Bellwork

• Why did Christopher Columbus go West, rather than East?

World History

Section 5, Unit 3European Contact in the

Americas

Objectives• Discuss the role of Christopher Columbus in

“discovering” America• Analyze the affect of European conquest on native

peoples• Discuss the role of increasing trade in the Americas• Analyze why Europeans sought a western route, rather

than Eastern• Analyze what was traded between Europe and the

Americas • Describe the effects of European conquest on the

Americas• Consider whether or not the arrival of Europeans was

ultimately good or bad

Exploration• In the previous lesson, we

discuss that competition in the East was fierce.

• Competition, however, prompted Christopher Columbus to make a journey for Spain in 1492.

• Instead of a eastern route, he believed that a western route to Asia would increase the wealth of Spain.

Exploration

• With the blessing (and funding) of the Spanish monarchy, Christopher Columbus rallied his fleet– the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria– out of a Spanish fort on August 3, 1492.

• After stopping for supplies on a small island off the coast of Spain, he set sail westward for Asia.

A New World

• On October 12, 1492, Columbus’ crew was tired and wanted to turn back.

• However, a lookout on aboard the Pinta cried out, “Tierra! Tierra!”– or “land”.

• By dawn, Columbus and his men landed on a tiny island in the Bahamas, about 400 miles south of present-day Florida.

Question: Why are Native Americans called “Indians”?

A New World

• Believing successfully reached the East Indies, Columbus called the surprised inhabitants– the Tainos peoples– los indios, meaning “Indian”. – Columbus was not

aware that he was not in Asia.

A New World

• After successfully reaching the Bahamas, Columbus named the land San Salvador or “Holy Savior”.

FloridaBahamas

Spain

A New World

• Columbus, like other explorers, was only interested in gold.

• Finding none in San Salvador, he explored other islands in the region, staking his claim to each one.

A New World

• In 1493, Columbus returned to Spain and reported on what he saw to the delighted Spanish monarchs.

• They were so pleased that they funded his second journey.

• However, instead of being an explorer to a new land, he went as an empire builder.

A New World

• With 17 ships, hundreds of armed soldiers, and 1000 settlers at his disposal, he intended to transform the islands of the Caribbean into colonies– lands controlled by other nations.

• Columbus and his followers began the process of colonization that would reach every corner of the Americas.

American Exploration• In 1500, other

explorers began to explore the what they believed to be Asia.

• Pedro Alvares Cabral reached the shores of Brazil and declared it part of the Portuguese empire.

The red line is his trip to India, whereas the blue line is his return trip. Note that he did stop in Brazil.

American Exploration

• In 1501, Amerigo Vespucci traveled along the eastern coast of South America.

• When he returned to Europe, he claimed that the newly discovered lands were not Asia, but rather a new world.

• In honor of him, a German map-maker named the new continent of America after Vespucci.

American Exploration

• In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan sailed around the southern end of South America and into the Pacific Ocean.

• While Magellan himself did not survive the journey, his crew– of which only 18 out of 230 survived– were the first to circumnavigate the world.

Spanish Empire• In 1519, a Spaniard

named Hernando Cortes landed on the shores of Mexico.

• After colonizing several Caribbean islands, the Spanish turned their attention to the mainland.

• Followed by conquistadors– Spanish explorers- Cortes made his way into the heart of Mexico, following rumors of lands filled with gold and silver.

Spanish Empire

• In Mexico, Cortes learned of the vast and wealthy Aztec Empire.

• After marching for weeks, his force of 600 men reached the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.

• The Aztec emperor, Montezuma II, was convinced that Cortes was an armor-clad god.

Spanish Empire

• Montezuma agreed to give the Spanish a share of its’ gold supply.

• The conquistador was not satisfied.

• Cortes admitted that he and his comrades had a “disease of the heart that only gold can cure” and forced the Aztecs to mine more gold and silver.

Spanish Empire

• However, the Aztecs rebelled against the Spanish and drove them out.

• The Spanish, however, would strike back.

• Despite being greatly outnumbered, Cortes and his men conquered the Aztec in 1521. Question: How could a small Spanish force

defeat such a large empire?

