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WORLD HISTORY UNIT 4: CHAPTER 12- THEAMERICAS: PRE-COLUMBIAN EMPIRES TOCOLONIES
INTRODUCTION In this chapter, you will learn about theearliest civilizations in the Americas. Thenyou will learn about the voyage ofColumbus across the Atlantic in 1492 toreach Asia, and how this voyage led to thefirst encounter between Europeans andNative Americans. Finally, you will learnabout the effects of this on the Americas,Europe, Africa, and Asia.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONSWhat were the major characteristics of theMaya, Inca, and Aztec civilizations? How did the voyages of Christopher Columbusforever change the world?
VOCABULARY Pre-Columbian EmpiresMayaIncaAztecPrince HenryChristopher ColumbusColumbian ExchangeVasco da GamaFerdinand Magellan Hernando CortesConquistadoresMontezumaFrancisco PizarroEncomienda SystemNew FranceNew NetherlandAtlantic Slave Trade“Middle Passage”
IMPORTANT IDEASA. The Maya, Inca, and Aztec peoples developed complexcivilizations in Mexico, Central America, and Peru beforethe arrival of Christopher Columbus. They grew corn andmany other food crops unknown in Europe. Theydeveloped their own calendars, mathematics, andengineering skills.B. The Renaissance spirit of inquiry and new technologieslike the compass, encouraged Europeans to engage inoverseas exploration in the 1400s.C. Columbus' "first voyage" led to the first encounterbetween Europeans and the Americans in 1492. Thisencounter led to the introduction of new foods, livestock,and diseases in both hemispheres, known as theColumbian Exchange.
D. The Spanish conquest of the Aztecs and Incas ledto European colonization of the Americas, theintroduction of Christianity, and the deaths ofmillions of Native Americans to European diseases.E. Europe was enriched from plundering andcolonizing the Americas and from increased trade.F. European colonization of the Americas had a greatimpact on Africa. Africans were enslaved andshipped to the Americas in the Atlantic slave trade.
THE EMPIRE OF THE AMERICAS While complex civilizations wereemerging in Asia, Africa, andEurope, equally strikingdevelopments had occurred inthe Americas. In this chapter youwill review the chain of eventsset into motion when these twohalves of the world collided in1492. The "encounter" ofEuropeans with the peoples ofthe Americas brought the majorcivilizations of the world togetherfor the first time. This encounterhad a profound impact on allpeoples.
THE FIRST AMERICAS Scientists believethat during the lastIce Age, Asia andAlaska wereattached by a landbridge where theBering Straits arefound today. As longas 25,000 yearsago, groups ofAsian hunterscrossed this landbridge in search offood, following themigrations ofanimal herds.
From Alaska, these earliestAmericans spreadsouthwards. Over time,these people multiplied andspread throughout NorthAmerica, Central America,the islands of theCaribbean, and SouthAmerica. Separated by vastmountains and densejungles, these peopledeveloped their ownseparate languages andcultures. They settled alonglakes and rivers, where theyhad fresh water to drink.
"Native Americans"experienced their ownNeolithic Revolution inwhich they learned togrow corn (maize) andother crops. Severalcomplex civilizationsemerged inMesoamerica (presentday Mexico and CentralAmerica). Historiansrefer to thesecivilizations as preColumbian becausethey existed in theAmericas before thearrival of the explorerColumbus in 1492.
Unlike the early civilizationsof Africa and Eurasia, thefirst Native Americancivilizations did not emergein river valleys. NativeAmericans living in the warmand humid rain forests ofMesoamerica learned toplant corn, a crop unknownto the peoples of Africa, Asia,and Europe. Corn becamethe basic food crop in theAmericas, supporting thedevelopment of permanentsettlements and large cities.
THE MAYA (1500 B.C.-1546 A.D.) Among the earliestcivilizations in the regionwere the Olmecs and theToltecs. Over 3,000 yearsago, the Maya developeda complex civilization inpresent-day Guatemala.Each Maya city had its ownchief ruler, who wasconsidered half-man andhalf-god. Most Maya werepeasant farmers,who lived in thatched hutsand grew corn.
