Clash of Cultures: Interpreting Murder in Early Maryland -Events at Captain William Caiborne’s trading post in 1635 may be never known -records indicate that a Wicomess Indians traveled to Claiborne’s on business and encountered the Susquehannock Indians -Wicomess couldn’t endure public humiliation and ambushed the Sis killing 5 and 3 englishmen -The governor forgave and praised the Wicomess for coming forward Native American Histories Before the Conquest -In 1492: though Europeans invaders (Columbus) proclaimed the discovery of a “New World” they brought into contact 3 worlds: Europe, Africa, and America -Native Americans recorded a very long history in North America -20,000 years climate = colder with huge glaciers -the frozen waters created a bridge connecting Asia and North America -this area is now submerged beneath the Bering Sea that modern archaeologists named Beringia -nomadic people (Paleo Indians) didn’t form a sense of common identity because they focused on immediate survival and these migrations took over a long period of time -Native Americans lost immunities to the germs that Europeans brought; Paleo Indians didn’t domesticate animals, which could be a reason for not obtaining diseases) -Native Americans traveled from Colorado to south America -had rapid pop growth because they was a huge supply of food (Mammoths, mastodons) -NAs developed new food sources such as corn, squash, beans, fish, nuts, berries -The shift to basic crops – Agricultural Revolution – profoundly altered NA societies -Chaco Canyon: on the San Juan River (NM) was the center of Anasazi culture serving as political and religious functions -Cahokia = a ceremonial and fortification site in Illinois -Aztec an aggressive war-like group swept through the valley of Mexico conquering cities; 1519: Tenochtitlan, Aztec’s main ceremonial center contained 250,000 people Eastern Woodland Cultures – people that did not practice intensive agriculture but rather seasonal hunting and gathering -women cultivated crops like corn -men hunted and fished -Indians desired peaceful trades; loved trading metals for beaver skin -Europenas tried to civilize the NAs; making them dress lik colonists, attend schools, live in permanent structure and convert them to Christianity -Over time encounters between NAs and English became less frequent -Indians hunted more aggressively in order to be able to trade with English for guns, ammo, etc. -NAs realized that wars (Yamasee War) lead to suspension of trade which they relied on for ammo, guns,etc., therefore they didn’t use force on the English -Disease destroyed the NA generations and cultures -small pox, measles, influenza, and even alcoholism -NAs were not immune to any bacteria or viral diseases the Englishmen brought to the New World -Columbian Exchange – the decimation of Native American peoples was an aspect of ecological change known as the Columbian Exchange; the Europeans exposed the Indians to new diseases; Indians introduced the invaders (whites) to marvelous plants like corn/potatoes -NAs spread syphilis -Europeans diseases killed millions of NAs - new plants and animals were introduced to the newcomers (bananas, sugar, beans, squash, sweet potato, tabacco) -Europeans introduced pigs, sheep, cattle to NAs -Horse = profoundly affected NAs; used it for farming, hunting, and traveling -Gave each side advantages Europe on the Eve of Conquest -Prior to 15th C: fierce provincial loyalties, widespread ignorance of classical learning, ad dreadful plagues discouraged people from expanding beyond their immediate communities -In the 15th centaury: Europe became more prosperous, political authority was more centralized, and the Renaissance fostered a more expansive outlook among literate people in arts and sciences -Could be due to the increase in price of land causing landlords to have money and demand more luxury items like jewelry, spices, silks, etc -Strong-willed monarchs forged nations out of groups of independent kingdoms -if political centralizations had not occurred, the major European countries could not have generated the financial and military resources necessary for worldwide expansion -The invention of printing from movable type by Johann Gutenberg helps spread technical knowledge and sparked a communications revolution -Conquistadors: men eager for personal glory and material gain, uncompromising in matters of religion, and unswerving in their loyalty to the crown -Columbus: born in 1451 in Genoa, devoured the classical learning, mastered geography and was obsessed with voyaging; presented his plan to the king of Portugal (1484) and they voyage Columbus’s route to Africa (they returned with spice and luxury goods) -After Columbus first voyage in 1492 to the New World, he returned 3 more times -could never receive the financial help for more voyages -Treaty of Tordesillas (1494): divided the entire world along a line located 270 leagues west of the Azores; any land discovered west