Chapter 1: The New World

Background: Expansion and Conflict

• Intercontinental Conflict: The conquest of the Americas is part of a long-standing conflict spanning over a thousand years.
• Christian Crusades: Linked Europe with the wealth and knowledge of Greece, Rome, and the Middle East.
• Renaissance and Expansion: Sparked by hemispheric exchange of goods and information, leading to European expansion.
• European Markets: Demand for Asian goods increased, leading to colonial trade competition.

Pre-Columbian America

• Population: America was home to at least 50 million people before Columbus.
• Disease Impact: European diseases like smallpox caused pandemics among native populations, devastating tribes.
• Migration and Settlements:
  • Clovis Peoples: Migrated from Siberia via Bering Strait around 11,000 years ago.
  • Cahokia: Largest Mississippian settlement rivaling European cities in size.
  • Incan Empire: Advanced society with roads and a unified government by 10,000 BC.
  • Mayans and Aztecs: Developed systems of language, numbers, calendar, and city infrastructure.

Early Societies and Cultures

• Varied Tribes: Inuits, Woodland Indians, and Farmers had diverse lifestyles (hunting, fishing, agriculture).
• Matrilineal Societies: Often organized with women as matriarchs.

European Exploration

• Late 15th Century: Increased interest in the West due to population growth, economic ambitions, and search for trade routes.
• Christopher Columbus:
  • Backed by Spain, attempted westward route to India in 1492.
  • Landed in the Bahamas, realizing the new world on his third trip.

Spanish Conquest and Colonization

• Perception of Natives: Seen as savages and inferior, fueling subjugation.
• Bartolome de las Casas: Documented Spanish brutality towards natives.
• Encomiendas: Forced labor system imposed on natives.

Conflicts and Conquests

• Hernán Cortés & Aztecs: Attempted seizure of Aztec wealth, aided by smallpox.
• Conquistadors: Focused on mining wealth.
• Agricultural and Religious Spread: Spanish spread Catholicism and culture, integrating mixed populations.

Columbian Exchange

• Biological and Cultural Exchanges:
  • Europeans introduced diseases, sugar, livestock.
  • Spanish brought back crops like corn and tomatoes.
  • Resulted in population changes and cultural transformations.

African Slave Trade

• Transatlantic Slave Trade: Africans forcibly deported to the Americas, distorting the original slave markets.
• Impact of Arrival: Bridged separated worlds, setting the stage for global population shifts by the 17th century.