Chapter 1 Outline

The Collision of Cultures

Learning Objectives

Explain how contact between European arrivals and the native peoples of the Americas affected both groups.

Contrast Spanish settlement in the Americas with that of the English, Dutch, and French.

Describe the effects of the importation of African slaves into the Americas.

Define mercantilism and explain its influence on the European colonization of North America.

Explain how the English experience in the colonization of Ireland affected their efforts to colonize in America.

Chapter Overview

During the seventeenth century, many separate colonies were established in British North America. Before 1660, most of these colonies were private ventures chartered by the crown. These colonies were peopled largely by English Europeans, many of whom migrated across the Atlantic Ocean in search of greater opportunity, be it economic, religious, or social. After 1660, what were called proprietary colonies became the norm. Charters granted by the crown indicated a closer tie between the “owners” of the colony and the reigning monarch. By the 1680s, England had established an unbroken string of colonies stretching from Canada to the Savannah River and extending into the West Indies.

Colonial expansion intensified the contact and conflict with natives. Despite a considerable and mutual exchange of information and goods, the colonists’ ceaseless desire for land led to a deterioration in relations with natives.

Gradually, time and distance influenced the attitudes of colonists, who began to perceive themselves as a hybrid breed of both Old World English and New World Americans. As the colonies matured, the inhabitants began to exhibit a desire to control their own local affairs and interests that eventually would come to trouble the British Empire. It would also contribute to decisions by officials in London to tighten control over their increasingly independent-minded, not to mention increasingly valuable, possessions in the New World.

  1. America Before Columbus
  1. The Peoples of the Precontact Americas

1)How did many early scholars believe migrations to the Americas occurred? What name were they given?

2)More recent evidence suggests what other way to people arrive?

3)If Mongolian migrants were not the first to arrive, why might most Indians in the Americas share similar characteristics?

4)Archaic Period—

  1. The Growth of Civilizations: The South

1)Who created the largest empire in the Americas?

2)How did they sustain the empire?

3)What three civilizations emerged in Mesoamerica?

4)Describe Tenochtitlan—

5)As of the sixteenth century, despite many great achievements, what had no American society developed?

  1. The Civilizations of the North

1)Describe some of the complex and varied civilizations of the north—

2)Cahokia—

3)What linked many of the tribes east of the Mississippi River?

  1. Tribal Cultures

1)What were some of the results of the Agricultural Revolution?

2)What role did women play?

  1. Europe Looks Westward
  1. Commerce and Nationalism

1)Results of Black Death—

2)What effect did ambitious kings and queens have on overseas exploration?

3)What role did Marco Polo play?

4)Which country was first in exploration?

  1. Christopher Columbus

1)Describe Columbus’ religious motivations—

  1. The Conquistadores

1)Describe the actions of Hernando Cortes—

2)How are the actions of conquistadores viewed?

  1. Spanish America

1)What is the third phase of the Spanish Empire?

2)What role did religion play in the Spanish Empire?

  1. Northern Outposts

1)Describe Onate’s encomiendas in the Southwest—

2)Pueblo Revolt—

3)What results came from the conflicts between the Spanish and the Indians?

  1. The Empire at High Tide

1)Describe the size of the Spanish Empire—

2)Explain some of the ways in which Spanish rule was different than other European colonies and its effects—

  1. Biological and Cultural Exchanges

1)Describe the effects of disease on the Native Americans—

2)Why did conquistadores consider the natives “savages”?

3)Positive cultural exchanges—

4)What was the racial social hierarchy?

5)What was the wage system?

6)Why did European begin importing slaves from Africa?

  1. Africa and America

1)Why did Europeans portray African society as uncivilized?

2)What two empires existed in west Africa?

3)The kingdoms of Benin, Congo, and Songhai were successful at what?

4)Matrilineal—

5)How was African slavery different?

6)Why did the demand for African slaves grow dramatically?

  1. The Arrival of the English
  1. The Commercial Incentive

1)How were the Americas viewed by many English?

2)Results of the enclosure movement—

3)Chartered companies—

4)Mercantilism—

5)Richard Hakluyt’s argument—

  1. The Religious Incentive

1)Leaders of the Protestant Reformation—

2)King Henry VIII—

3)What goals did the Puritan Separatists have?

4)How did King James worsen discontent?

  1. The English in Ireland

1)Most important assumption—

2)How did Humphrey Gilbert treat the Irish?

3)Second assumption—

  1. The French and Dutch in America

1)What relationships did the French forge with the Native Americans?

2)Coureurs de bois—

3)Henry Hudson—

  1. The First English Settlements

1)Who was the English rival on the seas?

2)Results of the Spanish Armada’s invasion of England—

3)Gilbert expedition ended how?

  1. Roanoke—

1)What two theories are there for the mystery of the Lost Colony?

2)What two colonial charters were created?