Spanish Empire• Cortes was successful for

three reasons:1. The Spanish had better

weapons.2. Cortes enlisted the help of

natives were tired of Aztecs harsh practices against them.

3. Native fell prey to European disease to which they had no immunity– measles, mumps, smallpox, and typhus were just a few. Hundreds of thousands of Natives died just because of these diseases alone.

How many natives were alive in 1520? How many were left by 1600?

Spanish Empire

• The Spanish had almost completed their conquest by the middle of the 16th century, after conquering both the Aztecs and the Inca of South America.

• When the Spanish came to the Americas, they decided to conquer the left over native population through integrating them with Spanish culture.

Spanish Empire

• Since almost all the Spaniards in the empire were male, marriage between Spaniards and native women was common.

• Spanish settlers were known as peninsulares and their children– many of whom were mixed between Spaniard and native ancestry- were mestizo. Mestizo’s make up much of the modern day

Hispanic peoples of the Americas.

Spanish Empire

• Although the Spaniards intermarried with natives, they also oppressed the natives.

• The Spaniards made natives work in a labor system known as the encomienda.

• Under this, natives farmed, ranched, or mined for Spanish landlords.

Spanish Empire

• These Spanish lords gained the rights to labor from Spanish authorities.

• These lords promised the Spanish rulers to be kind to the natives, but rarely were.

• Many abused the natives and worked them to death.

Spanish Empire• While many other

European nations were still fighting over eastern trade, the Spanish American colonies helped make Spain the richest and most powerful nation in the world.

• Throughout the 16th century, Spain increased its military might.

Flag of the Spanish Empire

Spanish Empire

• To protect its treasure, they built a powerful navy.

• They also strengthened their military forces and, for over a century, Spain never lost a battle.

• However, Spain soon saw a new prize to take: North America.

Spanish Empire

• The Spanish had actually settled in modern-United States before they dreamed of building an empire.

• By 1540, after building a massive South and Central American empire, Spanish looked to North America.

Spanish Empire• In 1540, Francisco

Vasquez de Coronado led an expedition through modern Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas.

• He was searching for another great empire, but found almost nothing except the vast deserts of the Southwest.

Spanish Empire

• With him came Catholic priests.

• While the explorers searched for gold, priests were looking for converts.

• In 1609-1610, governor of Spain’s northern holdings Pedro de Peralta, led settlers into New Mexico and established a new capital Santa Fe or “Holy Faith”.

Everything in red is part of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.

Spanish Empire

• For the next two decades, a string of Christian missions– communities dedicated to spreading Christianity– arose among the region.

• These missions began to spread faith to Native Americas, such as the Pueblo peoples of New Mexico.

Spanish Empire• Spanish priests worked

tirelessly to spread their faith and often pushed for better treatment of Native Americans.

• Many denounced the encomienda system and, in the words of Bartolome de Las Casas, it was “detestable or cruel” to use natives as such.

Spanish Empire

• Thanks in part to the Catholic priests, the Spanish government abolished the encomienda system in 1542.

• To meet the need for labor, Spaniards began to use Africans, who were immune to European diseases. – Some priests spoke out against the use of

Africans, but the support of African slavery outgrew the criticisms.

Question: Where are they going to get the labor they need now?

Resistance

• Resistance did not just come from Spanish priests, but also from the natives.

• In the 17th century, natives of New Mexico fought against Spanish rule.

• While converting natives to Christianity, the Spanish burned many sacred native objects.

Resistance

• The Spanish often sometimes abused the natives and punished them for practicing their faith.

• In 1680, Popé, a Pueblo leader, led an uprising against the Spanish.

• Known as the Pueblo Revolt, the natives removed Spanish presence from the area for 12 years until the Spanish regained control.

Change

• While the Spanish grew their American Empire, so did the British and many other nations.

• However, it would be the connections between the two continents that would dramatically change the world.

Change

• The colonization of the Americas drastically changed the world.

• It prompted both voluntary and forced migrations of millions of people, but also led to the establishment of new and powerful societies.