There was also asmall class ofcraftsmen, whomade luxuries forthe Maya nobles.The nobility were asmall hereditaryclass, whoperformed sacredceremonies onspecial occasionsand assisted therulers. Mayaastronomersmeasured themovement of thesun, moon, andVenus to predictthe future.
Mayan observatory
The Maya engaged in frequent wars and practiced humansacrifices. They developed a ball game that becamepopular throughout the Americas. Two teams competed ona rectangular court, each attempting to hit a solid rubberball into wooden rings. Archaeologists believe the game hada religious significance. The losing team was sometimessacrificed to the gods after the game.
Around the 9th century, Mayaculture experienced a greatcrisis. Archaeologists do notknow if a food shortage,epidemic, or great warbrought an end to this classicperiod of Maya civilization.The Maya migratednorthward to the YucatanPeninsula in present-dayMexico. There, they built anew series of city-states. Oneof these later Mayan cities iswell-preserved at ChichenItza. Constant warfare fromthe 13th to the 16thcenturies, and pressuresfrom neighboring wanderingpeoples, led to the finaldecline of Maya civilization.
THE AZTECS (1200-1521) The Valley ofMexico, in thecenter of Mexico,has a highelevation and atemperateclimate. Itslocation isexcellent forgrowing crops.The Aztecs (orMexica)were an allianceof several localpeoples.
Around 1300, they settled onan island in the center of theValley of Mexico. They learnedto grow corn from theirneighbors. In order to survive,they grew crops in “floatinggardens" in wet, marshy lands.They made carefulobservations of the sky andaligned their temples based onthe movements of the sun andmoon. Over the next twocenturies, the Aztecs engagedin frequent wars to conquerother peoples in the region.These conflicts continued untilthe arrival of the firstEuropeans in the Americas.
The Aztecsdeveloped a highlycomplex socialorganization. At thetop of Aztec societywas an all-powerfulemperor. Below theruler were thenobles, who oftenheld high positionsin the government,army, or priesthood.Most people werecommoners, workingas farmers,fishermen,craftsmen, or aswarriors in the Aztecarmies. At thebottom of Aztecsociety were slaves.
Like other NativeAmerican cultures, theAztecs worshipped manygods. The mostimportant was the SunGod. Their observationsof the sky made itpossible to constructaccurate calendars ofstone. The Aztecsbelieved the Sun Godneeded human blood tocontinue his dailyjourneys across the sky.For this reason, theAztecs practiced humansacrifices on a massivescale. Captured warriorsfrom other tribes weresacrificed, as well asAztecs who volunteeredfor this honor. Theybelieved their sacrificewas necessary to keepthe universe in motion.The Aztec SunStone, also knownas the AztecCalendar Stone, atNational Museumof Anthropology,Mexico City
THE INCA EMPIRE (12001535) Thousands of miles tothe south of Mexico,advanced culturesdeveloped along thePacific coast and in theAndes Mountains ofSouth America. Peoplesin the Andes terracedmountains and grewpotatoes and other rootcrops that could resistthe cold nights. They keptllamas and alpacas fortheir meat and wool andto carry goods.
The Inca built upon theachievements of these earlierpeoples. Around 1400, the Incabegan extending their rule acrossthe Andes. Eventually, the Incaruled an empire covering much ofpresent-day Peru, Ecuador,Bolivia, and Chile. The Inca builtstone roads stretching over tenthousand miles to unite thedistant comers of their empire.Food was preserved and kept instorehouses along the roads.
The Inca neverdeveloped carts withwheels, possiblybecause such vehicleswere unsuited to therugged terrain of theAndes Mountains. TheInca also neverdeveloped a form ofwriting. Instead, theyused quipu - bundles ofknotted and coloredropes to count, keeprecords, and sendmessages.
Their superb engineeringskills allowed them toconstruct vast stonebuildings high in the Andes.They had no cement, butfitted stones of theirbuildings perfectly together.The ruins of Machu Picchu,an ancient fortress city inthe Andes Mountains,provide the best survivingexample of Inca buildingskills. Many of the buildingblocks weigh 50 tons butare so precisely fittedtogether that the joints donot permit a thin knife bladeto be inserted.
