Christopher Columbus: Explorers, First Contact, and Colonial Beginnings The Collision between Europe and America in the 15 th, 16 th and 17 th Centuries

Factors in Colonization Europe in the 15 th century. The rise of nation-states. Conflict, war, and commerce. The Reformation and the split of Christian Europe. Technology and the European edge. Ships and the new technology of ocean sailing. Navigation: cross-staff, compass, and dead reckoning. Guns and steel: the advantages of firepower, armor, and weaponry.

Spanish Expansion Motives and means. The Reconquista and Spanish ideas of conquest. Religion, the bull of Alexander VI and Portugal’s advantage. Trade and Spain’s peripheral position. The process and its critics. Conquistadors and the conquest of Native American civilizations. The “Black Legend” and Bartolomeo de Las Casas. Native reaction and the Columbian exchange.

Which Columbus? Interpretations old and new The daring navigator and scientist. The noble crusader for Queen and Christianity. The sensitive and passionate explorer. Columbus on Film What are the portrayals of Columbus in these three video clips?

Modern Views: Columbus as Explorer and Colonizer The obsession with the Atlantic. Columbus’ early career on the African coast. Contacts and influences. Columbus’ voyages and their direct results. Claims, colonization, and exploitation. Columbus’ perceptions and the world he knew. The search for Asia. The “Earthly Paradise” theory and Columbus’ biography. The “Last Crusader” theory and rhetorical interpretation.

England and the Spanish Rivalry England as colonial interloper. The “sea dogs” and the lure of the Spanish Empire: the quest for riches.. National strategy and Spain as a rival power. England moves toward colonization. The Enclosure Movement and the “excess” population of England. Capitalism and the development of mercantilism. Retention of bullion and balance of trade. Manufacturing, self-sufficiency, and export. Protectionism and colonial raw materials.

English Colonization and North American Settlement The move to settle North America. Elizabethan efforts at colonization. Jamestown and successful colonization. New England as counter to Virginia. Colonies and their spread. Colony types: Company, Proprietary and Royal. Colonial areas: South, Chesapeake, Mid-Atlantic, and New England. The implications of climate, economics, and social organization for colonial development.