period 1 (1491-1607)
contextualization
Before the vast interference of European influences the America’s were already full of life, there were many complex structured civilizations of the Native Americans. By the virtue of the geography barriers between tribes the cultures of the natives were very diverse, the natives languages constituted over 20 language families together 20 families included over 400 distinct languages.The Hohokam, Anasazi and Pueblos were just some of the most populated native tribes that were present in the southwest settlements in America. In this dry region the natives needed to develop advanced irrigation systems to support their multifaceted societies and farms. They lived in caves, undercliffs and multistoried buildings to protect themselves from the intense heat. In the Northwest settlements the natives lived in longhouses or plank houses, they lived along the coast of present day Alaska and Northern California. Because they were located near the ocean they were skilled fishers. Their diet consisted of mainly sea animals but they also incorporated other meats and vegetables. Due to the high mountains in this region it caused tribes to be isolated creating barriers of development. The Great Plains were made up of nomadic hunters or sedentary natives. The abundance of Buffalo helped supply the nomadic tribes with their life necessities: food,decorations,tools,knives and clothing. Their tepee homes were covered in animal skin which helped them be disassembled and transported easily. The sedentary natives relied on farming, the rich soil helped them raise crops like: beans, corn and squash which they traded with other tribes. Even though they also hunted buffaloes they did not migrate with them, they lived in earthen lodges along rivers. The rich soil created a plentiful food supply in the midWest settlements. Living in the middle west settlements prospered in advanced hunting and fishing as well as farming skills. In the Northeast settlements their farming techniques exhausted the soil therefore the natives had to move to different locations frequently in order to continue producing crops. The Atlantic seaboard settlements were mostly descendents of the midwest settlements, therefore they also built timber and bark lodges near rivers. The rivers also provided them with what they needed to survive like a rich food source and tools. Post Europeans, life in the America’s changed dramatically . After the settlements of the “great” Christopher Colombus. The native Americans and the European settlers had significant cultural differences. Contact between each other resulted in the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange included a transfer of plants,animals and germs. Some of the new plants (crops) that the Europeans were introduced to were: beans, corn, sweet and white potatoes, tomatoes and tobacco. The Europeans were also introduced to syphilis from the Native Americans. The Europeans shared: sugarcane,bluegrass, pigs and horses as well as iron the wheel and guns to the Natives. They also brought their diseases like smallpox and the measles which caused millions of deaths because the natives had never been exposed before and were not immuned to it. After the settlement of the Europeans they started challenging the “line of demarcation” trying to gain more land for themselves in the Americas . This “line” was a vertical, north-south line created by the Pope to resolve territorial disputes between Spain and Portugal. Spain’s conquistadores influenced other nations to come to the Americas because they were gaining so much gold and power after seizing all of the wealth from the Natives. The Spaniards developed the “encomienda” system that justified stealing the territory that belonged to the natives living in the same region they decided to occupy.The natives from this territory were then forced into farm or mine labor work this was the like the introduction of slavery in the Americas. Because the Europeans diseases reduced the natives population the Spanish introduced a new system called “asiento” system. This system used the labor of enslaved people from west africa. The spanish and Portuguese introduction of new crops and livestock helped the European exploration in the Americas, the rich soil helped their new crops grow therefore they were able to settled and increase in population. Their resources and wealth increased as well which led to the shift from feudalism to capitalism.