Period 1 1491 1607 Mr Websters Class Timeline

Period 1: 1491 -1607 Mr. Webster’s Class

Timeline • 1492 – Christopher Columbus “discovers” America • 1494 – Treaty of Tordesillas • 1501 – First African slaves sent to Caribbean • 1513 – Ponce de Leon “discovers” Florida • 1521 – Cortes conquers the Aztecs (Mexico) • 1533 – Pizarro conquers the Incas (Peru) • 1565 – St. Augustine founded • 1587 – Roanoke Colony settled • 1590 – Roanoke Colony is found deserted

Paleo-Indians • Most archaeologists agree that the first humans arrived in the Americas sometime before 13, 000 B. C. , when Asia and North America were still connected by a land bridge. • The earliest Americans, Paleo -Indians, traveled in bands within well-defined hunting territories. • They learned from one

Archaic Peoples • After 8000 B. C. , a warming atmosphere led to deciduous forests in the East, grassland prairies in the Plains, and deserts in the West. • Archaic peoples flourished in these new environments. • With more food sources, communities required less land supported larger populations. Many Indians began clustering in seasonal or permanent villages.

Mesoamerica and Maize • After about 2500 B. C. , many Native Americans moved beyond the ways of their Archaic forebears and began cultivating crops. • The most sophisticated early plant cultivators lived in Mesoamerica (presentday central and southern Mexico and Central America), where maize (corn) was the staple crop.

Native Empires • Mayan culture, still celebrated for their calendar and numerical system, flourished between the 7 th and 15 th centuries. • The Aztec Empire originated in 1428, and was based out of Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City). • The Incas of South America developed vast irrigation systems, and their capital city was Cuzco.

The Southwest • As maize cultivation spread into the American Southwest, native societies became less dependent on hunting and gathering. • Maize cultivation also led to an increase in population and the establishment of permanent villages. • In present-day NM and AZ, the Pueblos developed vast irrigation systems to support their cultivation of maize.

The Northwest and California • Societies in the Northwest and present-day California supported themselves by hunting and gathering, and in some areas developed settled communities supported by the vast resources of the ocean (i. e. Chinook). • The Chinooks (in present-day WA and OR) advocated warrior traditions, used advanced fighting techniques, and lived in longhouses that

The Great Plains and Great Basin • In the Great Plains and Great Basin, a lack of resources and an arid climate forced most natives to subsist off of hunting and gathering. • The introduction of the horse changed life dramatically in the Great Plains. • Bison hunting became much easier, and Natives with horses became

The Northeast, Mississippi River Valley, and Atlantic Seaboard • In the Northeast, some societies developed a mixed agricultural and huntergatherer economy. • The Iroquois (in present-day upstate NY) were a matriarchal society that burned forests to hunt and grow crops. Villages were built around maize. • The Cahokia (near presentday St. Louis) built mounds and boasted a settlement of 30, 000.

Native American Commonalities • Native Americans never thoughts of themselves as a single people, although there were commonalities. • Natives usually identified themselves as members of extended families rather than individuals or political subjects. • Most also emphasized reciprocity for relations within and between communities, and perceived the entire universe as

Technology and Trade • In the 1400 s, European countries competed to find a sea route to the Indies, which were a source of valuable spices. • New technologies aided exploration. • The sextant allowed sailors to locate their exact position on earth. • Caravels allowed for faster travel, and the compass and

Christopher Columbus • Sailors from Portugal were the first to find a new route that involved sailing around Africa. • In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias became the first European to round the Cape of Good Hope. • Italian-born Christopher Columbus hoped to find a different route to Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean.

Columbus “Discovers” America • King Ferdinand Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to fund Columbus’s voyage, and he and his crew set sail in August 1492. • Columbus’s three ships were the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. • On October 12, 1492, Columbus and his crew spotted land. • Although he landed in the Bahamas, Columbus believed he had arrived in the Indies, off the coast of Asia.

Encountering the Natives • Columbus called the Natives he encountered “Indians, ” since he thought he had arrived in the Indies. • Columbus noted that the natives lacked modern weaponry, and that they could be easily conquered. • Before returning to Spain, Columbus kidnapped a handful of natives to present to the Spanish king and queen.

Amerigo Vespucci • After Columbus, other voyages explored the Americas. • In 1502, Amerigo Vespucci concluded that South America was a separate continent, and not part of Asia. • As a result, European geographers began calling the continent “America, ” in honor of Vespucci.

Gold, God, and Glory • European nations’ efforts to explore and conquer the New World stemmed from a search for new sources of wealth, economic and military competition, and a desire to spread Christianity. • The Spanish often tried to convert the Natives to Christianity through the mission system.

