Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman © 2008 CHAPTER 1 ALIEN ENCOUNTERS: Europe in the...

Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman © 2008

CHAPTER 1ALIEN ENCOUNTERS: Europe in the Americas

The American Nation: A History of the United States, 13th edition

Carnes/Garraty


SIGHTINGS

TIERRA!—Christopher Columbus made landfall at the West Indian island he called San Salvador (natives called it Guanahani) on October 12, 1492

By 1600, about 240,000 Spaniards had made their way to the Americas The movement eventually brought

100 million persons throughout the world to the western hemisphere


COLUMBUS’S GREAT TRIUMPH—AND ERROR Columbus was searching for a route to Asia

for reasons of trade Spices: pepper, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg,

cloves helped cover the taste of spoiled meat Tropical foods: rice, figs, oranges Other goods: perfumes, silk & cotton, rugs,

textiles, dyestuffs, fine steel products, precious stones, various drugs

If goods could be transported to Europe by sea rather than overland, the trip would be cheaper and more comfortable


COLUMBUS’S GREAT TRIUMPH—AND ERROR Prince Henry the Navigator, the third son of John I of

Portugal, became interested in navigation and exploration

Ships were clumsy, instruments for reckoning latitude were inaccurate at best, and there were no instruments for figuring longitude

Henry attempted to improve and codify navigational knowledge

Henry’s captains sailed westward to the Madeiras, the Canaries and south along the coast of Africa

In 1445, Dinis Dias reached Cape Verde In the 1480s King John II undertook systematic new

explorations focusing on reaching India


COLUMBUS’S GREAT TRIUMPH—AND ERROR A weaver’s son from Genoa, Christopher Columbus

was committed to the westward route to India and when the Portuguese showed no interest, he went to Spain

There he received the funds to equip the Pinta, Niña, and Santa Maria, the title ‘Admiral of the Ocean Sea,’ political control over all lands discovered, and 10% of the profits from trade

Even after three additional voyages, he continued to believe he had found a route to Asia Believing he had reached the Indies, called the locals

“Indians”


SPAIN’S AMERICAN EMPIRE

In 1493, Pope Alexander VI divided the non-Christian world between Spain and Portugal and the terms of exploitation were worked out in the Treaty of Tordesillas the following year

The line that was drawn left Africa to the Portuguese and the New World to Spain Exception was what became Brazil which fell

on Portuguese side of line The Spanish spread out from their base on

Hispaniola (Santo Domingo)



1513: Vasco Nuñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and “discovered” the Pacific Ocean

1519: Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs 1519: Ferdinand Magellan started 3 year voyage

around world 1530s Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incas Spaniards tricked and cheated the native

inhabitants Requiermento Las Casas and criticism of Spanish actions



Shift from gold and silver to land exploitation through the encomienda system Conquistadores concentrated on conquering most heavily

populated areas During the 1530s, the Spanish crown forced all the

leading conquistadores to relinquish their military commands New governors were obliged to confer with the Catholic

archbishop and an advisory council of prominent colonists Catholic missionaries did much of the work of

implementing Spanish civilization When Indians resisted Christianity, friars resorted to force

By 1570s Spanish had founded 200 cities and towns


EXTENDING SPAIN’S EMPIRE NORTH 1513: Juan Ponce de Léon explored the east coast of

Florida 1520s Pánfilo de Narváez explored the Gulf Coast of North

America westward from Florida His lieutenant, Alvar Nuñez de Vaca, and three companions

(including a black slave named Esteban) wandered for years until they made their way across New Mexico and Arizona to Mexico City

1539-1543 Hernando de Soto traveled north from Florida to the Carolinas, then westward to the Mississippi River

At the same time, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado ventured as far north as Kansas and as far west as the Grand Canyon


