1. Chapter 1: Worlds Apart

2. Chapter Objectives What was life like for Native Americans before 1492? What benefits to European princes, merchants, and traders did exploration provide? How did the French, English, and Spanish fare in their early efforts in the New World? What were the consequences of contact between the Old and New Worlds?

3. Native American Societies Before 1492 Approximate population of 70 million in 1492, mostly in South America and present day Mexico Extremely diverse populations across North America – Different language – Food – Societies North and West: Hunter/Gatherers, mainly nomadic Northeast: Primarily fished and gathered South: Farmed, used mainly techniques and crops gathered from Mesoamerica (Mexico)

4. Major Groups Olmecs: Mesoamerica, 1200 – 400 BC – Large cities, pyramids, literate Mayan: Mesoamerica, 150 – 900 AD – Advanced writing and calendar, concept of zero Toltecs: Mesoamerica, 900 – 1100 AD Aztecs: Mesoamerica, 1100 – 1521 AD – Warrior race, built Tenochtitlan (200,000 people!) Hohokams: Arizone, 400 – 1450 AD – Established villages and huge harvests Anasazi: Southwest US, 1 AD – 1300 AD – Carved villages, farming, cliff dwelling Mississippian: Southeast US, 700 – 1400’s AD – Built huge mounds, farmers

5. European and Native Fundamental Issues Europeans and Natives were completely different Religion to Europeans was simply Catholicism, to Natives it was an oral tradition based around nature and mysticism Europeans could not understand the almost equal status of men and women in Native cultures The overall issue came with the idea of Europeans wanting to “own” land while Natives simply used the land with no concept of owning it

6. Western Europe circa 1492 European societies were patriarchal, hierarchal, and monarchical The Renaissance gave light to education and new learning spurned from the Crusades Sense of political calm after the Hundreds Years War and also Spain’s successful Reconquista that expelled Muslims from Spain However, religious conflict occurred with the Reformation attacking the Catholic Church in 1517 Overall, Europe was in a position to begin exploring

7. Reasons to Explore The Crusades had given Europeans a reason to want to explore by introducing them to new and exciting items such as spices and silk The loss of the Holy Land also made travelling over land to Asia impossible due to Muslim control A water route was the logical way to fix this issue 3 main reasons – Gold – God – Glory

8. Early Explorers Marco Polo – Travelled overland to China, brought back fantastic stories Prince Henry the Navigator – Sponsored early navigators and founded school Bartolomeu Dias – Reached Southern tip of Africa in 1488 Vasco da Gama – Sailed around tip to India in 1499

9. Christopher Columbus COLUMBUS WAS NOT THE FIRST TO KNOW THE WORLD WAS ROUND Convinced King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain to sponsor a voyage Westward to Spain Departed in 1492 with three ships Found the Caribbean 3 months later Died in 1506 convinced he had found Asia Opened the door to further exploration of the “New World”

10. Spanish Conquest Spain began the conquest of the New World due to religious fervor and an experienced corps of warriors known as conquistadors: – Hernan Cortez: Conquered the Aztecs in Mexico by 1521 – Francisco Pizarro: Conquered the Incas in Peru by 1532 – By 1550 Spain controlled a vast North American Empire Spain conquered vast empires quickly through fear, superior weapons, but mostly through devastating Old World diseases like Smallpox

11. The Columbian Exchange The most important aspect of early exploration and colonization was the Columbian Exchange “The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and ideas between the old and new worlds” The most devastating aspect of this was the Old World diseases that wrecked havoc upon the New World inhabitants

12. Competition All of the European powers claimed providence over the New World In 1494 the Pope issued the Treaty of Tordesillas splitting the New World between Spain and Portugal (this limited Portugal to basically Brazil) France and England were not in a position early on to enter the race for the New World However, by the early 1600’s France and England were prepared to enter the race

13. France France’s early voyages were entirely motivated by reports of Spanish gold, and were mostly failures The only “success” came from Jacques Cartier’s voyages to the Canadian wilderness where he brought back what he thought were diamonds (quartz) and gold (pyrite) By mid 1500’s France was dealing with Civil War and gave up on exploration for the time being

14. England The earliest notable event of English exploration/colonization was the Roanoke incident Led by Walter Raleigh in 1585 English settlers attempted to establish a colony in present day Roanoke island North Carolina Settlers were left to build the colony as ships were needed to prepare for the Spanish Armada in 1588. On return in 1590 the colonists disappeared and only the word CROATAN remained

15. Chapter Objectives What was life like for Native Americans before 1492? What benefits to European princes, merchants, and traders did exploration provide? How did the French, English, and Spanish fare in their early efforts in the New World? What were the consequences of contact between the Old and New Worlds?