New World Beginnings
Chapter 1
Earth's :
originally a single continent with App.
Mt. forming during this time.
Origin
split slowly occurs
N Am:
Rockies,
Sierra Nevada,
and Cascades
formed later;
N Am held
together Canadian Shield
Ice Age: water freezes, water level goes down
exposing land bridge between
Eurasia & N Am.
Early Am: came from Asia
(Native Am Indians)
* relied on corn/maize
* 3 sister farming: corn, beans,
squash
* loosely defined tribes w/
substantial authority
given to women
Indirect Discoverers:
Norse Scandinavians - Newfoundland;
perished
1000-1300 AD
Crusades or Holy Wars
took place b/w the
Muslims and Christians
Moors (Muslims) invaded Spain which was a
Christian country.
Marco Polo (1295) returns
from the Far East
News of riches in Far East:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
silk - soft vs. wool’s rough & smell
drugs – opium
perfumes - hide body odor
tapestry - adorn walls of castles
spices - especially sugar - used to
preserve and flavor foods.
Marco Polo obtained & carried items overland
through Muslim’s territory who charged toll.
This made the end price expensive (only
royalty could afford & Muslims wealthy)
Europeans - can’t sail south
along coast of Africa & return
against prevailing winds.
1450 - caravel invented - ship that
sail closer to the wind.
Impact - exposed to Africa’s gold
and slave trade.
could
Africans/Arabs - flesh markets
increase $ if slave was from
distant land (slave less likely
to be rescued/escape--didn’t
know language/terrain.
Indirect impact: fosters
extension of regional
African culture & tribal
identities.
Over 28 Million Africans have been enslaved over the
Muslim world over the past 14 centuries
Portuguese: Est. sugar plantations on various
islands off coast of Africa
Created demand for slave labor.
of
Explorers:
Bartholomeu Diaz (1488) explored & rounded horn
Africa.
Vasco da Gama (1498) explored east coast of
Africa to India.
Age of Renaissance:
(exploration flourished)
a. compass invented better maps using
concept of lat. & long.
b. printing press invented
– better communication
c. improvements in naval architecture –
Prince Henry “the Navigator” of Portugal hull of ships got bigger - carry more
supplies/water.
Spain:
Marriage of Ferdinand
(Aragon) and Isabella
(Castile):
Created single national
state when the
Moors/Muslim were
expelled from the Iberian
Peninsula
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Columbus (Ita) - contracted with
Isabella to find alternate route to the
Far East:
Admiral
land claimed for Spain
Columbus gets to keep 10%
100 soldiers (stake claim)
3 ships (Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria)
Sails west, sites land October 12, 1492
(San Salvador/Bahamas)
Stage is Now Set:
Europe - markets,
capital, and
technology
Africa - slave labor
N Am raw materials
(precious metals
& soil for sugar
cultivation)
Colombian Exchange
see chart p. 15
Old World Offered:
animals (cattle, swine, horse)
seeds (bluegrass, dandelion,
daisies)
disease (small pox, malaria,
yellow fever)
New World Offered:
animals (buffalo, iguana,
rattlesnakes)
plants (tobacco, corn, beans,
tomatoes, potatoes)
disease (syphilis)
raw materials
New World Divided - Treaty of Tordesaillas
(1494) - divides New World in a civilized
manner - Pope draws line.
Spanish Conquistadors: (7 original)
1513 - Vasco Balboa - Panama; Pacific Ocean
1513/21 - Juan Ponce de Leon - Florida;
myth of fountain of youth
1519 - Ferdinand Magellan - Straits of Magellan
S Am.; credit for sailing 1st around the world
1519- Hernan Cortes - Mexico/Aztecs;
fights Montezuma;
known for creating mestizos
(1/2 Indian; 1/2 European)
1532 - Francisco Pizarro - Peru/Incas
1539/42- Hernandez de Soto Florida, Mississippi & Ark
Rivers
1540/42- Francisco Coronado TX/Arizona/NM/Kansas
& discovered the
Grand Canyon/Colo.
River
Black Legend - false concept that all conquers:
a. tortured
b. butchered (killing for Christ)
c. stole gold
d. spread disease
e. left only misery behind.
Reality of the Black Legend:
a. some of the above
legend was done
b. erected colossal empire
(CA to Fla. south to
Tierra del Fuego)
c. blended culture, laws,
religion and language.
1542 - Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo CA coastline
1565- Established fort at St. Augustine, Fla. to
keep French from settling
in the area
1598 - Don Juan de Onate - abused
Pueblos/NM
1769 - Father Junipero Serra - San Diego;
set up 21 chain missions along
CA coast
English Explorer:
1497/98- Giovanni
Caboto (John Cabot) NE coast of N Am
(sailed north)
French Explorers:
1524 - Giovanni de
Verrazano East coast of N Am.
1534 - Jacques Cartier St. Lawrence River
1680s- Robert de la Salle down Miss River
Looking Back:
• Earth was formed as a single continent
• Early Americans relied on 3-sister farming
• European Influence: Norse, Crusades,
Renaissance – Inventions & Columbus
• Explorers of the New World
Spanish Conquistadores
English
French