Chapter 1: The World in 1500, Beginnings to 1500
Section 1: Crossing to the Americas
Main Idea: Ancient peoples came from Asia to the Americas and over time developed complex civilizations.
There are two theories about how the first Americans migrated, or moved, to the Americas from Asia.
1.One theory is that ancient people came during the last Ice Age some 12,000 years ago. They crossed the Bering Strait—a land bridge between Asia and Alaska that is now covered by water. 2 A second theory is that humans came by many routes over thousands of years. The first Americans lived in hunting and gathering cultures. Some cultures became civilizations.
A civilization has five features.
1 it has cities with trade centers;
2 there are specialized jobs
3 there is organized government and religion;
4 a system of record keeping
5 people use advanced tools.
Two advanced civilizations in early Mesoamerica -- Olmec and the Maya. Mayans had cities in southern Mexico and Guatemala. They kept accurate calendars, they created a number system, and they had a written language.
Other early civilizations include the Hohokam in what is now Arizona, and the Anasazi, who settled in the area where Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico meet.
Some early Native Americans built large earthen mounds. These groups include the Adena and the Hopewell. The last group of Mound Builders, the Mississippians, built some of the first cities in North America.
Section 2: Societies of North America
Main Idea: By 1500, a variety of Native American groups—each with a distinct culture—lived in North America.
The environment shaped each of the Native American cultures. The Aleut and the Inuit lived in the far North. They hunted sea mammals and caribou. Northwest Coast people caught salmon and hunted. The peoples of the West included tribes in California, the Colombia Plateau, and the Great Basin. They were hunters and gatherers, and they also fished. Their spiritual beliefs were linked to nature.
The Aztecs ruled a great civilization in central Mexico. In 1325, they began building their capital city, Tenochtitlán. They eventually created a strong empire.
In the American Southwest, the Pueblo practiced irrigation, while the Navajo and the Apache were hunter-gatherers.The Plains Indians lived on the Great Plains. Some were nomads. Others lived in villages. In summer, they hunted buffalo. In the Southeast, Native Americans became farmers. Their societies were matrilineal, tracing their family ties through women.
The Iroquois lived in the Northeast, which was largely forest. They practiced slash-and burn agriculture. In the late 1500s, five northern Iroquois nations formed the Iroquois League. By 1500, hundreds of Native American groups existed. Although different, all Native American groups felt connected to nature. Trade also linked them.
Section 3: Societies of West Africa
Main Idea: The Peoples of West Africa developed sophisticated kingdoms, trade networks, and they created great works of art.
Africa, the second largest continent, contains dense rainforests, broad savannas, and the world’s largest desert, the Sahara. By 1500 A.D., trade linked Africa with the world.
Ghana was the first West African kingdom to grow wealthy by controlling trade in gold and salt. Muslims, or followers of Islam, came from North Africa to trade. In 1076, a Muslim army conquered Ghana’s capital.
By the 1200s, the kingdom of Mali was West Africa’s most powerful state. Sundiata, Mali’s first great leader, was a Muslim who conquered many important trading centers. In 1312, Mansa Musa, another Muslim, began to rule Mali. Soon Mali became one of the world’s largest empires.
The Songhai lived by the Niger River. They broke away from Mali, and Sunni Ali became their ruler. Although a Muslim, Sunni Ali also practiced African religions. After his death in 1492, some Muslims wanted Islam to be Songhai’s only religion. Their leader, Askia Muhammad, became Songhai’s second great ruler. In 1591, North Africa defeated the Songhai.
After 1000 A.D., the Hausa states emerged in what is now northern Nigeria. These states thrived on trade. Southwest of the Niger River were the Yoruba states. Statues created by Yoruba artists are still considered great works of art. Benin, located on the Niger River, was also famous for its art.
Section 4: Societies of Europe
Main Idea: By 1500, Europe was going through a period of social change that sparked interest in learning and exploration.
