Overview
This lecture covers Unit 1 of AP U.S. History, focusing on pre-Columbian Native American societies, the motivations and effects of European exploration, the Columbian Exchange, and Spanish colonization systems.
Native American Societies Before European Contact
- Native Americans developed diverse societies shaped by their regional environments.
- The Pueblo people in the Southwest were farmers using advanced irrigation and built clay-brick towns and cliff dwellings.
- Great Basin and Great Plains peoples, like the Ute, were nomadic hunter-gatherers organized into small kinship bands.
- Pacific Coast groups, such as the Chumash and Chinook, built permanent villages, fished, and traded widely.
- The Iroquois in the Northeast farmed, lived in communal longhouses, and used local timber resources.
- Mississippi River Valley civilizations, like Cahokia, had centralized governments and farmed the fertile land, supporting large populations.
- Native societies engaged in extensive trade networks across the Americas.
European Exploration and Motivations
- European kingdoms in the 1300s-1400s centralized under monarchs and sought luxury goods from Asia.
- Muslim control of land routes pushed Europeans to seek sea routes, with Portugal leading maritime exploration.
- New technology, including the astrolabe, improved charts, lateen sails, and sternpost rudders, enabled longer sea travel.
- Spain, inspired by the Reconquista, sought to spread Catholicism and gain wealth, funding Columbus’ 1492 voyage.
The Columbian Exchange and Its Consequences
- The Columbian Exchange was the transfer of people, plants, animals, and diseases between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
- Foods from the Americas (maize, potatoes, tomatoes) went to Europe; wheat, rice, and animals like horses and pigs came to the Americas.
- Europeans brought smallpox, devastating indigenous populations.
- Large amounts of gold and silver were extracted and sent to Europe.
- Introduction of African slaves to the Americas began as Native populations declined from disease and harsh labor.
Economic and Social Transformations in Europe and the Americas
- European economies shifted from feudalism to capitalism through wealth from the Americas and the rise of joint-stock companies.
- Joint-stock companies allowed multiple investors to share profits and risks of exploration.
- Spain’s encomienda system forced Native labor on plantations and in mines, later replaced increasingly by African slaves.
- Spanish colonial society developed a strict racial hierarchy (casta system) with peninsulares at the top and indigenous/Africans at the bottom.
European Justifications and Native Resistance
- Europeans justified Native and African exploitation through religious and pseudo-scientific beliefs.
- Sepúlveda argued Natives were less than human; Las Casas defended their humanity and opposed their enslavement.
- The biblical "Curse of Ham" was misused to justify African slavery.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Pueblo — Native American farmers in the Southwest known for irrigation and cliff dwellings.
- Columbian Exchange — The transfer of goods, people, and diseases between the Old World and the New World.
- Encomienda system — Spanish labor system exploiting Native Americans for agriculture and mining.
- Joint-stock company — Business model where investors share profits and losses from colonial ventures.
- Casta system — Spanish colonial racial classification hierarchy.
- Feudalism — Economic system based on land, labor, and protection in medieval Europe.
- Capitalism — Economic system based on private ownership and free exchange.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review specific examples of Native American groups and their adaptations.
- Memorize key Columbian Exchange items and their hemispheric origins.
- Study the encomienda and casta systems for their structure and social impact.