Chapter 1 - 1000-1600: Europeans Came To America Flashcards

Question

What things were introduced to EUROPE from AMERICA?

Answer 1

1. most importantly, corn and potatoes. 2. sweet potatoes, tomatoes, blueberries, peanuts, pumpkins, and turkeys 3. diseases like yellow fever and syphilis 4. plants with medicinal qualities, such as quinine and ipecac 5. tobacco

Answer 2

For virtually the entire sixteenth century, the Western Hemisphere (including North America) was a Roman Catholic domain. Almost all of the original Christian institutions and endeavors in the New World were engineered by Roman Catholics from Spain. (English Protestants would not settle in Virginia until 1607 and in Massachusetts until 1620.) Thousands of Native American Indians became at least nominal Christians due to Roman Catholic mission work during the 1500s. Roman Catholic churches were constructed throughout the New World and were staffed by Spanish priests, friars, nuns, and Jesuits. The first hymnal to be printed in the Americas was a Roman Catholic book of worship music; it was published in Mexico City in 1556. It is likely that the first American missionary martyr was a Franciscan priest: Juan de Padilla was killed by Indians in modern day Kansas while engaging in a preaching tour. Roman Catholicism (as projected by Spain) enjoyed something like a religious monopoly in what is today the U.S. Southwest until the mid-1800s. For example, between 1769 and 1845, Franciscans founded twenty-one Roman Catholic missions in present-day California. There was no Protestant influence here during this time. By the same token, France controlled present-day Canada, much of the Great Lakes region, and the vast Mississippi River basin from 1608 (when Samuel de Champlain founded Quebec) until about 1760. Like Spain, France was a Roman Catholic state that deliberately exported its Catholicism to the New World. Almost all French trappers, settlers, soldiers, and merchants were Roman Catholics. They arrived in North America with Catholic priests, nuns, and Jesuits; together, they built a French Catholic culture in North America that included many Native American Indian converts.

Answer 3

Resource extraction. The Spanish cared only for resource extraction and didn't plant colonies with blacksmiths, farmers, coopers, etc. They made no effort to secure the vast North American continent. When Spain encountered difficulties in Europe, they were unable to maintain their outposts, partially due to the fact that they were dependent on Spain and were not self sufficient. By 1600, Spain's empire had atrophied, and by 1700, it had vanished.

Answer 4

Britain was very slow to get explorers to the Americas, and lost money for the first 50 years of colonization. Britain succeeded longterm because they realized that colonies needed to be self-sustaining. Unlike Spain, Britain's throne hadn't the sufficient wealth or power to organize a state sponsored colonization.

Answer 5

France established trading posts s in southern Canada along the St. Lawrence River and the Great Lakes. France also explored the Mississippi River and planted a settlement at New Orleans in 1718. They sent Jesuit missionaries who also had success. The French established no permanent/self sustaining colonies, partially due to a lack of potential immigrants.

Answer 6

Dutch power from 1600-1670 allowed them to establish some power in the New World, including trading posts and a fort in present-day Albany, NY. This was limited by fading Dutch power, as well as the decision of the Dutch West India Company to focus on the colonization of Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean. By the mid-1600s, the Dutch could not protect or sustain their outposts in the Americas, and they were assimilated by the English.

Answer 7

A. Imperial overstretch. Spain's immediate wealth emboldened them to expand their empire beyond their ability to maintain and protect it. Spain's new wealth and power led other European states to seek to balance Spanish hegemony. These wars bankrupted Spain, led to increased taxes (to the point that a Spanish peasant was paying 10 times what an English farmer paid.) This resulted in Spain borrowing from Italian, German, and Flemish bankers. By early 1600's, 2/3 of crown revenue went to paying interest on its debts. This ravaged Spain's state run colonial efforts. B. Joint stock companies. England allowed the practice of groups of investors pooling their money, allowing the mobilization of large amounts of capital. This further relieved the crown of any financial burden in establishing these colonies.Some have called this privatized imperialism. The Virginia colony was born this way: from a joint stock company of 56 London firms, and 659 individual investors. C. England allowed religious dissidents to populate its colonies, providing family units to create sustainable colonies. These colonists were highly motivated to succeed so they didn't have to return to England. D. Several economic and demographic factors in England created a large supply of willing immigrants. The population of England doubled in the 1500s. At the same time, wealthy English landowners forced peasants off the land, fencing in fields to create pastures for sheep that would provide wool for the profitable woolen industry. Because of this enclosure movement, England had three times as many sheep as people in 1600. At the same time that the population was soaring and farmers were being pushed off their land, inflation created an army of impoverished Englishmen. (This inflation was sparked by the influx of American bullion into the European economy.) Prices tripled and in some cases increased five-fold during the 1500s. The population of London alone increased from 75,000 in 1500 to 200,000 in 1600. This created a vast pool of poor and landless English peasants — most of whom were skilled farmers — who were prime candidates for immigration to America. Unlike the Spanish, these Englishmen sought land to farm rather than gold to extract. E. Writers such as Richard Hakluyt propagated the idea of colonizing America, rallying support among the population.