Heimlich's History - AP US History Unit 1 Overview

Introduction

• This lecture is part of the AP US History Ultimate Review Pack, which includes:
  • Note guides
  • Two full AP practice exams
  • Multiple choice questions
• Focus: Societal structures before European arrival and their impact post-arrival.

Pre-European Native Societies

• Diversity of Native American Cultures

  • Misconception: Native Americans as a monolithic group.
  • Reality: Diverse societies based on environmental contexts.

• Regional Variations

  • Pueblo People (Utah and Colorado)
    • Farmers: beans, squash, maize.
    • Advanced irrigation systems.
    • Known for cliff dwellings.
  • Great Basin and Great Plains
    • Nomadic hunter-gatherers.
    • Example: Ute people.
  • Northwest and Pacific Coast
    • Permanent settlements due to abundant resources.
    • Chumash (California): Villages with regional trade.
    • Chinook (Pacific Northwest): Plank houses.
  • Iroquois (Northeast)
    • Farmers living in longhouses.
  • Mississippi River Valley
    • Farming and trade networks.
    • Cahokia: Centralized governance, large population.

European Arrival and Motivations

• European Kingdom Changes (1300s-1400s)

  • Political unification and centralized states.
  • Desire for Asian luxury goods.
  • Sea-based routes sought due to Muslim-controlled land routes.

• Portuguese Exploration

  • Trading post empire around Africa.
  • Use of maritime technology (astronomical charts, astrolabe, ship designs).

• Spanish Exploration

  • Post-reconquest of Iberian Peninsula.
  • Columbus’s voyage (1492): Discovery of the New World.

The Columbian Exchange

• Transfer of people, animals, plants, and diseases.
• From Americas to Europe
  • Foods: potatoes, tomatoes, maize.
• From Europe to Americas
  • Foods: wheat, rice; Animals: cattle, horses.
• Significant Transfers
  • Gold and silver to Europe.
  • Enslaved Africans to Americas.
  • Diseases: Smallpox to Americas, possible syphilis to Europeans.

Economic and Social Impact on Europe

• Shift from feudalism to capitalism.
• Rise of joint stock companies for exploration funding.

Spanish Colonization

• Encomienda System

  • Forced labor of natives in agriculture and mining.
  • Issues: Native resistance and population decline due to disease.

• African Slave Labor

  • Imported due to native labor issues.
  • African immunity to European diseases.

• Casta System

  • Social hierarchy based on racial ancestry:
    • Peninsulares, Creoles, Mestizos, Mulattos, Africans, Native Americans.

Cultural Interactions and Justifications

• Cultural Adoption

  • Natives learned new agricultural and hunting techniques from Europeans.
  • Europeans adopted native agricultural practices.

• Justifications for Exploitation

  • European belief in native inferiority.
  • Theological justifications using biblical narratives (Ham’s curse).

• Opposition to Brutality

  • Figures like Bartolome de Las Casas advocating for native rights.
  • Attempts to abolish native slavery, later repealed due to economic pushback.

Conclusion

• Importance of understanding the diversity and complexity of pre-European native societies and the profound changes following European contact.

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