ORIGINS -- THE WORLD BEFORE COLUMBUS
I.Western Hemisphere
A. Geographically
- Changes in temperature created dramatic risings and lowerings
of the sea level, placing large portions of the North American
South and Midwest under water many times.
- Large glaciers existed in the northern half of North
America
a. New England's top soil was swept away, leaving a rocky,
infertile land.
b. A shelf off New England's coast made possible the later
development of commercial fishing.
c. The Great Lakes were carved out.
d. Two northward flowing rivers (Missouri and Ohio) were diverted
and redirected as tributaries of the Mississippi River.
e. Sea level around 20,000 years before Columbus left a possible
land bridge between Siberia and Alaska.
B. Early Migration into the Americas
- Introduction
a. The American continent was isolated from the rest of the
world for centuries.
b. While man was supposedly evolving in East Africa and
spreading out to inhabit the three continents of the Old World,
no such neanderthal or other pre-homo sapiens apparently
existed in the Western hemisphere.
- Earliest Migration - 50,000 - 8,000 B.C.
a. The first migrants to North America were Asiatics from
Eastern Siberia, migrating across the land bridge, eventually
making their way to the southernmost tip of South America.
(1) They were physically kin to modern Chinese, Japanese and
KoreanS.
(2) The brown-skinned, thin-lipped, high-cheeked, broad-faced,
straight black-haired ancestors of Native Americans developed
some remarkable civilizations.
b. Over 75 million strong, these great civilizations were
diverse, technologially advanced, artistic, politically complex
and were equal to the civilizations in Asia, Africa and
Europe.
- From 9,000 - 1,500 B.C.
a. Early known hunting and gathering cultures migrated into the
heart regions of native American culture (Mexico South to
Peru).
b. This culture slowly gave way to another mode of life
(1) 3000 B.C. - Earliest American Farmers
(a) Seafood, simple farming, gathering
(b) Grew and twined or wove cotton and bast
(c) Cultivated beans and gourds (but not maize)
(d) Did not manufacture pottery, but practiced a rudimentary
stone industry.
(2) 1000 B.C. - Formative Era in Andean and Meso-American
Region
(a) Expanded horticulture - cultivated maize, squash,
beans.
(b) Large settlements with irrigation systems.
(c) Practiced metallurgy based on gold and copper, but not
iron.
(d) Had few domesticated animals and no potter's wheel.
- Development of Native Empire
a. AD 1 - 900 - Classic Era in Mexico and Peru
(1) Age of elaborate sculptor and art, temple and pyramid
building (Mayas)
(2) Great populations, tremendous building and wide trade.
(3) Adobe-brick structures, unsurpassed pictorial (modeled)
pottery, metallurgy.
(4) Dominated by a priestly class and later warrior class.
b. AD 1300 - The major centers of cultural progress, and
military and political activity remained in the Meso-America
and central Andean regions.
C. General Introdution to the Indian Civilizations Encountered
by the Spaniards
- Spanish explorers and missionaries encountered many groups
of peoples in their journeys through Central and South
America
- The conquistadores quickly discovered two centers of
agricultural development:
a. Central America (Mesoamerica)
b. The Andean region of modern Peru.
- The major Indian societies all shared certain societal
characteristics:
a. They were all agrarian economies based chiefly on
the cultivation of maize (corn)
b. They had polytheistic religions based on nature
worship, including the building of elaborate temples and large
ceremonial centers.
(1) Religion was a constant influence in daily life
(2) It could often be violent in terms of sacrifice.
c. They had highly authoritarian, hierarchical
societies
- Aztecs and Incas established large empires, dominating many
neighboring peoples.
D. Three Great Civilizations in South and Central America
- In 1492 the Western Hemisphere had a total population of 50
- 75 million, most of whom were clustered most densely in
Mexico and Central America, the Caribbean Islands and
Peru.
- Mayas of Central America and Mexico.
a. This group of peoples established a complex civilization in
Central America first, peaking between 317-900 AD, centering in
what is now northern Guatemala.
b. Politically their influence was minimal
(1) Their small population lived in scattered communities in a
harsh jungle environment
(2) No central leader -- each city was ruled by a priestly
class in a stratified society.
c. Their religious worship included animal and human sacrifice
- how much is debated currently by historians and
anthropologists.
d. The most notable achievements of the Mayas were in
intellectual pursuits
(1) Advanced astronomy
(a) A superior calendar to that used by Europeans (until Europe
changed in AD 1752).
(b) Accurate calculations of the seasons and eclipses.
(2) Advanced mathematics and architecture
(a) Mathematically, they understood zero as a number place.
