Download Lecture S1 -- The World in 1500

Lecture S1 -- The World in 1500
Historical Methods
The Problem of Evidence
Primary: Documents written by witnesses to events and contemporaries
Secondary: Analyses of events based on primary documents
Tertiary: Summations of the state of knowledge based on study of many
secondary works.
Bias: Every source has inherent biases which must be overcome to try to
create a more objective picture.
The Problem of Objectivity
Source Bias: All sources have biases to overcome
Historian Bias: Historians have their own biases too.
Is Objective History Possible? Historians continue to argue this
question; few believe a totally pure objectivity is possible, as the
Positivists strove for.
The Problem of Causation
Great Men?: Some historians see the actions of great individuals who
bend history to their will
Impersonal Forces: Others emphasize the impact of impersonal forces or
unconscious collective action on history
The Problem of Motives
Deciphering Witness Statements: Part of this is the problem of
determining if witnesses are telling the truth about their motives.
Lack of Witness Statements: But often, actors don't clearly explain their
actions.
Actions Speak Louder Than Words: What people do reveals their
motivations better than their own statements, frequently.
Economic vs. Idealistic: Historians argue endlessly over whether
economic self-interest or people's beliefs and ideas are more important in
motivating people's actions.
Themes
Land Hunger and Agriculture
The Ever Moving Frontier and Social Class
Indian Relations
Foreign Entanglements
The Development of American Democracy
The Sectionalization of America
The Shadow of the Civil War
Periodization
Colonial America (1492-1783)
Economy: Agriculture, some foreign trade
Political: Democracy with a property requirement to vote, but over half
of males own enough property to vote; a few women and blacks are able
to.
Religion: Only New England is very religious; less than a third of
Americans are church goers.
Slavery: Exists in all colonies, more common in the South
Social: Elites ape European manners; each section is developing an elite
in settled areas.
Early Republic (1783-1828)
Economy: Agriculture, growing foreign trade.
Political: Increasingly, all white males vote; everyone else does not.
Religion: Americans become more religious and develop revivalism
methods.
Slavery: Slavery dies out in the north and mid-atlantic, grows in
importance in the South.
Social: More of America becomes settled; more class differentiation,
conscious rejection of European manners.
Antebellum America (1828-1860)
Economy: North becomes more industrial; South remains agricultural,
based on cash crop slavery
Political: Universal White Manhood Suffrage
Religion: Increasing conflict between Protestant natives and Catholic
immigrants; Churches split over slavery.
Slavery: North becomes anti-slavery; the South comes to champion it
Social: Rise of the Middle Class in the cities; Americans often take pride
in social equality despite the increasing class differentiation; many
Southerners develop an aristocratic ethos
Civil War (1861-1865) and Reconstruction (1865-1877)
Economy: North becomes more industrial; South remains agricultural,
struggles with deep poverty after the war.
Political: Universal White Manhood Suffrage; Blacks gain right to vote,
though post-Reconstruction, many are denied this
Religion: Increasing conflict between Protestant natives and Catholic
immigrants; Churches split over slavery.
Slavery: Slavery is abolished by the thirteenth Amendment
Social: Veterans dominate society for the rest of the century.
Europe and Africa in 1500
Rise of Nation States
Rise of France
Hundred Year’s War--This removes England from French soil and lays
the seeds for absolutism
French Absolutism--Rule by a monarch who can create law and levy
taxes at will. Only custom and the fear of revolt limit his power.
Absolutism, Taxes, and Military Power
Armies need money
Absolute monarchies raise money well
They do this because they don’t need a legislature to
approve their taxes.
The army then defends their absolute power.
France will dominate Europe by 1650
England on the Skids
Defeat in the Hundred Year's War: England is expelled from Europe
after 400 years of holding parts of France.
England in Decline:
International Impotence: Between 1460 and 1689, England is
largely unable to exert military power beyond its own borders,
except in the New World.
Limited Monarchy, Taxes, and Military Power
Armies need money
Parliament must approve taxes
But Parliament only votes very limited taxes
So the army is pathetic
And the king lacks the ability to seize absolute power.
But Rising Trade: England is increasingly becoming a major
trading nation and its navy defends it from conquest
Apogee of Spanish Power
Spain and International Empire
Charles V: Rules Spain, the Netherlands, Austria, and Holy
Roman Empire. Comes to rule Mexico and Peru.