ART Pre-Columbian art was highly developed. Maya, Aztec andInca artists made stone sculptures to decorate the sidesof temples and palaces. They made ceramic bowlscarved with human and animal forms across the front forreligious ceremonies. Often these were used to ward offdemonic spirits believed to be lurking in the afterlife.Mayan reliefsculpturefromPalenque,MexicoAn Incanpolychromejar from14711493.
GENDER ROLES IN MESOAMERICA Gender roles wereestablished at birth.Boys were given amachete (a type ofknife with a wide blade)by their fathers to helpestablish theirmasculine role. Girlsreceived a stoneinstrument from theirmothers, used to grindmaize. Boys weretaught crafts, and girlswere taught to cookand other necessities.
Women held various roles in the family, fromharvesting grains and preparing food, tocaring for animals. Aside from childbearingand raising children, one of women's majorjobs was making maize into flour. After beingboiled, the maize kernels were ground bystone into dough. Women could hold jobsoutside the home. Some sold goods in themarket or were skilled artisans. Others werepriestesses who worked in temples.
THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGEThe writings of Marco Polohad increased Europeaninterest in trade with Asia.Goods, especially spicesand silks, were carriedoverland to Constantinopleand then shipped acrossthe Mediterranean by theItalian city-states. Theconquest of the ByzantineEmpire by the OttomanTurks in 1453 temporarilycut off Europe fromoverland trade with EastAsia. As a result,incentives were created tofind a new route to theEast, especially by an allwater passage.
At the same time, the spirit of inquiry of theRenaissance was leading Europeans to explore theoceans. Europeans adapted technologicalinnovations from other cultures to improve theirnavigation skills, including the compass from Chinaand the triangular lateen sail used by Arab ships.
THE AGE OF DISCOVERY Spain and Portugal Lead the Way. Spain and Portugal are locatedat the western end of Europe. Spain has coasts on theMediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Both countries weredetermined to gain a share of the trade with Asia, and had theresources needed to finance costly overseas exploration. PrinceHenry of Portugal developed a new, lighter sailing ship andsponsored expeditions along the coast of Africa.
Spain's rulers,Ferdinand andIsabella, had justcompleted theReconquista(reconquest) ofSpain's Muslim areas- reuniting thecountry underChristian rule in1492. In the sameyear, they expelledSpain's Jewishcommunity. Spain'srulers hoped tofurther spread theChristian faith and toglorify their countrythrough overseasexploration.Ferdinand on theleft with Isabella onthe right. Theinscription aboveidentifies them as"Lord Ferdinandand Lady Isabella,Kings of Castilleand of Aragon".
THE VOYAGES OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), a sea captainfrom Genoa in Italy, was convinced that he couldreach Asia by sailing westward. After years of seekingsupport, he finally persuaded the rulers of Spain toprovide him with three ships in 1492.
Columbus actuallythought the world wassmaller than it was. Aftertwo months at sea, hismen almost mutinied.Then they accidentallylanded in the Americasinstead of reaching theEast Indies. His"discovery" of theAmericas provided newsources of wealth andraw materials that wouldforever alter theeconomy of Europe.
Columbus' encounter withthe peoples of the Americasquickly led to an importantexchange of products andideas, known as theColumbian Exchange. TheEuropean diet was greatlyimproved by the introductionof new American foods suchas tomatoes, corn, potatoes,peppers, squash,pineapples, and chocolate.Also, such animals asturkeys provided a new foodsource for Europeans.Tobacco was also brought toEurope. At the same time,wheat, sugar, cattle, horses,pigs, sheep, chickens andgrains such as wheat wereintroduced from Europe intothe Americas.THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE
LATER EXPLORERS After Columbus’ great success, Europeanscompeted with one another in sending outexplorers to find new trade routes and to seeknew lands.
VASCO DE GAMA (1460-1524) A Portuguese explorer,Vasco Da Gamadiscovered an all-waterroute from Europe toIndia by sailing aroundthe southern tip ofAfrica in 1497. Hisdiscovery made itpossible for Europeansto obtain Asian goodswithout relying onoverland routes.