(b) They built impressive temples, elaborate palaces and
numerous pyramids and produced beautiful art.
(3) The only Indian people in the Western Hemisphere to develop
a system of writing and books.
e. After 900 AD, however, the Mayas suffered a rapid decline
although the reasons are not clear (agricultural exhaustion,
civil war?).
- Aztecs (AD 1325-1521)
a. Introduction
(1) These peoples were located in what is now central Mexico,
entering the same area that is now Mexico City in 1168 AD.
(2) Their capital, called Tenochtitlan ,
founded in 1325, became the center of an expanding empire by AD
1450.
(3) When the Spaniards arrived in Central America, the Aztec
empire covered about 125,000 square miles (about the size of
present day Arizona) and numbered between 5-6 million.
b. The aggressive Aztecs were a powerful military force,
subjugating nearby peoples.
(1) They consolidated their hold over a wide central area by
1500, controlling all trade routes in the region and demanding
tribute from many other peoples.
(2) They treated conquered areas as colonies, whose
responsibility was to supply food and raw materials to the
Aztec capital -- whatever the Aztecs demanded
(3) The Aztecs developed something akin to European mercantile
empires, except there were no overseas colonies.
c. Aztecs were also a violent society, as best seen in their
religious rites.
(1) A stratified society, centralized in Mexico City, ruled by
a high priest.
(2) Priests performed rituals to ensure the well-being of the
Aztec people and also to guard their world against collapse
into chaos and destruction
(3) According to Aztec beliefs, the world had already passed
through four ages when civilization had flourished and then
been totally destroyed
(a) The second age, for example, had been ruled over by
Quetzalcoatl
(b) He destroyed cities with hurricanes and changed all people
into monkeys.
(4) By 1500, the Aztecs believed they were in the Fifth Age
which also was doomed to destruction
(a) Priests could postpone this day of reckoning through
religious sacrifices to please the gods
(b) What most pleased the gods was human sacrifices which could
only be carried out by capturing many prisoners in warfare.
d. Hence religion, war and expansionism were all interlinked
for the Aztecs.
- Chechuas , or Incas
a. Introduction
(1) The Incas achieved the height of their empire in what is
now Peru, about 1500 AD, shortly before the arrival of Spanish
soldiers
(2) Their empire of 7 million, reached over 1000 miles along
the Andes Mountains from present day Ecuador to Chile.
b. The Incas had a very efficient centralized, authoritarian
state, controlling agriculture and commerce, with a more
sophisticated administrative structure than the Aztecs
(1) Good road builders, good communication system, skilled
metallurgists.
(2) The monarch had absolute power and his administration was
financed by a complex system of taxation that included labor
service (corvee labor) for state-run projects in mining,
road-building and working in special fields set aside for the
royal family.
(3) In exchange for their obligations to the state, the Inca
people had access to government granaries in times of bad
harvest, a type of modern welfare state.
c. Like the Aztecs, the Incas were aggressive and expansionist
with violent religious rites and a powerful military force
d. Unlike the Aztecs, the Incas tried to assimilate conquered
peoples rather than treating them simply as tribute states.
(1) All prior history among conquered peoples was suppressed as
fully as possible, so that the people would adopt and identify
only with Inca customs and culture.
(2) Loyal Inca families were settled in border areas to
solidify central control.
e. One major weakness
(1) They had no fixed procedure for succession
(2) The monarch typically picked his heir from the most
competent of his sons, which made sense, but established no
clear line of succession in a time of crisis
- Other Indian groups in Mesoamerica
a. Mochicas along the Northern coast of
Peru
(1) Adobe-brick structures, pictorial or modeled pottery.
(2) Rigid priestly, stratified society.
b. Toltecs (12th-13th centuries) later
withdrew from the area for unknown reasons.
E. North American Indian groups
- Introduction:
a. Native population in North America was extremely dense, had
little effect in the land and were no more than 10-12 million
when Columbus arrived (recent data suggests between 4 and 5
million)
b. Indian life in North America was not as culturally advanced
as their Southern counterparts although some diversity existed
among twelve different language groups (some 55 distinct
linguistic stocks)
c. Few links between Old and New world language stocks have
been found.
- Adena-Hopwell culture of the lower
Mississippi Valley were mound builders who used some tools and
wove fabrics.
- Pueblos (Hopi and Zuni
Sheshonean-speaking, and the Keresan-speaking) of the Rio
Grande Valley and Arizona.
a. Town-dwelling farmers (corn, beans, squash) with an
irrigation-based culture.
b. Although building no temples, they practiced elaborate
rituals to insure summer rains.
c. Theocratic society of only a priestly class and no large
tribal confederations.
d. The supposed riches of the Zuni Pueblos attracted Coronado
with the legends of the "Seven Cities of
Cibola ."