Absolute Monarchy + Wealth of the Americas
Has benefits of Absolute Monarchy
ALSO has vast mineral wealth of the Americas
Spain is able to dominate Europe from 1500 to 1650
Most Catholic King
Spain has just completed the Reconquista--the reconquest
of Spain from Moslems (the Moors)
Spain becomes the Champion of Catholicism in face of
Protestant Reformation
This ends up consuming all the wealth gained from the
New World
Golden Age of the Netherlands
Cutting Edge of Capitalism
The Dutch innovate the Commercial Capitalism of the 16th-18th
centuries:
The government backs international expansion to create
cash crop producing colonies
These cash crops are shipped to the Netherlands and
processed
The Dutch sell them at a large profit
Dutch banks help to finance all this
Taxes on commerce make the Dutch government wealthy
too.
Protestant Revolt:
The Dutch also become one of the first Protestant nations, leading
to revolt against Spain
This leads to 80 years of war with Spain, sapping Spain
Dutch finance enables the Dutch to field armies which can fight
Spain on even terms.
Holy Roman Empire In Decline
Early Strength: In the Middle Ages, the HRE was very powerful
Late Medieval Decline: Civil Wars over who would be Emperor enabled
the nobles to gain increasing independence
Fragmentation: By 1500, the major nobles were semi-independent, often
able to defy the Emperor with things like hiding fugitives
Reformation: This disorder made Germany the most natural place for the
Reformation to begin, as nobles could protect the Protestant Reformers
from the Catholic Emperor.
The Reformation
Before the Reformation: In the 15th century, the Clergy was powerful, rich, and
sometimes corrupt. In cities, they made up 6-8% of the population. They had
their own courts, they owned huge areas of land, and they dominated the rhythms
of ordinary life through the yearly church calendar and church influence over
birth, marriage, and death. Monasteries were large and wealthy (and often
corrupt). Church services were held in Latin, though many priests were just
barely literate. Those who were well educated led the Church, but were entangled
in politics, government, and war. Many grumbled over the major problems of the
Church-Problems of Renaissance Catholism
Temporal Power: The papacy headed a significant state, thus leading to
situations of the Papacy getting tangled up in political conflicts, which
reduced its religious prestige.
Rising Heresies: As more secular people became literate, they
increasingly could read the Bible, and some people interpreted it
differently than the Church.
Monastic Corruption: Many of the monasteries were too rich and
functioned as welfare programs for younger noble kids instead of being
places of holiness.
The Indulgences Issue: Desperate for money, the church was selling
indulgences--pardons from time in purgatory--to raise money for projects,
a complete abuse of the purpose of indulgences--to promote holy
behavior.
The German Seedbed: Germany was a fertile seedbed for the Reformation
because it combined:
A growing literate population, combined with the printing press, which
made it easier for new ideas to spread and for translations of the bible
to be produced.
Political divisions which made it hard for central authorities to
suppress heresy; German princes agreed that the Emperor needed to be
kept weak, which made it hard for him to fight local princes who hid
and supported reformers.
Problems of clerical corruption and a low-point in the morale and
behavior of the monastic orders.
Acceptance of secular influence over the church; because local secular
authorities controlled church appointments, they could change the
content of religion without their populace necessarily turning on them.
The result was that, unlike in previous centuries, heresies could not
easily be stomped out.
Martin Luther
Origins: Luther was a German Augustinian monk, who came to feel he
wasn't holy enough despite being a monk, and who came to criticize the
Church, leading to him nailing the famous 95 Theses (a list of complaints
about the Church) to the door of his local cathedral.
His Protests: Luther attacked the sale of indulgences, the heavy focus on
penances and other 'works' as part of the road to salvation, and the refusal
to allow the Bible to be translated into secular languages.
Protestant Theology: Luther emphasized the role of 'faith' over works,
attacked celibacy of the priesthood and monasticism, and translated the
bible into German. He emphasized that the Bible was the source of our
holy knowledge, not tradition or reason.
His Impact: Luther shattered the unity of the Western Church and
opened the way for the creation of the several thousand Protestant
denominations which exist today.
Anglicanism
The Quest for Heirs: Henry VIII split not over theology, but because the
pope wouldn't give him a divorce like he wanted.
The Split with the Church: Henry mostly kept Catholic theology, but he
brought the Church under state authority; now Henry could appoint
Archbishops who would give him the divorce he wanted so he could
remarry.
