Chapter 2 Europeans and Africans Reach the Americas

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Chapter 2Europeans and Africans Reach the
Americas

• The American People, 6th ed.

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I. Breaching the Atlantic
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The Columbian Voyages

• Intending to discover an oceanic passage to Asia,
  in 1492 Christopher Columbus instead mistakenly
  discovered the Americas.

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Religious Conflict During the Era of
Reconnaissance

• Martin Luthers Protestant Reformation
• John Calvins Calvinism
• Henry VIII and the Anglican Church

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II. The Spanish Conquest of America
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Caribbean Experiments

• Columbuss second voyage to the New World
  established the first Spanish colony in the
  Americas (in present-day Santo Domingo).
• Tainos were the first indigenous people to meet
  the Spaniards.

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The Conquistadors Onslaught at Tenochtitlan

• Within a single generation after the death of
  Columbus, Spain had conquered most of the New
  World.
• Spain was motivated by religion, nationalist
  pride, and dreams of personal enrichment.

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The Great Dying

• Spanish contacts with the natives of the
  Caribbean, central Mexico, and Peru in the early
  sixteenth century triggered a biological epidemic
  of smallpox in which some 6 million people
  perished in 15 years.

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The Columbian Exchange

• Imported animals from Europe (cattle, goats,
  pigs, etc.) devastated the fragile environment of
  the New World.
• Various plants (especially weeds) imported
  accidentally from Europe caused significant
  damage to the ecosystem

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Silver, Sugar, and Their Consequences

• Silver was found abundantly in the New World,
  especially in South America.
• Native labor was coerced into mining the metal
  for the Spanish.
• Wild influx of silver nearly destroyed the
  financial markets of Europe.
• Sugar production grew at an alarming rate, due to
  the changing tastes of Europeans.
• African slaves were deemed the best labor to
  produce the sugar.

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Spains Northern Frontier

• Composed of the present-day Sun Belt of the
  United States
• Texas
• Florida
• New Mexico
• Arizona
• California

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III. England Looks West
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England Challenges Spain

• England was the slowest European power to begin
  expansion in the New World.
• They were initially motivated by the need to
  expand fishing areas and find new sources of
  wood.
• The rift between England and Spain centered on
  religion (Catholic v. Protestant).
• England defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588 a
  gigantic upset.

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The Westward Fever

• The opportunities of the New World began to
  permeate all levels of English society in the
  1580s.
• Englands first effort at colonization occurred
  in Ireland.
• Englands first attempts at American colonization
  were weak and unprofitable.

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Anticipating North America

• Early English settlers had vague ideas about the
  nature of the American natives, some true some
  false.
• Some saw Indians as savage predators to be
  conquered quickly.
• Others saw them as docile and child-like,

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IV. African Bondage
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The Slave Trade

• The African slave trade began as an attempt to
  fill a labor shortage in the Mediterranean region
  as early as the eighth century.
• Portuguese merchants were the first European
  slave traders following decades of trade by the
  Arabs and Moors.

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The Middle Passage

• Also known as the Atlantic Passage, transferred
  slaves to the New World in four to eight weeks on
  board sailing vessels.
• Conditions were incredibly bad and many Africans
  died during the forced journey.

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Slavery in Early Spanish Colonies

• Many thousands of African slaves were brought
  along by the great Spanish explorers of the late
  fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries
• Ponce de Leon
• Vasquez
• De Soto
• Coronado

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