EXTENDING SPAIN’S EMPIRE NORTH By the early 1600s Spanish explorers had reached

Virginia and there was a small Spanish settlement at San Augustin in Florida

In 1598 Don Juan de Onate led an expedition of 500 Spanish colonists and soldiers and a handful of Spanish missionaries into the land of the Pueblo Indians in the American Southwest Pueblo resisted the incursion resulting in the slaughter

of 800 Pueblo and the arresting of 500 more Men, after one foot was chopped off, were sold into

slavery Onate was dismissed in 1614


EXTENDING SPAIN’S EMPIRE NORTH Those who followed Onate made money by capturing

Apache and Ute Indians, with the forced help of the Pueblos, and selling them as slaves in Mexico Apaches and Utes retaliated against Pueblo

settlements Friars Christianized the Indians and, in return, forced

the Indians to build and maintain the missions, till the surrounding fields, and serve the needs of the friars and Spanish colonists

By the 1670s, the Pueblos had grown tired of oppression and shamans called for revival of traditional religion


EXTENDING SPAIN’S EMPIRE NORTH 1675—Spanish arrested 47 shamans, hanging three

and whipping the remainder One of latter, Popé, organized rebellion

17,000 Pueblos rose against Spanish, killing 200, driving remaining 800 to El Paso, and destroying Spanish buildings

Spanish regained control in the 1690s Learned to deal less harshly with Pueblos Entered into complex trade with nomadic Indians of

Great Plains and foothills of the Rockies By the early 1700s, Spain controlled vast American

empire


DISEASE AND POPULATION LOSSES For centuries diseases such as smallpox,

measles, bubonic plague, diphtheria, influenza, malaria, yellow fever and typhoid had ravaged Europe, Asia and Africa By 1500s these populations had developed a

resistance to such diseases American Indians lacked exposure to diseases

and hence lacked resistance Effects of disease rippled out far from area of

actual contact with Europeans Millions of Indians died


HOW MANY INDIANS DIED WITH EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT? First problem was determining Indian population at

time of European contact Early 20th century scholars estimated population in

Canada and U.S. as 1 million 1960s and 1970s, scholars thought figures too low and

Henry Dobyns proposed10 to 12 million in U.S. and Canada and over 100 million in western hemisphere

Russell Thornton and others arrived at estimates between 4 and 8 million

Mathematicians say data is insufficient for a reliable estimate

All agree millions of Indians in U.S. and Canada died and tens of millions died in remainder of western hemisphere


ECOLOGICAL IMPERIALISM

European plants (especially weeds) and animals (especially pigs, cattle and rats) disrupted Indian ecosystem leading to Indian malnutrition and greater susceptibility to disease

European soldiers brought back syphilis from the New World Also brought maize and potatoes which yielded 50 percent more

calories per acre than wheat, barley and oats As Europeans shifted cultivation to new plants, their population rose

sharply Manioc transformed tropical Africa in same way, leading to

importation of increasing African population to Americas to replace declining Indian population as slaves

Indians did benefit from horses and sheep In the 300 years after Columbus, Europe’s share of the world

population increased from 11 to 20 percent while the American Indians’ declined from 7 percent to 1 percent as a result of the Columbian exchange


SPAIN’S EUROPEAN RIVALS

By 1650 over 181 tons of gold and 16,000 tons of silver had been shipped from the Americas to Spain By 1585, a quarter of the empire’s revenue came from

American gold and silver 1497 & 1498: John Cabot explored Newfoundland and the

northeastern coast of the continent for England 1524: Giovanni da Verrazano explored from Carolina to

Nova Scotia for France 1534: Jacques Cartier, also exploring for France, sailed up

the St. Lawrence as far as present day Montréal Fishermen from France, Spain, Portugal and England

exploited the cod and other fish off the coast of Newfoundland in the 16th century




Why did other countries not immediately follow Spanish lead in colonizing the Americas? Spain had a large measure of internal tranquility

by the 16th century while France and England were suffering from religious and political strife

Spanish seized those areas of the Americas which were best suited for producing quick returns

First half of 16th century, under Charles V, Spain dominated Europe as well as Americas, controlling the Low Countries, most of central Europe, and part of Italy



Under Charles’ successor, Philip II, Spain seemed at its peak

Added Portugal in 1580 But there were a number of

problems: Corruption of Spanish court Overdependence on gold and

silver of colonies undermined local economy

Disruption of Catholic Church caused by Protestant Reformation


THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION Catholic Church suffering from a variety of

problems in the early 1500s: Spiritual lethargy & bureaucratic corruption Sale of indulgences Luxurious lifestyle of Pope and papal court