FERDINAND MAGELLAN (1480-1521) In 1519, Magellan, another Portuguese explorer, led thefirst expedition of ships to circumnavigate (circle) theworld. Sailing around South America and across thePacific, Magellan proved conclusively that the world wasround. Magellan himself died on the voyage.
OTHER EXPLORERS England, France, and Hollandeach sent their own explorers tofind an all-water route to Asiaand to claim new lands. Basedon the voyages of John Cabot,England claimed territories inNorth America. France sentJacques Cartier, SamuelChaplain, and Robert de laSalle to explore the St.Lawrence River, the GreatLakes, and the MississippiRiver. The Dutch sent HenryHudson on a quest to find ashortcut from Europe to the FarEast. Hudson explored HudsonBay in Canada and the HudsonRiver in America in hopes offinding a “Northwest Passage”to Asia.
John Cabot’s explorations leading England to claim territories in North America.
THE CONQUEST OF THE AMERICAS The impact of thearrival of theEuropeans wasespecially profoundon the NativeAmericans. Spanishconquistadors(conquerors) andpriests arrived soonafter the firstexplorers. They cameto conquer nativepeoples, seize goldand silver, obtainnatural resources,and convert thenatives to Christianity.
THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO Soon after Columbus' first voyage, the Spanishconquered the main Caribbean islands. Small numbersof Spanish soldiers, using horses and firearms, andacting with local allies, were quickly able to overcomelarge numbers of Native Americans.
In 1519, Hernan Cortes sailed from Cuba to Mexico witha small force of soldiers in search of gold and silver.Cortes met the Aztec Emperor Montezuma. The Aztecs atfirst believed the Spaniards were gods and showeredthem with gifts. Later, Cortes left Tenochtitlan, the Azteccapital, and made allies with the enemies of the Aztecs.
With a few hundred Spaniards and several thousand Native Americanwarriors, Cortes attacked Tenochtitlan in 1521. Several factors explainCortes' final triumph. The Aztecs fought with clubs, spears and bows,while the Spaniards had guns, steel swords, shields, dogs, horses andcannons. The Spaniards also gathered a large force of native warriorsfrom neighboring peoples who opposed the Aztecs. Finally, the Aztecswere worn down by an outbreak of smallpox, accidentally introduced bythe Europeans. The Aztecs had no immunity to this disease. As a result,Cortes was quickly able to conquer the Aztec Empire .
THE CONQUEST OF PERU In 1530, FranciscoPizarro set sail fromPanama to conquerthe Inca of Peru.Pizarro arrived justwhen the Inca wererecoveringfrom a brutal civil war.High in the AndesMountains, Pizarro anda handful of soldiersfaced a much largerforce of Inca warriors.
Again, the NativeAmericans could not resistthe more technologicallyadvanced Europeans.Pretending friendship,Pizarro invited the Incaemperor to visit him.Pizarro and his army nextambushed the Incas andmurdered the emperor.Pizarro was then able toconquer the Inca capital by1533. The Spanish treatedthe conquered Indiansharshly. The defeatedIndians were forced toaccept the Christianreligion and to labor fortheir new rulers.Pizarro meets with the Incaemperor Atahualpa, 1532
COLONIAL LATIN AMERICA The Spanish conquest of the Caribbean, Mexico, and Perubrought many important changes. Although their explorations didnot find the cities of gold they were seeking, the Spanishasserted their dominance, religion and culture on the nativetribes. The region was transformed into Latin America - a fusionof European and Native American cultures.
COLONIAL GOVERNMENT As a result of theseconquests, Spain nowruled an American empiremany times larger thanSpain itself. Special royalgovernors, known asviceroys, were sent to rulethe colonies in the king'sname. Officials born inSpain filled the mostimportant positions in thecolonial government andthe military. Gold andsilver from the Americaswere shipped to Spain,making it the strongestpower in Europe in the16th century.
COLONIAL SOCIETY The conquered lands were often divided among thesoldiers. They used Native Americans to till the landand work the mines. This system of forced labor wascalled the encomienda system.
