Transatlantic Encounters
and Colonial Beginnings
1492-1625
VUS.2/AP topic 2
Mediterranean Crossroad
gold
guns
spices
4/13/2015
Transatlantic Encounters and Colonial
Beginnings, 1492-1690
2
(Chapter 2) Bartholomew Gosnold
Trading with Wampanoag Indians at
Martha’s Vineyard (1602)
One dimension of the Atlantic world was the
exchange of goods between Native Americans and visiting
Europeans. In this print, Theodore de Bry, a Dutch engraver,
depicts English explorer Bartholomew Gosnold’s visit to the
island of Martha’s Vineyard, off the Massachusetts coast, in
1602. On the basis of two crew members’ published accounts,
de Bry made this print and included it in one of the thirteen
volumes of illustrations, both his own and others’, of
European voyages to the “New World.”
In de Bry’s rendering, Indians clamber aboard the
ship on the right while Englishmen come ashore in the
foreground, offering knives to their hosts in exchange for belts
of wampum. Other Englishmen approach Indians’ houses to
the left, and two more English ships appear in the
background. Altogether it is a scene characterized by
unmitigated friendliness and harmony between the two
peoples. Although the men carry and exchange weapons,
there is nothing to suggest that they are anxious or suspicious
of one another.
The written accounts provide a more complicated
story. Although relations began on the friendly footing de Bry
represents, mutual suspicions and distrust grew to hostility
until the English withdrew five weeks after they arrived.
Despite this discouraging conclusion, the English remained
optimistic about the prospect of colonizing Martha’s Vineyard.
Although “some of the baser sort [of Indians] would steal,”
wrote one, “the better sort [political leaders] we found very
civil and just.” Perhaps even more importantly, he added that
“the wholesomeness and temperature of this climate rather
increased our health than otherwise and . . . not one of us
was sick.” and Textiles in New England).
1.
Why would de Bry have emphasized the
friendliness of the encounter and overlooked
the tensions that arose? Does the picture
suggest in any way that one side had an
advantage over the other?
(Chapter 2)
Bartholomew
Gosnold Trading
with Wampanoag
Indians at
Martha’s
Vineyard (1602)
1.
Why would de Bry
have emphasized the
friendliness of the
encounter and
overlooked the
tensions that arose?
Does the picture
suggest in any way
that one side had an
advantage over the
other?
4 Reasons for Exploring
First European contacts with Native
Americans
Viking voyages and settlement around
1000 made no lasting impact
Christopher Columbus 1492 (15th century)



Backed by Spanish Isabella & Ferdinand
Disappointing 3 more voyages
Died in 1506, still thought he found Asia via
Western route
Why not before?
Map 2.3: Major Transatlantic
Explorations, 1000–1587
Map 2.1:
Europe,
Africa, and
Southwestern
Asia in 1500
Reasons for European exploration
Technology: gun powder & sailing compass
(both Chinese origin) , printing press
Religious conflict: CC vs. Ottoman Turks;
CC v. Protestants (Reformation)
Expanding Economy: Europeans competed
to trade with Asia by land until 1453
(Ottoman took Constantinople)
Developing Nation-States: monarchs needed
revenues to spread power
Map 2.2:
Major
Religions in
Europe, c.
156033
Your turn
What do you know about 16th century
Christianity?
Types of Christianity?
supreme being
Dogma (rules)
Structure
Dissenters
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Transatlantic Encounters and Colonial
Beginnings, 1492-1690
11
Protestantism: priest has no special power, wanted Bible
translated, increased literacy & indoctrination
Lutheran
Calvinist;
(Scotland =
Presbyterian)
Anabaptist/
Mennonites/
Amish
Huguenots
(Calvinist)
Anglicans
(Episcopal =
US) vs.
Puritans/
Separatists
Germany
Switzerland
(John C is Fr)
Central Europe
France
England
Henry VIII
just wanted a
divorce
Mennonites split
to be Amish
Faith alone, not
deed = felt
“reborn”
Challenged
Luther’s
interpretation;
sinful humans to
hell but save a
few to show off
his grace
Wanted to
restrict baptism
to “converted
adults”/ ban or
shunning
sinners (New
Testament)
View that Catholics
too obsessed with
death and the
dead; said that
prayers, ritual,
saints, pilgrimage
don’t work
Changed
name to
Church of
England
(Anglican
Church)
Reborn;
4/13/2015
scripture =
Predestinaton;
scripture;
Gov’ts &
churches (L &
Bartholomew
Massacre
Kept all
12
Catholic
Map 2.5:
European Imperial
Claims and
Settlements in
Eastern North
America, 1565–
1625
Spain’s empire in South America
Explorers and conquistadors—increased gold supply
500%




Vasco Nunez de Balboa—crossed Panama to Pacific
Ferdinand Magellan--circumnavigate
Hernan Cortes--Aztec
Francisco Pizzaro—Inca
Exploited Indian labor by encomienda system, then
asiento system (tax to king) for importing Africans
Encomienda allows gov’t to commend (give) Indians
to colonists, who promised to Christianize them
“a moral pestilence invented by Satan” said
Bartolome de Las Casas, missionary
Spain & Portugal first
to lay claim in N.
World
1493 Pope drew
vertical line: Spain got
west, Portugal got
East =treaty of
Tordelsillas
Brazil for Portugal;
Spain got rest of
Americas
Spain’s empire in North America
Florida: St. Augustine is first permanent European
settlement in future US soil