- Apaches (Southwest) were nomadic and
warlike whose territory already had been greatly reduced before
the Europeans arrived.
- Navahos (Southwest) were essentially
nomadic who adopted farming from the Pueblos and shepherding
after the arrival of the white man.
- Creeks in the Southeast practiced a
democratic form of government.
- Iroquois Confederation of the Northeast
(Upper New York state)
a. Six warlike-nations (Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga,
Seneca and Tuscarora) joined about AD 1600 after initial
contact with the French.
b. Lodge builders who traced their lineage through the
females.
c. Female clan heads were elected by the males
(Hiawatha was a legendary leader).
- Algonkians -- Northeast and Great Lakes
region
a. They practiced hunting and fishing and some farming
b. Crude methods of farming and warfare limited populations
- Delaware or Leni-Lenape
("real person") were peaceful.
F. New World Culture on the eve of European
Contact
- Native Americans were mistakenly named
Indians by Columbus, who thought he had
discovered India and China by a shorter water route.
- They were grouped in several hundred nations and nomadic
tribes with many different dialects.
- To these native Americans, the family, village and clan
were the most important social group
a. Kinship such as cousins, aunts and uncles was the cement
which held the Indian societies together creating complex
social obligations.
(1) These kinship bonds of the community were more binding than
the nuclear family itself and Indians did not normally think of
being bound to a spouse for their entire life, but maintained a
kinship which lasted for life and so divorce did not upset the
social order.
(a) In most Indian cultures, young people married during their
teens, while some male leaders took more than one wife, strong
ties of residence bound each couple to one or both sets of
parents.
(b) Kinship provided the basis for armed conflict, whereby
Indians considered homicide a matter to be resolved between the
families of victim and perpetrator.
(c) Many times the perpetrator's family would offer a gift to
end the conflict, but otherwise armed military retaliation
might result.
(2) When disputes arose between groups, this could escalate
into wars
(a) War among Indians, however, was described more as a pastime
than the conquering and subduing of enemies.
(b) It has even been suggested that in some cases war between
the Indian might continue for as long as seven years with
hardly anyone getting killed.
b. The Indians of the Great Basin were non-aggressive.
- Indian Beliefs, Religion and Social
Values
a. Indian religion ranged from belief in a supreme deity to
pure shamanism.
b. Tribal Culture
(1) Most Indians, somewhat stoic in personality, displayed
little or no emotion.
(2) Chiefs advised the tribes, rather than gave orders.
(3) Ritualistic dancing, accompanied by drums and flutes, was
common.
(4) Medicine men aided the tribes with their "supernatural"
powers
c. Most Indians explained the origin and destiny of the human
race through myths passed down by storytellers during religious
ceremonies.
(1) Iroquois believed the sky world was unchanging perfection
and from it fell a beautiful pregnant woman from whom sprang
the human race.
(2) Native American religions revolved around the assumption
that all nature was alive and all of nature pulsated with a
kind of spiritual power (Pantheism).
(a) A mysterious awe-inspiring force emanated out from all
nature which affected human life for both good and evil, and
this force united all nature in an unbroken web.
(b) Indians pursued access to the power of spirits mostly
through dreams and visions.
(c) They also used various forms of tobacco as a
ceremonial drug symbolizing the union
between heaven and earth to gain insight into
the spiritual world (alcohol eventually was used for the same
reason).
(d) Shamans or healers used medicinal plants
and magical chants to contact the spiritual world and to
interpret dreams.
d. This pantheistic belief system led Indians to constantly
seek to conciliate all spiritual forces in nature.
e. They even took this to the extreme form of praying to the
spirits of animals they hunted to justify the killing of just
enough of them to sustain themselves.
- Indian Concept of Trade and Commerce
a. Indians did not have any real concept of making a "profit"
off trade and commerce.
(1) They rather gave gifts with the idea of reciprocity rather
than profit.
(a) Gifts were more of a contract in which they expected to get
some type of gift in return.
(b) This form of trade was to help establish goodwill and
prestige.
(2) Since trade and barter enhanced the chance to gain prestige
and status, native Americans were eager to barter.
(3) Indians did not encumber themselves with many
possessions.
(a) Normally possessions were acquired only so they could be
given away to help build and establish their prestige.
(b) In some cultures the concept of who gave away the most
earned the most prestige
(c) Essentially the Indian culture can be described as one of
"reciprocity" involving a mutual give and take, as a way to
maintain equilibrium and interdependence.
b. Nature was a web of interdependent power
entities into which humans fit.
c. Trade and gifts among tribes help to establish this
interaction.
