Chapter 1

People in MotionThe Atlantic World to 1590

How did Europeans envision America?

 

CHAPTER 1: PEOPLE IN MOTION: THE ATLANTIC WORLD TO 1590

I. The First AmericansII. European Civilization in TurmoilIII. Columbus and the Columbian ExchangeIV. West African WorldsV. European Colonization of the Atlantic

World

 

CHAPTER 1: PEOPLE IN MOTION: THE ATLANTIC WORLD TO 1590

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 

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.

The First Americans

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

Why did Paleo-Indians migrate to the Americas?

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?

Migration, Settlement, and the Rise of Agriculture

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

Migration, Settlement, and the Rise of Agriculture

What role did commerce play in Aztec culture?

The Aztec

Aztec-Led by the Mexica tribe, the Aztec created a powerful empire whose capital, the great city of Tenochtitlán, was created on an island in Lake Texcoco in 1325 CE.

The Aztec

What role did trade play in ancient American societies?

Mound Builders and Pueblo Dwellers

What were some differences between Eastern Woodlands Indian and Mesoamerican Societies?

Eastern Woodlands Indian Societies

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 the Americas? What were the differences?

American Societies on the Eve of European Contact

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 

What trade goods were most sought after by Europeans?

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.

The Allure of the East and the Challenge of Islam

What impact did printing have on European society?

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

Trade, Commerce, and Urbanization

Capitalism - An economic system in which the market economy determined the prices of goods and services.

Trade, Commerce, and Urbanization

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

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?

Renaissance and Reformation

Humanists – Emphasized the human capacity for self-improvement.

Reformation - The movement for religious reform started by Martin Luther.

Renaissance and Reformation

How was the English Reformation different than the Continental Reformation?

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.

New Monarchs and the Rise of the Nation State

What was the Columbian Exchange?

What role did disease play in the Columbian Exchange?

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.

Columbus Encounters the “Indians”

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?

European Technology in the Era of the Columbian Exchange

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

The Conquest of the Aztec and Inca Empires

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Why did the Spanish stress the cruelty and barbarism of Aztec culture?

West African Worlds

A. West African Societies, Islam, and Trade

B. The Portuguese-African Connection

C. African Slavery 

What were the major religious traditions of Africa?

West African Societies, Islam, and Trade

How did the Portuguese justify the enslavement of the Guanche?

The Portuguese-African Connection

What role did slaves play in African societies?

African Slavery

What theories account for Benin’s inability to resist involvement in 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 

What was the Black Legend?

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

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?

The Black Legend and the Creation of New Spain

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.

Fishing and Furs: France’s North Atlantic Empire

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?

English Expansion: Ireland and Virginia

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

How did de Bry change the Indians in John White’s painting?

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.)

English Expansion: Ireland and Virginia

Privateers - A form of state-sponsored piracy, usually directed against Spanish treasure fleets returning from the Americas.

English Expansion: Ireland and Virginia