1491-1607• Why do historians divide history into

time periods? (PERIODIZATION)• How do they choose which dates to

use?• What is the significance of using the

year 1491?• What happened in 1607 to end this time

period?

Pre-Columbian Native Americans

• Key Questions –What were the characteristics of pre-

Columbian native Americans?–How did their population and culture

compare to the Europeans at that time?–Did the eventual diminishing of native

culture and transplanting of European culture advance the cause of mankind?

Pre-Columbian Native Americans

• North America map - 1491

Christopher Columbus

• What did Columbus look like? (Website Page 2)• What is the story of Columbus’

voyages as you understand them today?

The Columbian Exchange

• What do you remember from World History about the Columbian Exchange?

• Crash Course Video – Website Page 2• Improvements in navigation technology

made trade easier and promoted the growth of the Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange

Impact of the Columbian Exchange

• Disease decimated native Americans (50-90% within a century)• Extensive demographic and social

changes in the Americas (mixed race Mestizos, 50-90% decimation)• Diets were improved everywhere,

increasing population growth

Impact of the Columbian Exchange

• Mineral wealth from the Americas made Spain Europe’s most powerful country in the 16th Century

• Syphilis, tobacco and other New World plants altered life in Europe/Asia (corn, tomatoes, potatoes)

• Pigs, Cows, and Horses revolutionized life in the Americas (diet, work, culture)

Spanish Influence in the New World

• Columbus’ discovery triggered a wave of Spanish exploration, conquest, and colonization in the 16th Century–Cortes and the Aztecs (Central Mexico)

–Pizarro and the Incas (Peru)–Balboa (the Pacific), Magellan

(Circumnavigation)

Spanish Influence in the New World

• New Spain established a hierarchical society

• Pure Spanish blood meant privilege and power

• Pure Native blood meant subjugation• A new race of people emerged of mixed

Spanish and Native blood (Mestizos)

Spanish Influence in the New World• The Encomienda System (Early 16th

Century)–Created to control and regulate Indian

labor in the New World and to Christianize the natives–Encomenderos (Spanish of power and

influence, including the Conquistadors) were granted land by the crown and given control of the natives that were, in effect, their slaves

The Encomienda System

• The natives worked on agricultural plantations

• They built roads• They were also forced to work in mines

extracting precious metals and resources

The Encomienda System

• Natives continued to die in large numbers

• The harsh treatment of the natives lead to some Spanish critics of the system (Bartolome de las Casas)

• Gradually, African slavery replaced Indian labor and the Encomienda system

Defeat of the Spanish Armada - 1588

• Spanish colonization and wealth inspired other European powers to explore

• By the late 16th century, the English attempted their first settlement in the New World at Roanoke (present day North Carolina)

• The British defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 set the stage for England to emerge as the dominant force in North America in the 17th and 18th Centuries