Transcript World Civilizations Chapter 10 Section 1

US History
Chapter 1 Section 1
Beginnings of America
“World before 1500”
Early Americas
 Around 10K years ago ( ice age) most of earth’s water was frozen
 Bering Strait- ice land bridge adjoined Asia and North America
(Beringia)
 Migration of Hunters (nomads) which transformed from HunterGatherers to Agricultural societies
 Mesoamerica
> Olmec- 1200BC
> Maya- 400 BC
> Aztecs- 1400 AD
 Very early cultures: Adena and Hopewell Indians known as Mound
Builders / Mississippians were advanced farmers in Southeast and
Southern Midwest
Regions and Civilizations
Region
What?
Mesoamerica
Olmecs, Mayans, Aztecs
North America
Native American Groups (shared trade and religion)
Africa
Trading kingdoms (gold and slaves)
Europe
Renaissance brought increased trade, explorers looked
for new trade routes, Columbus looking for route to
India
North American Cultures
Before 1500
Southwest
Northwest
California
Far North
Great Basin Plateau
Great Plains
Eastern Woodlands
Southeast
African Cultures
Before 1500
 Despite Sahara Desert- Trade routes were established- seeking
trade of gold, salt, and ivory (Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Benin, and
Kongo)
 1400s- Europeans in Africa - gold and ivory trade eventually
changed to the slave trade
 Increase in slave trade once planters in the Americas
demanded more workers (continued for 400 years)
> devastated African societies
> decimated population
> weakened Africa and caused divisions among African
people
European Exploration
 Following the Crusades (1096-1291)- Europeans were more
interested in exploring new lands and new people
 At the end of the Middle Ages, increased trade led to
population growth and sharing of new ideas
 Italy- This new prosperity provided an era of learning /
creativity (Renaissance)
 Renaissance sparked the question of authority of the church –
which led to the Protestant Reformation (Martin Luther)
Age of Exploration
 Advances in Science and technology as well as newly formed
nation-states (Great Britain, France, Portugal, Spain) began a
quest to find new lands and sources of trade
 1200s- Marco Polo from Italy sails from Venice to China
 1400s- Prince Henry the Navigator (Portugal) establishes a
school of naval observatory to encourage exploration
 1498- Vasco de Gama (Portugal) discovered sea route to India
Christopher Columbus
 Italian explorer sponsored by Spain to locate a direct sea route to Asia (for
trading)
 Aug 3, 1492- set sail with a 90 man crew aboard three ships (Nina, Pinta
and Santa Maria)
 Oct 12, 1492- Columbus lands on small islands in the Bahamas
 Columbus’ impact- Columbus had many clashes with the Native Americans
but had idea he could convert them to Christianity and eventually enslave
them for Spain
 Columbian Exchange- was a result from Columbus’ voyages- exchange of
plants and animals between Europe and North American Indians
Disease wiped out most Indians
Good ‘Ol Chris’
“Yeah I know…I
am cool!”
From the Spanish port of Palos, Italian explorer Christopher Columbus sets sail in command of
three ships—the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina—on a journey to find a western sea route
to China, India, and the fabled gold and spice islands of Asia.
On October 12, the expedition sighted land, probably Watling Island in the Bahamas, and went
ashore the same day, claiming it for Spain. Later that month, Columbus sighted Cuba, which he
thought was mainland China, and in December the expedition landed on Hispaniola, which
Columbus thought might be Japan. He established a small colony there with 39 of his men. The
explorer returned to Spain with gold, spices, and "Indian" captives in March 1493 and was
received with the highest honors by the Spanish court. He was the first European to explore the
Americas since the Vikings set up colonies in Greenland and Newfoundland in the 10th century.
During his lifetime, Columbus led a total of four expeditions to the New World, discovering
various Caribbean islands, the Gulf of Mexico, and the South and Central American mainland,
but never accomplished his original goal—a western ocean route to the great cities of Asia.
Columbus died in Spain in 1506 without realizing the great scope of what he did achieve: He had
discovered for Europe the New World, whose riches over the next century would help make
Spain the wealthiest and most powerful nation on earth.
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