The document discusses Native American, West African, and European societies prior to contact between the Old World and New World in 1492. It describes the political, social, and economic structures of these societies, including advanced civilizations in Mesoamerica and West Africa. Upon contact, European diseases devastated Native American populations while European powers conquered empires like the Aztecs and Incas. The Columbian Exchange introduced new crops, livestock, and diseases globally in one of the most consequential events in human history. European nations then competed to establish colonies in North America.

1. Key Questions What was the status of Native American, West African, and European societies on the eve of contact? What were the reasons behind Europe’s impulse for global exploration? What were the Spanish, French, and English experience in America in the 16th century? What were the consequences of contact between the Old and New Worlds?

2. Native American Societies before 1492 Paleo-Indians and the Archaic period An estimated 70 million people lived on the continents of North and South America in 1492. Paleo-Indians were the earliest Americans and came to the Americans in small bands tracking game. Climate changes around 12,000 years ago depleted the game and changed the vegetation. During the Archaic period (8,000 B.C.E. –1500 B.C.E. ). Native Americans adapted to regional environments and developed larger communities.

3. Native American Societies before 1492 (cont’d.) The Development of Agriculture Agriculture in the Americas began with the cultivation of maize (corn) in central Mexico around 3000 B.C.E. Agriculture provided a more secure food supply stimulating population growth, permanent villages, and the rise of large cities in central Mexico. Agriculture led to greater diversity among Native American peoples, greater specialization within societies, the improvement of the status of women who were the primary farmers, expanded trade networks, and influenced religious beliefs.

4. Native American Societies before 1492 (cont’d.) Nonfarming Societies Not all Native American peoples adopted agriculture. The environment often led Native American peoples to resist agriculture and rely on hunting, gathering, and fishing.

5. Native American Societies before 1492 (cont’d.) Mesoamerican Civilizations Around 1200 B.C.E. , a series of complex, literate, and urban cultures emerged in Mesoamerica. The Mayans flourished between about C.E. 150 and 900 in southern Yucatan, creating advanced writing, mathematics, and calendrical systems. Teotihuacan was a large city that dominated central Mexico between the first and eight century C.E. The Aztecs were a warrior people that created a vast empire in Mesoamerica based on their capital Tenochtitlan. Map: North American culture areas c. 1500, p. 6

6. Native American Societies before 1492 (cont’d.) North American Cultures Introduction of maize around 400 B.C.E. led to spread of agriculture and the rise of farming cultures. The Anasazi settled in the Southwest, adopting agriculture, developing villages with large communal dwellings. The Plains Indians adopted a nomadic lifestyle that combined farming and hunting. The Adena-Hopewell and Mississippian mound-building arose in the eastern Woodlands based on large earthworks and agriculture that supported large urban populations.

7. Native American Societies before 1492, (cont’d.) The Caribbean Islanders Around 5000 B.C.E. , Native Americans began moving from the mainland to the Caribbean islands. By 1492, approximately four million people lived on the Caribbean islands. Island societies were hierarchical and often ruled by powerful chiefs.

8. West African Societies Geographic and political differences Politically, West African societies spanned a broad spectrum from wealthy, powerful kingdoms and empires to decentralized villages. West Africans were skilled artisans especially regarding metalworking. Complex trade networks existed in West Africa and commercial links extended to Europe and the Middle East. Most West African were farmers and strict gender roles defined agricultural tasks. Men prepared the fields for planting, hunted and herded cattle. Women cultivated and harvested the crops, and engaged in trade.

9. West African Societies Family structure and religion Families were often organized into clans, primarily patrilineal, that stressed extended family links. Traditional West African religions stressed rituals and ceremonies to honor ancestors and gain the goodwill of spiritual forces. Islam was also a major religion in parts of West Africa.

10. West African Societies European merchants in West Africa and the slave trade By the 1430s, the Portuguese were engaged in the slave trade. African slavery was not necessarily a permanent condition. The Portuguese initiated direct trade with West Africa in the early 1400s, exchanging horses, clothing, wine, lead, iron, and steel for African gold, grain, animal skins, cotton, pepper, and camels

11. Western Europe on the Eve of Exploration The consolidation of political and military authority War and disease devastated Europe in the 14th century but stability had been achieved by the end of the 1400s. The consolidation of military power and political authority strengthened the monarchies in France, England, and Spain. In 1492, The Spanish completed the centuries-long reconquista that expelled the Muslims from Spain.