Impact: Anglicanism would become split between Puritans (who wanted
to make it more Protestant) and High Churchmen (who wanted to keep
things closer to 'Catholicism without the pope'). This would eventually
lead to Civil War.
The Wars of Religion (1500-1650)
The Holy Roman Empire Self Destructs: Religion ignited war between
the German Princes and the Habsburg dynasty of emperors; the end result
was the destruction of Imperial authority.
The Dutch Revolt: The Dutch turned Protestant and revolted against the
Catholic Habsburg Kings of Spain.
Habsburgs Bankrupt Spain: Spain blew all its gains from the New
World on wars against Protestants and against the rising Moslem Turks.
England and France Torn by Dissension: England and France tore
themselves apart in Religious Civil Warfare also.
Rise of International Trade and Exploration
The Silk Road and the Spice Trade
The Silk Road: From Roman times onward, traders crossed central Asia,
hauling silk, spices, and porcelain from China and India and Indonesia to
Europe.
The Rise of Islam and the Silk and Spice Routes: The rise of Islam put
potentially hostile states in the middle of the road. Prices roses and trade
was sometimes cut off. Moslems also cut off trade routes across the
Sahara to sub-Saharan Africa.
The Fall of Constantinople: The Fall of Constantinople put even more
of the route into the hands of Moslems and helped to prompt a search for
sea routes (though this began before 1453).
The Rise of Portuguese Exploration
Prince Henry the Navigator (March 4, 1394–November 13, 1460):
This Portuguese prince played a crucial role in the beginning of
Portuguese explorations by providing funding and gathering experts to
strengthen Portuguese shipping and navigation.
Technical Innovations: New ships (the Caravel) and technologies (the
compass and gunpowder) were key to the rise of Portuguese exploration.
The Caravel combined European square rigging with the lateen rigging of
the Arabs, creating a ship which would sail against the wind and as a
result, could return up the African coast against prevailing winds. The
Compass strengthened navigation and allowed you to go far from shore
more safely. And gunpowder gave Europeans a military edge in foreign
lands.
The Rounding of Africa: In 1488, Bartholemew Dias rounded the Cape
of Good Hope, enabling the Portuguese to now have a sea route to India,
China, and Indonesia.
The problem of the Indian Ocean: But they had to fight Moslem fleets
in a series of wars to take control of the Indian Ocean.
Africa in 1500
The Problems of Africa
Climate and Disease: Africa's climate and diseases rendered
large chunks of the continent unsuitable for urbanization or even
sometimes for agriculture, making it harder for sophisticated
societies to develop. Disease also acted as a barrier to foreign
traders, who died in droves.
Semi-Isolation: The Sahara desert and the difficulties of sailing
on the west coast of Africa tended to cut it off from developments
on its northern shore and in Europe and the Middle East, though
Eastern Africa had a fair amount of oceanic trade around Ethiopia
and the Horn of Africa.
Lack of Science: While many Africans had advanced artisan
skills, the combination of literacy, universities, and Greco-Roman
(and Arabic) philosophy which prompted Europeans to develop
science were all less prominent or entirely lacking in Africa, in part
because urban societies were fairly limited.
African Societies
Sub-Saharan Trade Route Empires: The southern ends of the
trade routes across Africa tended to spawn cities and connected
powerful states which grew rich off the trade. These states had
little incentive to build sea ports or develop navies to go trade with
the rest of the world. (East African states did trade with the
Middle East, but the Arabs controlled the sea leg of the trade).
Mali (1235 to 1645 AD): The Almoravids converted many in the
Western Sahel in the 11th century. However, the collapse of
Almoravid power in this area left a welter of small states for a
time. In the mid-thirteenth century, one of the Ghana successor
states, Mali, forged an empire under the leadership of the Keita
ruling clan (especially Keita King Sundinaji (1230-1255 AD)).
