Download Period 1: 1491-1607

Period 1: 1491-1607
A New World, Many Cultures
Original Discovery
● The original discovery, exploration and settlement of North and South America
occurred at least 10,000 years before Columbus
● First European explorers were the vikings and Leif Erikson and arrived in the
year 1,000.
● The first Americans evolved into hundreds of tribes, languages and cultures.
● The estimated number of Native peoples in North and South America range
anywhere from 50-100 million people
Reasons for Colonization
● Religious conflicts between Catholics/Protestants
● Economic competition between Africa, India, China and Europe
● Slaves to work sugar plantations
● Rise of Nation-States: empires and kingdoms crumble in favor of nation-states
(people who share a common culture and loyalty)
● Spread of Christianity
The Spanish
Spain and Portugal the first European kingdoms to claim territories in the
Americas
Conquistadors conquered the Incas in Peru, Aztecs in Mexico and circled the
globe
Hernan Cortes: Conquers the Aztecs (Mexico)
Francisco Pizarro: Conquers the Inca in Peru
Ferdinand Magellan: Circles the world
Conquistadors
Conquistadors loaded ships with gold and silver from Mexico and Peru and made
Spain the richest and most powerful country in the world
Spain’s success encourages other countries to head to the New World
Encomienda system: King of Spain gives grants of land and natives to individual
Spaniards
Disease and brutality drastically reduce the Native People and the Spanish bring
in slaves from West Africa under the asiento system
Asiento system: Spanish pay a tax to their king for every slave they import
Spanish Settlements
Florida: Permanent settlement of St. Augustine in 1596. Oldest city in America
founded by Europeans
New Mexico: Harsh efforts to Christianize the Pueblo leads to violence and revolt
in 1680
Texas: Spanish want to cut the French off from the Mississippi River
California: Missions are built, response to the Russians exploring Alaska
Spanish Treatment of Natives
Many died from forced labor
Spanish intermarry with natives and Africans
Rigid class system is formed by pure-blooded Spaniards
Bartolome de Las Casas: Dissented from the views of most Europeans toward
Natives
An advocate for better treatment of Natives
New Laws of 1542: Ended Indian slavery and forced labor, ends the encomienda system
Valladolid Debate: Argument for/against better treatment of Natives in Spain
The English
England arrives in 1497 from the voyages of John Cabot and explored
Newfoundland
England does not follow up immediately due to internal struggles
Sir Walter Raleigh founded Roanoke, the first English colony of North America
“The Lost Colony”
Roanoke is abandoned, unsure of what happened to the people who lived there
England does not begin to colonize North America seriously until 1600
The English Treatment of Natives
The English arrive more as families, marriage with Natives is far fewer
Initially in the Northeast, Natives and English get along and share ideas
How to grow crops, hunt, grow maize, trade furs
Relationship deteriorates and English see Natives as “savages” or “primitive”
Open warfare between the two sides
English did not enslave Natives but rather expelled them from land or killed them
The French
French want to find a passage that leads from America to Asia
Slow to develop colonies like the English
Settle in present day northeast Canada along the St. Lawrence
French Explorers:
Jacques Cartier: Explores the St. Lawrence River
Samuel de Champlain: Establishes first permanent French settlement, New Quebec in 1608.
Relationship with Natives:
The Dutch
The Dutch hire Henry Hudson to seek a passage from America to Asia
Discovers a large river and is named after him (Hudson River)
The Dutch establish themselves in present day New York (called New Amsterdam)
Colonization by 1600