Chapter 1: When Old Worlds Collide: Contact, Conquest, Catastrophe—Outline
I. People’s In Motion
1. US a nation of immigrants, including the indigenous peoples.
2. Many peoples migrated across thousands of miles including 5 distinct waves of
immigrants that swept over the Americas.
3. The first humans to reach the Americas used a land bridge that was created by the
ice capturing a great amount of the world's water.
4.
Beringia cannot be easily studied but humans definitely lived there and
Shenandoah Valley shows signs of continuous occupation.
5. Asians migrated roughly to their present sites in America in three different
groups, the first spread over most of the two continents and spoke "Ameren", the
second came a few thousand years later and spoke "Na-Dene", the last were
ancestors of Inuit’s and crossed after 7000 B.C.
6. Most large animals of the Americas disappeared about 9,000 years ago because as
the climate warmed animals had trouble adjusting to hot weather and they were
easy targets for hunters since they did not have instinctive fear.
7. The extinction of animals led to a sharp decline in population as people looked for
new sources of food, some people started raising and domesticating animals,
diseases also grew but survivors developed immunities over a long period of time,
no comparable processes occurred in the America.
8. A group of maritime people emerged along the north east coast who was very
skilled in fishing various sea animals including sword fish and maybe even
whales.
9. The native people wouldn't always become farmers, using their surroundings they
adapted to their environment in a variety of ways.
10. Farming didn't necessarily start with the demonstration of animals in many
villages the Norseman began planting the crops instead of just gathering.
11. Polynesians (Asians) had migrated into the Pacific in about 7,000 years which led
to a Hawaiian population of 8000,000, before the European’s arrived.
12. The Polynesians didn’t bother to keep on sailing to the Americans because they
traveled to South America where Sweet Potato was brought to the Eastern Islands.
13. As Europeans started to settle the Norseman who was Germanic people started to
invade.
14. Vikings in Ireland led by Erik the Red, led his followers to the foreland and
established permanent settlements.
15. Leif (Erik’s son) ailed to North America and established “Vinland” but later
abandoned it.
16. The Norsemen had no impact on American history.
II. Europe and the World in the 15th Century
1. In the 15th Century many European nations looked to expand .
2. The Chinese nation under the Ming Dynasty was the world’s most complex and
developed nation in the world.
3. The Emperor of China Cheng Ho led six fleets from China to the West Indies and
was close to discovering the New World, but after the emperor died seas
exploration was abandon.
4. Islamic societies controlled overland trade, therefore Europe suffered severe
disadvantages due to its location on the Atlantic rim of the Eurasian continent.
5.. Europeans had to pay Asia silver or gold, which was scarce, for fine silks and
spices due to the lack of interest Asia had in what Europeans produced.
6. Due to Europe's difficulty to keep its influence from shrinking and China satisfied
with what they had, Islamic states were on to another great expansion.
7. Though the Black Death in late 1340s kept population low, Europe still had
advantages economy because of agricultural advances such as the improved plow.
8. After Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press and movable type, Europe
had a communications revolution which permitted improvements in ship design
and navigational techniques.
9. No Single European state had a monopoly on the manufacture of firearms or on the
flow of capital, therefore competition arose to gain resources and military
techniques and in 1520 their armies were more formidable.
10. Crusaders obtain some land in Jerusalem but were later forced to flee to the
Mediterranean Islands where they continued to grow sugar cane.
11. The Crusaders had developed the idea of Colonies before Columbus and saw the
benefits of having slaves.
12. Portugal was a small and poor country.
13. It was a peaceful kingdom that was located between the Atlantic and
Mediterranean
14. Portugal decided that they would steal some business for themselves to live better
lives.
15. Prince Henry and his captain Gil Eanney started the era of expansion
16. Portugal made a lot of progress in the 15th century
17. Portuguese sailors learned how to mount cannons on their ships that gave them an
edge in naval warfare.
18. Portugal explored further on the African coast in the 15th century
19. West African had a large agricultural population, that supplied resources such as
Gold to Europe of hundreds of year; but a rise of European (Portuguese) trade in
the Sahara Desert led to the decline of its empires and kingdoms.
20. Portugal founded offshore colonies in West Africa which produced profit thanks
to Italian merchants, this lead to a demand for slaves and the establishment of
slave plantations to grow and produce sugar.
21. The Portuguese initially acquired slaves by attacking locals , but later changed
their methods and established a more traditional system by creating posts, and
factories where royals sold slaves they acquired from waging war.
22. Although slavery had long existed in Africa they were not aware of the brutal
conditions Europeans would impose, the royals would later regret their decision to
participate in European slave trade but it was too late or dangerous to stop.
