Download Ch.1: When Old Worlds Collide: Contact, Conquest, Catastrophe

Ch.1: When Old Worlds Collide: Contact, Conquest, Catastrophe—Outline
I.
Peoples in Motion
1. North & South America are made up of immigrants, going all the way back to the
Native Americans.
2. There were five groups of immigrants that came across the Americas before
Columbus; 3 from Asia, 1 from the Pacific Islands/Oceania and 1 from Northern
Europe.
3. People from Asia used Beringia, a large land bridge, to get to America-where they
survived the harsh climates and environment of the Arctic Circle.
4. As sea levels rose, humans spread throughout the Americas and Beringia went
underwater.
5. There were 3 waves of Asians like Algonquian, Iroquoian, Mayans, Apache, Navajo,
and Inuits which all had different languages such as Amerind and Na-Dene.
6. The weather became hot and the animals had to adjust to it but there were hunters
who also took part in the extinction of large animals.
7. During the Great Extinction, the human population declined because the large
animals were dying out, and that caused people to raise domestic animals, that first
picked diseases (such as smallpox) and later passed them to humans.
8. Trying to adapt to the changes, Maritime people went to the Atlantic Ocean to catch
sea creatures (including Swordfish) and started a culture that included ocher in
funeral ceremonies, they built impressive religious monuments, yet no one knows
why the culture collapsed.
9. Native people from Brazil, Florida, and New England, got along well without
becoming farmers, while California people collected acorns and those in the Pacific
Northwest sustained themselves by hunting and edible plants.
10. North Americans began to harvest crops, which became to be known as the Neolithic
evolution and farm villages began to spread to Peru, South central Mexico, Northeast
Mexico, and the South Western U.S., which launched a population surge.
11. Polynesians sailed from Southeast Asia to the Pacific, and during the next 2000 years
they managed to settle hundreds of Islands and carry essentials safely across open sea,
which was their largest amount of trading goods and trading was normally taken
place on Tropical Islands.
12. It is yet unknown if the Polynesians traveled past Hawaii, but if any of them did, they
left no “discernible influence” on Indian societies, but there is the question of who
brought sweet potatoes to Hawaii, yet no one knows.
13. Vikings occupied Iceland in A.D. 874 and Erik the Red led his Norse followers
farther west to Greenland and then the Norse made Europe’s first contact with Inuits
and established permanent settlements.
14. The Norsemen were a German group of invaders that used longboats with sails and
oars to travel against the currents of the north of the Atlantic.
15. In 1014, the son of Erik the Red, Leif established a colony named “Vinland” but was
then abandoned that same year because Freydis, Erik’s “bastard” daughter, murdered
her brother along with quarrels in the colony.
16. The last Norsemen died about 500 years later because of the Black Death in Europe
and Greenland; the Black Death affected them and soon withered away and lost
Greenland.
II. Europe and the World in the 15th century
1. In the 1400, European expansion began to grow unexpectedly even though the
commerce was awful.
2. In the 15th century, China outshone the Europeans and all the other countries by
inventing the compass, gunpowder, the printing press, paper money, and also by trading
merchandise such as silk and tea.
3. Between 1405 and 1434, the royal eunuch Cheng Ho led an expedition from China to
East India and the coast of east Africa to learn about the outside world which merely
confirmed their beliefs that other cultures had little to offer their celestial kingdom.
4. In the 1400s the Europeans suffered from many disadvantages due to Europe’s location
on the Atlantic rim of the Eurasian continents, therefore, Eurasian continents made the
access to Asia trade difficult and costly.
5. Europeans desired many items that many other countries had, for example, fine silk
from China, and East Indian spices, but they had to pay in silver.
6. In the 15th century, Europe’s influence was shrinking, china was content but the
Islamic states were embarking on a phase of expansion.
7. Europe made many agricultural advances in the middle ages, however, the farms
couldn’t support any more growth because the population was up to 100 million but in
the 1340s the bubonic plague reduced the population to 1500 people, the farms had time
to recuperate.
8. By the end of the plague, Europe had advanced quite a bit, the renaissance revived
interest in literature, and in 1430 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press,
therefore information in Europe began circulating rapidly.