Vikings raided Europe during the Middle Ages. To survive, Europeans turned to feudalism. Feudalism is a political system in which a king allows nobles, or lords, to use his lands in return for military service. Europeans also developed the manor system. Serfs armed the manors—these were the large estates of the lords. In return, they were given protection. The Catholic Church became a unifying force during this time.
By the 1000s, feudalism brought stability to European society. Merchants were safe to travel and trade increased. New towns emerged. Serfs left the manors to become craftspeople and merchants. They became the middle class.
In 1096, European Christians launched the Crusades, a series of wars to capture the Holy Land. Although the Crusades failed, they spurred trade. A book by Marco Polo increased interest in Asia.
Feudalism grew weak because serfs left the manors. In 1347, a deadly disease, the bubonic plague, killed about one fourth of the population. The plague reduced the number of workers and further weakened feudalism.
The Renaissance was a time of growing interest in art and learning. It began in Italy and spread through Europe, lasting from the 1300s to 1600. People began to study the classical Greeks and Romans.
In 1455, the printing press was invented, which helped spread new ideas that ultimately weakened the Church. Martin Luther began the Reformation, a movement to correct problems in the Church. The Reformation split the Church into two groups, Catholics and Protestants.
Italian merchants made huge profits by trading in Asian goods. To prevent other Europeans
from trading with Asia, the Italians controlled the Mediterranean Sea. Other Europeans
began to search for another water route to Asia.
Bartolomeu Dias, a Portuguese explorer, reached the southern tip of Africa in 1488. Ten years later, Vasco de Gama found an all-water route to Asia. As a result, Portugal took over the spice trade.
Section 5: Early European Explorers
Main Idea: As Europeans searched for sea routes to Asia, Christopher Columbus
reached the Americas.
An Italian sailor, Christopher Columbus, thought he knew a faster way to Asia. Columbus asked Spain’s rulers, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, to pay for his voyage. They wanted to share in the rich Asian trade. Queen Isabella also wanted to spread Christianity. In 1492, they agreed to his request.
Columbus began his voyage in August of 1492. His three ships sailed southwest toward the Canary Islands. By October 10th, the crew lost confidence in Columbus. To avoid mutiny, Columbus agreed to turn back if they did not see land within three days. On October 12, they saw land.
The ships landed on a Caribbean island. Columbus thought he had reached the Indies—islands in Southeast Asia. He called the islanders Indians. Columbus named the island San Salvador. Believing he had found an all-water route to Asia, Columbus sailed back to Spain.
Columbus made three more voyages to the Americas. He neither brought back treasure nor spread Christianity. Instead, he enslaved the people of Hispaniola. After his fourth voyage, Spain’s rulers refused to help him further.
The voyages of Columbus changed European views of the world. People realized that Columbus had reached continents not known to them before. They began to see the Atlantic Ocean as a bridge that linked Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
Chapter 2: European Exploration of the Americas, 1492–1700
Section 1: Spain Claims an Empire
Main Idea: Spain claimed a large empire in the Americas.
In 1493, Pope Alexander VI drew an imaginary north-south line--the Line of Demarcation--which divided the world into two parts. Lands to the east of the line belonged to Portugal and lands to the west belonged to Spain. A year later, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Tordessillas, which moved the Line of Demarcation more than 800 miles to the west. European exploration increase and had three goals 1) countries wanted to spread Christianity. 2) wanted to expand their empires 3) greater wealth. Colonies enriched European nations with their gold, and silver and by trading goods and served as markets for the home country. This economic system was called mercantilism.