Early Spanish Settlements in the Americas • • • Santo Domingo (D. R. ) – 1496 Havana (Cuba) – 1515 Panama City (Panama) – 1519 San Juan (Puerto Rico) – 1521 Mexico City (Mexico) – 1521 • • • Spanish Town (Jamaica) - 1534 Lima (Peru) – 1535 Asunción (Paraguay) - 1537 Santiago (Chile) - 1541 St. Augustine (U. S. A) - 1565 • Originally Tenochtitlan - 1325

The Columbian Exchange • The Columbian Exchange was the exchange of plants, animals, humans, culture, and diseases between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. • Crops like potatoes, maize (corn), and tomatoes were transported from the Americas to Europe. • Crops and animals like wheat, rice, horses, chicken, cattle, and oxen were transported from Europe to the Americas.

Effects of the Columbian Exchange • In Europe, the Columbian Exchange led to massive population growth, an increase in wealth and capitalism, and a decrease in feudalism. • In Africa, the Spanish and Portuguese began acquiring West Africans to use as slaves in the Americas. • In the Americas, diseases decimated Native societies, the encomienda system emerged, and the horse

The Encomienda System • Under the encomienda system, Native Americans were forced to work on plantations and extract precious metals and other resources. • The encomienda system ultimately proved unsuccessful as many Natives either died or ran away. • Eventually, the encomienda system was outlawed and

African Slave Trade • By the time Europeans began sailing to the Americas, slavery was widely practiced in West Africa. • Many West African kingdoms enslaved those they defeated in war. • The arrival of Europeans in America created a huge demand for slaves. • Slaves were sold in exchange for European

The Spanish Caste System • The Spanish developed a caste system that carefully defined social status. • Europeans (peninsulares born in Spain and creoles born in America) were at the top of this system. • Mestizos (mixed European and Native) were in the middle. • Africans, Natives, and mulattoes (mixed European and African) were at the bottom.

Native Assimilation and Resistance • Over time, Europeans and Native Americans adopted useful aspects of each other’s culture. • Natives adopted technology, and Europeans adopted Native agricultural techniques. • Natives often resisted European encroachments, and sought to preserve their political, economic, and religious autonomy.

Treatment of Natives and Africans • Extended contact with Native Americans and Africans fostered a debate among European religious and political leaders about how non-Europeans should be treated, as well as evolving religious, cultural, and racial justifications for the subjugation of Africans and Native Americans. • Many Europeans viewed Natives and Africans as “savages. ”

Sepulveda and de las Casas • Juan de Sepulveda advocated harsh treatment of the natives and claimed slavery was justified under Christianity. • Bartolomé de las Casas, on the other hand, argued that Natives deserved the same treatment as other men. • De las Casas played an instrumental role in ending the encomienda system, and contributed to the “Black

Ponce de León and Florida • In April 1513, Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León led the first known European expedition to Florida. • He named his discovery “La Florida” in honor of the landscape and Easter season, known as Pascua Florida in Spanish. • In 1521, Ponce de León returned to Florida with the intent to establish a settlement. However, his expedition was attacked by natives and Ponce de León died a few days later.

Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca • In 1528, another Spaniard, Panfilo de Narvaez tried to start a colony in Florida. His expedition was disastrous. Out of the 300 men who began the expedition, only 4 survived. • In 1536, the four survivors finally reached Mexico and rejoined Spanish society. One of the survivors was Alvar Nuñez Cabeza de Vaca, who wrote an account of his experiences throughout the voyage.

St. Augustine • In 1564, a group of French settlers established a colony in Florida and named it Fort Caroline. • One year later, in 1565, the Spanish founded St. Augustine and drove out the French. • To this day, St. Augustine remains the oldest permanent European settlement in the United States.

Roanoke • By the late 1500 s, England was eager to achieve their own successes in the New World. • In 1587, a group of colonists led by John White established a colony on Roanoke Island (present-day NC). • Shortly after arriving on the island, White’s daughter, who was part of the expedition, gave birth. • Her baby, Virginia Dare, was the first English child born in North America.

White Departs for England • After one of the local Indians killed an English colonist, the colonists persuaded White to return to England to ask for help. • Before he left, White instructed the colonists to carve a Maltese cross into a nearby tree should they face distress and be forced to relocate. • White left approximately 115 settlers behind, including his newborn granddaughter.

“Croatoan” • Due to impending war with Spain, White did not make it back to Roanoke until 1590 (3 years later), • He found the colony completely deserted. • There was no sign of struggle or battle, and the only clues came from the word “Croatoan” carved into a fencepost and “Cro” carved into a tree.

Roanoke – The Lost Colony • Because of an approaching storm, White’s expedition was forced to return to England without searching the nearby island of Croatoan. • Almost twenty years went by before another search was conducted. • The colonists were never seen again, and to this day, their fate is a total mystery… • Clip