Mali stretched from the Atlantic coast (between the Senegal and
Gambia rivers) to half-way along the Niger in the east, holding all
of old Ghana and more besides. At its height, it was home to 20
million people. They now controlled the gold trading routes,
exporting gold and importing salt and copper. They used war
captives in the Niger river valley to grow lots of food. Rice, millet,
beans, and yams were grown in large quantities. Metalworking
and cotton weaving were the national craft specialties. The
Malinke, speakers of Mande, were the main nation, living in cities
of 10-15,000 surrounded by farmland. The Keita kings were
moslems, who made the required pilgrimage to Mecca, especially
in the 13th-14th century. Niani was the capital, located on a
tributary of the Niger in the savannah on the edge of the forest,
close to sources of gold, kola nuts, and palm oil. Mali was less a
centralized bureaucracy and more the center of a vast sphere of
influence which contained both subject kingdoms and centrally
ruled provinces. The ruler was known as the Mansa, or
"emperor". The greatest ruler was Mansa Musa (1312-37), whose
pilgrimage to Mecca involved spending so much money, it
triggered inflation all along his route. Musa was so generous that
he ran out of money and had to take out a loan to be able to afford
the journey home. Under his rule, the city of Timbuktu became
known for its madrasas (Muslim religious schools), libraries, poets,
and architects—a center for culture. The Mali Empire maintained a
professional, full-time army in order to defend its borders. The
entire nation was mobilized with each tribe obligated to provide a
quota of fighting age men. The military was 90% footmen and
10% cavalry. An infantryman, regardless of weapon (bow, spear,
etc.) was called a sofa. Sofas were organized into tribal units
under the authority of an officer called the kelé-kun-tigui or "wartribe-master". The common sofa was armed with a large shield
constructed out of wood or animal hide and a stabbing spear called
a tamba. Bowmen formed a large portion of the sofas. Three
bowmen supporting one spearman was the ratio in Kaabu and the
Gambia by the mid 16th century. Equipped with two quivers and a
shield, Mandinka bowmen used iron headed arrows with barbed
tipped that were usually poisoned. They also used flaming arrows
for siege warfare. Cavalry wore chainmail and fought with spears
and lances. In the 15th century, strife over the throne eroded Mali's
power and the rival state of Songhai arose.
African Artisanry: Africa had many expert metalworkers capable
of producing exquisitely beautiful art and access to lots of iron,
gold, and silver. However, Africans would not progress, as
Europeans would, to the mechanization of artisan work (IE, the
Industrial Revolution.)
African Trade: Africans exported slaves, gold, silver, ivory, and
art, while importing cloth, metal tools, alcohol, and guns.
African Slavery: Slavery was common in Africa; much of the
work of farming and artisanry was done by slaves taken in war or
condemned for crimes; slaves had some hope of eventual freedom,
and it was like classical-era European slavery: Not on any basis or
race or ethnicity.
European Slave Trade in Africa: The Colonization of the
Americas would lead to Europeans buying African slaves in huge
numbers, which would have disruptive effects of African society.
Pre-Columbian America and the Beginning of
Colonization
The Effects of Isolation
Migration by the Land Bridge
The Last Ice Age: The last ice age lowered ocean levels, allowing
passage across the Bering Strait, over which Asian tribes moved into the
Americas and began to populate it. This happened somewhere around
13,000 BC.
Patterns of Migration: There seem to have been several waves of
immigration, each pushing earlier migrants further south, leading them to
push down finally to the southern tip of South America.
Technological backwardness due to lack of contact
Stone age arrival: The Native Americans arrived during the Stone Age,
and thus had only Stone Age level technology to start with.
Low levels of trade between regions: Only a few areas developed the
cities which are crucial to the rise of large scale trade which would spread
ideas quickly across large regions. Thus, things invented in one place
would spread slowly at best.
Contrast to Europe/Asia/Africa: By contrast, Europe and Asia had very
good trade contact for over a thousand years and weaker contacts before;
Africa had some contact, if not as much.
An isolated pool of animals, plants, and diseases
Lack of Draft Animals: Lack of Draft Animals made advanced
agriculture and thus the rise of cities much more difficult and also
hampered long-distance trade.
Fewer indigenous diseases: The few indigenous diseases failed to build
up the disease resistance the natives would need to survive contact with
Europe.
Cultural Impacts: Cities tended to be smaller or non-existant, nomads
had to roam on foot, and in general, this left the Americans in a weaker
position when the Europeans arrived.
Dominant Cultures
The Aztecs: They called themselves the Mexica. They came from the northwest
into the Valley of Mexico early in the 13th century, eventually ending up by 1325
on an island in Lake Texcoco. There, they founded Tenochtitlan and gradually
through alliances and wars built up an empire which controlled central Mexico.
The Valley of Mexico: The highlands of central Mexico were home to a
series of civilizations from about 1000 BC to the present. The Aztecs
were heirs to several thousand years of urbanization and agricultural
advance.
