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[American History 1] [Unit 1 J. Michalski]

American History 1

Unit 1

Exploration to 1733

1.01 the ancient Americans

There are different theories and beliefs held regarding how the first Americans arrived in North America. Some anthropologists state that the first Americans arrived as early as 22,000 years ago. Some believe that the first inhabitants arrived in small boats following the coastline from Asia to what is present-day Alaska, but the most widely accepted theory at this time is that most of the first inhabitants came over a land bridge which was created during the Ice Age.

Question 1. Describe how and when most anthropologists believe the original inhabitants of North America arrived?

The first inhabitants relied on a hunting and gathering economy. Archaeological evidence suggests that they hunted the woolly mammoth and other big game until the Ice Age ended between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago. As groups arrived in North America, some stayed in a certain geographic area while others kept moving south and east all the way to what is now considered Mexico and South America. Between 10,000 and 5000 years ago an agricultural revolution took place in what is today considered central Mexico. People began to plant crops in the different climatic zones created by mountains and valleys. The inhabitants planted maize, gourds, pumpkins, peppers, and beans. Due to this agricultural revolution, groups could stay in one location and not only grow enough food for everyday survival but also actually create a surplus of food. This surplus of food allowed other residents to develop other skills and served as the base for complex societies to exist.

Question 2. How did agriculture help create the first complex societies in the Americas?

Around 3000 years ago the first Americans began to form larger communities and build civilizations. Around 1200 BC the Olmec peoples created a civilization in the rain forests along the Gulf of Mexico. The Maya Built a civilization in what is today the Yucatán Peninsula and Guatemala between 250 and 900 A.D. the Aztecs settled into the Valley of Mexico around 1200 A.D. The Inca created an empire that stretched over 2500 miles along the western coast of South America with notable cities especially in what is Peru today. Archaeologists and anthropologists now consider these ancient American cultures on par with other ancient cultures in Africa and Asia. Great cities with large ceremonial centers and stadiums were constructed along with huge palaces, pyramids, and plazas.

Question 3. Name and state the location of the first great civilizations in the Americas.

Between 300 BC in 1400 A.D. the Hohokam and the Anasazi settled and planted crops in what is today the American southwest. The Hohokam settled in what is today central Arizona while the Anasazi settled on the tops of mesas, into the sides of cliffs, and canyon floors in what is today parts of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico. In the east of what is today the United States the Adena, the Hopewell, and the Mississippian cultures thrived. These cultures often built huge burial mounds. Interestingly enough these cultures also build large-scale earthen mounds in the shapes of animals that can be seen from the air creating interesting debates over the levels and influences of their technology. When Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492 the Mississippian and the Aztec cultures still flourished but most others had disappeared.

Question 4. What were the major early civilizations in Eastern North America?

By the time Columbus arrived in the Americas there were many American Indian societies in North America. No two societies were exactly alike however there were certain similarities in cultural traits, patterns of trade, attitudes towards land use, and certain societal values. The different American Indian societies maintained contact with each other through trade. Certain tribes became well known for specific products. The Ojibwa along the upper Great Lakes collected wild rice while the Taos of the Southwest became known for their pottery. The network of trade routes was so extensive that an English sailor named David Ingram walked all the way from Mexico to the Atlantic Coast following the American Indian trade routes. American Indians tended to regard the land as a source of life and not as a commodity to be sold. This belief would lead to direct conflict with the arriving European settlers who believed in private ownership of land. American Indians tended to disturb the land only for the most important activities such as farming. This also conflicted with European settlers who cleared entire forests for farmland.

Almost all American Indian societies thought the natural world was filled with spirits. The spirits of past generations remained alive to guide the living. There also tended to be the belief that every object possessed the voice that one could hear if they listened close enough. This also tended to conflict with most European settlers beliefs. Some American Indian cultures did believe in one Supreme Being. American Indian societies tended to be based upon groups of families that displayed strong kinship bonds. The young tended to honor the elders and their ancestors. Some cultures tended to be patriarchal while others were matriarchal. Social order was maintained through a division of labor that was assigned based upon gender, age, and status. Two powerful American Indian societies that emerged in Eastern North America in the 15th century were the Iroquois and the Huron. The various Iroquois tribes/nations would form the Iroquois Confederacy made up of five tribes at first and in 1722 admitted the Tuscarora who were driven out of North Carolina as the sixth nation. Each tribe or nation had a voice in a grand council. The Iroquois were matrilineal and would adopt outsiders into the various nations. Even some European settlers were adopted into Iroquois clans resulting from war. This differed greatly from the European attitude towards the American Indian because the Europeans generally believed that they were superior. The early colonial wars between the European powers saw the conflicting European powers try to make alliances with these tribes since it often meant victory in the western frontier.

Question 5. What was the major way that the American Indian tribes maintained contact with each other?

Question 6. What major beliefs of the American Indians tended to conflict with the beliefs of the coming European settlers?

1.02. Europe enters the age of exploration and colonization.

Many changes occurred in Europe that contributed to the age of exploration and colonization. One of the most important was the Renaissance. The Renaissance refers to the period when Europeans began investigating all aspects of the physical world. A rebirth in knowledge inherited from ancient Greece and Rome became important. Explorers such as Prince Henry of Portugal explored the West Coast of Africa and set up trading posts and were emblematic of the spirit of the Renaissance.