9. All Europeans kingdoms had to trade with other countries, but the other kingdoms
began to compete with one another to gain resources and military techniques, therefore in
1520 European armies could out sail and outfight all rivals.
10. Europe had a heritage of expansion that derived from the crusaders efforts to conquer
holy land and in 1244 Islamic expansion influenced the world, but Christian Europe
gained only a few islands and learned many lessons in the process.
11. Colonies should produce a staple crop, partly through slavery, however slavery
wasn’t as cruel as it later came to be in the Americas.
12. Portugal was a petite country, with very few people, and what seemed to be a dim
future ahead.
13. However, Portugal also had several advantages, among them an efficient government,
internal peace and a beneficial location.
14. At first Portugal was only interested in short term gains, until they discovered that an
Atlantic voyage to coastal points of the Sahara could undercut Arab traders and give them
a profit, but the Portuguese sailors faced a huge problem, the Cape Bajador.
15. Prince Henry boldly sponsored 15 expeditions and in the year 1434 one of the
expeditions succeeded, the sailors went to the Atlantic, however, he quickly lost interest
in Portugal Expansion, so they decided to go back to Europe, later on other men sailed
beyond the Sahara and this is when their efforts finally began to pay off.
16. The Portuguese navigated through oceans by improving vessels and inventing the
Arabs Astrolabe which made maps and charts more exact.
17. The Portuguese brought weapons, and cannons to their ship to attack rivals when
necessary.
18. Portugal continued to explore the African Coast in search for money and a shorter
route to Asia, and then they landed in Sahara where they found gold, ivory and slaves.
19. West Africa was agricultural and used iron before the Europeans, they also supplied
Europe with the majority of their gold, and the empire of Mali was declining in 1450,
therefore when the Portuguese left their empire fell completely.
20. As the Portuguese continued, they found colonies that were inhabited, such as the
Madeira Islands, Azores and Cape Verde; the Portuguese island planters produced sugar
or wine with the use of slavery.
21. Africans were enslaved by other Africans, but the Portuguese established small posts
or “factories” where slaves would be purchased from local rulers.
22. Slavery was less brutal in Africa then in Europe
23. Europe and Africa differed in religion and since Africans devoted themselves to
various religions; religion was not an opposition in packing and selling fellow Africans.
24. Portuguese paid for themselves through goods, such as ivory, gold and especially
slaves.
25. The Portuguese established a chain of naval bases to secure Asian Trade and the
missionaries’ even impact Japan.
26. Portugal could hardly keep their colonies as they were outnumbered by native people.
27. In order to sustain overseas expansion, many countries learned from each other’s
experiences as well as having support from their home country.
28. Slaves from other countries were brought to America in order to sustain the economy
of the country as this was necessary for expansion.
29. Very few people expected to work, as the people who came to colonize the country
were people of high social status, this would allow nobles to abuse the “commoners”.
30. Intolerable Spain captured Granada forcing 80,000 Jews to flee into more tolerable
lands such as Portugal.
III. SPAIN, COLUMBUS, AND THE AMERICAS
1.
Portuguese moved east, Spaniards moved west, Portugal colonized Madeira and
Azures and Guancles was almost cut-off from Africa and Europe.
2.
Prince Ferdinand of Aragon married Princess Isabella of Castile and they ended
up inheriting their thrones and formed a modern Spain.
3.
Isabella and Ferdinand took over Granada, and forced Jesus to change to
Christianity or be expelled from Spain.
4.
Christopher Columbus asked for ships to sail west of the Atlantic to reach Eastern
Asia.
5.
The Portuguese scoffed at him, but Isabella put him in charge of three ships for
his voyage.
6.
All of what Christopher Columbus did was based on his belief that he had a role
on when Jesus would return.
7.
Columbus kept two records of the voyage; a real one for himself and a fake one
for his crew, which turned out to be more accurate than his.
8.
Christopher Columbus landed on the Bahamas thinking he was in the Indies and
had to abandon the Santa Maria along with some of his men as he sailed back.
9.
Pope Alexander VI then issued a bull that divided non-Christian lands between
Spain and Portugal, which were adjusted in the Treaty of Tordesillas.
10.
Columbus was thought to be untrustworthy because he had a poor image and
spoke Castellan with his Portuguese accent.
11.
