Transcript early american societies and the age of exploration

EARLY AMERICAN
SOCIETIES
AND
THE AGE OF EXPLORATION
Early American Societies
• It is believed that between 40,000 and 12,000
years ago, hunter gatherers migrated across
the Bering Strait (Beringia) and began to
populate North America.
• Different environments and constant migration
led to a variety of complex societies
Early American Societies
• The Olmec (app. 1200-400
BC)
- apparently a thriving
trading culture in the Gulf
Coast of Mexico
- created massive stone
monuments
- reasons for their
disappearance are unknown
Early American Societies
• The Zapotec (app. 1200-400
BC)
- in Southwest Mexico
- constructed first real urban
center in the Americas: Monte
Alban
- built pyramids and “ball
courts”
- unlike the Olmec they had
a hieroglyphic writing system
- reasons for their
disappearance are unknown
Early American Societies
• Independently, civilizations developed in South
America.
• Chavin- (900 B.C.- 200 B.C.)- arose in the mountains
of Peru; no evidence of political or economic
organization; built pyramids and earth mounds; like
the Olmec they may have been a “mother culture”
• Nazca (app. 200 BC-600 AD)- southern coast of
Peru (very dry-only 20 minutes of rain per year);
developed irrigation systems; may have been
headhunters; most famous for the “Nazca Lines”
• Nazca Lines- more than 1000 drawings; only
discovered in 1927; why? Because we learned to fly
Early American Societies
• Moche- (app. AD 100-700); northern coast of Peru;
built irrigation systems; had advanced art and great
wealth; we do not understand Moche religious
beliefs; reasons for their disappearance are unknown
Early American Societies
• Maya- (AD 200- 900 = Classic Period);
probably were influenced by the Olmec;
built independent city states such as
Tikal with massive pyramids, temples
and palaces
• Agriculture was the basis of life
• Society was hierarchical: King-Nobles
(priests and warriors)- merchants and
skilled workers-peasants
• Polytheistic religion; practiced selfmutilation and human sacrifice (not to
the level of Aztecs)
Early American Societies
• The Maya were advanced
mathematically (had zero) and had
a sophisticated calendar
• Most advanced writing system in
the Americas; wrote in a book
called a codex; only 3-4 survive
"[O]ur knowledge of ancient Maya thought must represent
only a tiny fraction of the whole picture, for of the
thousands of books in which the full extent of their
learning and ritual was recorded, only four have survived
to modern times (as though all that posterity knew of
ourselves were to be based upon three prayer books and
'Pilgrim's Progress')." (Michael D. Coe, The Maya,
London: Thames and Hudson, 4th ed., 1987, p. 161.)
• Civilization declined mysteriously;
there are several theories as to
why
Early American Societies
• Teotihuacan- 1st major civilization of central Mexico; in
the 6th century it was one of the largest cities in the
world
• City abruptly declined
Early American Societies
• Toltecs- warlike civilization; ruler named Topiltizin
urged the Toltec to abandon human sacrifice and
follow the god Quetzalcoatl
• This led to civil war and the decline of the Toltec
• A legend arose that Quetzalcoatl would one day
return…….. (he was believed to be a pale skinned man
with a beard. Uh oh)
Early American Societies
• Aztec- arrive in Central Mexico around 1200; originally
called “Mexica”
• According to legend the god Huitzilopochtli told them to
found a city where an eagle was on a cactus with a
snake in his mouth; this site became Tenochtitlan
(1325), which is now Mexico City
• Formed an empire through alliances and demanded
tribute (by the early 1500s over 80000 miles of
territory)
• 3 levels of society- nobles, commoners, and slaves
• By 1500 Tenochtitlan was larger than London or any
other European capital
Early American Societies
• Inca- created largest empire
ever seen in the Americas
prior to European arrival
• Allowed conquered peoples
to keep their customs
• Master engineers, but did
not have the wheel or iron
tools; built a 14000 mile long
network of roads
• No writing system
European Exploration & Expansion
• Renaissance ideas spilled over into fields of
shipping, navigation, and exploration
– Portugal, Spain, Dutch Republic, England, & France
rose to economic powers via worldwide exploration,
colonization, and trade
Motives for Exploration
• Europeans long attracted to Asia
– Fascinated by Marco Polo’s account of his
travels along Silk Road, Far East, and
adventures while living in court of Kublai
Khan
Kublai
Khan
Marco Polo
The Travels
Motives for Exploration
• European powers desired all water route
to Asia due to Ottoman Empire’s control
of Middle East land routes to Asia
• Wealth – precious metals, spice trade
• Christianity – missionaries
• Fame & Adventure
• “God, glory, and gold”
Ottoman Empire
Making Exploration Possible
• By 15th Century, European monarchies’
appetite for wealth and power = investment in
exploration & colonization
• New technology (cartographers, astrolabe,
compass, caravel, weapons)
What Was It Like for an Explorer?
What Was It Like for an Explorer?