In the late 15th century most Europeans like most Native Americans and most Africans lived in small villages and were bound to the land and to ancient traditions. European societies were based on the social hierarchy meaning rank. Monarchs and nobles held most the wealth and power and were at the top of the hierarchy and at the bottom were the peasants who were in the majority of the people. The nobility maintained their power by offering the peasants land and protection. In return the peasants supplied the nobles with livestock, crops, and military service. It was virtually impossible to move beyond the position into which one was born. Europeans believed that God ordained what position they occupied in society. During the Renaissance however one group that did experience social mobility were the artisans and the merchants. The monarchs supported the merchants because they could tax their profit and use that tax money to fund overseas exploration and expansion.

A major difference between European society and African and Native American societies was the emphasis upon the nuclear family. In Western Europe the household was generally made up of a mother and the father and their children. The division of labor was that men did most of the fieldwork and the raising of livestock while the women helped out in the fields but also provided childcare and household labor.

Another major difference in European society was the presence of a strong unified church. The power of the Roman Catholic Church started to decline after the Crusades that were series of military expeditions to seize the Middle East in the name of Christianity. The Crusades encouraged exploration and expansion in that they sparked an increase in trade and a taste for products from Asia. The Crusades also weakened the power of many European nobles who lost their lives or fortunes in the wars. Monarchs solidified their power as a result and started to fund overseas exploration to increase their wealth and power. The monarchs also gained more authority because as a result of the Crusades the prestige and power of the papacy was questioned and ultimately reduced. In the early 1500s the Reformation divided Christianity in Western Europe between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. This split not only created rivalries between Protestant and Catholic nations but also served as a source for persecuted religious minorities to look for a safe place to practice their religion.

Question 7. How did the Renaissance contribute to European exploration?

Question 8. What were three ways in which the Crusades contributed to European exploration?

Further changes also contributed to European exploration and colonization. Trade grew exponentially after the Crusades and many merchants in Italian city-states became rich and powerful from this trade. By the end of the 1400s Europe's population rebounded from the plagues and stimulated the growth of towns. With expanding trade networks a new urban middle-class started to grow and increase in political power. This class was heavily influenced by the ideas of the Renaissance and led to a growing interest in worldly pleasures and the confidence in human achievement. The art created during this period exemplifies the hope and promise combined with ancient forms of sculpture and painting. With the trade routes going through the Islamic world, ancient texts and knowledge from Asia and the Middle East would create the conditions for scientific and technological advancement.

Major technological advances centered upon sailing technology. The caravel was a lighter, faster and more maneuverable ship that could navigate the rough seas of the Atlantic Ocean. The Sternpost rudder allowed the caravel a greater degree of control in turning the ship. These advancements also helped the Europeans find alternative ways to the land routes to Asia that became more expensive. European ship builders and captains adopted the use of the compass and the astrolabe. Portugal led the way and European exploration and set up trading posts along the West Coast of Africa. Bartolomeu Dias rounded Africa in 1488 and Vasco de Gama reached India in 1498. Portugal soon had the most profitable trade with Asia and other European nations desired to compete for the same riches. It is within this context that Christopher Columbus approached monarchs of different European nation-states and found a sponsor and Queen Isabella of Spain who was convinced by Columbus that an even shorter route to Asia was possible.

Early in the morning on October 12 1492 a lookout aboard the ship Pinta sighted land. At dawn Columbus went ashore and made contact with people who call themselves the Taino. At first Columbus and his expedition looked favorably upon the Taino and both sides traded. The Spanish even considered the inhabitants as living according to God's wishes in a Garden of Eden like setting. This will not last long as the primary motivations for Spanish exploration was God, gold, and glory. Columbus spent the next 96 days exploring the islands in the Caribbean such as Cuba and Hispaniola as well as the Bahamas. Columbus claimed every island that he saw and landed upon for the crown of Spain. Some debate has surfaced among historians whether Columbus used the term Indian because he believed he was in the Indies or based upon his primary perception that the inhabitants were innocent children of God-en Dios.

Question 9. What technological improvements assisted in European exploration?

Question 10. How did Columbus’s viewpoint of the Taino change?

Question 11. What was the key reason for Portuguese exploration and colonization and what were the key reasons for Spanish exploration and colonization?

Columbus returned to Spain and thrilled the Spanish monarchs with his stories, native inhabitants, and goods brought back from the Caribbean. The Spanish monarchy funded three more voyages but now Columbus sailed with a fleet of 17 ships and several hundred armed soldiers. Included were five Roman Catholic priests in more than 1000 colonists. The Spanish would impose their will upon the native peoples. This clash would last more than 500 years.

The Europeans used the same system of colonization in the Americas as they did when they formed colonies in what are today the islands off of the coast of West Africa. Before coming to the Americas Spain formed colonies on the Canary Islands. Contrary to some beliefs, the Native Americans did not let themselves be conquered. The inhabitants of Hispaniola defended themselves by using poison arrows but the Spanish had much better weapons. Even when conquered there would often be revolts by the native inhabitants such as the Taino in 1495. This revolt was brutally crushed by Columbus and a few Spanish did question the brutal treatment and enslavement of Native Americans. One such Spaniard was Bartolomé de Las Casas. Another factor that contributed to the American Indians defeat was the spread of disease such as measles, mumps, chickenpox, smallpox, and typhus. These diseases often arrived before the European colonizers decimating entire populations. To this day historians disagree over the percentage of Native Americans that were killed by disease but the most respected sources tend to put the figure between 30% and 70%.