Three Worlds Meet
NATIVE AMERICANS CREATED COMPLEX
SOCIETIES SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE
CONTINENTS. PEOPLES IN EUROPE AND
AFRICA DEVELOPED THEIR OWN CULTURES,
WHICH THEY LATER CONTRIBUTED TO
AMERICAN SOCIETY
What were the effects of agriculture
on the hunting and gathering
peoples of the Americas?
MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR PEOPLE TO STAY IN
ONE PLACE AND STORE SURPLUS FOOD
What were some of the
achievements of the early
civilizations of the Americas?
THEY BUILT GREAT CITIES AND
CEREMONIAL CENTERS AND DEVELOPED
FORMS OF WRITING
Early Civilizations of the Americas
Civilization
Olmec
Maya
Aztec
Inca
Hohokam and Anasazi
Adena and Hopewell
Mississippian
Dates
Location
1200 BCE to 400BCE along the Gulf of Mexico
250 to 900
Guatemala and the Yucatan
Peninsula
1200s to 1500s
Valley of Mexico
1200
western coast of South
America
300 BCE to 1400 CE Southwest
500 BCE to 400 CE
east of Mississippi River
600 to 1500
east of Mississippi River
What are some similarities
among these early civilizations?
THEY CREATED LARGE ARCHITECTURAL
STRUCTURES
MANY OF THEM BUILT PYRAMIDS OR
MOUNDS
How might California’s varied
landscapes have encouraged
diverse ways of life?
THE PEOPLE IN THE NORTH MIGHT HAVE
DRESSED DIFFERENTLY AND DEVELOPED
DIFFERENT HUNTING TECHNIQUES THAN
THE PEOPLE OF THE SOUTH
In what ways did food production
differ among Native American
societies?
GROUPS THAT LIVED ALONG THE COASTS WERE
ABLE TO RELY ON THE OCEAN FOR THEIR FOOD
THOSE LIVING IN THE SOUTHWEST RELIED
MOSTLY ON CROPS
GROUPS IN THE EASTERN WOODLANDS MIXED
HUNTING AND GATHERING WITH
AGRICULTURE
In what ways did trade link
Native Americans?
IT ALLOWED THE DIFFERENT GROUPS TO
INTERACT WITH ONE ANOTHER AND
ENABLED THEM TO EXCHANGE FOODS AND
GOODS
What similarities and differences
existed among Native American
social structures?
SOME SOCIETIES ORGANIZED RELATED
FAMILIES INTO CLANS, WHO WOULD LIVE
TOGETHER
IN SOCIETIES WHERE PEOPLE HUNTED AND
GATHERED, GROUPS BROKE INTO SMALLER
BANDS FOR HUNTING
Why would trade have helped
spread Islam?
MUSLIM TRADERS WOULD HAVE SPREAD
THEIR RELIGION ALONG THEIR TRADE
ROUTES
How did the Portuguese sugar
plantations affect the course of
history?
TO WORK THE SUGAR PLANTATIONS, THE
PORTUGUESE BEGAN IMPORTING SLAVES
FROM THE WEST AFRICAN MAINLAND.
THIS WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE
EUROPEAN SLAVE TRADE.
West Africa
West Africa’s Climate Zones
I.
a.
b.
c.
II.
a.
b.
c.
Desert
Rain forests
Savanna
West Africa’s Major Geographical Features
Sahara Desert
Atlantic Coastline
Niger River
III. Three West African Kingdoms and Their Climate Zones
a.
b.
c.
Songhai – savanna and desert
Benin – rain forest
Kongo – rain forest
How was the government in Benin
similar to that of Askia
Muhammad?
BOTH WERE HIGHLY ORGANIZED AND USED
APPOINTED OFFICIALS TO ADMINISTER
DISTRICTS AND CONTROL ECONOMIC
ACTIVITY
Why did political leaders claim
authority on the basis of religion?
IT WAS THE BEST WAY TO JUSTIFY THEIR
AUTHORITY
What agricultural skills did West
Africans bring to the Americas?
RICE AND THE KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO
CULTIVATE IT
Changes in Western Europe
Political
I.
a.
b.
Rise of centralized states
Declining papal authority
Economic
II.
a.
Growth of commerce
III. Social
a.
Renewed missionary calling
b.
Population growth
IV. Technological
a.
Improvements in mapmaking
b.
Caravel
c.
Compass and astrolabe
V. Cultural
a.
Renaissance spirit of adventure and curiosity
Which European events of the late 1400s
to early 1500s had the most far-reaching
impact on European lives?
THE RECONQUISTA - IT SET THE STAGE FOR
FUTURE SPANISH CONQUEST TO SPREAD
CHRISTIANITY AROUND THE GLOBE
THE REFORMATION – IT CAUSED MANY
PEOPLE TO SEEK RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN
THE NEW WORLD
THE INVENTION OF THE PRINTING PRESS –
IT SPREAD IDEAS
How did advances in technology
open the way for world
exploration?
ADVANCES IN SAILING PROMOTED TRADE
AND THE URGE TO DISCOVER AND CONQUER
OTHER LANDS
Where did Europeans first
experiment with the plantation
system?
IN LEBANON DURING THE CRUSADES AND ON
ISLANDS OFF THE COAST OF AFRICA DURING
THE 1400S
What activities occupied Columbus
as he explored the Americas?
HE BEGAN SEARCHING FOR GOLD AND
ASSERTING CHRISTIAN DOMINANCE
Timeline of Columbus’s Voyages and Interactions
with Native Americans
 1492 – Columbus’s first voyage to the Americas
 1493 – Columbus’s return trip to the Americas and
his conquest of St. Croix despite resistance by Native
Americans
 1495 – rebellion of the Taino of Hispaniola against
the Spanish
 1500 – Columbus asked to leave Hispaniola because
of his inability to maintain order
 1504 – Columbus returns to Spain
Why did European explorers believe they could
simply claim lands for their home countries,
even though these lands were already
populated?
PERHAPS THEY BELIEVED THAT BECAUSE
THEIR CULTURE WAS MORE SOPHISTICATED,
THEY HAD THE RIGHT TO OCCUPY THOSE
LANDS
In the centuries before Columbus’s
voyages, where had Europeans
gained experience in colonization?
DURING THE CRUSADES, ITALIANS FROM
VENICE HAD TAKEN OVER ARAB SUGAR FARMS
IN WHAT IS NOW LEBANON
BY THE LATE 1400S, THE PORTUGUESE HAD
ESTABLISHED PLANTATION COLONIES OFF THE
COAST OF WEST AFRICA
What were some important long-term consequences
of Columbus’s encounters in the Americas?
 The entrenched pattern of violating human rights in




the process of conquering new lands
The African slave trade and its tragic outcomes
The emergence of various nations in North and
South America
The permanent altering of the global environments
and societies as a result of the Colombian Exchange
The multicultural character of the United States