for colonization operated in Spanish America?

2. Catholic Missions—What were Catholic Missions? What was their goal?

E.  Northern Outposts

1. St. Augustine—What were encomiendas?

2. The Pueblo Revolt of 1680

F.  The Empire at High Tide

1. Spain’s Vast Empire

2. Rigid Royal Control—How did Spanish colonies differ from British colonies that would come later in the New World?

3. A Collision of Cultures—How did the Spanish colonial settlement patterns differ from those of the British?

G.  Biological and Cultural Exchanges

1. Increasing Levels of Exchange—What was the most important exchange between the Old and New Worlds?

2. Demographic Catastrophe—What happened to native populations where the Spanish first settled?

3. Deliberate Subjugation and Extermination—In addition to disease, why else did natives perish? How did the Spanish view Native Americans?

4. New Crops and Agricultural Techniques—What agricultural exchanges (both FROM Europe and FROM the New World) benefitted both regions?

5. A Complex Racial Hierarchy—How did a racial hierarchy in Spanish America evolve?

6. Varied Labor Systems—What system of labor characterized Spanish America? How did that source of labor begin to change?

H.  Africa and America—Where did most African slaves come from?

1. Ghana and Mali

2. Benin, Congo, and Songhay

3. Matrilineal Societies—What is a matrilineal society, and how do they operate? What were west African religions like? What was African social hierarchy like, PARTICULARLY as it pertained to slaves and slavery? How did the early slave trade (particularly with the Portugese) begin?

4. Growth of the African Slave Trade—How and why did the African slave trade change beginning in the 16th century? How did African kingdoms change their relations as a result? What different European countries came to dominate the African slave trade over time?

“BIG PICTURE” QUESTIONS FOR SECTION III:

1)  What motives spurred the English to seek colonies, and what was the English model of colonization (what experiences did they have with colonization that influenced their colonizing behavior in the New World)? Who competed with the English in North America for colonies, and how were their models of colonization different from the British?

III.  The Arrival of the English

1. John Cabot

A.  The Commercial Incentive

1. The Enclosure Movement—How did wool production increase the motivation to settle the New World? What was happening to the English population?

2. Chartered Companies

3. Mercantilism—What was “mercantilism” and what was its goal? Why were colonies attractive for this economic theory?

4. Richard Hakluyt’s Argument for Colonies—What were Hakluyt’s arguments in support of colonization?

B.  The Religious Incentive—How did Martin Luther change Christianity forever?

1. The Doctrine of Predestination— Who was John Calvin? What was the doctrine of predestination? What group in England subscribed to this belief system?

2. The English Reformation—Who and what caused England’s split from the Catholic Church? How different from the Catholic Church was the new Church of England, and what tensions did that cause? What did “Puritans” want?

3. Puritan Separatists—What did Puritan Separatists want?

4. Puritan Discontent—How did Puritan discontent help promote colonization?

C.  The English in Ireland

1. Subjugation of Ireland—What did the English believe about Irish natives?

2. The Plantation Model—How did experiences in Ireland impact English behavior in America, particularly when interacting with native peoples?

D.  The French and the Dutch in America

1. Coureurs De Bois—Who were the most formidable rivals of the British in North America? How did the French exercise so much influence in the New World with such a small population? How did French Jesuit missionaries help spread a French presence?

2. Henry Hudson—Who was Henry Hudson?

3. New Amsterdam—Where was New Amsterdam, and what was its European population like?

E.  The First English Settlements

1. The Spanish Armada—What was the Spanish Armada, what happened to it, and how did its fate help spur English colonization?

2. Gilbert’s Expedition to Newfoundland

F.  Roanoke

1. The First Roanoke Colony

2. New Colonial Charters—Who was given rights to establish new colonies in America, and how was America divided?