Chapter 1 - Section 5
Transatlantic Encounters
Main Idea – Columbus’s voyages set off a chain of events that brought together the
peoples of Europe, Africa, and the Americas. The interaction among the people of these
three continents laid the foundations for modern multicultural America.
Columbus Crosses the Atlantic
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Columbus (Italian) sailed for Spain in 1492, seeking a water route to Asia by
sailing to the West across the Atlantic Ocean
Although he didn’t find Asia, this started the process of interaction between
Europe, Africa, and the Americas
Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria = his 3 ships
Columbus met Taino Native Americans on San Salvador
Gold, Land, and Religion
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Spanish reasons for exploration and colonization = GOLD, GOD, GLORY
Called native inhabitants “Los Indios” = Indians
3 more voyages funded, colonization started on Hispaniola (Dominican
Republic/Haiti)
Impact on Native Americans
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colonization – def. – the establishment of distant settlements controlled by the
parent country
military force used to subjugate/control native populations
plantation system used with forced labor tactics
Native American resistance – included armed defense of lands, and revolts after
defeat and colonization began
Spanish response – brutal military force
Disease took its toll on native populations b/c they had no immunity to them–
measles, mumps, chicken pox, smallpox, and typhus
The Slave Trade Begins
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disease killing native populations = not a stable work force
African slavery = alternative for labor
demand grew quickly – Africans already resistant to European diseases
Trans-Atlantic slave trade grew quickly, key part of new Amer. economic system
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Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade – 12 million people taken from Africa by early 1800s
The Impact on Europeans
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colonization benefitted many types of people
o merchants – make money
o monarchs – increased power and influence
o common people – new place to settle and work
o mass migrations resulted across the Atlantic
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Columbian Exchange – def. – movement of new plants and animals across the
Atlantic between the Americas and Europe and Africa (SEE PAGE 29 for MAP)
o New to Europe and Africa – Tobacco, corn, tomato, potato, squash,
peanut, pumpkin, peppers, turkeys
o New to Americas – diseases, cattle, sheep, pig, chickens, horses, wheat,
rice, sugar cane, coffee
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European Rivalries intensified
o Portugal vs. Spain – led to…
o Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) – pope divided Western Hemisphere
between the 2 countries – East of line (Brazil) = Portugal, West of line
(rest of the Americas) = Spain
o ignored by the English, French, and Dutch – started colonizing anyway
A New Society is Born
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Columbus set in motion the collision between Europe, Africa, and the Americas =
new societies, new cultures
Multiculturalism throughout the Americas resulted, and has lasted to the present
day