Early explorers included Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian sailor who hoped to find a sea route to Asia but found America instead. Vasco Nunez de Balboa was a Spanish explorer who reached the Pacific Ocean in 1513. In 1519, Portuguese sailor Ferdinand Magellan set out for Asia by sailing around South America. Although he died on the trip, his crew became the first to sail around the world. Hernando Cortés was a Spanish conqueror or conquistador. He and his men landed on the Central American coast in 1519. They captured the Aztec emperor, Montezuma, and defeated the Aztecs. Both sides lost many men. Smallpox, a disease carried by the Europeans to Central America, also killed many Aztecs. The Spanish built Mexico City at the site of Tenochtitlán, the former Aztec capital. Another conquistador, Francisco Pizarro, set out to capture the wealth of the Incas, who lived in South America. When Pizarro landed on Peru’s coast in 1525, the Incan emperor, Atahualpa, feared that the Spanish might be gods. He would not let his people fight. The Spanish easily conquered Peru. The superior weapons and fighting skills of the Spanish also contributed greatly to their success in conquering Native American empires.Rumors of golden cities prompted three Spanish expeditions between 1539 and 1542. Francisco Vazquez de Coronado traveled through present-day Arizona and New Mexico. Hernando de Soto explored the southeast, and Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed up the California coast. None found the fabled golden cities.
Section 2: European Competition in North America
Main Idea: Several European countries competed with Spain for control over territory in the Americas. Many European explorers searched for the Northwest Passage, a water route to Asia through North America. One of the first was an Italian sailor, John Cabot, who sailed for the English. In 1497, Cabot landed in Newfoundland, Canada, which he claimed for England. Two others, Giovanni da Verrazzano and Jacques Cartier also failed to find the Northwest Passage. Equally unsuccessful was Henry Hudson, an Englishman whose voyages in 1609 and 1610 were among the last attempts to find the water route.
French and English claims to North America angered Spain. Tension also grew from religious conflicts. As a result, the Spanish attacked a French fort in Florida that contained French Protestants.
In 1558, religious differences led England’s Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestant, to challenge Spain’s sea power. Although England’s navy was small, its daring sailors, known as sea dogs, had the advantage of skill and speedy ships. One of the most famous, Sir Francis Drake, stole great amounts of treasure from Spanish ships. Drake was the first Englishman to sail around the world. In 1588, Spain’s King Philip II attempted to conquer England and restore Catholicism there. When the Spanish Armada, a fleet of 130 warships, entered the English Channel, the English navy destroyed half its ships.
Hoping to gain wealth, France and the Netherlands also colonized the Americas. In 1608,Samuel de Champlain founded New France, a fur-trading post on the St. Lawrence River. It was the first permanent French settlement in North America.
A year later, the Dutch built New Netherland, a colony along the Hudson River. In 1626, they founded New Amsterdam, which eventually became New York City. Fur-trading caused the colony to prosper.
Section 3: The Spanish and Native Americans
Main Idea: Spanish rule in the Americas had terrible consequences for Native Americans.
Around 1700, Spain divided its American empire into two provinces—New Spain and Peru. Each province was governed by a viceroy in the king’s name. Grants of Native American labor and the creation of large estates called haciendas concentrated power in the hands of a small number of Spaniards. Spanish colonial society was like a pyramid. Spanish-born colonists were at the top. Next came the Creoles—people of Spanish descent—who were born in the colonies. Below them were the mestizos, people of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry. At the bottom were the Native Americans and enslaved Africans. To convert Native Americans to Christianity, the Catholic Church built missions. Missionaries helped Native Americans create a better food supply and taught them to read and write. Unfortunately, missionaries often treated Native Americans like slaves. The Spanish forced Native Americans to work on large farms called plantations. Sugar was the most common crop, being in great demand in Europe.
Bartolomé de Las Casas was a Spaniard who fought for better treatment of Native Americans. His efforts caused the Spanish king to issue laws calling for the freeing of enslaved Native Americans. When Spanish colonists protested, the king reversed many of these laws.
European colonization in the Americas led to an exchange of living things between the Eastern and Western hemispheres, called the Columbian Exchange. Items such as vegetables, livestock, grains, fruit, and coffee were exchanged. Unfortunately, germs and viruses were also transferred. Native Americans had no natural immunity to European diseases. As a result, millions of them died. The introduction of American crops into the European diet caused the European population to grow rapidly. The Spanish also brought many plants and animals to the Americas.