Strong Native Indian resistance
New Mexico: Santa Fe in 1609; Peublos revolted
against harsh Christianizing

Pope’s Rebellion 1680: took Spaniards ½ century to reclaim
N. Mexico
Texas: Got kicked out of N. Mexico, settled here
California: responded to Russian exploration fr.
Alaska; est. 9 missions by Franciscan order—Father
Junipero Serra
Differed from English: married Indians vs.
French colonized Canada 1524
Pre-occupied with religious conflict: CC vs.
Huguenots
1st Permanent Fr. Colony: Quebec on St.
Lawrence River

Samuel de Champlain
Louisiana: Mississippi basin; named for king in
1682
French exploration of Canada did not lead to
large-scale immigration from France, and
relations with native peoples were often more
cooperative
(Chapter 2) The Beaver as Worker and as
Prey
To Europeans who were visiting or
colonizing, America’s abundance was
astonishing both as a natural phenomenon and
for its economic potential. Particularly striking to
French explorers, officials, and entrepreneurs
were the unfamiliar flora, fauna, and peoples
they encountered in Canada. At the same time,
they recognized the wealth that would accrue to
those who tapped some of these resources,
particularly the skins of fur-bearing animals and
the labor of Native peoples. Accordingly, they
focused on the acquisition, through trade with
Native Americans, of pelts that French
manufacturers could transform into European
consumer goods, above all, beaver hats.
The joined engravings you see here
depict respectively the astonishment and
calculation of the French. They are two of
several scenes that appeared at the edge of an
elaborate French map, depicting the wonders of
various lands in the “New World.” On the
left, Niagara Falls stands behind an industrious
community of beavers who are building a dam.
The dam appears to be nearly as spectacular as
the falls. On the right, equally industrious Native
Americans, aided by dogs, break open beaver
dwellings in order to seize the otherwise
defenseless rodents. In the right foreground, a
hunter spies a bear in the tree while other
hunters pursue a moose in the background. All
the animals appear as easy prey for the skilled
Indian hunters. What did the two pictures, taken
together, tell viewers about beavers in Canada?
The engraving to the right is also
interesting for its depiction of Native Americans.
European visual representations of Indians
during the colonial period varied widely. Whereas
some depicted them as monstrous and
menacing, others showed them in ways that
were unthreatening to Europeans. Where would
this engraving fit within this range? What do you
think motivated the map’s producers to include
these two illustrations?
(Chapter 2)
The Beaver as Worker and as Prey
English claims
1497 John Cabot explored coast of
Newfoundland but England didn’t follow up
Preoccupied with Henry VIII’s break with CC
1570s-1580s: Elizabeth seized Spanish ships—
Francis Drake
1587: Sir Walter Raleigh attempted Roanoke
Island but failed (embarrassing)
Then Spanish Armada defeated 1588

English Golden Age begins
Tudor Rulers of England
Name, Reign
Religion
Henry VII, 1485-1509
Cabot Voyages, 1497, 1498
Henry VIII, 1509-1547
English Reformation began
Edward VI, 1547-1553
Strong Protestant tendencies
“Bloody” Marry 1553-1558
Catholic reaction
Elizabeth I, 1558-1603
Break with Catholic Church final; Drake,
Spanish Armada defeated
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Transatlantic Encounters and Colonial
Beginnings, 1492-1690
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Decline in Real Wages in England,
1500–1700
Population increased
Depression hit woolen
districts causing high
unemployment
primogeniture law: eldest
son inherits
--younger sons: Drake,
Raleigh
The Beginnings of English
Colonization, 1603-1625
No $ fr., crown or Parliament, joint-stock company stepped in
to finance ventures
Va Co. of Plymouth failed in Maine
Va Co. of London: Jamestown only 38 out of 105 lived

After councilor died & some returned to England, Cpt John Smith (28)
stepped in to lead
Reconciled w/ Powhatan through mock execution, saved by Pocahontas
1609: 400 died out of 500

Tobacco; head-right system (50 acres); indenture servants
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Transatlantic Encounters and Colonial
Beginnings, 1492-1690
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Columbian Exchange
To Old World
To New World
Gold, silver
Wheat, sugar,
Corn, potatoes, pineapples,
tomatoes, tobacco, beans, vanilla,
chocolate, chilies, avocado,
pumpkins, peanuts, turkeys
Syphilis
4/13/2015
rice, coffee
Horses, cows, pigs,
sheep, sugar cane
Smallpox, measles, bubonic
plague, influenza, typhus,
diphtheria, scarlet fever
Transatlantic Encounters and Colonial
Beginnings, 1492-1690
Slave Labor, rice, yam from Africa to
New World
New England: Massachusetts Bay
1630
English Migration 1610–1660
Not Separatists;
persecuted by new king,
Charles I
1630: Came with Ma.
Bay Co. led by John
Winthrop

Great Migration (15,000
more settlers) during
1630s due to a civil war
Important places & people +
Joint-stock company
Predestination
“new slavery”
Columbian exchange
Indentured servants
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Transatlantic Encounters and Colonial
Beginnings, 1492-1690
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