UNIT 1
TOPIC 6
For more resources, go to
Cultural Interactions Between Europeans,
Native Americans, and Africans
H E I M L E R S H I S T O R Y. C O M
THEME : America in the World
LEARNING OBJECTIVE : Explain how and why European and Native American perspectives of others developed and changed
in the period.
CULTURAL MEETING AND EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE SPANISH AND NATIVE AMERICANS
In a prior video, we considered how a new societal reality was imposed in the Americas by Spanish
hegemony
, which means the domination
of a nation or group by another nation.
As the Spanish continued to expand their empire northward
manner
after 1573, the
of their expansion changed. Instead of sending soldiers
people with guns, they decided to send missionaries
to conquer the
to convert the natives to Christianity. This
new form of directing the establishment of settlements was known as the mission
With respect to religion, the natives were largely pantheists
who believed the natural world was filled with spirits
hierarchical Catholic
system.
and animists
. The Spanish, on the other hand, came from a
system of Christianity which taught belief in a single
With respect to land use, native Americans believed in the spiritual
in their view meant that land was not a commodity
Deity.
nature of the land, which
to be carved up and subsequently bought and
sold. The Spanish, of course, believed the opposite: land existed for the sake of private ownership
With respect to family, native society was held together by kinship
.
networks of extended families
that could number from 50-70 members. The Spanish certainly respected kinship, but they centered their life
around the nuclear
family, which is to say a set of parents and their children.
However, both groups adopted parts of the other’s culture that they found useful
Native Americans, for example, were eager for metal
.
tools being traded by the Europeans,
© Heimler’s History Please do not share or post online.
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page 1 of 6
UNIT 1
TOPIC 6
For more resources, go to
Cultural Interactions Between Europeans,
Native Americans, and Africans
H E I M L E R S H I S T O R Y. C O M
THEME : America in the World
LEARNING OBJECTIVE : Explain how and why European and Native American perspectives of others developed and changed
in the period.
CULTURAL MEETING AND EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE SPANISH AND NATIVE AMERICANS
which they used for farming
horses
and guns
and hunting
. They also wanted
which they used for warfare.
Europeans, on the other hand, wanted access to the lucrative North American fur
arranged marriages
cont’d.
trade and therefore
with Native American women in order to secure trading
rights with different peoples.
SUMMARIZE
the notes above in your own words. (2-4 sentences)
The Spanish started to convert Native Americans and trade with them as well. They did this either forceful or through
arranged marriages.
© Heimler’s History Please do not share or post online.
*Advanced Placement® and AP® are trademarks registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.
page 2 of 6
UNIT 1
TOPIC 6
For more resources, go to
Cultural Interactions Between Europeans,
Native Americans, and Africans
H E I M L E R S H I S T O R Y. C O M
THEME : America in the World
LEARNING OBJECTIVE : Explain how and why European and Native American perspectives of others developed and changed
in the period.
THE SPANISH MISSION SYSTEM AND REBELLION AGAINST IT
In some cases, the efforts of Spanish priests to convert
An example of this was with the Pueblo
people. But what the priests
conversion and what the Pueblo
exclusive
the Natives actually worked.
meant by
meant were, again, conflicting. Christianity, by definition, is an
religion that requires the convert’s total
devotion, and therefore, also
requires the convert’s rejection of all other gods.
But the Pueblo with their expansive
bringing Christ
spiritual vision of the world and its deities, had no problem
into their pantheon of gods
.
Therefore, in becoming Christians, the Pueblo retained
some of their native
religious practices, and this was the case with other native groups as well. When the priests tried to put an end
to this and force singular devotion to Christ, some native groups resisted
religious practices a secret
, and others, like the Pueblo, resisted with violence
An example of that violent resistance was the Pueblo Revolt
.
. In 1610, Spanish Conquistadors
had already established rule in present day New Mexico
forced the conversion
by keeping their
, and through the mission system had
of many of the Pueblo.
After having sustained drought and attacks by other native groups, the Pueblo decided that the cause of all their
trouble was the Spanish
invaders and their Christ
of one of their leading men by the name of Pope
400
. So under the leadership
, the Pueblo rose up together, killed around
Spanish colonizers, and burned all the churches
to the ground.
© Heimler’s History Please do not share or post online.
*Advanced Placement® and AP® are trademarks registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.
page 3 of 6
UNIT 1
TOPIC 6
For more resources, go to
Cultural Interactions Between Europeans,
Native Americans, and Africans
H E I M L E R S H I S T O R Y. C O M
THEME : America in the World
LEARNING OBJECTIVE : Explain how and why European and Native American perspectives of others developed and changed
in the period.
THE SPANISH MISSION SYSTEM AND REBELLION AGAINST IT
About twelve years later, the Spanish returned
cont’d.
and reconquered
the land and
the people.
SUMMARIZE
the notes above in your own words. (2-4 sentences)
The Spanish conversion of the Native Americans sometimes worked, but often times they resisted. In the Pueblo Revolt,
the Pueblo people attacked the Spanish and made them flee, before then returning and reconquering them.
© Heimler’s History Please do not share or post online.
*Advanced Placement® and AP® are trademarks registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.
page 4 of 6
UNIT 1
TOPIC 6
For more resources, go to
Cultural Interactions Between Europeans,
Native Americans, and Africans
H E I M L E R S H I S T O R Y. C O M
THEME : America in the World
LEARNING OBJECTIVE : Explain how and why European and Native American perspectives of others developed and changed
in the period.
THE SPANISH VIEW OF NATIVE AMERICANS
King Charles convened a group of priests, philosophers, and jurists to discuss the moral
legal
and
fallout of the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Many of these men argued for the
inferiority
and backward
nature of the Indians, and that to conquer them and
bring them the riches of Western civilization was actually good
However, there were also voices that defended
for them.
the dignity of the Indians. And the chief voice
arguing on their behalf was a priest named Bartomole de las Casas
He himself had spent many years preaching
on this trajectory of brutalizing
.
among the Indians and he argued that if Spain kept
and killing
them, that their souls
would be lost to God, not to mention that those who did survive would hate
Christianity as a result of
Spanish colonial policies.
De las Casas, having seen first hand the injustice
and brutality
of the
encomienda system, argued powerfully that for the sake of their souls natives ought not to be put under such a
heavy yoke.
However, las Casas wasn’t as concerned about the souls of Africans
Africans replace
, because he suggested that
the natives in the forced labor system, and that is exactly what the Spanish did.
© Heimler’s History Please do not share or post online.
*Advanced Placement® and AP® are trademarks registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.
page 5 of 6
UNIT 1
TOPIC 6
Cultural Interactions Between Europeans,
Native Americans, and Africans
For more resources, go to
H E I M L E R S H I S T O R Y. C O M
THEME : America in the World
LEARNING OBJECTIVE : Explain how and why European and Native American perspectives of others developed and changed
in the period.
SUMMARIZE
the notes from the previous page in your own words. (2-4 sentences)
The Spanish then came together to discuss the enslavement of the Native Americans. They decided, led by Bartomole de
las Casas to use Africans instead.
RESPOND
to the learning objective with an evidence-based, argumentative thesis.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE : Explain how and why European and Native American perspectives of others developed and
changed in the period.
European and Native American perspectives of others developed and changed through the shift in and blending of
religious customs. This shift led some Native Americans to accept the Europeans and others to despise them.
© Heimler’s History Please do not share or post online.
*Advanced Placement® and AP® are trademarks registered and/or owned by the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, this product.
page 6 of 6