1.What were the Americas like prior to Columbus arriving? 2.What motivated European exploration and what new technology made it possible? 3.What are some effects of colonization in the Americas? Essential Questions

Pre-Columbian Societies: What were the Americas like prior to Columbus?

The First Americans Siberian hunters crossed Bering Land Bridge – Nomadic people who followed herds of animals Agricultural Revolution begins in the Americas 7,000 years ago – Settle into villages – Domesticate animals

Cultures of Central and South America Maya 400 BCE-1500 CE – Known for developing “zero,” their own writing system, and religious pyramids Aztec CE – Known for their large empire and tributary system, huge capital Tenochtitlan, and human sacrifices

Aztec Sacrifice

Earliest North American Cultures Different environments led to different types of societies Anasazi 200 BCE-1300 CE – Multistory adobe buildings called pueblos

North American Cultures in the 1400s Over 2,000 different tribes Population between 1- 10M Villages organized by kinship Some villages headed by chiefs, others by a council of elders Shared land Spiritual connection to natural world Large trade network based on bartering system

Native-American Trade Those living in fertile regions traded surplus food… Some traded desirable minerals like flint, copper, turquoise… Native-Americans in the southwest traded cotton seed and cloth… Native-Americans living near oceans traded shells and pearls… Others would trade crafts like baskets and pottery…

Talk to your neighbor: What were the Americas like prior to Columbus arriving?

European Exploration: What motivated European exploration and what new technology made it possible?

The Crusades Spark Curiosity Fears of sea monsters and boiling seas The Crusades th C – Pope Urban II calls on Christian kings and princes to recapture the Holy Land – Effects: open eyes to world outside Europe, increased trade with ME Spices, sugar, silk, carpets, fruits, perfumes

The Age of Exploration Begins Desire to explore – Rulers want to increase power and wealth – Marco Polo travels to China and writes “Travels” – Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal funds voyages to find sea route to India Better sailing technology – Caravel, astrolabe, improved magnetic compass

Searching for a Sea Route to India Overland trip too long Progress is made w/ courageous explorers from Portugal – Bartolomeu Dias rounds Cape of Good Hope – Vasco da Gama lands on Indian coast “IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN”

Talk to your neighbor: What motivated European exploration and what new technology made it possible?

Transatlantic Encounters: What are some effects of colonization in the Americas?

Christopher Columbus Vikings are first Europeans to land in N.A., not Columbus – Greenland in late 900s, Canada in 1000 – Settlers left after three years Christopher Columbus – Before Vasco Da Gama’s success – Dreams of reaching India by crossing Atlantic – Convinces Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to fund voyage

Columbus cont. Miscalculates the diameter of the world and distance to India In Oct 1492 his crew lands on an island in the Caribbean – Names the island San Salvador – He believes he is in India “in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue”

Columbus cont. Founds the colony La Navidad in Hispaniola and leaves for Spain Upon his return learns men acted wildly in his absence and have been killed by Indians Some Indians are enslaved, others sent to Europe to be slave labor

Columbian Exchange: Exchange of products and species between old world and new world

How is this picture evidence of the Columbian Exchange?

Spread of European diseases to New World – Native Americans had no resistance – Influenza, measles, chicken pox, mumps, typhus – Smallpox killed millions – 95% of entire Aztec population died within a few years of contact Biological Exchange

Talk to your neighbor What are some effects of colonization in the Americas?