- Indian Concept of Land Ownership and
Usage
a. Individual ownership of land (as understood in Europe) did
not exist among the Indians.
b. Land existed for its usefulness rather than as a commodity
to be owned.
c. Agriculture was done by the females, and was communal in
nature.
d. Indians owned land in common among its people but were
willing at times to give the right for other groups to use for
different purposes (hunting, gathering, farming, trapping)
e. The notion that emerged in Europe -- property ownership
conferred perpetual and exclusive control of land -- was alien
to Indians.
f. Indians just did not view land and nature as something to be
conquered but more of the idea of becoming one
with nature and the land.
II. Cultural Exchange
A. Crossing While the Land Bridge was In Tact
- The horse and the camel migrated to the Old World while
becoming extinct in the New.
- The deer and the elephant migrated to the New World from the
Old although the North American mammoth became extinct.
B. Items in New World Unknown to Europe
- Animals included the buffalo, iguanas, "snakes with
castenets" (rattlesnakes).
- Plants included tobacco, maize (corn), beans, tomatoes, and
potatoes.
C. Items Brought to the New World from the Old
- Animals included cattle, pigs, goats and the reintroduced
horse.
- Kentucky bluegrass seed, dandelions and daisies were
inadvertently brought.
- Unfortunately germs for small pox, yellow fever, malaria
and other diseases were brought from Europe, against which
native Americans had no immunities.
a. Within 100 years after Columbus, fifty
percent of the indigenous population were killed by
these European diseases.
(1) Example: Arawaks of Hispanola, who
numbered 2.5 - 5 million, was reduced to 250 by disease, and
aggressive Spanish actions, including enslavement.
(2) Explorers allegedly contracted syphilis from the Indians,
importing it to Europe.
b. Records show that Indian populations were still dying from
small pox in North America in the 1830s.
c. Approximately ninety percent of the Indian
populations were eradicated.
D. Collision of Cultures -- Old World Meets
the New World
- European Culture
a. Medieval and Renaissance European culture had be built on
the idea that God had made the heavens and the earth and that
man was made in the image of God.
(1) God had given man dominion over the earth to subdue it and
conquer it.
(2) Man was also given dominion over all the creatures of the
earth.
b. The Roman Empire left the concept of Christianity which
stated that Jesus Christ, God's Son, had redeemed sinners by
his suffering crucifixion and then rising from the dead.
(1) Christianity also taught belief in Satan and demons, in
which the devil lured people to damnation by tempting them to
do evil.
(a) All minor religions in Europe which included the Jewish and
Muslim religions differed in doctrine but all European
religions believed in a single supreme Being, based on events
and aspects from the Old Testament.
(b) Europeans feared witches and believed some individuals
could manipulate nature by invoking unseen spiritual powers by
the use of magic.
(c) The alternative to magic was astrology which insisted that
a person's fate depended on the alignment of the various
planets. (Superstitions)
(2) Europeans envisioned nature as a "chain of being" infused
by God with life and tingling with spiritual forces.
III. Europe on the Eve of Columbus
A. Background
- Origins of the voyages of exploration
a. Collapse of the Roman Empire was a catastrophic, colossal event
in world history
(1) Education was lost
(2) Legal system was lost
(3) Money system lost
(4) Transportation and road system with the safety to walk free of
fear broke down
b. What replaced the Roman Empire--Feudal System
(Middle or Dark Ages )
(1) Lord and vassal with localized control and decentralized
government
(2) It was a time of no national or international law
(3) Germans who overcame the Roman Empire broke it up into
hundreds of little states, so every thing was local from its own
culture and economy
(4) Catholic Church was the only unifying force
after Rome's fall
(a) The Church preserved learning, education and art
(b) Europe looked to the Church for unity and stability
c. Under Feudalism you looked to the one who
protected you, an armed, trained man and in return for his
protection you paid him a part of everything produced -- a type of
tax.
d. Middle Ages was a relatively stable era because of no one
strong national government
(1) No one state was supreme.
(2) All were tied to the land
(a) Feudalism, a land oriented system based on the idea that there
is no more land and so there were more people than
land and whoever controls the land controls the
people.
(b) Land to Old World Europeans was a finite
commodity to be competed for.
(3) Nobles or lords only permitted the pursuit of agriculture
because that was all they taxed.
(a) Trade is restricted because there was no gold supply --
barter was the trade system so you must produce
something that someone else wants so you can trade.
(b) Therefore trade is modest, confined and dangerous
(4) The concept of the medieval just price was
established by the church to forbid usury or the charging of high
interest.
