Lecture Notes

Conquests and Colonies

 
  1. Changes in European Society 
    1. Hierarchy 
      1. Roman Catholic Church 
      2. Nobles 
      3. Nuclear (immediate family) 
    2. Crusades (1095 - 1270) 
      1. Holy war fought in the middle east 
      2. 3 effects 
        1. weakens Catholic church since Crusades are unsuccessful 
        2. introduces new consumer goods from the Middle East and Asia (black gold, silks, etc.) 
        3. weakens nobles, thus strengthening monarchs - leading to rise of nations 
          1. England 
          2. France 
          3. Portugal 
          4. Spain 
      3. Black Death 
        1. mid 1300s 
        2. kills an estimated 1/3 of the population 
        3. increases the consolidation of power 
      4. Renaissance (the "Rebirth) 
        1. Population growth 
        2. increase in trade 
        3. Printing press 
        4. "Spirit of adventure" 
      5. Portugal sets the pace 
        1. Henry the Navigator 
        2. Explorers eventually sail around Africa 
        3. Begin looking for routes to the West 
    3. 'Discovery' of the Americas 
      1. Erik the Red/Leif Erikson - 1001 
        1. Greenland, Wineland/Vineland  
        2. Snorri - first European born in the Americas 
      2. Columbus 
        1. Italian, commissioned by Spanish Queen Isabelle 
        2. Believed he'd reached the Indies 
        3. Returned 3 more times, searching for gold 
        4. Enslaved Indians, force them to bring gold 
        5. End up exterminating native populations 
        6. Diseases 
          1. Smallpox and measles were the biggest killers 
          2. Native Americans had no resistance 
        7. With the death of their slave populations, Spanish began the importation of Africans 
    4. Exploration and Conquest
      1. Driven by the 3 G's - Gold, God, and Glory
      2. Treaty of Tordesillas 
        1. 1494 - signed granting Spain control of lands west of a dividing line, Portugal east of the line 
        2. Portugal got Brazil and colonies in Africa
        3. Spain 'got' all the (unknown) lands in the Americas 
      3. John Cabot 
        1. 1497 - sailed along and claimed the east coast of N. America 
        2. Italian, sailing for England 
      4. Amerigo Vespucci 
        1. 1499 - explores the east coast of South America 
        2. Mapmaker mistakenly titles a map America, and the name sticks 
      5. Ponce de Leon 
        1. 1513 - Explores Florida (named for a flower holiday) 
        2. Searching for the "Fountain of Youth" 
      6. Balboa 
        1. 1513 - Discovers" the Pacific Ocean, claims it for Spain 
        2. Pacific means 'peaceful' 
      7. Cortes 
        1. 1519 - destroys Tenochtitlan 
        2. Ancient Aztec legend of Quetzalcoatl - the great feathered serpent 
        3. Spanish seemed to be unhuman - with strange animals, dressed in armor, strange colors, big ships, new weapons 
        4. Welcomed initially, but then began making demands for gold 
        5. Forced out of the city (many Spaniards drown trying to carry out gold) 
        6. Smallpox strikes and kills many in the city 
        7. 400 soldiers and large number of Indian allies attack 
        8. Mexico City is now built on the site of the old city 
      8. Pizarro 
        1. 1532 - destroys the Incan empire 
        2. Went to the capitol city of Cuzco and captured the king 
        3. Demanded a ransom of a room full of gold and silver 
        4. The ransom was paid, but Pizarro had the king executed anyway 
      9. Coronado 
        1. 1540 - marched into the SW USA, looking for the 7 cities of gold 
        2. First European to see the Grand Canyon 
      10. De Soto 
        1. 1539 - landed in Florida and marched northwest 
        2. Found and claimed the Mississippi River; died in the effort 
      11. Encomienda system 
        1. Developed during Spanish conquests around Europe and Africa 
        2. "Official" reason was to ensure the promotion of Christianity 
        3. "Real" reason was to aid constant supply of slave labor 
        4. Indians were required to provide 'tribute' to the land owners 
        5. Ownership eventually became the goal of Spanish emigrants 
        6. 'Liaisons' with Indians resulted in many "mixed-blood" children; known as mestizos they today make up the vast majority of thepopulation in Latin America 
      12. St. Augustine, Florida 
        1. 1565 - first European-founded city to survive in the present day USA 
      13. Turning Point 
        1. 1588 - the defeat of the Spanish Armada 
        2. Spain's attempted invasion of England ended in disaster 
        3. From this time on, England's power increased while Spain's decreased 
        1. 1565 - first European-founded city to survive in the present day USA 
    5. Dutch Colonies
      1. Henry Hudson
        1. 1609 -sailed north up the Hudson River, claiming land for his company
        2. Later abandoned by a mutinous crew in Hudson Bay
      2. New Netherland
        1. Established a trading outpost on Manhatten island
        2. According to legend, was purchased for around $25 worth of beads, trinkets, and knives
        3. Britain asserted they owned the land (because of Cabot's exploration)
        4. 1664 - British ships sail into the harbor and take over the city, renaming it New York
    6. English Colonies 
      1. Roanoke 
        1. 1585 in Virginia 
        2. Disappeared in 1587; no clues except the word Croatan carved in a tree 
      2. Jamestown 
        1. 1606 - Established by the Virginia Company, a joint stock corporation 
        2. Disastrous start - despite many 'new' shipments of colonists, by 1610 only 60 were left - 90% had died during the "Starving Time" 
        3. Colonists had expected gold as the Spanish found; of course there was nothing of the sort in Virginia 
        4. 1612 - John Rolfe returns from a shipwreck with new tobacco seeds (stolen from Spanish farms in S. America) 
        5. Tobacco is a cash crop - only designed for sale; not as an immediate community necessity 
        6. The colony has its economic savior, and Jamestown goes on to becoming immensely profitable 
      3. Pilgrims 
        1. 1620 - Plymouth colony 
        2. Seeking a separation from the church of England - Separatists 
        3. Originally went to Holland, but feared losing their English identity 
        4. The London Virginia Company allowed them to settle in Virginia (gave them a 'patent' to do so) 
        5. Set off on 2 ships, but only the Mayflower continued the journey past England 
        6. Somehow (navigation error, storms on the seas) they ended up far north of that off Cape Cod 
        7. Mayflower Compact
          1. Because their 'patent' was for Virginia, not New England, they felt it necessary to reach an agreement on the governing of the new colony (and because it seemed like some of their number were becoming somewhat mutinous) 
          2. The Mayflower Compact is often pointed to as a symbol of the democratic institutions to come 
        8. Thanksgiving - after the first harvest in 1621 (even though only about 1/2 of the colonists remained alive and they really didn'thave all that much to last them through the winter)
      4. Puritans 
        1. 1630 - Massachusetts Bay Colony 
        2. Wanted religious freedom, but denied it to anyone who didn't follow their teachings 
        3. Wanted to "purify" the English church - were hard core religious fanatics 
        4. 1636 - kicked out Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson for defying the authority of the clergy; went to what is now Rhode Island, purchased it (at a fair price) from the Indians there, and established Providence 
      5. Quakers 
        1. 1681 - a refuge for the group established by William Penn 
        2. The king owed his father money and repaid it with a land grant in the Americas 
        3. Quakers were pacifist people who were marked by great religious tolerance and fair dealings with the Indians
        4. Pennsylvania was the 12th of the original 13 colonies
      6. Georgia Colony