American History - Pro, 1, and 2 Flashcards
How did the first people come to N and SA?
- northern Asian wanderers migrated across a land bridge (exposed bc of glaciers) linking Siberia and Alaska, then moving down Americas
- 30,000 yrs. ago
Where was the heaviest concentration of natives?
central Mexico - Aztecs
About how many natives probably lived in NA?
5-10 million
What was the largest urban center in NA?
Cahokia - modern day St. Louis, 20,000, London
Natives = more/fewer languages?
more
Natives = more/less power among women?
more
What is a shaman?
individuals credited by the community with special powers to communicate with natural forces and the spirit world
roles of men and women
Natives:
-women = more power (ex-male Iroquois in council and senior women stood behind to force their influence)
-descent through mother’s line
-control over farming (planted and gathered) while men hunted
English:
-women viewed as accessory in some arranged marriages
-descent through father’s line
-male-dominated farming while women took care of household and children
attitudes toward property
Natives: -hunting/fishing rights, division of harvest, capture of brides = show off strength -land used, not owned (always moving across vast land), did not buy/sell land English: -property rights - "this is my land" -wars: devastating over property -"ownership," not roaming -saw that Indians had no prior claim
marriage and family
Natives:
-birth = major event (easy delivery, celebration, name after recent death)
-united two clans
-no true pattern for divorce/adultery/pre-marital sex
-no incest
English:
-birth not a big event, not an easy delivery
-united two families (business venture)
-above characteristics = frowned upon
religious beliefs
Natives: -agents of creation, instruments of blessing/curse, guides to immortality -active gods - many superstitions -priests = oracles -similar stories of flood to Bible English: -Protestant (Church of England vs. Puritans) vs. Catholic -believe in immortality and active God -bishops/pope = hear from God
Why is the study of native history different from the study of Euro history?
Native:
-archeology
-using dating methods when finding artifacts
-find out about them through evidence
Euro:
-written records: they tell us about themselves
-more geared toward historians
In what way is Columbus the “effective” discoverer of the New World?
- instigated voyage with Spain
- Vikings have previously traveled to NA and there were natives, so technically, he didn’t discover it
- brought back accounts of friendly natives, wanted to claim land for Spain, sought gold, advance Christianity
Discuss the relationship that existed between France and Spain. Why did they normally not claim or invade one another’s New World possessions?
- didn’t have many interactions because the French invested and grew wealthy in fur trade
- Newfoundland/New England
- Spanish = Caribbean/gold/slave trade
- only interaction = French inspired by Spanish to send explorers (Cartier and Verrazzano)
The Renaissance
“Age of Discovery”
- recovered ancient tests and brought Roman/Greek culture back
- fresh inspiration and imagination led explorers to take risks and throw off tradition
Reformation
- faith above works - no indulgences, don’t have to work for your faith inspired a philosophy of equality
- throwing off Catholic tradition - pope = irritation, don’t seek his help as much (leads to Church of England which then leads to Pilgrims)
- “calling” - dedicated labor to let the world know the gospel (inspired a capitalist society - more work)
the growth of nations
- Spain = powerful force both militarily and spiritually (promoted Catholicism to New World - Ignatius Loyola)
- France - caught up in religious war (protestants vs. Catholics) - St. Bartholomew’s Day
- spiritual wars = faith defining characteristic of nations (nationalism which promoted exploration)
Why did European nations appear to have no moral or religious constraints against slavery in this era?
- saw themselves as conquerors/discoverers so they had authority over all the earth
- they did not have “civilization” and did not speak the “civilized” language
- needed workers for tobacco plantations
Positive and negative results of interaction between natives and english
Positive: helped colonists survive with intro of tobacco and other crops, gospel message
Negative: disease killed off multitude of Indians, pushing Indians off their land
Jamestown
Virginia Company of London, economic venture (make money), settled New World for monarch, “new and abundant opportunity,” unemployment
Maryland
Lord Baltimore = proprietor, haven for Catholics who were being persecuted in England but Charles I (being a Catholic) granted Calvert land (Baltimore’s father)
Plymouth
conformity to Catholic law was demanded, so Separatists were often placed in jail, fled to Holland to escape persecution but disliked it, so cont. on to “Virginia,” Mayflower
Massachusetts Bay
-conform vs. defy, Charles I = even harsher than James I, Charles I dissolved Parliament = applied for charter directly to king under MBC
In what way was tobacco a mixed blessing to the Virginia colony?
- Indians used it to survive 4-5 day without food/water
- medicinal purposes
- product that could sell (1.5 million pounds)
- problems in getting the seeds (had to be imported from Caribbean/Venezuela
- unhealthy
- slaves/binding labor