(5) There was a state economy in which everyone pretty much
produced the same amount every year for a slow growing population
and this stability lasted from 408-1100 AD
- A new religion emerged in the 7th century --
Islam or Muslims
a. By 730 AD it spread across Africa into Spain and
stopped in Central France.
(1) Islam began as tolerant and sophisticated.
(2) It was very adept at absorbing peoples and cultures.
b. By 1080 within the Muslim religion, an internal crisis with the
Egyptians took place and the Turks swept across the Holy Land and
the Turkish Empire emerged
(1) Turks closed the Holy Land to Christian pilgrims
(2) In 1095 Urban II at the Council of
Claremont issues a proclamation for the first Crusade to
free the Holy Land from Turkish control.
(a) The first crusade consisted of three French armies all acting
independently
(b) It was the only successful crusade (kill them all, God will
know his own).
(c) Crusaders called on Italian city states like Venice to help
for a piece of the action
(3) After the Crusade of 1100 two thirds walked back home
(4) The Church recruited Christian Knights to defend the Holy
Land
(5) An explosion of trade resulted, beginning the idea of "making
money" (Temple of Trade)
(6) The acquisition of gold and silver began to buy things of the
East, esp. pepper, but Europe did not have anything anybody
wanted.
- Jerusalem was reconquered by Muslims in 1187 and not taken
back as the next 7 crusades failed
a. However the Muslims struck a deal with the Europeans to let
them visit the Holy Land if they would leave their swords at
home
b. They also allowed Europe to begin trading with them.
- From then on the rate of trade exploded, esp. in the Italian
city states like Venice and
Florence
a. Venice had more ships than any one else and big slave
galleys.
b. These big warships of Venice dominated trade but created
jealousy .
- This set off much competition for others in Europe to seek to
find another way to reach the Indies so they too could get the
goods of the East.
- Portugal was first and Spain was second in this endeavor.
a. Portugal first successfully got rid of the Muslims by
reconquering the Iberian Peninsula.
b. Portuguese knew more about shipbuilding and navigation than
anyone at this time.
(1) They were the first to develop deep water ships (galleon
ships) that were extra long so you could deck the sides with guns
and get gunpowder from Arabia.
(2) Portuguese could go long distances with few people.
B. 4 major European developments stimulated the wave of new
exploration in the late 1400s.
- Political changes in Europe resulted in
consolidation of powerful monarchies which could mobilize
national resources for the development of empire with Spain
leading the way;
a. Earlier European states were smaller fiefdoms, ruled over by
individual noblemen
(1) Eventually these gave way to larger kingdoms ruled over by
stronger noblemen, a king and sometimes a queen.
(2) Such combination of kingdoms was always at the expense of
the nobility.
b. Examples of Early National States
(1) Portugal
(2) Spain, as the result of the marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon
and Isabella of Castille
(3) England - House of Tudor - the result of
the marriage of Elizabeth of York and Henry (VII) of
Lancaster.
(4) France - House of Valois replaced by the
Bourbons
(5) Holland - 17 Northern Provinces declared independence
(officially recognized by Spain in 1648).
c. Where national states emerged, successful exploration and
colonization were possible.
d. Where such national development was latent (Germany and
Italy), exploration and colonization were also latent.
- Refinement of shipbuilding and navigational
instruments allowed more accurate sea travel, and inspired
greater confidence in contemplating and financing long
voyages
a. Improved shipbuilding (such as the Portuguese fast
caravel)
b. Better navigational aids (mariner's compass, a magnetic
compass, astrolabe to determine latitude, and the
portolani or first practical hydrographic
charts) enabled the seafarer to travel greater distances before
returning to home base.
- Religious motive -- to convert foreign peoples to
Christianity (more important to Catholics than Protestants)
a. Medieval Catholicism taught that the gospel must be preached
to all the world before the blessed reign of peace and
prosperity could occur.
b. Moslems constantly interrupted the trade routes across
Europe to the East, and kept the gospel from being taken to the
Oriental peoples.
c. One motivation of Columbus was to Christianize Orientals so
the Church could advance.
- Desire to increase national and personal wealth
through discovering more profitable trade routes to the Far
East, especially regarding the dream of a Northwest
Passage .
C. Shift from Medieval to Early Modern Europe
- Medieval Europe gave way to a rebirth of ideas and culture,
a rediscovery of the ancient classics and a resurgence of old
ideas.
a. Crusades (10th-12th Centuries) opened the
eyes of many to a different culture and different products and
laid the foundation for a reawakening.
b. Rennaisance (14th - 16th centuries), a
series of intellectual revivals, elevated man's dignity,
optimistically suggesting that man could improve life on earth,
especially if he could learn to harness nature.
