Chapter 1: New World Beginnings

The First Discoverers of America -For some 25,000 years people crossed the Bering land bridge from Eurasia to North America - Gradually they dispersed southward down ice-free valleys, populating both the American continents.

Cahokia This artist’s rendering of Cahokia, based on archaeological excavations, shows the huge central square and the imposing Monk’s Mound, which rivaled in size the pyramids of Egypt. (25000 people near present day St. Louis)

North American Natives Iroquois (NE woodlands)- closest civilization to Incas and Mayans “Iroquois Confederacy” -most natives lived in small, impermanent settlements -many matrilineal

Three Sister Farming: Beans, Cornstalk, Squash Used SE Atlantic Seaboard leads to large populations such as Creek, Cherokee, Choctaw

The World Known to Europe and Major Trade Routes with Asia, 1492 Goods on the early routes passed through so many hands along the way that their ultimate source remained mysterious to Europeans.

Principal Voyages of Discovery **1000 CE Norse seafarers find North American coast Principal Voyages of Discovery Much of the earliest exploration was done by Italians, notably Christopher Columbus of Genoa. John Cabot(1497-98), another native of Genoa (his original name was Giovanni Caboto), sailed for England’s King Henry VII. Giovanni da Verrazano (1524, 1534) was a Florentine employed by France.

Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), by Ridolfo di Domenico Ghirlandaio No portrait from life exists of Columbus, so all likenesses of him, including this one, are somewhat fanciful. -By 1492 roughly 54 million natives in Americas: 2000 languages -Largest civilizations: Incas, Mayans, Aztecs -Cultivation of maize -Human/Blood sacrifices -In North America (Above Mexico) no complex city-states to compare against

The Columbian Exchange Columbus’s discovery initiated the kind of explosion in international commerce that a later age would call “globalization.” ***Killed up to 90% of native populations in New World Source: Adapted from Out of Many: A History of the American People, Third Edition, Combined Edition by Faragher, Buhle, Czitrom, and Armitage. Copyright © 1999. By permission of Prentice-Hall, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ.

Treaty of Tordesillas 1494 Pope Alexander VI took action to clear up any confusion that may have arisen over territorial claims. He issued a decree which established an imaginary line running north and south through the mid-Atlantic, 100 leagues (480 km) from the Cape Verde islands. Spain would have possession of any unclaimed territories to the west of the line and Portugal would have possession of any unclaimed territory to the east of the line.

Artists’ Rendering of Tenochtitlán Amid tribal strife in the fourteenth century, the Aztecs built a capital on a small island in a lake in the central Valley of Mexico. From here they oversaw the most powerful empire yet to arise in Mesoamerica. Two main temples stood at the city’s sacred center, one dedicated to Tlaloc, the ancient rain god, and the other to Huitzilopochtli, the tribal god, who was believed to require human hearts for sustenance.

Conquistadores, ca. 1534 This illustration for a book called the Köhler Codex of Nuremberg may be the earliest depiction of the conquistadores in the Americas. It portrays men and horses alike as steadfast and self-assured in their work of conquest.

Cortés and Malinche, ca. 1540 (detail) Though done by an Indian artist, this drawing identifies Malinche by her Christian name, Marina. She eventually married one of Cortés’s soldiers, with whom she traveled to Spain and was received at the Spanish court.

An Aztec View of the Conquest, 1531 Produced just a dozen years after Cortés’s arrival in 1519, this drawing by an Aztec artist pictures the Indians rendering tribute to their conquerors. The inclusion of the banner showing the Madonna and child also illustrates the early incorporation of Christian beliefs by the Indians.

The Scourge of Smallpox This Peruvian infant, depicted about 1700, was ravaged by the dread European disease and placed in a crude quarantine. “Black Legend” -However there is a fusion of cultures in Spanish held America that will NOT be seen in English held America

Principal Early Spanish Explorations and Conquests Note that Coronado traversed northern Texas and Oklahoma. In present-day eastern Kansas, he found, instead of the great golden city he sought, a drab encampment, probably of Wichita Indians.

Spain’s North American Frontier

One of the important factors that first stimulated European interest in trade and discovery was a. the Christian crusaders who brought back a taste for the silks and spices of Asia b. the Arab slave traders on the east coast of Africa c. the Scandinavian sailors who had kept up continuous trade contacts with North America d. the division of Spain into small kingdoms competing for wealth and power e. Copernicus’s discovery that the earth revolved around the sun

The flood of gold and silver from Spain’s New World Empire into Europe after 1500 played a large role in the a. rise of capitalism and modern merchant banking b. Protestant Reformation c. development of an industrial working class d. expansion of the jewelry industry e. development of a modern system of precious metal currency

The Indian peoples of the Americas a The Indian peoples of the Americas a. developed no advanced forms of civilization b. migrated by boat from the South Pacific region about 10,000 B.C. c. were under the control of the two large empires of the Incas and Aztecs d. relied primarily on nomadic hunting for their sustenance e. were divided into many diverse cultures speaking more than two thousand different languages