The Spaniards brought livestock to the island, which ate up the food source of the
natives, who soon died off quickly, due to continuous forced labor for the Spaniards.
12.
Spaniards proceedes with their New World exploration with Juan Ponce de Leon
in search of the legendary Fountain of Youth.
13.
In 1519, the Hernan Cortez discovered the Aztec empire and invaded it.
IV. The Emergence of Complex Societies in the Americas
1.
America was long developed way before European settlers arrived.
2.
The spread of farming and agriculture helped change the lives of the people.
3.
Native Americans began living the lifestyles in which they didn’t migrate as
much.
4.
Women had to farm and men had to hunt, but Native Americans had to migrate
elsewhere after they finished consuming all of the natural resources the land had to offer.
5.
Living in a sedentary village, Indians did not own there own land, it was there
chiefs who had possession of all the land.
6.
The spread of farming produced another population surge among sedentary and
semi-sedentary people.
7.
Even if they had large and even the most complex societies in the Americas
remained in the stone age culture, but the Indians did make some use of the metals, as a
more decorative then practical use.
8.
The Andean irrigation system which was discovered that it was for a more
productive use than a system using modern fertilizers and machines.
9.
The new community was built around a u-shaped temple about 3 stories high and
some of the earliest temples where pyramids.
10.
Pre-Columbian classic history in south America consisted of the Mochia Culture,
who made pottery and built pyramids, then their was the Tiwanahu culture who grew
food plants and cotton.
11.
The Tiwanahu collapsed at the end of the 10th century A.D. Due to a drought, also
the Andean culture collapsed between the 6th and 11th century due to conquest of the
Tiwanahuans
12.
The Nazca people have unique textiles that show different patterns and amaze
tourist.
13.
The Inca civilization rose in 1400 A.D. They ruled 8 to 12 million people, which
no empire could match.
14.
Mesoamerica experienced a cycle also but in a shorter period.
15.
The Olmecs influenced culture along the Gulf Coast with their arrival and time it
thrived for centuries.
16.
Olmec artifacts were a defined art style. The enormous stone heads that were
made to honor their rulers were by far the most distinctive. The Olmecs were also
responsible for the first ball parks and pyramids in Mesoamerica.
17.
The Olmecs developed their own calendar system, consisting of 52 years. It was
later on adapted by the Aztec civilization.
18.
The belief that sacrifice of a god was necessary to set the sun on motion held a
huge amount of power and importance within Mesoamerica for roughly 3,000 years.
19.
The Olmecs were out shined by incoming cultures. One of them being the
city/empire of Teotihuacan which emerged in Central Mexico, but was later on destructed
due to conquest.
20.
Classic Mayan culture was very urban and centralized, but also had it’s fair share
of ecological crisis due to expansion
21.
In 300 A.D. the Mayans began to record their history, which many scholars have
tried to decipher their language to discover.
22.
Following the fall of Teotihuacan, the classic Mayan culture began to collapse 50
years after. This tampered with the Mayan trade system.
23.
Refugees from the south fled to the northern lowlands of the Yucatan, where
Mayan traits were preserved.
24.
A group of warrior people named the Aztecs, migrated from the north.
Tenochtitlan, was the great city they built, among with clever ways to grow their food.
However, over population caused famine.
25.
The Aztecs feeling that they had to prove themselves as a worthy empire they
waged unnecessary wars and performed sacrificial ceremonies.
26.
The Spaniards and the Indians of Mesoamerica, combined their forces, to bring
down the Aztecs, while local neighboring societies shared their religious beliefs.
V. Contact and Cultural Misunderstanding
1. While Europe was becoming more aware of history they were not ready for the culture
shock that awaited them in the America.
2. When Christians found out that Indians existed they questioned whether Indians had a
soul or whether they were god’s children so they concluded that they may have rejected
there spiritual message.
3. The Native Americans did not understand why their religious sacrifices made them
satanic when Europeans also killed people for religious purpose.
4. The Native Americans were not able to understand the difference between human
sacrifice and punishment because Europeans never bothered to explain.
5. When the Europeans tried to teach the Native Americans about Catholics worship
centered around the mass and Eucharist, the Native americans believed the Europeans ate
their god, but disapproved of sacrifice.