- Fuedal Society crumbled as new structures of society
developed, resulting in exploration, discovery and
immigration.
a. Growth of Commerce
(1) The discovery of new goods from the Far East
(Orient) such as beautiful tapestries, spices for preserving
food and flavoring of monotonous foods, drugs for healing,
silks, and new foods, that returning crusaders either brought
back or told about, created demands for such products
(2) New trade routes developed to meet this demand and to lower
the costs of the goods.
(3) As trade and expanded, new sources of gold were sought to
pay for goods.
b. Growth of Cities
(1) The concentration of capital produced urban
centers and strong emerging banking families (like the Medicis
in Italy) to control the money flow into an area.
(2) New alliances resulted between the wealthy banking and
ruling families.
c. Growth of Capitalism : The rise of commerce
and the resultant collection of capital created an excess of
capital which ruling families made available increasingly for
exploration and possible colonization.
- Fragmentation of Religious Unity
a. For centuries, Europe had been unified somewhat under the
Roman Catholics.
b. As the feudal system and the chivalrous reign of knighthood
broke down, this religious unity also crumbled with the advent
of the Protestant Reformation .
- In their folklore Europeans had some things in common with
Indian and African mind sets such as a belief in
supernaturalism and spirits.
a. Medieval priests contended that Christ had founded the
Church to save sinners from hell and lead them to heaven, that
Christ's sacrifice was repeated every time a priest said Mass
and that divine Grace flowed to sinners through sacraments that
only consecrated priests of the Institutional Church could
administer (you could not "bypass" the Church to be saved).
(1) These priests conducted sacraments of infant baptism,
confession and the Eucharist (communion).
(2) The Church was a hierarchical network of clergy set apart
from lay people by the fact that they did not marry.
(3) At the top was the pope, the vicar or God's representative
on earth.
b. Indulgences
(1) The pope's immense authority reached throughout Europe
except for Russia, Greece and the Balkan Peninsula (Greek
Orthodox).
(2) Popes claimed the authority to dispense extra blessings
such as "indulgences" to repentant sinners in return for such
"good works" as donating money to the Church, so it could build
elaborate cathedrals (Castles were for the nobles and
Cathedrals for Clergy).
(3) Indulgences were a weapon against the faithful by promising
time off from future punishment in purgatory where souls atoned
for previously -confessed sins.
(4) Hell from which there was no escape, awaited those who died
unforgiven.
(5) Priests such as John Tetzel used the
phrase "as soon as the coins in the cash box rings, the soul
from purgatory springs."
(6) The sale of indulgences brought Church corruption causing
Martin Luther to verbally attack the practice
which caused the papacy to try and silence him.
D. Protestant Reformation
- Martin Luther (1483-1546) and
John Calvin
a. As Spain built an empire in the New World and
Europe, religious dissent and turmoil
threatened the Catholic Church which was
intolerant to new religious ideas.
b. The Church was locked into its rituals (Mass, Baptism, Last
Rites, Marriage Vows, Confession), believing that salvation was
possible only through the Church, seeing all dissent as
heretical and a threat to their power.
d. The monk Martin Luther in AD 1517
challenged some practices of the Catholic church which resulted
in a permanent "rupture" within Christendom
e. The German monk Martin Luther preached
about the Priesthood of all believers (the believer was a
priest within himself and could receive salvation directly from
God.
(1) Luther's teaching implied that believers could
bypass the Church to find salvation and have
direct communion with God.
(2) Luther believed in Predestination -- only
God's grace determined who would be saved, not good works or
the Church (God alone chose who would be saved from damnation
and believers could only trust in the love and mercy of God to
be saved)
i) This teaching threatened the authority of the Catholic
Church and it spower over the masses and they tried to silence
Luther.
ii) Luther, however, got the backing of the German
princes which helped him to succeed where others
(John Wyclife , John Hus )
had failed.
(3) The printing press of Gutenberg enabled
followers of Luther to spread his message through pamphlets and
letters more easily which contributed to his success
(4) Luther's assault on the Church won a wide following among
the German public and princes and their city states
f. Luther taught that the Scriptures were the
sole authority for salvation, not Church
traditions, the Bible was the only true guide to salvation.
(1) Luther attacked the sale of indulgences, the ways the
priests conducted Mass, purgatory and papal authority in the
Church.
(2) Luther began his attack by nailing 95 theses to be debated
on the bulletin board of his college in Wittenburg.
(3) Luther charged that the Church was giving false confidences
to the masses by telling them they could "earn" salvation by
doing good works.