Why were protests so successful this time? Charismatic Leaders

Martin Luther, who started the movement in 1517 John Calvin, who helped carry it forward


THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION—Political Support German princes stopped payments to Rome and

seized church property Swiss cities established political independence

from Catholic kings Francis I of France, although remaining Catholic,

exerted authority over clergy Efforts of Spain to suppress Protestantism in Low

Countries fueled nationalist movements Henry VIII of England broke from Rome in 1534

when, in search of a male heir, he tried to get his marriage annulled but the Pope refused


THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION—Economic Issues As commercial classes rose to positions of

influence, England, France, and United Provinces of the Netherlands experienced a flowering of trade and industry

DUTCH: built the largest merchant fleet in the world, captured most of the Far Eastern trade from the Portuguese, infiltrated Spain’s Caribbean stronghold

ENGLISH: merchant companies began to play vital role as colonizers forming joint stock companies that were predecessors to modern corporation


ENGLISH BEGINNINGS IN AMERICA Muscovy Company spent large sums looking for

a passage to China around Scandinavia and tried six times to reach East Asia overland through Russia and Persia

In the 1570s, backed by Queen Elizabeth I of England, Martin Frobisher made three voyages across the Atlantic looking for a northwest passage to Asia or new sources of gold

The Queen also supported privateers such as Sir Francis Drake, who preyed on Spanish shipping


ENGLISH BEGINNINGS IN AMERICA Elizabeth also backed settlement efforts such as the

unsuccessful efforts of Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1578, 1579, and 1583

The first settlement, on Roanoke Island off the coast of North Carolina in 1585, was sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh Colony was reestablished in 1587 Ships due to arrive in 1588 to re-supply did not come

due to the attack of the Spanish Armada, and when ships did arrive in 1590 not a trace of the colonists could be found

Destruction of the Spanish Armada left England free to pursue colonization of New World


ENGLISH BEGINNINGS IN AMERICA Settlement efforts were costly and in 1584 Richard

Hakluyt urged crown support Stressed

Military advantages The spread of Protestantism The possible enrichment of the parent country through

expanding markets, increasing tax revenues, and the provision of employment and raw materials

Forests of America would provide timber and naval stores needed for bigger navy and merchant marine

Elizabeth, however, did not pursue Hakluyt’s suggestions and the settlement that started in earnest after her death in 1603 was backed mainly by merchant capitalists, not the Crown


THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA In April 1606, James I chartered two companies (one

based in London; the other of Bristol & Plymouth merchants) to settle Virginia (the name for all area controlled by England at the time)

In 1607 the first 100 settlers arrived and settled Jamestown in the Chesapeake Bay area Settled in malaria infested swamp Did not get crop into ground due to lateness of season

and so had little food More than 1/3 of settlers were gentlemen, many of the

rest were gentlemen’s servants Over half died the first winter


THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA While company directors stressed futile pursuits,

Captain John Smith urged his fellow colonists to build houses and raise food and asked for the company to send more settlers with useful skills

Recognizing the weakness of the colonists, Smith tried to maintain good relations with the local Indians though he had few compunctions about cheating them and little respect for them

After Smith left, the colony lacked direction and each year settlers died in wholesale lots from disease, starvation, Indian attack, and ignorance and folly


THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA Colonists were saved by realization they needed

to grow their own food and by the cultivation of tobacco, which had a ready market in England

In 1612, John Rolfe introduced West Indian tobacco.

While the advent of tobacco allowed colonists to buy manufactured goods, by then they had served their seven years of indenture; since the London Company had made it easy for settlers to obtain their own land, no profit went to the London Company


THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA Colonists mistreated Powhatan Indians despite the fact that

only Indian help had allowed the colonists to survive at all Chief Openchancanough concluded that English land hunger

could not be abated and tried to wipe them out in an attack that killed 347 settlers Many of survivors died that winter of hunger

Between 1606 and 1622, the London Company invested more than £160,000 and sent over 6000 colonists

No dividends were ever paid and by 1624 fewer than 1500 were still alive

In 1624, King James revoked the company’s charter, making Virginia a royal colony


