Early Migrations Before Columbus: Early Regions Of North America

America before Columbus

Early Migrations
Many people came to America by the Bering Straight
COLUMBUS WAS NOT THE FIRST PERSON TO DISCOVER THE AMERICAS!!
Civilizations in the Americas
Incas ( located in Peru; largest empire in the Americas
Mayans (located in Central America; developed a written system, calendar and agricultural advancements.
Aztecs (Tenochtitlan- largest city ever to that time period)
Southwestern US (based mainly on agriculture like maize, and they also built elaborate irrigation systems.
Great Plains/ Great Basin ( hunted Buffalo; many of them were nomadic because of that)
Northeastern like the Iroquois (developed permanent villages; hunted and gathered; agricultural dominant society.
Many native religions were closely
associated with nature (sun god, hunting god)
Tribal social roles
The women raised children, prepared meals, and gathered food
The men hunted and served as an army when needed
In some societies like the Iroquois, the women helped to make tribal decisions through councils.
Europe Looks Westward

Reasons for exploration
Population growth (land in Europe was expensive
Advances in technology
Desire for new markets and products
As a result of Columbus’ explorations, Spain increased interest in exploration, surpassing Portugal
Conquistadors
Cortes (1518- devastated natives, especially sue to smallpox)
Many conquistadors saw this as God’s work
Spanish sought out gold and silver in the new world
Ordinances of Discovery (1570s- banned harsh military conquests)
Spain required Catholicism to be the only religion in their new territories
Set up missions to convert natives to Christianity
Many post Conquistador Spanish immigrants came to spread religion
St. Augustine Florida ( first permanent European settlement
Encomienda System:
Individuals were given land and could demand tribute and labor from natives
Essentially it was slavery but against the natives

Pueblo Revolt:
What was it?
Native American Rebellion against the Spanish in New Mexico
Why did it occur?
2,000 Spanish and 30,000 Pueblos
Spanish priests and government suppressed Native practices that were inconsistent with Christianity
Spanish demanded tribute and labor forces from Natives
What happened?
Pope ( Native American religious leader) killed hundreds and forced the Spanish to flee
Spain regains control in 1696
Significance?
Spanish sought out to religiously assimilate the Natives
Pueblos were given more freedoms from the Spanish
By the end of the 1500s, the Spanish monarchy controlled virtually all local government in its new world colonies
Spain was more strict than Britain in terms of imposing economic policies
All trade must go through a few regulated ports
Britain, France, and the Dutch focused on population growth and establishing permanent settlements
Spain did not continue to send large number of immigrants
Columbian Exchange:
Examples of goods:
Americas to Europe and Africa: potatoes, maize, and tomatoes
Europe to the Americas: wheat, rice, horses, chickens, oxen
Impacts of exchange?
In Europe and Asia: massive population growth due to new food
In Africa: Spanish and Portuguese used Africans from West Africa to be used as slaves in the Americas
In the Americas: spread of diseases like smallpox, social classes like the mestizos, and then the horses left behind by the Spanish transformed the Great Plains and the way they hunted the buffalo.
Spanish Hierarchy:
People from Spain were at the top of society, whereas natives and Africans were at the bottom
In the middle emerged a large mestizo class (mixed native and European ancestry)
African Societies:
Tended to be matriarchal, unlike Europeans
Property was inherited from the mother’s family, not the fathers
Women played a large role in trade
Slavery in Africa existed, but it was usually not hereditary like it was in the US later
The slave trade that was dominated by Spain and Portugal increased because of goods such as sugar, and then later tobacco
African tribes fought with one another and traded captured enemies to sell as slaves
The Arrival of the English

Reasons for English Exploration:
Rising population and a lack of land
Joint stock companies (investors would pool money together and share
Mercantilism:
Goal was to benefit the mother country (England)
Increased desire for colonies to gain wealth
Religion:
Puritans (those that wanted to purify the Anglican Church of Catholic rituals) sought refuge in the Americas
Puritans believed in predestination which was introduced by John Calvin
Belief that God chose who to save, and that fate could not be changed
Separists (those who wanted to break away from the Anglican Church *the Pilgrims*)
English Experiences in Ireland
English viewed the Irish, that were mostly Catholic as savages
Believed that the Irish could not be assimilated and must be oppressed
The English would use similar tactics against the natives in America
French and the Dutch
Spain barely colonized North America
The French explored into the North American continent and developed close ties with the natives
Coureurs de bois- French fur traders
The French developed an alliance with the Algonquians
The Dutch also traded furs, and were established around New York
Had a smaller population
Spanish Armada:
Large Spanish fleet was defeated by the English
England emerged as a naval power
English Settlements:
Roanoke (early English settlement known as the lost colony
In 1950, the colony was found deserted with “Croatoan” carved on a post
Jamestown ( established in 1607 as a charter by King James
I)
Would become the first permanent English colony