(4) After Luther read in the New Testament that "the just shall
live (be saved) by faith" he felt himself "reborn" or born
again.
E. Luther's Revolution Fragments the Church and European
Unity
- Protestant reformers could not agree on what God's Word
really meant and this opened the door to new religious factions
like John Calvin (1509-1564
).
a. Calvin agreed with Luther's concept of Predestination but
disagreed on his concept of the Mass, placing most of his
emphasis on the "election" of God and the demonstration of that
election by adherence to your "calling"
(1) If a believer was one of God's elect he should have some
visible evidence of God's blessing in his life which usually
was demonstrated through materialism and hard work, along with
a sober, stoic lifestyle.
(2) Luther called Calvinists "work saints" believing that
salvation was purely the "grace" of God.
b. But both Luther and Calvin strongly opposed the Anabaptists
who emphasized baptism for adults only and inclusion of women
in services, were "pacifists" who renounced private property
and lived communally, and were seen as a major threat to the
social order and severely persecuted.
- The French reformer John Calvin taught
that all men were damned by God due to Adam's original sin, but
Christ's sacrifice made redemption possible through faith
a. This gift of salvation was offered however only to those who
had been elected by God and
predestined for salvation from the beginning
of time.
b. Calvinism required outward signs of
election and enforced a rigid,
highly-legalistic moral code.
c. Literacy was demanded of all believers to
read the Bible to see if they were part of the elect
d. Calvinism spread to many parts of Europe being called
Presbyterians in Scotland, English Puritanism, and French
Huguenots.
Into the vacuum created by the breakup of Christian unity
emerged nation-states , first on the Iberian
peninsula (Spain, Portugal) and then the Continent of Europe
(France, Netherlands) and in England.
IV. Pre-Colombian Exploration
A. Viking Settlement and Exploration
- Earliest occupation of the Shetlands, Faroes and Orkneys
occurred by AD 800.
- Iceland was settled by AD 874.
- Erik the Red explored the coasts of Greenland
in AD 982-5, after which the first Norse settlement was made in AD
986.
- Bjarni Herjulfson sighted the coast of North
America in AD 986 when blown off course seeking the Greenland
colony.
- Leif Erikson - about AD 1000 - (Eric the
Red's son) - explored the North American coast naming the regions
Helluland, Markland, and Vinland.
- Thorfinn Karlsevni from
Iceland with three ships and 160 men from Greenland sailed to
explore the North American mainland (AD 1010-13).
- Freydis , Eric's daughter, made a final trip
to the mainland (AD 1014-15).
- The Norse settlement ceased as an active colony in AD
1367.
B. Portuguese Exploration - AD 1447-98
- Under Prince Henry the Navigator
(1394-1460), third son of John I, explorations were made, using
the newly invented magnetic compass, astrolabe and improved
ship design down the West African coast, and the islands of the
Azores, the Canaries and Madeira were occupied.
- Bartolomeu Dias (1487-97) by 1488,
discovered the Cape of Good Hope at the tip of Africa that
triggered further exploration
- Vasco da Gama sailed around the Cape to
India and returned in AD 1498.
- Diogo de Teive and Pedro Vasquez were allegedly blown
northward and reached Grand Bank of Newfoundland in AD
1452.
- Before AD 1460 a Portuguese ship reached Antillia.
- Joao Vas Corte-Real and Alvaro Martins Homem are credited
with discovering Tiera de los Bacalfaos (Newfoundland) in AD
1472.
- Did the Portuguese want to keep their discoveries secret,
or did they fabricate evidence after Columbus in order to
strengthen their claims in the new world?
C. Other Exploratory Contacts before AD 1492
- Two German mariners, Diderik Pining and Hnas Pothorst,
sailed on an exploratory trip toward Greenland for King
Christian of Denmark in AD 1472.
- Thomas Lloyd searched for Antillia in AD 1480 for the
English.
- The English from Bristol made exploratory trips between
1491-98.
- Claims exist that some Western Frenchmen fished off the
coast of Newfoundland
- . It has been alleged that some Africans were present in
pre-Columbian America, and therefore some Africans had to have
contact with the New World before Columbus, but these
pre-Columbian contacts failed to have significance for the
Europeans.
D. Improvements That Aided Exploration
- Inventions like the Printing Press - ca. AD 1450 -
knowledge of explorations spread rapidly and increased with the
widespread use of the press by the early 1500s.
- Increased Knowledge - The rediscovery of the ancients,
brought a renewed interest in geography, and the mapping of the
world.
a. The ancient Greeks had designated the degree as a unit of
measurement of a sphere, as 1/36th of a circle (Third century
B.C.).
b. Aristosthenes determined that a degree = 59 and 1/2 nautical
miles (actually 60 nautical miles).
c. Other Greeks (second century AD)
(1) Marinus of Tyre - estimated that the continent of EuroAsia
= 225 nautical miles.
