Transcript Europeans settle North America

Europeans settle North America
[Diarist] Cuneo further notes that he himself
took a beautiful teenage Carib girl as his
personal slave, a gift from Columbus himself,
but that when he attempted to have sex with
her, she “resisted with all her strength.” So, in
his own words, he “thrashed her mercilessly
1492
and •raped
her”–. .Spain’s Christopher Columbus
The Explorers:
– 3 ships:
– Nina,
Santa
Columbus
and hisPinta,
men also
usedMaria
the Taino as
sex slaves:
it was afor
common
– Desire
Gold!reward for
Columbus’ men for him to present them with
– Second
voyage:
17 ships,
1,500 settlers/crew
local women
to rape.
As he began
exporting
Taino as slaves
other parts
of the(foreign
world, the
• Totoestablish
a Colony
lands controlled by another
sex-slave tradenation).
became an important part of
the business, as Columbus wrote to a friend in
• “A1501
– Italian
(paid
by Portugal)
–
1500:
hundred
castellanoes
(a Spanish
coin)
are as easily obtained for a woman as for a
– Amerigo
Vespucci:
realized
farm, and
it is very general
and there
are it was a new world.
• 1507:
map
makerfor
called it “America” after Vespucci
plenty of dealers
whoGerman
go about
looking
girls; those from nine to ten (years old) are
now in demand” . .
The Conquistadors
• 1519: Spain’s Hernando Cortes lands in:
– Mexico. They were seeking:
• Gold
– Attacked the Aztecs
• Had to regroup in 1521 after losing to a rebellion in 1520
• Used Native enemies of Aztecs
• Disease desolated Aztec population
• 1532: Spain’s Francisco Pizarro
– Conquered Incan Empire
• 200 man army vs. 30,000 (mostly unarmed) Inca
– Kidnap Inca ruler Atahualpa
• Inca pay huge ransom of Gold/Silver. Pizarro kills ruler anyway
– Conquers Cuzco (capital) in 1533
North America Explored
• 1513: Spanish exploration of Florida
– Juan Ponce de Leon
• 1540: Francisco Vasquez de Coronado
– Explored Southwest U.S. – told of an empire that
didn’t actually exist.
– Did not find gold: future settlement/exploration by
priests
• Santa Fe (“Holy Faith”), New Mexico founded in
1609 founded – Capital of Spain’s Northern
holdings.
Method of Rule
• Spain and Portugal control majority of new
world by mid-16th century.
• Ruled by same techniques as the reconquista
of Spain – live among the natives and impose
Spanish culture.
– Mestizo: mixed Spanish and Native American
– Encomienda: Spanish landlords, forced natives to
work land (farming, ranching, mining).
• Portugal – established sugar plantations.
Spanish Priests Protest Cruelty to
Natives
• Dominican Monk Bartolome de Las Casas
wrote “There is nothing more detestable or
more cruel than the tyranny which the
Spaniards use toward the Indians for getting
of pearl (riches)”
• 1542: End encomienda system.
– Las Casas recommended use of African Slaves
• Beginning of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
A Few Key Terms:
• The American colonies were all set up privately,
through charters, or agreements from the host
countries
– Joint-Stock company: Investors purchase shares (or
portions) of a corporation – therefore entitled to same
portion of profits.
• Purpose: Enterprises cost too much $ for one person to afford.
• Combines individual’s capital in order to run a business.
– Used to pay for founding of colonies.
– A colony’s failure spread amongst all the investors.
• Mercantilism: Country’s power depends on wealth.
Goal = attain as much wealth possible
– Accumulate as much gold as possible
– Positive (or favorable) balance of trade: export much more
than import (become self-sufficient).
The Columbian Exchange
• Ships from the America’s brought back items
never seen in the old world.
• Introduction of livestock, food, and disease to
the America’s.
The Columbian Exchange
Native European
Wheat
Sugar Cane
Coffee
Citrus
Peach
Onion
Lettuce
– Bubonic plague, cholera, influenza, malaria, measles,
scarlet fever, smallpox, tuberculosis, typhoid Guns,
steel
The Columbian Exchange
Native American
Peanuts
Llama
Avocado
Cashews
Sunflower
Squash
Cotton
Chiles
Pecan
Potato
Tomato
Peppers
Tobacco
The Economics Behind the Slave Trade
(Triangular Trade)
• Slavery is profitable
– It’s cheaper to buy someone then pay them for a
lifetime
• Slaves were cheap to buy
– Avg. price of slave
• In Africa = $30 - $70
• In America = $1000 +
• As slavery persists in Americas, more slaves
imported
– More slaves = more output
– 70% of all slaves in America worked sugar plantations