1. New World Beginnings through 1769
Chapter 1
New World Beginnings through 1769

2. Peopling the Americas
Over thousands of years tribes with diverse languages, religions, structure and cultures developed and spread. The largest and most advanced tribes were the
Incas in Peru, Mayans in Central America and the Aztecs in Mexico

3. The Earliest Americans
In North America tribes were less organized, less sophisticated, and more disconnected than the Incas, Mayans or Aztecs. The primary organization was family groups residing in villages, like the Pueblos of the Southwest. They were hunters, but also accomplished farmers, with corn as their staple crop.

4. Indirect Discoverers of the New World
Norsemen of Scandinavia were the first Europeans to accidentally discover North America (Newfoundland), but did not establish permanent settlements.
Crusaders discovery of goods like silk, spices, and medical drugs led to merchants’ interest in products of the Middle East, Orient, and India.

5. Europeans Enter Africa
The Portuguese, accomplished seafarers, expanded their economy exploiting African goods to include the large scale export of slaves and establishment of coastal outposts, and the modern plantation system.

6. Columbus Comes upon a New World
Consolidation of power, tremendous wealth, competition with Portugal and advancements of the Renaissance moved Spain to aggressively seek a more efficient route to the East. Columbus led that effort accidentally discovering the Americas in 1492.

7. When Worlds Collide
The Columbian exchange was established altering cultures on every continent around the world, many that had been around for thousands of years.

8. The Spanish Conquistadores
In 1494, Portugal and Spain agreed to divide rights to land in the Americas and Africa setting the stage for conquest. The Catholic Church used the treaty as an attempt to convert Indians, thus expanding their influence. From , Cortes laid siege to Mexico in search of gold, destroying the Aztecs via warfare and disease.

9. Conquest of Mexico (Tenochtitlan)

10. The Spanish Conquistadores
The Spanish easily conquered the Mayans, already weakened by warfare with the Aztecs. In 1532, Pizarro conquered the Incas in a story similar to Cortes and the Aztecs. Soon the Spanish invaders and natives assimilated and intermarried laying the foundation for the modern day culture of Mexico.

11. The Spanish Conquistadores
The Spanish, driven by gold, markets, religion, and conquest moved through the Americas (Ponce de Leon in Florida, Coronado in the Southwest, and De Soto in the South) becoming the dominate force
in the western hemisphere. However,
Spain would spend the next years
defending their American territories from
European rivals, native uprisings, and
independence movements
leading to a loss of the
influence and territory they
once held.
Villains or heroes???