The New World: Indigenous America

I. Introduction

• European concept of the Americas as the New World.
• Native Americans had lived for over ten thousand years with diverse cultures and languages.
• They had settled communities, migration patterns, trade networks, and distinct spiritual values.
• The Columbian Exchange: A major cultural and biological exchange initiated by European arrival, resulting in violence, disease, and a revolutionized history.

II. The First Americans

• Stories of creation passed down through generations among Native American tribes.
• Archaeologists trace origins to migration from Asia via the Bering Strait during the last ice age.
• Evidence of diverse settlements and cultures across America.
• Agricultural development, particularly in Mesoamerica with crops like maize.
• Woodland and Plains cultures: distinct agriculture and hunting practices.
• Social structures often matrilineal with different property concepts than Europeans.
• Art and communication varied widely, with unique artistic forms and literacy.
• Large, complex societies like the Puebloans and Mississippians thrived.
• Collapse of societies due to environmental challenges and European contact.
• Trade networks across North America, e.g., Cahokia's extensive trade.

III. European Expansion

• Early Norse exploration failed due to isolation and resistance.
• The Crusades spurred European interest in Asia, rejuvenating trade and knowledge.
• Rise of nation-states in Europe led to exploration for resources.
• Portuguese advancements in navigation and shipbuilding.
• Establishment of African trading posts and sugar plantations using enslaved labor.
• Spain's unification and support for Columbus, resulting in New World discovery.
• Columbus's voyages marked the beginning of European colonization and exploitation.

IV. Spanish Exploration and Conquest

• Spanish motivations: wealth, conversion, and empire building.
• Encomienda and repartimiento systems exploited Native labor.
• Confrontation with advanced civilizations like the Aztecs and Incas.
• Tenochtitlán: a massive, advanced city with complex infrastructure.
• Corts’s conquest aided by internal division and disease.
• Spanish control expanded, incorporating local populations but maintaining a racial hierarchy.
• Sistema de Castas: a racial classification affecting social mobility.
• Cultural and racial blending led to a mestizo society.

V. Conclusion

• European colonization resulted in catastrophic population decline due to disease.
• Columbian Exchange radically altered global diets and agriculture, e.g., potatoes in Ireland.
• Introduction of European animals like horses transformed Native cultures.
• Bridged a historic separation between continents, permanently altering both.

VI. Primary Sources

1. Native American creation stories.
2. Journal of Christopher Columbus, 1492.
3. An Aztec account of the Spanish attack.
4. Bartolomé de las Casas's description of exploitation.
5. Thomas Morton's reflections on New England Natives.
6. Story of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
7. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's travels.
8. Photograph of Cliff Palace.
9. Casta painting depicting racial classifications.

VII. Reference Material

• Edited by Joseph Locke and Ben Wright.
• Includes contributions from various scholars and suggested readings for deeper understanding.

The material provides a comprehensive overview of Indigenous America before European contact, the impacts of European exploration and colonization, and the resultant societal transformations.