Collision of Cultures – Chapter 1

England and Its Colonies – Chapter 2

Americas Before 1500s• Prehistory – before written

records

• Nomadic people traveled across Bering Land Bridge about 30,000 years ago.

• Americas became diverse and well-populated

• Farming = more settled life and time to cultivate other interests

Pre-Columbian Indian Civilizations

• Mayas

• Incas

• Aztecs

North American Native Civilizations• Hopewell – Ohio

Valley (800 B.C. - 600 A.D.)

• Anasazis – Southwest– Lacked class

structure– Warfare only self-

defense

Why were the Native tribes vulnerable to conquest?

• Large and fatal gaps in knowledge and technology

• Disunity

Early European Contact

• Vikings–Leif Erickson

and Erik the Red • Greenland

• Newfoundland

Europe Before 1500sMiddle Ages – Medieval Period – Dark

Ages 5th-14th Centuries– Fall of the Roman Empire– Unstable– Feudalism– Crusades -military expeditions to recover

Palestine from Muslims exposed Europe to silks and spices, ancient Greek and Roman texts, technical innovations (movable type)

– Black Death – 1/3 of Europeans died

Europe Before 1500s

Late Middle Ages – Growing commerce stimulated growth of new

towns and markets

Renaissance – “rebirth” 14th-17th Centuries– Time of inquiry– Reformation – Martin Luther posted Ninety-Five

Theses 1517

Portuguese Exploration

• Established themselves as the leaders in seafaring technology

• Prince Henry the Navigator – established an academy for exploration

• Bartolomeu Dias rounded the tip of Africa

• Vasco de Gama – reached India

Portuguese Exploration • Bartolomeu Dias

rounded the tip of Africa

• Vasco de Gama – reached India

Columbus• Italian

• Won support from King and Queen of Spain

• 87 men – 3 ships (Santa Maria, Pinta, Nina)

• Oct. 12, 1492 – reached San Salvador (Bahamas)

• Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic

• Returned home with natives as gifts to monarchs

• p. 18-19 – Later voyages

• Irony – New World named after Amerigo Vespucci

http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/htallant/courses/his111/columb.htm

• Treaty of Tordesillas – divided areas between Portugal and Spain for exploration and settlement orchestrated by Catholic Pope.

Spanish Exploration and Conquest

Nunez de Balboa – cross Panama on foot and saw Pacific OceanHernando Cortes – conquered Aztecs with 600 menPonce de Leon – Florida

Encomienda – Spanish landowners controlled villages – Indians paid tributeRead p. 29 – Summarize last two paragraphs.

English Exploration

French Exploration