23. The Portuguese made the slave trade profitable by exploiting rivalries among
small states in West and Central Africa, it was divisions and a lack of a single
identity that made the selling of slaves easy and without any real restrictions.
24. Vasco de Gama sailed to the Malabar Coast and fought for spices.
25. The Portuguese secured the Asian trade by establishing a chain of naval bases.
26. Out of all the Asian holding, the natives always heavily outnumbered the
Portuguese.
27. After the Norse failure to navigate the high seas the Portuguese would learn ways
to navigate other nations followed suit
28. There was a rising desire (in Europe) to obtain both colonies and slaves for their
potential profit.
29. Europeans viewed the New World as an opportunity to reach notably and move
up in social class.
III. Spain, Columbus, and the Americas
1. The Spanish Kingdom of Castile sent it's first settlers to the Canary Islands in the
1400s', the Spaniards spent their time conquering land.
2. In the 15th century Prince Ferdinand of Aragon married Isabella of Castile, and
formed the kingdom of Spain.
3. In 1492, Isabella and Ferdinand took over Granada and tried to force Jews to
convert to Christians which led them to flee
4. Christopher Columbus was a talented navigator who served the Portuguese Crown
and sought to reach Eastern Asia by sailing across the Atlantic.
5. Columbus was a voyager who assumed the Earth was round so he tested his
theory and was put in charge the Santa Maria, his flagship.
6. Columbus, the "Christ-Bearer" was a religious man and he felt he had to
contribute into bringing the Millennium but he was not okay with acquiring
wealth and glory along the way.
7. Columbus started sailing in August of 1492 from the port of Palos and in October
he spotted land and named it to be his prize for himself.
8. When the Spaniards arrived on the shore of San Salvador, they were convinced
that they had arrived in the East Indies, thus naming the inhabitants "Indians".
9. In 1493, Pope Alexander VI issued a bull which divided all non-Christian lands
between Portugal and Spain.
10. Columbus made 3 other voyages in quest for China; he also served as the
governor of the Spanish Indies.
11. Spaniards looking for wealth began to use Indians for slave labor and eventually
caused native population to decrease rapidly.
12. Spaniard exploration continued throughout the New World, which was eventually
named "America" after the explorer Amerigo Vespucci.
13. Hernán Cortés found the gold filled Tenochtitlán, capital of the Aztec Empire, in
Veracruz and greedily took a hold of the treasure.
IV. The Emergence of Complex Societies in the Americas
1. There were developed complex cultures in the Americas before the arrival of
Columbus.
2. After 4000BC agriculture was a necessary to everyday life in the Indian cultures.
3. After the Indians had adopted agriculture, they consequently became sedentary.
4. Under the “slash and burn” system of agriculture, women’s role shifted to hunting
and fishing.
5. Although Indian culture was sedentary, they have no idea of owning lands since
both genders cultivated it.
6. The spread of farming produced a huge surge in population and had reached 50
million people by 1492 in the entire Western hemisphere.
7. Although they still used basic technology from the Stone Age, they had become
one of the largest and most complex Stone Age cultures in the history of the
world.
8. Little information is known about the Andean culture since they did not develop a
writing system, but they did make extremely productive agricultural systems
rivaling modern agricultural tools.
9. The Pre-Classic Chavin culture was well-established by 1000BC and consisted of
communities built around U-shaped temples which resembled Egyptian pyramids.
10. During 300AD, the Chavin culture was emerging in the Northwest coast of Peru
who produced fine erotic pottery was next to another classic culture that grew
food at various altitudes on the mountainsides.
11. The Tiwanaku Empire flourished, possibly by conquering the Mochica region,
between the 6th and 11th centuries AD, and collapsed when a drought wrecked
their sophisticated irrigation systems in the 10th century AD.
12. The Nazca people etched a unique network of lines in the desert, forming animal
silhouettes running for miles.
13. The Incas emerged as the new imperial power in the Andes, with their capital at
Cuzco, with their empire expanding over 2000 miles from the north to south of
the western side of the continent.
14. Mesoamerica’s pre-classic, classic, and post-classic cultures made up their
society.
15. The Olmecs became the parent culture for the region where three cities: San
Lorenzo, La Venta, and Trez Zapotes flourished during the following centuries.
16. The Olmecs began to advance in society and culture developing artifacts,
pyramids, and ballparks in Mesoamerica.
17. The Olmecs wrote and developed their own 52 year calendar system.
18. Religious beliefs were an important part of Olmec culture and society.
19. The Olmecs were followed by the rise of the empire of Teotihuacan becoming
one of the most empires in Mesoamerica until its destruction in 750 AD.
20. Classic Mayan culture soon encountered an ecological crisis, leading to the
fragmentation of city-states.
21. Mayan society and culture was learned in further detail once the Mayan script was
more detailed in 500 AD.