Columbian Exchange • The global transfer of

foods, plants, animals, and various other products during the colonization of the Americas is known as the Columbian Exchange.

• Ships from the America’s brought back a wide array of items that Europeans, Asians, and Africans had never before seen.

Columbian Exchange

• Some items included tomatoes, squash, pineapples, tobacco, and cacao beans (chocolate).

• Two of the most important items traded were corn and potatoes.

• Both were inexpensive to produce and were very nutritious.

• Entire societies boosted their populations thanks in part to these two crops.

Columbian Exchange • Traffic along the

Columbian Exchange was not one way.

• Europeans introduced livestock to the Americas, such as horses, cattle, and pigs.

• Foods from Africa and Asia, such as bananas, rice, and yams were brought to the Americas and grown in vast quantities.

Columbian Exchange

• However, not all trade was good.

• The Columbian Exchange also brought with it disease that ravaged native populations.

Commercial Revolution

• The establishment of colonial empires in the Americas influenced the nations of Europe in other ways.

• New wealth, mixed with trade, prompted new business practices and trade practices in Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries.

• Many of these changes are the foundation of modern economies and the changes are known as the Commercial Revolution.

Commercial Revolution

• One aspect of the revolution was the growth of capitalism- an economic system based on private ownership and investment of wealth for profit.

Commercial Revolution

• No longer were governments the sole owners of great wealth. Because of trade, numerous merchants had become wealthy and continued to invest their money into trade and exploration.

Commercial Revolution• The increase in economic activity in

Europe led to an increase in the money supply.

• This in turn brought about inflation– a gradual increase in prices.

• In many nations, between the increase in the amount of money and higher demand for goods, items became more expensive. – Spain, in the 1600s, suffered a bout inflation as

they continued to pour in more money into their economy.

Commercial Revolution

• Another business ventured developed during this time were joint-stock companies.

• Joint-stock companies worked like a modern corporation where people pooled their money together for a common purpose.

Commercial Revolution

• In this, joint-stock companies were made up of many investors who pooled their money to pay for the cost of colonization, with a hope of a return on their investment.

• Joint-stock companies were the cause for the establishment of many colonies, such as Jamestown.

Commercial Revolution• During this time, the

nations of Europe developed a new economic policy known as mercantilism– a nations power depended on it’s wealth.

• The goal of every nation became the attainment of as much wealth as possible.

A political cartoon showing why Mercantilists supported created colonies in the new world– getting gold and silver, brining in new foodstuffs, and getting raw materials for the “mother country”.

Commercial Revolution

• According to the theory of mercantilism, a nation could increase its wealth and power in two ways: 1. It could obtain as much gold and silver

as possible.2. Establish a favorable balance of trade,

in which it sells more goods than it buys.

• The ultimate goal of mercantilism is to be self-sufficient.

Commercial Revolution

• While difficult today, having a favorable balance of trade was possible for Europeans at the time because of the goods their colonies were producing.

• Colonies were providing raw materials for their home nation so that the balance could be maintained.

Commercial Revolution• The economic changes that swept

through Europe during colonization also led to changes in European society.

• The Commercial Revolution spurred the growth of towns and the creation of social classes.

Commercial Revolution

• However, these changes only went so far as much of Europe’s population continued to live in rural populations and were still poor.

• But, the wealth that came into these nations made the European rulers far more powerful than they ever were before.

Questions

• If you have a question, please ask now.

Next lesson

• In the next lesson, we are going to discuss absolutism in Europe.

Review1. Describe “capitalism”?2. What were the two tenants of mercantilism?3. What was the effect of the trade of food during the

Columbian Exchange on European populations? 4. How did the American colonies help Europeans maintain

a favorable balance of trade?5. What was a negative impact of the Columbian Exchange? 6. Why did the Spanish go into Central America? What were

they looking for? 7. Why did Christopher Columbus go west, rather than

east? What was he searching for? 8. Why are Native Americans called “Indians”? 9. What were the three (3) reasons why Cortes was able to

conquer the massive Aztec Empire?10. (a) What was the encomienda system, (b) why was it

removed, and (c) what was it replaced by?