The Rise of the Aztecs: The Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Mexico in
the 1200s; driven to an island in the marshes of Lake Texcoco, they
gradually built up a set of islands from dredging marsh muck and grew
stronger, eventually conquering their neighbors in the 1400s. (Two
neighbors allied with the Aztecs to form a triple alliance: Tenochtitlan
(Aztecs), Texcoco, and Tlacopan).
The Aztec Empire: The Aztecs had a tributary empire; most of their
empire governed itself but paid tribute (payments of goods) to the Aztecs.
For example, 7000 tons of Maize and 2 million cotton cloaks flowed into
Tenochtitlan each year. Their subordinates largely hated them.
Human Sacrifice: The Aztecs believed the sun would go out (due to the
sun god Huitzilopochtli dying) if they didn't make frequent sacrifices to it
of human hearts from defeated warriors. This dictated a state of frequent
warfare to get sacrifices; in peace-time, the Aztecs would stage 'Flower
Wars', mutually agreed on ritual battles between cities for each side to get
captives to sacrifice. Various other human sacrifices (such as children to
Tlaloc the Rain God) were also carried out; no other nation sacrificed so
largely as the Aztecs.
Tenochtitlan: Three great causeways linked the island city to the
mainland, meeting at the ritual center. The ruler's palace and noble homes
surrounded the ritual center; the rest was divided into wards (calpulli).
The city was laid out on a grid of streets and canals. Aqueducts carried in
fresh water.
Aztec Society: Divided between nobles and commoners, with a sort of
intermediate class of merchants and artisans. Dress codes regulated
clothing. Laws were strict and punishments severe; nobles had more
rights but were also punished harder. Commoners were assigned to a
calpulli; each calpulli had its own temple. Each calpulli had its own
tribute obligation of wealth and goods; those who fell behind could be
enslaved.
Aztec Economy: Traders and merchants (pochteca) were important
figures in Aztec society. They organized guilds which set laws and
customs for trade. The Aztecs used cacao beans for small purchases and
fixed lengths of cotton cloth as money for large purchases. Money was
mainly used for purchases in the urban markets and by merchants who
traded between cities. In Aztec marketplaces, a small rabbit was worth 30
beans, a turkey egg cost 3 beans, and a tamal cost a single bean. For larger
purchases, standardized lengths of cotton cloth called quachtli were used.
There were different grades of quachtli, ranging in value from 65 to 300
cacao beans. One source stated that 20 quachtli could support a commoner
for one year in Tenochtitlan. A man could also sell his own daughter as a
sexual slave or future religious sacrifice, generally for around 500 to 700
beans. A small gold statue (approximately 0.62 kg / 1.37 lb) cost 250
beans.
Women in Aztec Society: They could hold property and inherit. They
could trade in the marketplace and they did craftwork. Girls and boys
were educated together in the 'song houses' and women could hold low
level priestly positions. However, women were kept out of war, which
kept them out of the high leadership roles; they were expected to pump out
babies. Death in childbirth or battle guaranteed one a position in the
afterlife.
Aztec Warfare: All young men were taught how to fight. Battles were
simple mass combats by individual warriors with little command, control,
or strategy; the goal was to take captives for sacrifice, so obsidian chipped
clubs were used.
Aztec Technology: The Aztecs had a mixture of high technology (better
sanitation than Europe, highly skilled use of irrigation and aquaducts,
expert stoneworking, expert gold and silvercrafting) and low technology
(no metal armor, weapons made of obsidian, no use of the wheel, little
ocean travel capacity). Though extremely complicated, the Aztec
calendar was very sophisticated. Tenochtitlan was bigger and cleaner and
generally nicer to live in than any European city but the Aztec military
technology was designed to capture people for sacrifice, not to fight guns,
metal weapons, and horses.
The Incan Empire
A Vast Empire: They controlled 2,600 miles of coastline at their height,
plus connected highlands. One of the largest in the world. They called
their land the Land of the Four Quarters, ruled from Cuzco. The Incas
only began to build their empire in the 15th century, by their own tradition.
(Some evidence shows this starts much earlier.) They imposed their
native tongue Quecha and used a mix of conquest, intimidation and
persuasion.
