Overview
This lecture reviews the diversity of Native American societies before European contact, the motivations and effects of European exploration, the Columbian Exchange, and the early systems of colonization and social hierarchy established in the Americas.
Native American Societies Before European Arrival
- Native Americans developed a wide range of societies, each shaped by their local environment.
- The Pueblo people (in present-day Utah and Colorado) were settled farmers who grew crops like beans, squash, and maize. They used advanced irrigation systems, built clay brick urban centers, and are known for their cliff dwellings.
- In the Great Basin and Great Plains (from Colorado to Canada), groups like the Ute were nomadic hunter-gatherers. They organized themselves into small, egalitarian kinship bands and relied on hunting buffalo and gathering food.
- Along the Pacific Coast, groups such as the Chumash (California) and Chinook (Pacific Northwest) built permanent settlements due to abundant fish, game, and plant life. The Chumash established villages of up to a thousand people and participated in regional trade, while the Chinook built large plank houses for extended families.
- The Iroquois (Northeast) were communal farmers who lived in longhouses made from local timber. They grew crops and lived in large, cooperative communities.
- In the Mississippi River Valley, civilizations like the Cahokia built large towns with centralized governments, rich agriculture, and participated in extensive trade along waterways. Cahokia was especially notable, with a population between 10,000 and 30,000 and a powerful chieftain-led government.
- Native societies across the continent were connected by vast trade networks, stretching from South to North America.
European Motives and Technological Innovation
- From the 1300s to 1400s, European kingdoms became more unified and centralized under monarchs, leading to a wealthy upper class with a growing demand for Asian luxury goods.
- Muslim control of land-based trade routes to Asia forced Europeans to seek new sea routes for trade.
- Portugal led the way in maritime exploration, establishing trading posts around Africa and gaining access to the Indian Ocean trade network. They used new and adapted maritime technologies, such as updated astronomical charts, the astrolabe, improved ship designs, the lateen sail, and the sternpost rudder.
- Spain entered the exploration race after completing the Reconquista, motivated by a desire to spread Catholicism and seek new economic opportunities. Columbus, sponsored by Spain, sailed west in 1492 and landed in the Caribbean, initiating lasting European contact with the Americas.
- Columbus’s voyage sparked intense competition among European nations (Portugal, France, England, and Spain) to explore and claim lands in the Americas.
The Columbian Exchange
- The Columbian Exchange refers to the transfer of people, animals, plants, and diseases between the Eastern and Western Hemispheres following European contact.
- Crops from the Americas, such as maize, potatoes, and tomatoes, were introduced to Europe, while wheat, rice, soybeans, and livestock (cattle, pigs, horses) were brought to the Americas.
- Turkeys were sent from the Americas to Europe; Europeans introduced new animals to the Americas.
- The exchange of gold and silver from the Americas to Europe had major economic impacts.
- Europeans settled permanently in the Americas and brought enslaved Africans to work on plantations.
- Diseases, especially smallpox, devastated Native American populations, with some communities nearly wiped out. There is some evidence that syphilis may have traveled from the Americas to Europe.
Economic Shifts and Colonization Systems
- The influx of wealth from the Americas led to a shift in Europe from feudalism (peasants working land for nobles in exchange for protection) to capitalism, characterized by private ownership and free exchange.
- Joint-stock companies emerged as a new way to fund exploration, allowing multiple investors to pool resources and share profits or losses, unlike state-sponsored ventures.
- Spain established the encomienda system, forcing Native Americans to work on plantations and in mines. This system initially benefited the Spanish but faced problems as Native populations declined due to disease and resistance.
- To address labor shortages, the Spanish began importing enslaved Africans, who were less able to escape and had greater immunity to European diseases.
- Spanish colonial society was organized by the casta system, which ranked people based on racial ancestry: peninsulares (Spaniards born in Spain), creoles (Spaniards born in the Americas), mestizos (Spanish and Native ancestry), mulattos (Spanish and African ancestry), Africans, and Native Americans at the bottom.
European-Native Relations and Justifications
- Europeans generally exploited Native Americans for labor, military alliances, and as subjects for Christian conversion.
- Despite conflict, both groups sometimes adopted useful practices from each other (e.g., Natives taught Europeans to hunt and farm; Natives adopted iron tools).
- European treatment of Natives was often harsh and justified by beliefs in European superiority. Some, like Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda, argued that Natives were less than human and benefited from forced labor.
- Others, such as Bartolomé de las Casas, opposed this view, advocating for Native rights and persuading the king to pass laws ending Native slavery (though these laws were later repealed).
- Europeans also used biblical interpretations, such as the "curse of Ham," to justify the enslavement of Africans, falsely claiming that black skin marked people as destined for slavery.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Columbian Exchange — The transfer of plants, animals, people, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds after 1492.
- Encomienda System — Spanish system of forced Native American labor for agriculture and mining.
- Casta System — Spanish colonial hierarchy ranking people by ancestry and race.
- Joint Stock Company — A business model where multiple investors pool resources for exploration, sharing profits and losses.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review the major Native American societies and how they adapted to their environments.
- Memorize key examples and impacts of the Columbian Exchange.
- Understand the differences in European colonization methods and economic systems.
- Study the key terms and definitions for upcoming quizzes or exams.
- Be able to explain how European beliefs and justifications shaped their treatment of both Native Americans and Africans.