Unit 1 : 1491 - 1607 Flashcards
What were the civilizations in Central and South America like?
- 3 major civilizations
- large urban centers
- complex political systems
- well formed religions
Aztecs (aka Mexica)(Central America)
- capital city in Tenochtitlan, home to 30,000
- written language
- complex systems of irrigation
- priests
- human sacrifice
Maya (Central America)
- Yucatan Peninsula
- large cities
- complex irrigation
- large stone temples
- palaces
- ruler were believed to be descended from the gods
Inca (South America)
- Andes Mountains along pacific coast, modern day Peru
- massive empire, 16 million people, 350,000 sq miles
- success was in cultivation of fertile mountain valleys
- grew potatoes + other crops
- elaborate irrigation system
All 3 major Central and South American civilization had what?
Maize:
- corn like crop
- nutritious
- spread North into present day American Southwest
Supported:
- economic development
- settlement of peoples
- advanced irrigation
- social diversification among societies
Pueblo Peoples (North America)
- present day New Mexico, Arizona
- sedentary population
- farmers of Maize and other crops
- build Adobe and masonry homes, both in the open and right into the side of cliffs
- highly organized
- administrative offices
- religious centers
- craft shops
Great Plains + Great Basins Region (North America)
- nomadic hunter gatherers
- needed lots of land due to aridity
- Ute Peoples
Ute Peoples (Great Plains + Great Basins Region) (North America)
- small egaliterean kinship based bands
Pacific Northwest Region (North America)
- lived by the sea and settled themselves into fishing villages
- relied on elk found in abundance in their forests
- Chinook Peoples
Chinook Peoples (Pacific Northwest Region) (North America)
- made use of the great cedar trees to construct giant plank houses
- could house up to 70 members of the same kinship band
Chumash Peoples (North America)
- lived on coast, but further south in present day in California
- hunter gatherers, BUT lived in permanent settlements
- constructed settlements in places where there was enough game and vegetation to support them
Mississippi River Valley Region (North America)
- much larger, complex societies
- fertile soil surrounding the rivers
- societies could stay put, farm, and develop
Hopewell Peoples (North America)
- lived in towns of about 4000-6000 people
- traded extensively with other regions, as far as Florida and the Rocky Mountains
Cahokia Peoples
- largest settlements in that region
- up to 10000-30000 people
- government was led by powerful chieftans
- centralized
- engaged in extensive trade networks, from Great Lakes down to Gulf of Mexico
Iroquois (Northeast Region) (North America)
- lived in villages of several hundred people
- grew crops, maize, squash, beans
- lived in Longhouse, with 30-50 family members
What were the reason for exploration during this period?
- population increase after black plague
- political unification in individual European societies
– led to centralized gov. ruled by powerful monarchs - desire for luxury goods rose from agricultural and commercial profits
– wealthy upperclass wanted luxury goods imported from Asia
Why did Europeans go to sea and not land for exploration?
- during 14th - 15th centuries, land based routes were largely controlled by muslims, so Europeans couldn’t establish trade with Asia without a middleman
- wanted to find a water based route to Asia so they could trade
What was Portugal’s contribution to exploration?
- Portugal was the first to attempt finding water-based route
- Prince Henry the Navigator attempted to find a passage via Atlantic Ocean
– not to sail it, but to go around Africa - used maritime technology in new ways
Caravels
trading ships dedicated to trade as opposed to war
Maritime Charts + Astronomical Tables
helped with planning routes
Astrolobe and Stern-Post Rudder
improved navigation
What was Spain’s Contribution?
- monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand united Spain under Catholic Christianity
- reconquest of Iberian Peninsula, taken from muslims
- joined Portugal in the game of finding a water-based route
– additional motive of spreading Christianity - established trading posts in Africa, India, Asia
Cristopher Columbus
- italian sailor
- came to Isabella and Ferdinand seeking sponsorship to sail west to find route to Asia
- 1492 set sail West
– thought he landed in East Indies, but was the Caribbean, San Salvador Island
– called inhabitants Indians and it stuck
– Indians were hospitable - sailed back to Spain with samples of gold jewelry and Native Slaves
- more Spaniards came back
Colombian Exchange
- transfer of food, animals, minerals, people, and disease between Africa, Europe, and the Americas
- transformed societies and economies and environments of all 3 continents
What was the impact of disease on the natives and Europeans?