6. When Europeans tried to convert Native Americans they received mixed results at
best, because there was never a solid mutual understanding of each other culture.
7. The Europeans and Indians started war for different reasons, and both sides saw each
other’s reasons as barbaric.
8.The Europeans changed the Indians organization when the males felt that they were
being discriminated by how the women were in control.
VI. Conquest and Catastrophe
1. Although Spanish conquistadores had small armies they allied with the Indians and
took over empires larger than Spain
2. After Cortes captured Moctezuma in 1519 he and his men destroyed the Aztecs
religious objects which caused the Azecs to go against Cortes' men and therefore
Moctezuma was killed and Cortes moved to Tlaxcalans were he build armaments that
destroyed Tenochtitlans.
3. Francisco Pizarro found the Inca empire and spread there disease (smallpox), he also
held Atahualpa hostage and strangled him which angered the Indians, who besieged the
Spaniards, but Pizarro still prevailed.
4. In 10 years spanish soldiers and Indains allies conquered Zenormous empires, by
1540's the Spanish finally located the bonanza they locked for fabulous silvermines, the
exploits of conquistadors was a source for Spain's wealth and power for 100s of years
5. Cabeza de Vaca 1 of 4 surviors of Panfilo de Narvae's disasterous 1528 expedition to
Florida, went back to Mexico and published his adventures in tales of "golden cities" but
died before finding them, his companions continued but found nothing leaving only their
diseases behind
6. The conquistadores departed to ,while Spanish priest tried to convert 1000s of North
American Indains to Catholic faiths and in 1570 the Jesuits established a mission in what
is now know as Virgina , but was wiped out by the Indians.
7. 1573, King Phillip II issued to the Royal Orders for New Discoveries that made it
illegal to enslave Indians or even attack them so unarmed priest were able to bring groups
of Indians and peacefully convert them into Catholics subjects of Spain.
8. Maria De Jesus de Agrede, had claimed the angles had carried her across the Atlanitic,
where she preached to Indians in her own language.
9. Spaniards had built their missions within the permanent villages of northern Florida or
pueblo communities of New Mexico later, Spanish incursion went to New Mexico and
began the slaughter of 800 Indain men, women, and children in the year 1599.
10. In 1630 around 86,00 pueblos belonging to the Apache and Navajo Indians in Mexico
had accepted baptism a catholic practice.
11. Encomienda worked because it resembled the way Aztec and the Incas had routinely
devided labor for their own massive public building canal irrigation project not only that
but the king intervened to correct abuses and limit labor tribute to projects that the Crown
initaited such as mining and the construction of churches or other public buildings.
12. The Franciscans brutally and systematically torchured Mayan to try to convert them
to Catholic even the slightest clue that they were worshiping there own gods would be
conisdered Satan worship and will often lead to human sacrifice as a consequence.
13. Disease brouht by Spaniards killed thousand resulting in a drop of population.
14. Spain created the Council of Indies to keep peace in the colonies.
15 .Indians were soon being replaced by African Americans due to the fact that there
were more, Brazil became the major market for slaves until the 1640's when the West
Indies took over the market
16. Philip II had the largest army in which he held turks down; Spain had lots of american
silver and also had a strong christom belief.
17. Serfdom was a labor stysyem in the 1200's in which peasants could not move not be
sold, it became replaced by free labour in the 15th century.
18. Spain mined precious metals in which they used to pay their debts, concluded from
"encomienda".
19. Spain had lots of silver but with all of its debts and cost of war its moneys started
going down, also because it populaton almost doubled in 1580 but it went down later by
20 percent.
VII. Explanations: Patterns of Conquest, Submission, and Resistance
1. Most 18th century Europeans believed that the discovery of America was a mistake but
the success of the America Revolution quieted them until recently, especially in the
developing world.
2. The Europeans were more advanced because if the trade but the Native Americans
weren’t because they didn’t have access to trade because of the continents’ terrain.
3. Not only were Europeans seizing land from Native Americans, but they were also killing
them with their foreign disease.
4. The resources grown by the Europeans were very useful in America and were exported to
Europe, Asia, and Africa, and the historian by the name of Alfred W. Crosby called this
large process “The Columbian Exchange”, ranked one of the most important events of all
time.