Absolute Monarchy: The God Emperor of the Inca Empire (quechua:
Inka Qhapaq) used the title of Sapa (the only one) and Apu (divinity). He
held absolute power in order to enforce the maintenance of the irrigation
networks on which his nation depended for survival. But this meant if the
Emperor died, there was a huge leadership vacuum.
Mountain Irrigation: Incan civilization revolved around the
maintenance of terraced irrigation networks in the mountains. This
required strong central control to force the continual maintenance of the
network and to distribute its fruits. The Inca diet consisted primarily of
potatoes and grains, supplemented by fish, vegetables, nuts, and maize
(corn). Camelid (llama and alpaca) meat and cuyes (guinea pigs) were also
eaten in large quantities. In addition, they hunted various wild animals for
meat, skins and feathers.
Primitive Socialism: The Inca leadership controlled all land and
collected all farm produce, storing it in warehouses, then redistributed it
according to need. These facilities also helped to feed the mita workers
and other state employees and were used for massive public and religious
ceremonies.
Labor Taxation: They divided agricultural lands into categories,
allowing some land to be kept by locals and other land dedicated to
producing goods for the empire. In the mita system, local people worked
for the state on a regular basis. Men also owed military service and labor
on public work projects. Some entire groups were relocated to meet labor
needs.
State Employees: Some groups worked full time for the state. The
mamakuna, Virgins of the Sun, were women who lived privileged but
celibate regulated lives in urban areas; they wove cloth and brewed the
ceremonial maize beer—chicha-- consumed at state religious festivals and
were sometimes given as brides to reward men. Full time male employees
of the state tended the royal Llama herds.
Dress Codes: Cloth and Clothing conveyed information about people's
rank and ethnicity.
Incan Technology: The Incans, like the Aztecs, shone in some areas and
were not very good at others. Architecture was by far the most important
of the Inca arts, with pottery and textiles reflecting motifs that were at
their height in architecture. They were stoneworkers of incredible skill,
able to build mortarless buildings where the stones fit so well, you couldn't
slide a knife between them. They carved mountainsides into terraces and
were skilled at jewelrymaking, art, math, and textile production. The Inca
made many discoveries in medicine. They performed successful skull
surgery, which involved cutting holes in the skull to release pressure from
head wounds. Coca leaves were used to lessen hunger and pain, as they
still are in the Andes. The Chasqui (messengers) chewed coca leaves for
extra energy to carry on their tasks as runners delivering messages
throughout the empire. Their only system of writing, however, was a sort
of knot code (Quipa), they knew little of bronze working and nothing of
iron working, and like the Aztecs, they didn't have the wheel. They fought
with cloth armor, wooden shields, and spears and bows of wood with
bronze or stone heads.
North America
Forest Tribes: In the eastern forests, tribes lived in semi-permanent
villages. They would burn down part of the forest and grow crops in the
ashes for several years, hunting to add meat to their diet. They built
movable villages out of hides and wood, and once the land grew infertile,
they moved and burned another swathe of forest. This is called Slash and
Burn agriculture. They were horticulturalists (use of hand tools for
agriculture). Women worked the fields; men handled everything in the
forest (including making things out of wood).
Mound Builders: From 3000 BC to 1500 AD, various peoples along the
Mississippi river, the Ohio River, and the Great Lakes built settlements
and ceremonial sites along the shores of these waterways. From
approximately 800 to 1500 A.D., the last of the major mound builder
cultures—the Mississippian-- flourished along the Mississippi river. They
built elaborate settlements on mounds and were ruled by local chieftans,
supported by a wealthy noble class, growing corn to support themselves
and engaging in elaborate artisan work and far flung trade. They had little
to no metalworking, however. They also had a shared religion.
Overpopulation, warfare, European diseases and the influx of horses
(leading some to become nomads) led to the collapse of this civilization by
somewhere between 1500 and 1600.
Plains Tribes: Before Europeans came, the tribes of the western plains
lived a difficult life as foot nomads, while the eastern plains tribes mixed
hunting on foot with horticulture along the rivers. The coming of the
horse enabled the plains nomads to become highly effective warriors, who
could hunt much more efficiently and fought each other for control of the
plains.
Great Basin Tribes: Not organized enough for agriculture, they lived in
family units and gathered and hunted for food, led by 'talkers'--wise men
of reknown. In some cases they had to eat grasshoppers and other insects.
