New World Beginnings 33,000 B.C – A.D. 1783 Chapter 1

Pre-Columbian Societies

Pangea 225 million years ago, the single super continent of Pangea began to break apart 10 million years ago, North America was shaped by nature

The Great Ice Age 2 million years ago – The Great Ice Age begins 35,000 years ago – the oceans were glaciers, and the sea level dropped leaving an isthmus that connected Asia to North America

The Bering Strait 2 million years ago – The Great Ice Age begins 35,000 years ago – the oceans were glaciers, and the sea level dropped leaving an isthmus that connected Asia to North America

Early Inhabitants of the Americas The earliest Americans were hunters and gatherers. Domestication of crops led to the beginning of civilizations (corn, beans and squash the “Three Sisters”) Native American cultures were matrilineal in which power and possessions were passed down the female side of the family line. Native Americans did not believe in ownership of the land. They revered the physical world and endowed nature with spiritual properties.

American Indian Empires in Mesoamerica, the Southwest and the Mississippi River Valley

Mesoamerica Mayan (Central America) had a written language, mathematicians made accurate astronomical observations (calendar), and had advanced agricultural practices Aztecs (Mexico) complex civilization, were warrior- like, used human sacrifices, and built impressive cities Incas (Peru) – built suspension bridges, used terrace farming

Southwestern - Pueblo Built large towns Extensive canal networks to irrigate fields Cremated the dead

Mississippi River Valley Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee, Iroquois Agricultural society – Three Sisters (corn, squash and beans) Mound builders

Indirect Discoverers of the New World During the Crusades the Europeans were exposed to silks, spices and perfumes. These items from the east were very expensive and Europeans were eager to find alternative routes Renaissance “rebirth” in learning; nurtured an ambitious spirit of optimism and adventure

Europeans Enter Africa 1450 – Europeans reach sub- Saharan Africa with the Portuguese invention of the caravel The caravel could sail into the wind The Portuguese set up trading posts along the African beaches trading with slaves and gold

When World’s Collide Possibly 3/5 of the crops cultivated around the world today originated in the Americas. Taino people of Hispaniola went from 1 million to 200 due to disease In centuries following Columbus’s landing in the Americas, as much as 90% of the Indians had died due to the diseases.

Columbian Exchange Columbus’s discovery of the new world merged three continents Europe provided capital and new technology Africa furnished the labor The New World offered raw materials Americas to Europe, Africa and Asia Europe, Africa, and Asia to the Americas Maize Potatoes Sweet potatoes Beans Peanuts Squash Pumpkins Peppers Pineapple Tomatoes Cocoa Wheat Sugar Bananas Rice Grapes (wine) Olive Oil Dandelions Horses Pigs Cows Goats Chickens Smallpox

Spanish Conquistadores In the 1500's, Spain became the dominant exploring and colonizing power.  The Spanish conquerors came to the Americas in the service of God as well as in search of gold and glory. Due to the gold found in the New World, the world’s economy was transformed.

Conquest of America The islands of the Caribbean served as bases for the Spanish invasion of America. By the 1530s in Mexico and the 1550s in Peru, colonial administrators had replaced the conquistadores. Some of the conquistadores wed Indian women and had children.  These offspring were known as mestizos.

Spanish Dominion By the 1500s the French and English were sending explorers to the New World. 1565, the Spanish built a fortress at St. Augustine, Florida to protect the sea-lanes to the Caribbean. The Spanish instituted the Encomienda System. This slave system gave Native Americans to Spanish colonist with the promise that the colonist would Christianize them.

Pope’s Rebellion In 1680, the Catholic Church’s efforts to suppress the Native’s religious practices led to Pope’s Rebellion The natives burned down churches and killed priests. They rebuilt a kiva, or ceremonial religious chamber, on the ruins of the Spanish plaza at Santa Fe. It took the Spanish half a century to reclaim New Mexico The misdeeds of the Spanish in the New World led to the birth of the “Black Legend.” This concept stated that the conquerors just tortured and killed the Indians, stole their gold, infected them with smallpox, and left little but misery behind.

Effects of Spanish Colonization The Spanish erected a colossal empire from Florida to California to Tierra del Fuego. The Spanish merged with Native Societies through laws, religion, and language. The Spanish fused with Natives through marriage and incorporated indigenous cultures with their own.

Natives vs. Europeans Let’s think about… How the Native Americans reacted to the European conquerors? How the Europeans reacted to the Native Americans? How the world changed because of the interaction between the Europeans, Native Americans and Africans?