12. Western Europe on the Eve of Exploration Religious conflict and the Protestant Reformation By the 16th century, the Catholic Church had acquired great wealth and power. Martin Luther’s criticism of the Church’s worldliness and corruption began the Reformation. Protestant faiths emerged as reform movements that spread from Germany and Switzerland to France, the Netherlands, England, and Hungary. The reformation fractured the religious unity of Europe and stimulated a century of warfare.

13. Contact The lure of discovery The potential rewards of overseas exploration captured the imagination of a select group of European merchants and monarchs. Merchants sought access to the spice trade controlled at key points by Muslim rulers. Advances in shipbuilding and navigation led to Portuguese exploration along the west coast of Africa and the establishment of trade. Spain and Portugal acquired the various Atlantic islands and set up sugar plantations worked by native and later African slaves.

14. Contact Christopher Columbus and the westward route to Asia After convincing King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to sponsor his voyage, Christopher Columbus landed in the Caribbean, believing he had reached Asia. Columbus made three more voyages to the Caribbean islands but never found the riches he promised. Map: European voyages of discovery, p. 18

15. Contact The Spanish conquest and colonization Spain was well-suited to exploit Columbus’ discovery. The reconquista provided a religious justification of spreading Christianity and the nation possessed a strong military.Spain also had developed techniques for controlling newly conquered lands in the Canary Islands. The native populations of the islands declined precipitously as Spain brutally consolidated its control of the Caribbean and conquistadores searched for gold. The Spanish expanded to the mainland in the early 1500s.

16. Contact The end of the Aztec empire Hernan Cortes and six hundred soldiers landed on the coast of Mexico in 1519 and by 1521 had conquered the mighty Aztec empire. Several factors contributed to the swift Spanish success, including the Spanish technological superiority, especially guns and horses; the forging of alliances with subject peoples who resented Aztec rule; and disease that killed many of the Aztecs and demoralized the survivors. An estimated 40 percent of the population of central Mexico died of smallpox in one year.

17. Contact The fall of the Inca empire Hernan Cortes and six hundred soldiers landed on the coast of Mexico in 1519 and by 1521 had conquered the mighty Aztec empire. Several factors contributed to the swift Spanish success, including the Spanish technological superiority, especially guns and horses; the forging of alliances with subject peoples who resented Aztec rule; and disease that killed many of the Aztecs and demoralized the survivors. An estimated 40 percent of the population of central Mexico died of smallpox in one year.

18. Contact Spanish incursions to the north The Spanish sponsored expeditions into Florida, and the present-day southeastern and southwestern United States but failed to find gold or silver. The treatment of Indians aroused protests but did not lead to more humane practices. Seeds of economic decline Gold and silver made Spain the richest and most powerful European state, but the stagnation of trade, inflation, and wasteful government spending sowed seeds of decline.

19. Contact The Columbian Exchange The Columbian Exchange caused the most momentous consequences of the European arrival in the Americas. The most catastrophic result was the exposure of Native Americans to Old World diseases that resulted in the massive decline of Native American populations. The introduction of cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats brought new sources of food. The horse transformed native cultures. New food sources were exchanged also as European wheat, melons, and fruit trees spread throughout the Americas and American corn, potatoes, and beans enriched the European diet.

20. Contact The Columbian Exchange The Columbian Exchange caused the most momentous consequences of the European arrival in the Americas. The most catastrophic result was the exposure of Native Americans to Old World diseases that resulted in the massive decline of Native American populations. The introduction of cattle, sheep, pigs, and goats brought new sources of food. The horse transformed native cultures. New food sources were exchanged also as European wheat, melons, and fruit trees spread throughout the Americas and American corn, potatoes, and beans enriched the European diet.

21. Competition for a Continent Early French efforts in North America French exploration of North America led to failed attempts to establish settlements in Canada, Carolina, and Florida. English attempts in the new world Religious strife delayed English activity in the New World. English colonization of Ireland supplied a pattern for American colonization based on native peoples as savages and the founding of plantations. Irish colonization veterans Humphrey Gilbert and later Walter Raleigh sponsored the failed Roanoke colony.

22. Conclusion Dramatic changes occurred in North America in the 16th century, the Aztec and Inca empires collapsed and large numbers of the native population died from European diseases. In 1600, North America was still Indian country as only in Mexico and the Caribbean had Europeans established strong colonies. B.C.E.