“PURIFYING” THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND Henry VIII had broken from the Catholic Church

and founded the Anglican Church, though his daughter Mary attempted to reinstate Catholicism during her reign (1553-1558)

It was under his second daughter Elizabeth (1558-1603) that the Anglican Church became the official church for all of England

This church closely resembled the Catholic Church except the King/Queen of England was the head of the church and services were in English not Latin

On one side were ardent Catholics who chose to leave England or practice their faith in private


“PURIFYING” THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND On the other were more radical Protestants

(Puritans) who felt changes had not gone far enough and insisted the church needed to be “purified” of Roman leftovers

Among their biggest problems with church teachings was the implication that anyone other than God could free one from the mire of sin

While only the heretic Arminians stated that one could absolve oneself through actions on earth, the Anglican Church implied that ones’ good actions might sway God’s view


“PURIFYING” THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND Congregationalists—favored decentralized church

structure with the members of each church and their chosen ministers beholden only to one another

Presbyterians—favored some organization on local level but one controlled by elected laymen not clergy

During Elizabeth’s reign, most puritans hoped that church could be saved from within but under James I, many worried the court was returning to “popish” ways All James I did for Protestants during 22 year reign

was to authorize a new translation of the Bible in 1611—the King James Version


BRADFORD AND THE PLYMOUTH COLONY In 1606, the first group of puritans went further and

“separated” from the Anglican Church Separatists either had to go underground or into exile

In 1608, 125 separatists left England for the Low Countries, first to Amsterdam then to Leyden

By 1619 disheartened by the difficulties of making a living, disappointed by failure of others from England to join them, and distressed that their children were being led astray from the path of righteousness, these “Pilgrims” decided to leave in search of a better place


BRADFORD AND THE PLYMOUTH COLONY The Puritans negotiated with the Virginia Company to

settle at the mouth of the Hudson River on the upper edge of the company’s territory

The Pilgrims formed a joint stock company to help pay for the trip as well as taking non-Pilgrims (of 100 who set out only 35 were Pilgrims)

Left from Plymouth, England, on the Mayflower, in September 1620 In December, arrived at Cape Cod Bay, north of their

destination and the territory controlled by the London Company


BRADFORD AND THE PLYMOUTH COLONY In order to establish a government, they drew

up the Mayflower Compact, thus establishing the early American ideal that a society should be based on a set of rules chosen by its members William Bradford was chosen as the first

governor The Pilgrims went ashore at Plymouth and

suffered through a winter of starvation in which half died


BRADFORD AND THE PLYMOUTH COLONY The Pilgrims were aided in survival by a local

Indian named Tisquantum (called Squanto by the Pilgrims) who spoke English Taught the Pilgrims best places to fish, and

what to plant and how to cultivate it After first successful harvest, Pilgrims treated

Indian neighbors to a Thanksgiving feast Bradford claimed to treat the Indians fairly but

they yielded land mainly because many had died as a result of disease

By 1650, still fewer than 1000 settlers


WINTHROP AND MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY Before Puritans arrived, the Plymouth Company had tried

settling on the Kennebec River in 1607 but had not succeeded Fisherman continued to come to the area It was christened New England by Captain John Smith in

1614 In 1620, the Plymouth Company reorganized itself as the

Council for New England Group was more interested in real estate deals than in

settlement and one deal was a small grant to a group of Puritans from Dorchester who settled in Salem in 1629

These Dorchester Puritans organized the Massachusetts Bay Company and obtained a royal grant in the area between the Charles and Merrimack Rivers


BRADFORD AND THE PLYMOUTH COLONY Other Puritans (nearly 1,000 in the summer of 1630)

joined in a mass migration as King Charles I cracked down on them These Puritans carried with them the charter for the

Massachusetts Bay Company and by fall they had founded Boston and several other towns

Despite high initial death rates, by 1640 over 10,000 puritans had arrived in Massachusetts John Winthrop was elected governor and declared the

colony to “be as a Citty upon a Hill, the eies of all people are upon us”

Colonists created an elected legislature, the General Court

Right to vote and hold office was limited to male church members, though clergymen could not hold office


BRADFORD AND THE PLYMOUTH COLONY After getting permission from the General

Court, a group of colonists who wished to form a new church would select a minister and conduct their spiritual matters as they saw fit

Membership was restricted to those who could present satisfactory evidence of having experienced “saving grace”

In the 1630s, the majority of people were members



TROUBLEMAKERS: Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson ROGER WILLIAMS: an extreme separatist who arrived

in 1631 and was minister in Salem by 1635, quickly offended everyone through his religious libertarianism and his insistence that it was a sin to take land without buying it from the Indians

By the end of 1635, Williams was asked to leave the colony within 6 weeks which he did in January 1636

He traveled to the head of Narragansett Bay, worked out a deal with the Indians and founded Providence, establishing Rhode Island and Providence Plantations after obtaining a charter from Parliament in 1644 Government was relatively democratic, all religions were

tolerated and church and state were rigidly separated


TROUBLEMAKERS: Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson ANNE HUTCHINSON: arrived in Boston in 1631 where, as a

midwife, she often discussed with women her criticisms of the minister

Debate was over issue of who God’s “Saints” were Ministers said could not be sure so had to monitor your behavior Hutchinson said that smacked of Catholicism and Saints should

just know Also suggested that those possessed of God’s grace were exempt

from the rules of good behavior and even from the laws of the Commonwealth (accused of antinomianism)

After claiming regular communication with God, Hutchinson was banished and left with supporters for Rhode Island in 1637

In 1642 she moved to the Dutch colony of New Netherland where she and all but her youngest child were killed by Indians


OTHER NEW ENGLAND COLONIES Owners of the Plymouth Company divided their

holdings in 1629 with one taking Maine (expanded in 1639) and the other New Hampshire Massachusetts purchased Maine in 1677 and New

Hampshire became a royal colony in 1680 In 1636, Reverend Thomas Hooker founded

Hartford and helped draft the Fundamental Orders that governed the towns of Connecticut valley in 1639 By 1662 Connecticut had obtained a royal charter


PEQUOT WAR AND KING PHILIP’S WAR Indians identified more with their hunting group, headed by a

sachem, rather than a particular tribe Colonists repeatedly exploited disunity among the Indians

In the 1630s the Pequots became worried by the steady stream of settlers into southeastern Connecticut 1636—Pequots refused to pay tribute in wampum and to surrender

tribal members responsible for recent clashes Governments of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Plymouth

declared war 1637—New England armies and their Indian allies the

Narragansetts and Mohegans attacked a palisaded Pequot village and burned it to the ground, killing all 400 Pequots Indian allies claimed English way of fighting was too savage Pequots were crushed


PEQUOT WAR AND KING PHILIP’S WAR In the 1670s, Wampanoag sachem Metacom decided

to drive out the English Started an uprising in 1675 that attacked more than half

of the 90 Puritan towns in New England, destroying 12 1000 puritans were massacred 1676 the colonists went on the offensive, bolstered by

Mohawk allies Metacom was killed and many of the remaining

Wampanoag and their allies were killed when the colonists surrounded and burned a large fort they built in the Great Swamp in Rhode Island

About 4000 Wampanoags and their allies died in what was termed ‘King Philip’s War’


MARYLAND AND THE CAROLINAS After the 1630s, it was increasingly easy to create

successful colonies (mostly through royal charters) and many were encouraged to do so as prospects in England and Europe worsened

Proprietors obtained large land grants and then granted land to settlers for a small annual rent while holding on to undeveloped land for speculative purposes

Maryland was granted by Charles I to George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, and a Catholic who wanted a haven for his co-religionists First settlers arrived in 1634, founding St. Mary’s which

quickly turned to tobacco production similar to nearby Jamestown


MARYLAND AND THE CAROLINAS The need to attract settlers meant Lord Baltimore

had to abandon his feudal privileges and allow settlers to own their farms and have a say in local affairs

While Calvert had wanted a colony of Catholics there was a large Protestant majority which resulted in a Toleration Act in 1649 that guaranteed freedom of religion to anyone who believed in Jesus Christ

As a result of these efforts, the Calverts made a fortune and maintained an influence in the colony until the Revolution


MARYLAND AND THE CAROLINAS The proprietors of Carolina tried to exercise their granted

powers by drafting the Fundamental Constitutions which created a hereditary nobility and a landed hierarchy that proved unworkable

The first settlers arrived in 1670, mostly from Barbados, where slave labor was driving out small independent farmers Charles Town (Charleston) was founded in 1680 while another

population center formed just south of Virginia in Albemarle with settlers predominantly from Virginia

Charles Town engaged in a thriving trade in furs and the export of foodstuffs to the West Indies while the Albemarle settlement was poorer and more primitive

The two separated in 1712, becoming North and South Carolina


FRENCH AND DUTCH SETTLEMENTS Jacques Cartier attempted to found a French

colony at Québec in the 1530s but was unsuccessful Not until the end of the century was another

colonization attempt made Intrepid French traders initiated a trade with

Indians for furs, which had become valuable in Europe due to the cold temperatures of the ‘little ice age’ Indians valued European metal knives and

hatchets, woolens and alcohol


FRENCH AND DUTCH SETTLEMENTS French traders viewed the Indians as essential trading

partners By 1650 there were only 700 French colonists in New

France French government sought to protect its vulnerable

holdings by building forts on key northern waterways and sending soldiers to protect the traders By 1700, 15,000 French colonists lived in scattered

settlements In contrast 250,000 English (and 34,000 African slaves)

occupied English colonies French recruited the Algonquian Indians as allies even

as English worked with their enemies the Iroquois


FRENCH AND DUTCH SETTLEMENTS Result was warfare pitting French-Algonquian

and English-Iroquois in increasingly bloody conflict as Indians gained guns and ammunition

The Dutch founded New Netherland in the Hudson Valley after the 1609 explorations of Henry Hudson

As early as 1624 the Dutch established an outpost at Fort Orange (present day Albany) and two years later founded New Amsterdam at the mouth of the Hudson River, while Peter Minuit (director general of the West India Company) bought Manhattan Island from the Indians


FRENCH AND DUTCH SETTLEMENTS The Dutch traded with the Indians for furs and

plundered Spanish colonial commerce Charter of Privileges of Patroons authorized large

grants of land to individuals who could bring over 50 settlers Only Rensselaerswyck was successful

Removed from his post in 1631, Peter Minuit helped the Swedes found New Sweden on the lower reaches of the Delaware River but after years of conflict it was overrun by the Dutch in 1655


THE MIDDLE COLONIES

English and Dutch trade rivalries resulted in King Charles II granting his brother James, Duke of York, the entire area between Connecticut and Maryland (which included the Dutch colony of New Netherland)

In 1664 English forces captured New Amsterdam and its population of 1500 without a fight and the rest of the colonies soon followed Renamed the colony New York

Life remained much the same under English rule as it had under Dutch, though a local assembly was established in the 1680s


THE MIDDLE COLONIES

In 1664, the Duke of York gave New Jersey (the region between the Hudson and the Delaware) to John, Lord Berkeley, and Sir George Carteret who offered land on easy terms, established freedom of religion, and a democratic system of local government

A considerable number of New England and Long Island Puritans moved to the colony

In 1674, Berkeley sold his interest to two Quakers Quakers believed in the Inner Light (a direct mystical experience

of religious truth), refused to take oaths, and were pacifists, which generally made them unwelcome

The Concessions and Agreements of 1677, drafted for the new Quaker colony, created an autonomous legislature and guaranteed settlers freedom of conscience, the right to trial by jury, and other civil rights


THE MIDDLE COLONIES

William Penn was responsible for the main Quaker settlement when King Charles II paid off his debt by giving Penn the region north of Maryland and west of the Delaware River in 1681

In 1682, Penn founded Philadelphia in his new colony of Pennsylvania which had gained Delaware as a gift from the Duke of York

Penn treated the Indians fairly and opened settlement to anyone who believed in one God

However, in government he was more paternalistic and the assembly could only approve or reject laws proposed by the governor and council Individual rights were well protected


THE MIDDLE COLONIES

Penn sold large and small tracts to settlers on easy terms but reserved large areas for himself Promoted Pennsylvania tirelessly Attracted large numbers of settlers, especially

Germans By 1685 there were almost 9,000 settlers and by

1700 there were twice that number The colony produced wheat, corn, rye and other

crops Much of produce was sold to sugar plantations of the

West Indies


European Footholds Along the Atlantic, 1584–1650


CULTURAL COLLISIONS

Indians worshipped a variety of gods but Europeans saw them as non-religious Worse, some viewed them as heathens or even

minions of Satan Some saw them as unworthy of conversion while

others, such as the Spanish friars, believed in the value of conversion As late as 1569, when Spain introduced the

Inquisition in the colonies, natives were exempt because they were viewed as incapable of rational judgment


CULTURAL COLLISIONS

Europeans assumed Indian chiefs ruled with the same authority as their own kings

Instead Indian loyalties were shaped by complex kinship relations

As a result, Europeans often accused Indians of treachery when some failed to honor commitments made by their chiefs

Indians regarded treaty-making as an act of brotherhood, marked by rituals affirming mutual support and were confused when settlers blamed Indians for violating the precise wording of the treaty

Tendency for colonists to talk about kings and governors as fathers made little sense to Indians whose childhood mainly involved mothers while fathers were indulgent and non-intrusive


CULTURAL COLLISIONS

Generally, Indians who depended on hunting and fishing had little use for private property and were confused by European tendency to amass possessions and work all the time

Indians were puzzled by the fact that European men worked in the fields rather than the women as among the Indians

Indians tended to gain status by distributing their goods, rather than amassing them

Europeans saw this lack of concern for material things as an indication that Indians were childlike creatures, not to be treated as equals


CULTURAL COLLISIONS

Saw “childlikeness” of Indians as justification to take the land and use it “properly” But Indians cleared fields, burned underbrush in the

forests, diverted rivers and streams, built roads and settlements, and built huge earthen mounds

Yet due to metal plows and axes, the European imprint was deeper and more devastating

Indians held land communally Tribal boundaries were traditional and not marked by

treaties or fences Agricultural products were often stored communally

and drawn on by all as needed Indians resented the intensity of European cultivation


CULTURAL COLLISIONS

Indians did not seek to possess land and as a result did not seek to destroy their enemies but to prove their own valor to avenge an insult or perceived wrong to acquire captives who could take the place of

missing family members Preferred ambush to confrontation with a

superior force Europeans preferred to fight in heavily armed

masses that aimed to obliterate the enemy


CULTURAL FUSIONS

Interaction between Indians and Europeans was typical of the settlement years

Colonists learned a great deal from the Indians Names of plants and animals What to eat in their new home and how to catch or

grow it (especially corn) What to wear How to best get from one place to another (birchbark

canoes particularly helpful) How to fight In some respects, how to think

Colonists also adopted Indian birchbark canoes


CULTURAL FUSIONS

Indians adopted European technology, particularly goods made of metal (though through 17th century bow remained more effective than flintlock)

Indians very active participants in fur trade where each side profited: Indians traded plentiful fur for valuable European objects while Europeans gained valuable furs in exchange for “cheap” European goods

The fur trade shifted Indian patterns Hunting parties became larger Villages shifted nearer trade routes and European forts Some groups combined into confederations to control

larger hunting territories


CULTURAL FUSIONS

Europeans and Indians became interdependent

European colonists did not want to be like the Indians, whom they considered the epitome of savagery and barbarism Repudiation of the Indians was part of the

collective identity of the settlers, part of what made them Americans rather than transplanted Europeans


MILESTONES


WEBSITES

Vikings in the New Worldhttp://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/vikings/index.html The Columbus Doorshttp://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/columbus/col1.html 1492: An Ongoing Voyagehttp://www.ibiblio.org/expo/1492.exhibit/Intro.html The Computerized Information Retrieval System on

Columbus and the Age of Discoveryhttp://muweb.millersville.edu/~columbus/ Contact Era in New Hampshirehttp://etext.lib.virginia.edu/users/deetz/


WEBSITES

The Discoverers’ Web http://www.win.tue.nl/cs/fm/engels/discovery The Plymouth Colony Archives Project at the

University of Virginiahttp://etext.lib.virginia.edu/users/deetz/ Jamestown Rediscoveryhttp://www.apva.org/jr.html Jamestown http://www.nps.gov/colo Williamsburghttp://www.history.org William Penn, Visionary Proprietorhttp://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/PENN/pnhome.html

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