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People in MotionThe Atlantic World to 1590

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People in Motion

I. The First Americans

II. European Civilization in Turmoil

III. Columbus and the Columbian Exchange

IV. West African Worlds

V. European Colonization of the Atlantic World

THE ATLANTIC WORLD TO 1590

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The First Americans

A. Migration, Settlement, and the Rise of Agriculture

B. The Aztec

C. Mound Builders and Pueblo Dwellers

D. Eastern Woodlands Indian Societies

E. American Societies on the Eve of European Contact

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The First Americans

Paleo-Indians − The name given by scientists to the first inhabitants of the Americas, an Ice Age people who survived largely by hunting big game and to a lesser extent by collecting edible plants and fishing

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Migration, Settlement, and the Rise of Agriculture

What theories account for the mass extinction of large mammals in the Americas?

Why did Paleo-Indians migrate to the Americas?

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Migration, Settlement, and the Rise of Agriculture

What were the chief advantages of fixed agriculture, and how did fixed agriculture contribute to the rise of more complex civilizations?

What impact did agriculture have on the evolution of the societies of the Americas?

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Migration, Settlement, and the Rise of Agriculture

Archaic Era − Period beginning approximately nine thousand years ago lasting an estimated six thousand years; marked by more intensive efforts on the part of ancient societies to shape the environment to enhance food production

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The Aztec

What role did commerce play in Aztec culture?

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The Aztecs

Aztec Empire − Led by the Mexica tribe, the Aztecs created a powerful empire. Its capital, Tenochtitlán, was created on an island in Lake Texcoco in 1325 CE.

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Mound Builders and Pueblo Dwellers

What role did trade play in ancient American societies?

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Eastern Woodlands Indian Societies

How did Eastern Woodlands Indian and Mesoamerican societies differ?

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American Societies on the Eve of European Contact

What were some of the distinctive characteristics shared by all of the societies of the Americas?

What were the chief similarities between the civilizations of Africa and Asia and those of the Americas? What were the differences?

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European Civilization in Turmoil

A. The Allure of the East and the Challenge of Islam

B. Trade, Commerce, and Urbanization

C. Renaissance and Reformation

D. New Monarchs and the Rise of the Nation-State 

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The Allure of the East and the Challenge of Islam

What trade goods from Asia were most sought after by Europeans?

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The Allure of the East and the Challenge of Islam

Islam − Monotheistic faith whose teachings followed the word of the prophet Muhammad and whose followers controlled most of the overland trade routes to the Far East

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Trade, Commerce, and Urbanization

How did printing affect European society?

What impact did new technology have on the course of European expansion in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries?

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Trade, Commerce, and Urbanization

Capitalism − An economic system in which the market economy determines the prices of goods and services

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Competing VisionsEUROPEAN AND HURON VIEWS OF NATURE

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Huron believed that animals had spirits and should be respected.

Europeans believed they had a God-given right to rule over nature.

What are the possible ecological consequences of each of these views?

Competing Visions

How does this painting by John White demonstrate the Huron’s attitude toward nature?

EUROPEAN AND HURON VIEWS OF NATURE

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Competing Visions

How does this painting of Adam and Eve reflect European views of nature?

EUROPEAN AND HURON VIEWS OF NATURE

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Renaissance and Reformation

What were the most important ideas associated with the Renaissance?

What were the essential teachings of Calvinism?

Why did Calvinists wish to remove all icons from their churches?

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Renaissance and Reformation

Humanists – Emphasized the human capacity for self-improvement

Reformation – The movement for religious reform started by Martin Luther

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New Monarchs and the Rise of the Nation-State

How was the English Reformation different than the Continental Reformation?

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New Monarchs and the Rise of the Nation-State

• Spanish Inquisition – A Spanish tribunal devoted to finding and punishing heresy and rooting out Spain’s Jews and Muslims

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Columbus Encounters the “Indians”

What was the Columbian Exchange?

What role did disease play in the Columbian Exchange?

