Unit 2: Early Modern Europe Exploration and Empires EQ 2: Which nations were involved, who were the explorers, where did they explore, and how did they deal with the native peoples?
Spain Builds a New Empire The Caribbean Encomienda System develops Planters given large amount of land & number of Indian slaves Attempts to Christianize Indians Disastrous results Overwork Infanticide Disease (smallpox) Mexico Hernan Cortes (conquistador) Conquers the Aztec Empire in 1519 Allies with other enemy tribes Advanced weaponry & armor Disease Fortune and timing
Spain’s New World Empire Peru Francisco Pizarro conquered Inca Empire of the Andes Atahualpa held for ransom, Incas come up with 2 rooms full of silver & one of gold Pizarro kills him in spite of ransom being met Life in Spanish Empire Government Run by Viceroy system – King’s representative in New World Economy Mining (gold/silver) Agriculture – enslaved Indians for labor
Portuguese in New World Cabral’s voyage in 1520, gave Portugal claim to Brazil Followed Spanish patterns of settlement Large coastal plantations Enslavement of natives Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) divided world in 2 halves btwn Portugal & Spain
Other Nations Get Involved France Established empire in Canada (New France) Economy based on fur Failed to attract many colonists Treated Indians much more humanely than other nations Eventually extended empire into America along the Great Lakes & Miss. River Holland Only 1 major colony in America New Netherland (NY) Purchased from Wampanoags in 1626 More interested in trade colonies in Indian Ocean (spices) & Caribbean (sugar)
Other Nations (cont…) England 1607 – Jamestown (VA) Settled for gold/silver Lost 80% in 1st year but saved by dev. of tobacco 1620 – Plymouth (MA) Settled for religious reasons by Pilgrims (Calvinists) English colonization characterized by: Colonists’ eagerness to settle (land was theirs) poor relations with Indians; resulting in years of conflict
French and Indian War, 1754-1763 Cause = dispute btwn French & British over upper Ohio Valley Results =French lost and forced to leave North America (Treaty of Paris, 1763) English controlled everything from Atlantic to Miss. River after 1763