The Known
• Risk of death
• Preparation difficulties
• Chance for fame, glory, and riches

The Unknown
• Uncharted areas
• Superstition
• Never before seen marine and
animal life
• Completely alien
cultures/civilizations
Portugal
• Becomes first European power to gain
stronghold in Asia via water route,
eventually dominates the “Spice Trade”
– (1420) Prince Henry “The Navigator”
• Sponsorship of exploration, seamanship
education center
• Discovery of “gold” along Africa’s west coast
– (1488) Bartholomeu Dias
• Rounded tip of S. Africa = Cape of Good Hope
– (1498) Vasco da Gama
• Arrived in India & returned to Portugal with
valuable haul of spices
Spain
• Desired route to Asia going West
instead of East
– (1492) Christopher Columbus
• From Genoa, Italy – gains
financing from King Ferdinand &
Queen Isabella, reached
Americas in Oct., Hispaniola
(Cuba), believed he was in the
Indies, thus he called natives
“Indians”
Santa Maria
Line of Demarcation
• Portugal & Spain agree to Treaty of Tordesillas (Tawrduh-SEE-yuhs) that basically grants Portugal control of the
East and Spain control of the West
• Regardless of treaty, other European powers
quickly enter the RACE!
Other European Explorers
• Europeans called these territories the “New
World,” however, civilizations comprised of
millions of people existed centuries before
their arrival
• Europeans see opportunity for conquest,
colonization & exploitation
Spanish Conquistadors
• (1519) Hernando Cortés
– Overthrows & destroys Aztec Empire giving Spain control of
Mexico
• (1532) Francisco Pizarro
– Overthrows & destroys Inca Empire giving Spain control of
large part of S. America
• Queen Isabella declares all natives her subjects &
allows them to be used as laborers
Cortes and the Aztecs
• 1517-1519- Cortes is made leader of a new expedition into
the Yucatan. The Aztecs have had “evil” omens for over a
decade.
• February 1519- Cortes defies the governor and finds two
translators: Aguilar and Malinche.
• April 20, 1519- Cortes meets an emissary from Montezuma.
Cortes burns his boats and “resigns” from the post given him
by the governor.
• November 1519- Cortes reaches Tenochtitlan and meets
Montezuma.
• November 1519- Montezuma is arrested.
• April 1520- Velasquez (the governor) sends an arrest party
for Cortes. Battle ensues, and Cortes wins.
Cortes and the Aztecs
• June 1520- Cortes had left Alvarado in charge. At
some point he orders a massacre. Montezuma cannot
control his people. He is killed under suspicious
circumstances. The Spanish attempt to escape.
• More than 600 conquistadors and several thousand of
their allies are killed while attempting an escape.
“Noche Triste” (The Night of Tears)
• December 1520- Smallpox decimates the city.
• Cortes returns. The Aztec surrender.
Colonization
• By 1535, Spanish had created colonies throughout the
Americas
• Forced labor, starvation, murder, and disease all but
wipe out civilizations
• Mexico = population 25 million in 1519 reduced to 1
million by 1630
• Roman Catholic missionaries converted & baptized
hundreds of thousands
Economic Impact
• International trade crucial in developing a “commercial revolution”
– Capitalism
• European colonies produced products for export back to Europe
(agricultural goods) = trade between “new” world and “old” =
Columbian Exchange (after Columbus)
• Other European powers establish colonies (trading posts)
throughout world
• Nations pursuing economic theory known as Mercantilism =
whereby nation attains a “favorable balance of trade” = export
more than you import
Slave Trade
• Slavery, as an institution, not new in 15th Century
• Colonial plantations, primarily sugar cane, increased
demand for labor
• (1518) Spanish ship carried first boatload of African slaves
to the Americas
• 16th Century = 275,000
• 17th Century = 1 million
• 18th Century = 6 million
• Slave trade had devastating effect on African societies still
visible today
Triangle of Trade
and
Middle Passage
The Colonies
• Beringia- Bering Land Bridge; ancient peoples supposedly
crossed into North America
• St. Augustine- 1st European city in North America
• Jamestown- 1607, 1st permanent English settlement
• House of Burgesses- settlers could elect representatives;
example of democratic govt. for other colonies
• Southern Colonies- North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia, possibly Virginia and Maryland (tobacco, rice,
indigo, cotton); plantations and slavery
• Middle Colonies- New York, New Jersey, Delaware,
Pennsylvania (farming, shipping, fishing, trading); Dutch,
Swedish, British colonists
The Colonies
• New England colonies- Massachusetts,
Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire
(farming, shipping); Puritans and others seeking
religious freedom; life centered around towns and
churches
• Individual freedom, hard work, and self-reliance
are hallmarks of the settlers (Puritan work ethic)
• Mayflower Compact (1620)- a covenant between
settlers; influential Democratic document