Church leaders also formedan elite class and shared inpolitical power. Priestssought to convert NativeAmericans to Catholicism,while preventing theiractual enslavement. TheJesuits, the religious orderfounded in the CounterReformation, built schools,founded hospitals, andtaught agricultural skills.However, in 1767, theJesuits were expelled fromLatin America.
Gradually, a new colonialorder emerged. At the top ofsociety were noble officialsand landowners who wereborn in Spain (peninsulares).They formed the head andheart of colonial society inLatin America. Just belowthem were those with aSpanish background born inthe New World (creoles).Below this group were thoseof mixed Spanish and NativeAmerican ancestry(mestizos). At the bottom ofthe social scale were NativeAmericans, who performedmost of the hard work.
Meanwhile, NativeAmerican populationsdeclined because they hadno immunity to diseasesfrom the EasternHemisphere like measlesand smallpox. Until thecoming of the Europeans,the New World had beenfree of smallpox, typhus,and measles. Because ofthe sharp decline in theNative American populationfrom these new diseasesand overwork, Spanishlandowners in theCaribbean and Brazilneeded a source of laborable to survive the harshworking conditions. As aresult, they turned toimporting Africans asslaves.
OTHER EUROPEAN COLONIAL EMPIRES New France. NewFrance wasestablished in Canadaand along the GreatLakes and MississippiRiver. New Francenever became aspopulous as theSpanish or Englishcolonies. It consistedof a handful of townsand a series of tradingoutposts. Frenchmissionaries arrived inthe Americas toconvert the NativeAmerican Indians toChristianity.
By the end of theseventeenthcentury, Frenchterritory coveredalmost three-fourthsof North America.The regioncontinued to attractFrench explorerswho found that theregion containedvaluable fur-bearinganimals, especiallybeavers - whosepelts were greatlydesired byEuropeans formaking hats.
New Netherland. Based on Henry Hudson'sexplorations, the Dutch claimed control of the regionaround present-day New York. They set up asuccessful fur trade with the native peoples of theHudson River Valley and called their colony NewNetherland. The Dutch government gave control ofthe colony to the merchants of the Dutch West IndiaCompany. In 1624, thirty families came to settle inFort Orange (present-day Albany). More settlersarrived the next year and established a second fort atthe tip of Manhattan island. They named thissettlement New Amsterdam after the Dutch city ofAmsterdam. The city of New Amsterdam, with its finenatural harbor, became a leading center for trade.
The English Colonies. The first permanent English colonyin the "New World" was established by a private companyat Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. The first settlers weremen who came in search of gold. Despite initialchallenges, the colony at Jamestown became profitableby growing tobacco for sale in Europe.
A second English colony was founded by a Protestantgroup known as the Pilgrims. They landed at PlymouthRock. Another group of English Protestants, the Puritans,landed in nearby Massachusetts Bay in 1630. They cameto practice their own religious beliefs withoutpersecution. Eventually, the number of English coloniesalong the Atlantic coast of North America expanded tothirteen - from Georgia to Massachusetts.
THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE Finding enough workers able to survive harsh working conditions became a majorproblem for many of the colonies, especially in the Caribbean. The solution to theproblem led to one of the most negative aspects of the European conquest of theAmericas - the rise of the slave trade. Slavery had existed in Africa long beforeEuropean intervention. However, the new Atlantic slave trade expanded the institutionof slavery on a scale unparalleled in human history.
Enslaved people were usually captured by powerfulAfrican tribes in raids on neighboring villages. Theslaves were brought to the West Coast of Africa wherethey were imprisoned in fortified castles and traded toEuropean and American slave traders in exchange forguns and other goods.
It is estimated that the Atlantic slave trade took awayas many as 15 million African men and women overthe next three hundred years. More than 11 million ofthese went to the Spanish colonies. Many died duringthe “Middle Passage,” the voyage across the Atlantic,because of the horrible conditions they endured onboard the ships. Once they arrived in the Americas,most Africans worked long hours in the sugar fields ofthe Caribbean and Brazil, or toiled raising tobacco andcotton in North America.
halves of the world collided in 1492. The "encounter" of Europeans with the peoples of the Americas brought the major civilizations of the world together for the first t