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Columbus Encounters the “Indians”

Columbian Exchange – The term used by modern scholars to describe the biological encounter between the two sides of the Atlantic, including the movement of plants, animals, and diseases

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European Technology in the Era of the Columbian Exchange

What impact did new technology have on the course of European overseas expansion in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries?

What technological advances facilitated European expansionism?

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The Conquest of the Aztec and Inca Empires

What role did disease play in the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs?

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West African Worlds

A. West African Societies, Islam, and Trade

B. The Portuguese-African Connection

C. African Slavery 

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West African Societies, Islam, and Trade

What were the major religious traditions of Africa?

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The Portuguese-African Connection

What arguments were used to justify the enslavement of the Guanche?

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African Slavery

What role did slaves play in African societies?

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Choices and Consequences

• Taking captured opponents as slaves was traditional African practice

• Portuguese wanted to trade goods for these slaves

• Oba (King) of Benin faced with choice of whether to continue this trade

BENIN, PORTUGAL, AND THE INTERNATIONAL SLAVE TRADE

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Choices and Consequences

Choices regarding slave trade

BENIN, PORTUGAL, AND THE INTERNATIONAL SLAVE TRADE

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Cut off all trade with the

Portuguese

Continue to trade with the

Portuguese, including the slave trade

Continue to trade with the

Portuguese, but refuse to engage in

slave trade

Choices and Consequences

Decision and Consequences

• Continued to trade with Portuguese

• Restricted trade in male slaves

• Allowed Benin to prosper and maintain autonomy

BENIN, PORTUGAL, AND THE INTERNATIONAL SLAVE TRADE

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What theories account for Benin’s ability to resist involvement in the international slave trade?

Choices and Consequences

Continuing Controversies

•What does the kingdom of Benin’s experiences with the slave trade reveal about the nature of African slavery?

BENIN, PORTUGAL, AND THE INTERNATIONAL SLAVE TRADE

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European Colonization of the Atlantic World

A. The Black Legend and the Creation of New Spain

B. Fishing and Furs: France’s North Atlantic Empire

C. English Expansion: Ireland and Virginia

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The Black Legend and the Creation of New Spain

What was the Black Legend?

What does the architecture of the central plaza of Mexico City tell us about Spain’s approach to colonization?

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The Black Legend and the Creation of New Spain

How did Spanish city planning and architecture help reinforce the power of the state and the church in the Americas?

What types of labor systems were employed in the Spanish colonies?

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Fishing and Furs: France’s North Atlantic Empire

What were the most important differences between New France and New Spain?

Compare the impact of Spanish, French, and English approaches to colonization on the indigenous populations of the Americas.

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English Expansion: Ireland and Virginia

Why did England enter the race for colonies in the Atlantic world so late?

What lessons did the English learn from their experiences in Ireland?

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English Expansion: Ireland and Virginia

What is the symbolic importance of the position of Queen Elizabeth’s hand in the Armada portrait?

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English Expansion: Ireland and Virginia

Plantation − An English settlement or fortified outpost in a foreign land dedicated to producing agricultural products for exports

•Later the term would become synonymous with a distinctive slave-based labor system used in much of the Atlantic world.

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English Expansion: Ireland and Virginia

Privateers − Englishmen engaged in a form of state-sponsored piracy, usually directed against Spanish treasure fleets returning from the Americas

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Images as History

• Why did de Bry want to appeal to both Catholics and Protestants?

• What did de Bry leave out of his images to give them broader appeal?

• How do de Bry’s images differ from John White’s paintings?

MARKETING THE NEW WORLD: THEODORE DE BRY’S ENGRAVINGS OF THE AMERICAS

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Images as History

The Latin text describes the idol as “a horrible effigy made in the form of a misshapen evil-demon”

A monstrous pagan sculpture dominates the image

The natives’ lack of clothing demonstrates that they are uncivilized and primitive

MARKETING THE NEW WORLD: THEODORE DE BRY’S ENGRAVINGS OF THE AMERICAS

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