Chapter 2
Europeans and
Africans Reach the
Americas
The American People, 6th ed.
I. Breaching the Atlantic
The Columbian Voyages
 Intending to discover an oceanic passage
to Asia, in 1492 Christopher Columbus
instead mistakenly discovered the
Americas.
Religious Conflict During
the Era of Reconnaissance
 Martin Luther’s Protestant Reformation
 John Calvin’s Calvinism
 Henry VIII and the Anglican Church
II. The Spanish Conquest of
America
Caribbean Experiments
 Columbus’s second voyage to the New
World established the first Spanish colony
in the Americas (in present-day Santo
Domingo).
 Tainos were the first indigenous people to
meet the Spaniards.
The Conquistadors’
Onslaught at Tenochtitlan
 Within a single generation after the death
of Columbus, Spain had conquered most
of the New World.
 Spain was motivated by religion,
nationalist pride, and dreams of personal
enrichment.
The Great Dying
 Spanish contacts with the natives of the
Caribbean, central Mexico, and Peru in the
early sixteenth century triggered a
biological epidemic of smallpox in which
some 6 million people perished in 15
years.
The Columbian Exchange
 Imported animals from Europe (cattle,
goats, pigs, etc.) devastated the fragile
environment of the New World.
 Various plants (especially weeds)
imported accidentally from Europe caused
significant damage to the ecosystem
Silver, Sugar, and
Their Consequences
 Silver was found abundantly in the New World,
especially in South America.
 Native labor was coerced into mining the metal
for the Spanish.
 Wild influx of silver nearly destroyed the financial
markets of Europe.
 Sugar production grew at an alarming rate, due
to the changing tastes of Europeans.
 African slaves were deemed the best labor to
produce the sugar.
Spain’s Northern Frontier
 Composed of the present-day Sun
Belt of the United States:
Texas
Florida
New Mexico
Arizona
California
III. England Looks West
England Challenges Spain
 England was the slowest European power to
begin expansion in the New World.
 They were initially motivated by the need to
expand fishing areas and find new sources of
wood.
 The rift between England and Spain centered on
religion (Catholic v. Protestant).
 England defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588;
a gigantic upset.
The Westward Fever
 The opportunities of the New World began
to permeate all levels of English society in
the 1580s.
 England’s first effort at colonization
occurred in Ireland.
 England’s first attempts at American
colonization were weak and unprofitable.
Anticipating
North America
 Early English settlers had vague ideas
about the nature of the American natives,
some true some false.
 Some saw Indians as savage predators
to be conquered quickly.
 Others saw them as docile and child-like,
IV. African Bondage
The Slave Trade
 The African slave trade began as an
attempt to fill a labor shortage in the
Mediterranean region as early as the
eighth century.
 Portuguese merchants were the first
European slave traders following decades
of trade by the Arabs and Moors.
The Middle Passage
 Also known as the Atlantic Passage,
transferred slaves to the New World in
four to eight weeks on board sailing
vessels.
 Conditions were incredibly bad and many
Africans died during the forced journey.
Slavery in Early Spanish
Colonies
 Many thousands of African slaves were
brought along by the great Spanish explorers
of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth
centuries:
 Ponce de Leon
 Vasquez
 De Soto
 Coronado