- the Spanish conquered Tenochtitlan, despite having only 1,000 men to Tenochtitlan’s 300,000-400,000 people
- Hernan Cortes was leader of conquistadors who conquered Tenochtitlan, but most of his 1,000 men were allies from ANOTHER group of native people
- successful because of disease, mainly smallpox, ravaging the Native peoples
Why:
- Americans had been isolated for millennia, so they had no immunity
- when the Spanish landed on island of Hispaniola, the brought smallpox with them, the Native Arawak and Taino people were devastated to about 300,000 dead.
- same with the Incas
– in 1530 had populations of 9 million and a century later only 500,000
- Aztecs, Maya, and all surrounding regions had about 40 million in 1530, BUT 150 years later, had a combined 3 million
Food in the Colombian Exchange
AMERICAS TO EUROPE:
- high yielding nutritious food
- maize, tomatoes, potatoes, cacao, tobacco
EUROPE/AFRICA TO AMERICAS:
- rice, wheat, soybeans, rye, oats, lemons, oranges
- grain crops transformed populations, became staple food
Animals in the Colombian Exchange
EUROPE/AFRICA TO AMERICAS:
- horses, pigs, cattle, chicken
- pigs and cattle transformed diets in Americas
- horses revolutionized farming and warfare
Minerals in the Colombian Exchange ft. Spain
- gold + silver after Incan and Aztec empires were conquered
– Spanish plundered for their vast quantities of gold and silver - when all that money was sent back to Spain, it made them wealthy beyond belief
- new source of wealth was a motive for colonizers to keep returning
- starting a little after 1500, Europe/Western Europe began experiencing unprecedented economic growth
– significant consequences to how their society functioned
What is Feudalism, and how did it end?
- social system where peasants lived and worked on the land of a noble in exchange for armed protection
- influx of wealth led to the end of feudalism
- creation of capitalism
What is Capitalism?
- economic system based on private ownership in the free and open exchange of goods between property owners
What is Mercantilism?
- dominant economic system during this time
- depended on heavy governmental direction and intervention
- Spanish colonization effort was driven by the state and specifically mercantilism
- how Spanish financed exploration and how other colonizing nations would later innovate upon this
– later privatize exploration with new model of funding (JOINT STOCK COMPANIES)
Labor, Slavery, and Caste in Spanish America
- when Europeans got involved in the African slave trade, the system of bondage changed significantly
SLAVERY:
- slavery had a long history
– usually prisoners of war or people sold in payment for the death of another person
- had some legal rights
–bondage was not a permanent situation
– almost never inheritable bondage
BUT:
- during this period, Europeans began establishing ports along African coast in places like gold coast
– in those ports, they traded goods for enslaved people, most desired were guns
– enslaved people came from communities that were raided/conquered by other African groups
— once these groups had guns they became even more powerful
How did slavery persist for so long? Why were the Natives not kept for slavery? What was the biblical story behind slavery?
- European purchasers adopted thought systems that proved the inferiority of the black people and helped them justify purchasing them as enslaved labor
- Starting with the Spanish, increasing number of slaves were brought to solve the labor issue they were facing
– Native Americans were not good sources of labor since they knew the geography of the land and could escape easily
Example:
- from Bible; Noah had a son named Ham. Ham had a son named Canaan. One day got drunk and passed out naked. Ham came in, saw Noah, and instead of covering his father, he went out and started telling others about it. Noah cursed Ham’s son Canaan. Canaan would be a servant all his days.
- Europeans during 15th and 16th century postulated that Africans had been descended from Canaan, there for it was “biblical” to enslave them
- NOT WHAT BIBLE SAID, it was only what Europeans told themselves
Who introduced the Encomienda System? What was it? How was it justified?