22. Due to the gradual collapse of the Mayans in the ninth century, from
environmental problems and local wars, trade shifted north.
23. A brief Mayan renaissance from 900-1200 AD appeared with the Totlecs who
dominated the lower Yucatan and Valley of Mexico.
24. In 1400 AD the Aztecs became the dominant power in Mesoamerica and made
chinampas for agricultural productivity.
25. Although the Aztec city Tenochtitlan had two allies, it became the center and felt
the need to aggressively practice the Mesoamerican religion.
26. The practice of human sacrificing was done frequently, which would lead to the
alliances for the Spaniards from the Aztec’s bitter enemies.
27. Cultures appeared north of Mexico from 3000 BC to 1700 AD which settled
along the Ohio and Mississippi River and also built large mounds.
28. During the third millennium BC, mound building cultures spread as evidence by
artifacts while also revealing long-distance trade that lasted till 400 AD.
29. The mound-building cultures spread from the Mississippi to Natchez communities
from 1000-1700.
30. Cahokia’s population and culture resembled that of Mesoamerica from cultural
practice to artifacts.
31. Urban cultures also existed in the West as it had agriculture, trade, and pottery,
but declined by 1450.
32. Many Mesoamerican cultures affected other neighbor cultures.
V. Contact and Cultural Misunderstanding
1. After having a vague understanding of each other's culture modern peoples began
to see the connections they had through history, yet it wasn't enough to properly
deal with what was to come.
2. The Christians have a religious dilemma: as to why the Indians existence was not
mentioned in the bible and search for possible explanation.
3. The Europeans were horrified by the Indian's rituals and thought they worshipped
Satan so they decided to burn everything the Indians worshipped.
4. On Columbus' second voyage he brought the first missionaries to the Americas
who had no way of comprehending the Christian distinction between human
sacrifice and punishment for desecration.
5. Missionaries and most Protestants both used sacraments as a way to show their
strong
religious beliefs but, Indians disagreed on the way they showed their devotion.
6. The Indian's conversion to Christianity want easy, they considered it betrayal to
their
Ancestors, and often continued to practice their native rituals in secret.
7. The Indians and Europeans were startled due to their differences and both tried to
fight their own way.
8. Indian society differed from European society, pertaining to culture and gender.
VI. Conquest and Catastrophe
1. The Spaniard invaded the Aztec culture destroying religion, agriculture and their
way of life as a whole.
2. Pizzaro attempted to over-rule the Inca-empire and ultimately did after
encountering a few setbacks.
3. The Spanish along with some Indians located their goal city and still proceeded to
greed for more.
4. Conquistadores searched for gold throughout the southeastern and western United
States, leaving behind diseases and finding no cities of gold.
5. The conquistadores has split up and Spanish priest tried to convert northern
American Indians into the catholic faith but the Jesuits has its own mission and
local Indians had soon wiped it out
6. With the Franciscan's help, Spain's new mission was to convert the Indians into
Catholic subjects of Spain and use the missions as protection against English and
French intruders
7. The Franciscans were being sustained by miracles, it’s believed that a nun had been
carried across to Atlantic by angles and that she began to preach their own
language to Indians Franciscans into a miraculous event that's sparked thousands
for a century but the nun had just reacted most of her story in 1650
8. The Franciscans killed a lot of Indians and took over a large part of their lives
9. The Spaniards changed a lot of local conditions in the Americas
10. The rulers of Mexico and Peru relied on encomienda.
11. The church changed the indigenous people's beliefs rapidly
12. Small pox and other diseases killed off huge numbers in Indian, native Mexican
from Europeans.
13 Administrative orders came from conquistadores: peace was brought to colonies
for ex. The council of the Indies appointed viceroys and other major officials.
14. Portuguese invasion led to enslavement rather than direct rule of native high
demand for West Indian sugar.
15. Phillip the second claimed throne of the king of Portugal (after he died) created
the greatest empire with a sustained economy using silver to pay for the good.
Portugal revolted and regained its independence.
16. Spanish colossus became a broader economic pattern and overseas expansion
strengthened that trend with Western Europe.
17. Spain had depts. And Indians could not leave their homeland and the more crops
and other high priced items since the quantity went up the price went down.
18. Spain’s empire was vulnerable but since they had money from America they
could wage war and they also grew in numbers.
VII. Explanations: Patterns of Conquest, Submission, and Resistance
1. Conquest and settlement had more of a negative effect than a positive.
2. Chinese inventions came to Europe and made them more successful.
3. Indians only descended from a small portion of the gene of Eurasia and had no
resistance to European diseases.
4. The Colombian Exchange and the interchanging of American, European and
Asian vegetables, animals and diseases mark an important time in history.