Key Concept 1.3: Contacts Among American Indians, Africans, And

PERIOD 1: 1491–1607

Key Concept 1.3: Contacts among American Indians, Africans, and

Europeans challenged the worldviews of each group.

I. European overseas expansion and sustained contacts with Africans and American

Indians dramatically altered European views of social, political, and economic

Relationships among and between white and nonwhite peoples. (Pageant 21; AMSCO 7—BUT MORE IN LATER CHAPTERS)

A. With little experience dealing with people who were different from

themselves, Spanish and Portuguese explorers poorly understood the native

peoples they encountered in the Americas, leading to debates over how

American Indians should be treated and how “civilized” these groups were

compared to European standards. (Pageant 16, see inset by Las Casas, and page 17; AMSCO 10-13)

Know the arguments of the following regarding the usage of indigenous peoples in the New World:

• Juan de Sepulveda, Bartalome de Las Cases (Pageant 16 & 17; AMSCO 11-13)

B. Many Europeans developed a belief in white superiority to justify their

subjugation of Africans and American Indians, using several different

rationales. (Pageant 17, but much more in further chapters; AMSCO 10-13)

II. Native peoples and Africans in the Americas strove to maintain their political and

cultural autonomy in the face of European challenges to their independence and

core beliefs (AMSCO pages 12 & Essay on 13; Pageant will weave this through the early American History Narrative. You will get much of it in different chapters—we promise)

A. European attempts to change American Indian beliefs and worldviews on

basic social issues such as religion, gender roles and the family, and the

relationship of people with the natural environment led to American Indian

resistance and conflict. (Pageant Chapters 1, page 16 & 17 and 21-23, “The Spread of Spanish America,” should read it all; AMSCO 7-13)

Be familiar with the following:

• Spanish mission system, Pueblo, Juan de Onate

B. In spite of slavery, Africans’ cultural and linguistic adaptations to the

Western Hemisphere resulted in varying degrees of cultural preservation and

Autonomy. (Pageant—woven through Chapters 16 in Pageant and in bit in the earlier chapters—kind of keep your brain open; AMSCO 6)

Know some of the following in order to C&C on your writing.

• Maroon communities in Brazil and the Caribbean, mixing ofChristianity and traditional African religions

Christianity and traditional African religions

Additional Suggested Examples:

Suggested Primary Documents:

Suggested Secondary Sources:

Lesson Ideas: