A lot of people fail to realize that certain nations were a lot smarter and more established then they are portrayed in the famous Christopher Columbus story. Three that fit this category are the Europeans, the Native Americans, and the West Africans. These three nations all had their own government, innovations, inventions, and society. It is through those things that the famous 1492 story could even exist. Every nation plays an important role in history and was essential in order to create what we call life today. It is widely known that the Europeans had a very structured system at this time, but I think you will be amazed at how well the Natives and West Africans were established as well. 

Europeans, Native Americans, and West Africans; three different races that are important to making what we live in today.

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW Terms & Names

absolute monarchyprinting presssocial hierarchyQueen Isabella

The European government was controlled by absolute monarchy and if it wasn’t for their inventions they wouldn’t have been the top race.

The absolute monarchy that was ruled by Queen Isabella was also used by Charles I from 1625 to

1649.

Europeans

The European government had a variety of issues to deal with; and dealt with them in their own way. To start off with, most of the governments were controlled by absolute monarchy which means only one person has total control. Queen Isabella had total control at the time. Since she had so much power, she expelled the Muslims and Jews from Spain in 1492 because they were not Catholic. In addition to that, there was a hundred year war going on with Britain and France between 1337 and 1453. The main dispute in the war was about money and power. usually the knights determined the war, but this time peasants were also involved. In the end France won and Britain was hurt deeply by cost and population lost. In addition to the first two, the government was not just around to make sure things were in order. They also were used to fund expeditions. In 1420, a series of explorations begins because of Prince Henry. One of them was for Vasco de Gama who sailed around Cape of Good Hope to India in 1497. No one can argue that their government did have some problems like over controlling people, but they had some positive things as well.

Government

15th century European innovations were very beneficial to the English society and the advancement of the Europeans. A great innovation to start with is the invention of the gun. With this invention, the Europeans were able to do whatever they wanted to the Natives. They used guns to mistreat the Natives to a great extent. They killed, robbed, and forced Natives to get what they (the Europeans) wanted. Guns also can be partially credited for the power the English had. Along with guns, another major innovation was the invention of the printing press. The printing press was an invention to speed up the copying process which increased the efficiency of the travel time of information. Documents could be copied in great numbers in less than half the time it would have taken. Before the printing press, books and documents were copied and written by hand. With the printing press, Christopher Columbus could paint the vivid picture to the Europeans on Europe that everything at the New World was going so great. The printing press also allowed Las Casas to give an accurate account of the New World voyage to the Europeans. Along with the gun and the printing press, a third major innovation from the 15th century was the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. The slave trade allowed Europeans to force others to do things for them. Because of this innovation, many people were taken by force away from their homes and families to places unfamiliar to them; just to do a stranger's work for them. The slave trade turned into a big business in Africa after gold was discovered in the Americas. Slavery was one of the many things shared between the Natives, Africans, and Europeans in the Colombian Trade. 

Innovations

The above picture is Queen Isabella, whom had total power. She also funded Christopher Columbus's expedition.Credit: http://www.hartransom.org/hart_ransom/blast_09/Queen%20Isabella%20I/images/q2.jpg

This is a European printing press which was used to transfer images from one thing to another.Credit:http://www.wsu.edu:8000/wciv/b/ba/baz/baz84.jpg

The Social Hierarchy is what structured the European society. The Europeans had very little social mobility and their life was centered around nuclear family. A first good example of this is the social hierarchy was what the European communities were centered on. They also relied on the trades of the merchants and nobles. The merchants and nobles held most of the wealth and power at the top and at the bottom labored the peasants. The majority of people consisted of peasants. In addition to that, one of the groups that experienced social mobility was composed of artisans and merchants. The artisans and merchants made profit that they earned from trade. Since they made profit, this eventually made them a valuable source of tax revenue. And finally, life for the Europeans centered around the nuclear family. The household was made up of mother, father, and children. The men worked in the field and herded livestock and the women helped in the fields. Women also handled childcare along with household labor which involved preparing and preserving the family food. 

Social Structure

CRITICAL THINKING1. What were the issues that the European government had to deal with? 2. Infer why the artisans and merchants were important.

3. Look at the picture above. Compare the church and knights. Who had more power, and why?

Credit: http://home.comcast.net/~DiazStudents/MiddleAgesSocialPyramid.gif

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW Terms & Names

Iroquois LeagueMississippiextended family

The Native American society was based on their extended family, along with that they also developed a form of democracy used today.

We wouldn't have the words OK and Mississippi or soul food without the Native Americans.

Native Americans

Though many people didn't think the Native Americans were the smartest group of people, little did they know they had a very organized government that was also based off of tribes. First and foremost, the Native Americans had created an Iroquois League to discuss main problems. The reason they created this group was due to the wars and fighting going on among Iroquois groups. In the Grand Council they had fifty Iroquois leaders from different tribes to discuss the problems. Also, if it wasn't for the Native Americans we wouldn't have a very important type of government today, Democracy. In 1754 Benjamin Franklin was influenced in the creation of colonial governments by the Iroquois government. On top of that, the Native Americans developed Democracy from scratch. They had no idea of what Democracy was until they made it. Unlike Greece who had at least little knowledge of it, Native Americans had no outside information. With all this in mind, it's obvious that the Native Americans had great intelligence and created a great government. 

Government

The Natives of the 15th century had some impressive innovations. If it wasn't for the Natives, life would be a little different today in North America. An amazing innovation that isn't usually credited to the Natives is soul food. That's right! We can thank Natives for some of the greatest food in the world. If it wasn't for the Natives, we wouldn't be able to enjoy cornbread, grits, greens, or hush puppies. The Natives were very impressive because they got almost three times as much nutrients from the soil than the Europeans could. We can credit the Native Americans with more than half of all the crops grown everywhere on this planet! So Columbus' voyages and the Colombian Exchange played a important part in our modern day cuisine that many people don't even realize. Along with soul food, we an also partially thank the Natives for our English language. Our language is very diverse with roots in many different cultures such as Latin, Greek, and yes, the Native American culture. Native Americans are the creators of such common words like O.K. Along with our common words, the Natives are responsible for the names of certain places and things. The meaning of Mississippi is Native American and means "Great River" so Natives definitely left their mark on modern America. We can credit them for the name of the disastrous storm, the hurricane along with the name one of the smelliest creatures on the Earth, the skunk. Another innovation the Natives had, were in the skills that acquired. Natives were able to weave watertight baskets, like the one from the famous Bible story of Moses. Natives also can be credited for certain remedies. Natives were some of the first herbal doctors in history; they knew that certain plants had certain healing medicines in them. Natives were also good traders which automatically negates the common thought that Natives weren't very intelligent. Natives were great harvesters and traded corn to European countries in exchange for weapons, cloth, and other things. Natives were also good at hunting. They also traded beaver and fish.  They even traded the herb, sassafras. Europeans encouraged the Natives into trading slaves and furs. Thanks to the European innovation of the gun, Natives became even better hunters which turned into a great business between the Natives, Europeans, and Africans.

InnovationsThe above picture is mostly the type of food the Native Americans would grow.Credit:http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/tserve/nattrans/ntimages/ceplantssm.jpg

Native Americans traded corn to the Europeans for weapons, clothes, and other things.Credit:http://www.all-creatures.org/recipes/images/i-corn-yellow.jpg

The Native American society was a society based on family and religion. First of all the Native Americans were very close to their extended family. their extended family meant as much to them as their nuclear family did. Second and even more importantly the Native Americans had different roles for men and women with in their society. The women had to cook food and take care of the children while the men hunted and protected the family. In addition to those the Native Americans were Polytheisticthich means they believed in more than one God. They would dance and pray to worship the Gods hoping they would bring them good things. Therefore the Native Americans took care of their family, and respected their religion. 

Social Structure

CRITICAL THINKING1. Describe the differences in roles between the men and women? Why

do you think they separated them that way?

2. Predict what the world would’ve been like today if the Native Americans didn’t created Democracy.

Credit: http://www.amoeba.com/dynamic-images/blog/Eric_B/Amerikanska-folk-Nordisk-familjebok.jpg

MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW Terms & Names

MamkongoplantationsIslamic

West Africans invented iron ore and because of that they didn’t have to rely on trade like the other West African countries.

The idea of plantations was also used in our nation's history and was supplied with the descendants of the West Africans.

West Africans

Even though the West Africans lived in different cities, they all had a similar structure for their government. The first indication of this is, that the city Kongo had a serious of small kingdoms. In each kingdom there would be a Mamkongo. A Mamkongo was the leader within the kingdom. The people in the city expanded. By the 1470s their population expanded to four million people! An additional face is Benin, a forest kingdom, also had the same idea for their government. Instead of small kingdoms, they had organized provinces instead. Along with the provinces they also had officials governing each one. In the late 1400's though, they exchanged ambassadors with Portugal. Knowing this, things would change once they got a new one. Most importantly, Songhai became the largest kingdom in West Africa with this structure of government. Their wealth was gained through trade. With all that wealth they soon raised armies, conquered territories and built even more cities. In total, each city using this structure of government became successful in different areas.

Government

West Africans were able to be independent through their innovations and inventions. To start off with, trade was very beneficial to the West Africans. With trade, the West African economy flourished. Their ability to supply gold and other items made them self-sustaining. In addition to trade, plantations were another innovation of the West Africans. Plantations allowed the West Africans to make large areas where they could mass produce a certain crop. With that mass production, they had enough for themselves and so much left over that they could sell it; therefore, helping the West African economy. With all that said, iron ore production was another innovation of the West Africans. Because of iron ore production, Kongo didn't have to rely on trade like other West African countries such as Songhai did. Iron ore was their primary source of income. So in conclusion, West African innovations and inventions were very beneficial

to them and made them self-sustaining.

Innovations

Kongo, Africa is located in the map above.Credit:http://rainforests.mongabay.com/congo/congo_basin_countries2.jpg

The West Africans mined iron ore. By mining iron ore, they became very wealthy in Kongo.Credit:http://www.edzone.net/~tzielask/iron_ore_-_no_label.jpg

African society revolved around religion, family, and methods they used to survive. First of all Africans had many different religions. The two religious traditions in the fifteenth century in the west Africa was Islamic and indigenous. Secondly the oldest living descendant of the groups common ancestor controlled family members and represented them in councils of larger groups. These larger groups shared a common language in history and often common territory. In addition to those through out west Africa people supported themselves by age old methods. The methods that they did were farming, herding, hunting, fishing and they also mined and traded. Therefore the Africans religion effected the way the family was formed and how they survived.

Social Structure

CRITICAL THINKING1. What is a Mamkongo?

2. What were some of the methods that the African people supported themselves by?

Credit: http://cbertel.files.wordpress.com/2009/05/africa-fishing-roman-times.jpg

So, what have you learned today? All three nations played a very important part in our nation's history and what we are able to enjoy today. The food we eat, the words we use, and so much more. And now you know the true story of the famous encounter that occurred in 1492. You now understand the importance of everything covered in this textbook chapter.