Chapter One: When Old Worlds Collide: Contact, Conquest, Catastrophe
Thesis Statement: The rise of nation states in Europe transformed the Western Hemisphere (which had
developed complex societies in isolation) through colonization and its consequences.
Specific Factual Information: Economic and religious motivations, the collapse of feudalism and
innovations spurred by the Renaissance created the necessary conditions for the rise of
absolutism.
Specific Factual Information: Exemplified by the Aztec and Inca, complex North American
societies had created massive civilization long before exploration.
Specific Factual Information: The empire of the Americas consolidated Spain as a new world
power at the expense of the Native American civilizations it conquered.
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Blue Section One: Peoples in Motion
Thesis Statement: The American continent was discovered, colonized and explored by multiple
waves of immigrants long before Columbus.
o SFI: The main wave crossed Berengia and was the basis for most Native American
Cultures
o SFI: These cultures developed agriculture which led to the rise of large cities.
o SFI: The explorations of Polynesians and Norsemen had little, if any, impact on the
develop of the Americas
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Green Section One: From Berengia to the Americas
TS: The first 3 waves of immigration to the Americas arrived via Berengia.
 SFI: An ice age lowered sea levels and revealed the land bridge around 23,000
B.C.
 SFI: The first 2 waves, known as the Amerind and NaDene (Athapaskan), are
categorized by their language groups.
 SFI: After 7,000 BC, the last wave, known as Inuits, crossed the Bering Strait
after the land bridge had resubmerged.
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GS2: The Great Extinction and The Rise of Agriculture
TS: The Great Extinction of large animals forced the majority of American cultures to
develop agriculture.
 SFI: The vast majority of large animals, excluding bears, bison and moose, went
extinct in the Americas around 9,000 years ago.
 SFI: Not all American cultures developed agriculture, because in some areas, like
the Pacific Northwest and modern day Brazil, hunter gathering was still viable.
 SFI: For most cultures, the Neolithic evolution (or agricultural revolution)
produced larger populations fueled by crops like beans, peppers and corn
(maize).
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GS3: The Polynesians and Hawaii
TS: It is unlikely that the maritime explorers of Southeast Asia reached the Americas.
 SFI: From 1600 BC to 600 AD, Polynesians settled hundreds of islands in the
Pacific.
 SFI: The cultures of Hawaii and Easter Island are Polynesian.
 SFI: The great distance between America and Hawaii in conjunction with lack of
evidence makes Polynesian colonization of the Americas unlikely.
o
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GS4: The Norsemen
TS: The Viking attempts to colonize the Americas were unsuccessful.
 SFI: Erik the Red discovered Iceland and Greenland around 982 AD.
 SFI: Leif Erickson created a colony in modern day Newfoundland around 1001
AD in the Americas.
 SFI: By 1350 contact with the colonies withered and the colonies themselves
made no impact on the development of the Americas.
Europe & the World in the 15th Century
TS: Technological advances & economic incentives forced Europe to explore, trade with and in some
cases colonize parts of Africa and Asia in an attempt to bypass the Islamic worlds control of trade routes.
China: The Rejection of Overseas Expansion
TS: As the most sophisticated and complex society of the age, China could have “discovered”
the Americas, but contempt for the outside world led to an isolationist policy.
Europe v. Islam
TS: The Renaissance, economic growth, navigational innovation and agricultural advances led to
the European advancement and increasing parody with the powerful Islamic world.
The Legacy of the Crusades
TS: The Crusades provided Europeans with lessons in colonization long before the discovery of
the New World.
The Unlikely Pioneer: Portugal
TS: Navigational innovations and a desire to circumvent Moslem control of trade routes to Asia
led Portugal to explore and exploit the West African coast.
Africa, Colonies and Trade
TS: Portugal’s colonization of West African islands for sugar production fueled the birth of
modern European slavery.
Portugal’s Asian Empire
TS: Financed by the gold, ivory and slave trades, Portugal rounded the southern tip of Africa and
established a trading empire stretching to Asia.
Early Lessons
TS: The catalyst for the European age of exploration was a desire for economic expansion.
Spain, Columbus & the Americas
TS: After 1492, Spain quickly transitioned from exploration to conquest and colonization in the New
World.
Columbus
TS: The voyages of Columbus opened the Western Hemisphere to Spanish colonization.
Spain and the Caribbean
TS: Starting from the island colonies like Hispaniola, hidalgos moved to explore and conquer the
rest of the New World.
The Emergence of Complex Societies in the Americas
TS: Long before European exploration, complex Native American societies developed in the Andes, in
Mesoamerica, along the Mississippi and the North American southwest.
The Rise of Sedentary Cultures
TS: The agricultural revolution allowed early Native Americans to transition from nomadic to
sedentary cultures.
The Andes: Cycles of complex Cultures
TS: The Chavin culture of the Andes Mountains was the basis for the classical civilization of the
Mochica and Tiwanakan.
Inca Civilization
TS: By the time of European exploration the cultures of the Andes had been replaced by the rise
of the Incan Empire which dominated the southern continent.
Mesoamerica: Cycles of Complex Cultures
TS: The Olmec were the first Mesoamerican civilization, but were eventually overshadowed by
the Mayan and Toltec civilizations.
The Aztec and Tenochtitlan
TS: By the Age of Exploration, Mesoamerica was dominated by the violent, expansionary and
powerful Aztec Empire that centered around the capital of Tenochtitlan.
North American Mound Builders
TS: The Mississippi and Ohio River valleys gave rise to the complex societies known for mound
building.
Urban Cultures of the Southwest
TS: The ancient civilizations of the Hohokam and Anasazi had been supplanted by the Pueblo by
the time the first Europeans arrived the North American southwest.
Contact and Cultural Misunderstanding
TS: Tragic interactions between Native Americans and Europeans were caused by their radically
different views of religion, warfare and gender roles.
Religious Dilemmas
TS: Variations in religious practice and beliefs led at times to violent misunderstandings
between animist Native Americans and Christian Europeans.
War as Cultural Misunderstanding
TS: Europeans killed to settle disputes during warfare which shocked Native Americans who
used warfare and ensuing captivity to replenish populations.
Gender and Cultural Misunderstanding
TS: The patriarchal nature of European society was bizarre to Native American civilizations that
allowed far more power to women.
Conquest and Catastrophe
TS: The mining of silver and production of sugar led to unprecedented power for Spain, horrific tragedy
for Native Americans and opportunities for other European nations willing to exploit Spanish
vulnerabilities.
The Conquest of Mexico and Peru
TS: Cortes’ conquest of the Aztec and Pizarro’s conquest of the Inca expanded the wealth of the
Spanish empire and led to multitudes of would be conquistadors to invade the rest of the
American continents.
North American Conquistadors and Missionaries
TS: The minimal success of North American conquistadors opened to door to Franciscan
missionaries.
The Spanish Empire and Demographic Catastrophe
TS: Assisted by the devastation wrought by smallpox, the Spanish Empire consolidated its
presence in the Western hemisphere through the implementation of the encomienda system.
Brazil
TS: The Portuguese immediately turned Brazil into a brutal and deadly sugar production colony.
Global Colossus, Global Economy
TS: The empire in the Americas transformed Spain into a global power that began to falter
because of costly wars, inflation and inability to protect assests.
Explanations: Patterns of Conquest, Submission, and Resistance
TS: Ultimately the Columbian Exchange was a horrific, but possibly inevitable, tragedy for the Native
American cultures.
Conclusion
TS: The rise of a powerful Europe led to the colonization of the Western Hemisphere which had
developed complex societies in isolation.