Tribes such as the Shoshone and Paiutes
Pacific Northwest: Here, people lived in substantial permanent villages
supported by fishing. These peoples were the best sailors of North
America. They created the Totem Poles, intended to record and show off
the glories of their villages. Villages sometimes competed in contests of
conspicious consumption known as potlaches, in order to show which
village was better off. They built plank longhouses to live in on land.
Arid Southwest: Only the maintenance of irrigation networks made life
possible here. Life was town-based, and towns were built of adobe, or
else sometimes carved out of the sides of buttes and other defensive
locations.
The Columbian Exchange
Looking Westward: By the time of Spanish unification in 1488, the
Portuguese had a strong lead in controlling the African route to Asia. So
Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) proposed to Ferdinand of Aragon and
Isabella of Castille that he could sail west in order to reach the Indies.
Most people knew the world was round in 1488, contrary to later myths,
but they didn't know how big it was. Ironically, Columbus underestimated the size of the Earth, leading him to think it was only 2-3,000
miles from Spain to China. If he'd known the truth, he'd have never dared
to think he could survive going west.
The Four Voyages of Columbus: In 1492, he set out with 3 ships to
head to China; on October 12, 1492, he landed at San Salvador (Watling
Island) in the Bahamas. He didn't find any urban civilization like China,
but what he did find was enough to send him back 3 more times and to
begin creating colonies. Columbus conducted four voyages and served as
colonial governor (but was removed in disgrace). His men brought back
natives, tobacco, gold, chile peppers (which he stuck the name pepper on,
feeling them similar in taste to Indian Black Pepper), and many other
goods. Unfortunately, they also brought back syphillis, introduced
diseases which began slaughtering Caribbean natives, and because he
thought he'd reached India, created the misterming of American natives as
'Indians'.
America: Shortly after Columbus, Amerigo Vespucci (1451-1512) and
Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521) explored the coast of South America and
began mapping it. Amerigo named the new world after himself and the
name stuck. Magellan would go on to attempt to circumnavigate the
entire world, only to die in what is now the Phillipines.
The Conquistadores: Petty nobles and children of large familes who sought to
gain noble status by carving out lands for Spain in the Americas.
The Fall of Mexico: Hernan Cortez was appointed to open trade with the
Aztecs. Instead, he mounted a conquest of Mexico (1519 to 1521), allying
himself with tribes hostile to the Aztecs and eventually defeating them
through his superior military technology and the outbreak of a plague.
This was an incredible victory.
The Fall of the Incas: After a failed try, Francisco Pizarro reached the
Inca empire in the aftermath of a civil war, captured its ruler by a surprise
attack, killed him, and brought down the empire, though it took years to
suppress all resistance. The consolidation of Incan authority made it easy
for the empire to collapse with its leader gone. (Especially as the Spanish
set up a puppet Emperor to help in their conquest)
The Limits of Spanish Expansion: Spanish conquest could only be
easily sustained in places like Mexico and Peru where you could wipe out
the warriors at the top and get the Indian peasantry to then serve you. It
also required mineral wealth to sustain long-term rule. Many
conquistadors got lost and died of disease and battle.
The Ravages of Disease
Thresholds of Disease: As civilization grows larger, diseases can spread
more easily without wiping everyone out and killing themselves. Some
diseases can't spread easily outside climates adapted to them. (Malaria
needs mosquitos to spread, for example.)
How Plagues Spread: Plagues spread by human contact, animal vectors
and along trade routes. This had limited the spread of disease in the
Americas due to low trade levels; the result was that the Americas had few
wide spread disases and that they were vulnerable to ones that Europeans,
Asians, and Africans had adapted to centuries ago.
Demographic Catastrophe: The Spanish brought dozens of deadly
diseases to America, and over the next two centuries they fanned out
across the continent. 30-50% of the population of North America was
wiped out. In Mexico, 95% of the population died in the first century of
Spanish rule.
Exchange of Animals and Plants
Food Exchanges
The Potato: It became a staple of European diets.
Corn: It became a staple of European diets.
Beans and Squash: Also imported to Europe from the Americas.
The Yam: Brought from Africa to America
Wheat and Spices: Brought to the Americas from Europe and
Asia (America had spices of its own also)
Alcohol: Often disruptive to American Indian societies.
The Impact of the Horse and Cattle
End of the lack of draft animals: Agriculture became more
efficient and longer distance travel was possible.
Changes for the Plains Indians: They now became highly
effective hunters and warriors thanks to horses.