of the line belonged to Spain; the other side belonged to Portugal -to help stop conquistadors from being self-interested in wealth and glory and bring them under royal authority Spain’s crown found encomienda system - encomienda system: the monarch rewarded the leaders of the conquest with Indian villages and the people who lived there provided the leader with labor in exchange got legal protection and religious guidance -Virgin Guadalupe: a figure that resulted from a creative blending of Indian and Europeam cultures and served as a powerful symbol of Mexican nationalism in the wars for independence fought against Spain almost three centuries later -Coureurs de bois (forest runner): Frenchmen that paddled deep into the heart of the continent (Canada’s great river networks) in search of fresh sources of furs -England did not participate in the early competition for the New World because Cabot, who recorded the first voyage for an English vessel in 1497 to in search of Asia, died on his second attempt; also English were preoccupied with domestic and religious concerns -Protestant reformation: caused conditions within England to changed dramatically; England began to become more protestant, helping England propel into a central role in European affairs and was a crucial in creating a powerful sense of an English identity -Go back and read 21-24 -1584: Sir Walter Ralegh dispatched two captains to the coast of present day NC to claim land granted to him by Elizabeth; men came back with great reports about soil and he named it Virginia for the Virgin Queen -Ralegh raised funds for his adventures back but his plans were ill fated; the Roanoke colony proved extremely difficult to reach; Grenville the leader of the expedition hurried back to England leaving colonists to fend for themselves -Sir Francis Drake in 1586 picked up the some of the left behind colonists and brought them back -1587: Ralegh launched another voyage with John White in charge -However, the Spanish Armada: severed communications between England and America; English vessels were pressed into military service and no ships visited the Roanoke colonists; the fate of the lost colonists remains a mystery Chesapeake: Dreams of Wealth -after the Roanoke debacle in 1590, English interest in American settlement declined, and only a few aging visionaries such as Richard Hakluyt kept alive the dream of colonies in the New World -Elizabeth’s reign: obstacle = raising money -Solution = joint-stock company- a business originations in which scores of people could invest without fear of bankruptcy -April 10, 1606: James issued the first Virginia charter; the documents authorized the London Company to establish plantations in Virginia; the leader = Sir Thomas Smith -December of 1606: the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery sailed for America -Settled 30miles from mouth of the James River; called it Jamestown -At Jamestown people would work in intervals for about 1 to 2 hours while the other men sat around (what people in England did since their was not a lot of jobs); this did not work in Jamestown -Too little labor was expended on the planting and harvesting of crops -People were considered lazy, irresponsible -Focused on personal interest like searching for gold -Expected instant wealth -No one could control Jamestown; no one listened to orders -Smith saved Jamestown from ending up like Roanoke -He traded with local Indians for food and mapped the Chesapeake Bay -Fall 1606: he seized control of the ruling council and instituted a tough military discipline and managed to keep the people alive -1609: the Virginia Company obtained a new charter from the king and opens its joint-stock company to the public to raise capital -1609-1611: Virginia settlers lacked capable leadership and lacked food too -Colonists were driven to cannibalism -the presence of many NAs heightened the danger for colonists -June 1610: settlers who survived the starvation and conflicts with Indians abandoned Virginia; they encountered Baron De La Warr who helped the colonists -John Rofle realized that tabacco = cash crop causing Virginia to make money -1618: Sandys began to pump life into the dying colony ousting Smith and his friends -House of Burgesses- elective representative assembly; this helped attract wealthy speculators -headright- 50 acre lot for which colonists who paid for their own transportation paid only a small annual rent -Sandy was in too great of a hurry to make a profit; settlers who went to America didn’t have food and housing waiting for them and eventually died from diseases -1624: King James transformed Virginia into a royal colony appointing a governor and council to stop corruption and death -The House of Burgesses divided the colony into eight counties -County court was created- served as a center for social, political, and commercial activities -Government didn’t change daily life -Quakers: believers in an extreme form of antinomianism
