PRE-COLUMBIAN SOCIETIES
PANGEA
225 million years ago,
the single super
continent of Pangea
began to break apart
10 million years ago,
North America was
shaped by nature
THE GREAT ICE AGE
2 million years ago – The
Great Ice Age begins
35,000 years ago – the
oceans were glaciers,
and the sea level
dropped leaving an
isthmus that
connected Asia to
North America
THE BERING STRAIT
2 million years ago – The
Great Ice Age begins
35,000 years ago – the
oceans were glaciers,
and the sea level
dropped leaving an
isthmus that connected
Asia to North America
EARLY INHABITANTS OF THE
AMERICAS
The earliest Americans were hunters and gatherers.
Domestication of crops led to the beginning of
civilizations (corn, beans and squash the “Three
Sisters”)
Native American cultures were matrilineal in which
power and possessions were passed down the female
side of the family line.
Native Americans did not believe in ownership of the
land. They revered the physical world and endowed
nature with spiritual properties.
AMERICAN INDIAN EMPIRES
IN MESOAMERICA, THE
SOUTHWEST AND THE
MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY
MESOAMERICA
Mayan (Central America) had a written language,
mathematicians made accurate astronomical
observations (calendar), and had advanced
agricultural practices
Aztecs (Mexico) complex civilization, were warriorlike, used human sacrifices, and built impressive
cities
Incas (Peru) – built suspension bridges, used terrace
farming
SOUTHWESTERN - PUEBLO
Built large towns
Extensive canal networks to irrigate fields
Cremated the dead
MISSISSIPPI RIVER VALLEY
Creek, Choctaw, Cherokee, Iroquois
Agricultural society – Three Sisters (corn, squash and beans)
Mound builders
INDIRECT DISCOVERERS OF THE
NEW WORLD
During the Crusades the Europeans were exposed to silks, spices and perfumes.
These items from the east were very expensive and Europeans were eager to find
alternative routes
Renaissance “rebirth” in learning; nurtured an ambitious spirit of optimism and
adventure
EUROPEANS ENTER AFRICA
1450 – Europeans reach subSaharan Africa with the
Portuguese invention of the
caravel
The caravel could sail into the
wind
The Portuguese set up trading
posts along the African
beaches trading with slaves
and gold
WHEN WORLD’S COLLIDE
Possibly 3/5 of the crops cultivated
around the world today
originated in the Americas.
Taino people of Hispaniola went
from 1 million to 200 due to
disease
In centuries following Columbus’s
landing in the Americas, as
much as 90% of the Indians had
died due to the diseases.
COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE
Columbus’s discovery of the
new world merged three
continents
Europe provided capital and
new technology
Africa furnished the labor
The New World offered raw
materials
Americas to
Europe, Africa
and Asia
Europe, Africa,
and Asia to the
Americas
Maize
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Beans
Peanuts
Squash
Pumpkins
Peppers
Pineapple
Tomatoes
Cocoa
Wheat
Sugar
Bananas
Rice
Grapes (wine)
Olive Oil
Dandelions
Horses
Pigs
Cows
Goats
Chickens
Smallpox
SPANISH CONQUISTADORES
In the 1500's, Spain became the
dominant exploring and
colonizing power.
The Spanish conquerors came to
the Americas in the service of
God as well as in search of
gold and glory.
Due to the gold found in the New
World, the world’s economy
was transformed.
CONQUEST OF AMERICA
The islands of the Caribbean
served as bases for the Spanish
invasion of America.
By the 1530s in Mexico and the
1550s in Peru, colonial
administrators had replaced the
conquistadores.
Some of the conquistadores wed
Indian women and had
children. These offspring were
known as mestizos.
SPANISH DOMINION
By the 1500s the French and
English were sending explorers
to the New World.
1565, the Spanish built a fortress
at St. Augustine, Florida to
protect the sea-lanes to the
Caribbean.
The Spanish instituted the
Encomienda System. This slave
system gave Native Americans
to Spanish colonist with the
promise that the colonist would
Christianize them.
POPE’S REBELLION
In 1680, the Catholic Church’s efforts to suppress the
Native’s religious practices led to Pope’s Rebellion
The natives burned down churches and killed
priests. They rebuilt a kiva, or ceremonial religious
chamber, on the ruins of the Spanish plaza at Santa
Fe. It took the Spanish half a century to reclaim New
Mexico
The misdeeds of the Spanish in the New World led to the
birth of the “Black Legend.” This concept stated that
the conquerors just tortured and killed the Indians,
stole their gold, infected them with smallpox, and left
little but misery behind.
EFFECTS OF SPANISH COLONIZATION
The Spanish erected a colossal empire from Florida to California to
Tierra del Fuego.
The Spanish merged with Native Societies through laws, religion,
and language.
The Spanish fused with Natives through marriage and incorporated
indigenous cultures with their own.
NATIVES VS. EUROPEANS
Let’s think about…
How the Native Americans reacted to the European conquerors?
How the Europeans reacted to the Native Americans?
How the world changed because of the interaction between the
Europeans, Native Americans and Africans?