- Christopher Columbus introduced the system into the Caribbeans
- a system in which leading men, called ENCOMENDEROS, were granted a portion of land
– all natives that lived on the land became coerced labor force for the farming/mining/boat - justified on “religious” grounds
- motivation for Spanish exploration to spread Christianity supported the encomienda system
- Ferdinand and Isabella issued a legal document called REQUERIMIENTO
What was the Requerimiento document? How did it impact the natives? What social class changes did it bring?
- pope granted Spanish Monarchs the authority to claim lands in Americas to convert whomever they found
- had to send priests
– priests required the protection of the crown
– if the Natives submitted to conversion, they received protection
– if they resisted, they forfeited protection of crown and could be subjugated or killed - Natives could not be enslaved properly because of the continuous death from disease and since they knew the land better than the Europeans to escape
- Spanish became wealthy (only nobles
– silver rose prices, which led to the impoverishment of the peasants
How was the Native treatment by the Europeans? (Spanish, English, French)
SPANISH:
- bad
- overwhelmingly subjugated through encomienda system
- Bartolome de Las Casas
ENGLISH:
- okay sometimes
- engaged in conflict, but also traded and were helped by the English
FRENCH:
- good
- positive relationships for economic benefits
- fur trade, alliance, and trading posts
- against British
What was the Caste System in the Americas? Why did they need it?
- based on racial ancestry
- Spanish gov. needed a way to impose taxes, those on bottom were taxed more in Spanish society
– place in hierarchy determined how much tax you owed
Peninsulares + Place in Hierarchy?
Top to Bottom: #1/6
born in Spain
Criollos + Place in Hierarchy?
Top to Bottom: #2/6 Hierarchy
Spanish, but born in America
Mestizos + Place in Hierarchy?
Top to Bottom: #3/6 Hierarchy
Spanish + Native Ancestry
Mullattoes + Place in Hierarchy?
Top to Bottom: #4/6
Spanish + African Ancestry
Africans + Place in Hierarchy?
Top to Bottom: #5/6
African Ancestry
Natives + Place in Hierarchy?
Top to Bottom: #6/6
Native Ancestry
What is Hegemony? Who used it?
- domination of one nation or group by another
- Spanish were hegomonizing
– ones in charge
– as they continued to expand North, after 1573, the manner of their expansion changed
– sent missionaries to convert natives to Christianity
What was the Mission System? How did the Natives and Europeans interact? How did they benefit from each other?
- new form of directing the establishment of settlements through missionaries
- both groups adopted part of the others culture that they found useful
- divergent world views led to misunderstandings?
- Native Americans were eager to get a hold of the metal tools being traded by the Europeans to use for farming, hunting, horses and guns for warfare
- Europeans wanted access to the lucrative North American fur trade, arranged marriages with native American women to secure trading rights with different people
How were the Natives and Spanish different?
- priests faced Native Americans who had differing world views on religion, land use, family, etc.
NATIVES:
- pantheist / Animist
- land was not a commodity
- kinship networks of up to 70 people
SPANISH:
- Catholic
- land existed for private ownership
- focused on nuclear family
Why did conflict occur between the Pueblo peoples and the Spanish?
- what priests meant by conversion and what Pueblo people meant by conversion were very conflicting
- Christianity requires convert’s total devotion, rejection of all other gods
– Pueblo had expansive spiritual vision of the world and dieties
– had no problem bringing Christ into their pantheon of Gods - priests tried to force singular devotion to Christ
- led to PUEBLO REVOLT
What was the Pueblo Revolt?
- forced conversion + experience drought + attacks from other Native groups
– Pueblo decided the cause of EVERYTHING was Spanish invaders and their Christ
– rose up to kill 400 Spanish
Pope:
- in lead of revolt
- burned down churches
- victory for Pueblo
However:
- reconquered 12 years later
- priests in Europe saw Natives as inferior
– believed they were helping them become better
Who was Bartolome de Las Casas? What did he defend? What was his stance towards Africans?
- priest who spent many years preaching among the Indians
- defended them
– argued that if Spain continued to be brutal and kill Natives, their souls would be lost to God
– Natives who survived would hate Christianity as a result of Spanish Colonial Policies - did not care about the African souls
– suggested Africans to replace the Natives the forced labor system