(2) Claudius Ptolemy from Alexandria Egypt,
Roman mathematician, astronomer and geographer, taught the
earth was the center of the universe, a belief that lasted
until the 1700s.
(a) His inaccurate maps were the best authoritative sources of
the known world at the time
(b) Latin translations of his works in the 1400s were called
Ptolemies .
(c) His scaled-down nautical degree made the earth smaller than
it was.
(d) He made EuroAsia equal to 177 degrees (when it was actually
131).
(e) Sailors thought the ocean was smaller, continents were
larger, and therefore were less fearful of crossing the
ocean.
- Rumors of Riches and Tales of Travel
a. Prestor John - a wealthy Christian king who
lived somewhere in Asia allegedly ruled a kingdom filled with
riches.
b. Marco Polo wrote of his expeditions in
China when he returned after 20 years.
(1) He returned from the Orient (1271) telling of sparkling
sands glittering with gems and precious ores, from a ruler
named Kubla Khan.
(2) He was nicknamed millione because he was
thought to exaggerate.
(3) On his deathbed, a priest exhorted him to confess that he
had made most of the things up, to which he replied, "The half
has yet to be told."
c. Sir John Manville 's
Travels widely circulated on the eve
of Columbus' voyages.
(1) The hundreds of strange things which he reported to have
seen raised the interest in exploration throughout Europe
(2) He told of thousands of unchartered islands off the coast
of China.
(3) Columbus read his accounts prior to searching for a water
route to the Orient.
d. Such reports of persons who had been there sharply increased
the interest of ruling monarchs to provide sufficient capital
for expeditions into previously unknown areas.
V. Cristobal Colon
A. Introduction
- Expansion into the New World coincided nicely with the modern
era in European history, with its revival of learning, explosion
in trade and commerce, towns, modern corporations, decline of
feudalism, the rise of the nation state, religious zeal from the
Protestant and Catholic Reformations and the emergence of an
inquisitive spirit.
- Europeans were obsessed by the lure of Asia, mythical land of
paradise filled with spices (pepper, nutmeg, cloves) to preserve
food, silks, jewels and millions of "heathens" to be
Christianized.
B. Before His Voyages To The New
World
- Born in 1451 near Genoa to a family of wool weavers he was
possibly at sea by the 1470s
- Early Interest in Exploration
a. He arrived in Lisbon Portugal in 1476.
b. He married Dona Felipa de Perestrello e Moniz, the daughter
of the Captain of Porto Santo, to which he moved in 1480.
c. His firstborn son, Diego was born in 1480.
d. Columbus requested funding from King Joao
II of Portugal for a western voyage to Cipangu (Japan)
in 1484.
e. Columbus corresponded with the Italian geographer,
Toscanelli , while in Lisbon.
- Attempts to Arrange Funding for a Westward Voyage
a. In 1485-86, Columbus went to Palos, Spain with Diego and
befriended Don Luis de la Cerda, Count of Medina Celi, who
arranged a meeting with him and Queen Isabella in May 1486.
b. Columbus began receiving a small annual stipend from the
Castilian Crown.
c. While in Lisbon (1488) to reopen negotiations with the
Portuguese Crown, Dias returned with news that he had rounded
the Cape of Good Hope, news that put India within Portugal's
grasp, which again had no need of a voyage by Columbus.
d. 1490-92 - Columbus was rejected twice by the Castilian
government, but following the fall of Granada
(2 Jan 1492), the treasurer of Aragon Luis de
Sant-angel , approved funding for Columbus who also
received some private backing.
e. Columbus was appointed Admiral of the Ocean Sea, Viceroy,
and governor of any territory that he might discover.
C. Voyages of Columbus
- First Voyage - AD 1492 (3 Aug) to 1493 (15 March)
a. Columbus sailed from Palos with 90 crew members and three
ships: Nina , Pinta , and
flagship Santa Maria .
b. After stopping at the Canaries, they sailed westward on 6
Sept.
c. After a period of unfavorable winds and calms, and two days
of near-mutiny, land was sighted on 12 Oct, the island of
Guanahani in the Bahamas which Columbus named
San Salvador .
d. He explored the Bahamas before discovering and exploring
Cuba .
e. After exploring Hispaniola (Santo Domingo),
the flagship was wrecked and a post was established at
La Navidad .
f. He returned home by 15 March after stopping in the Azores
and Lisbon.
- Second Voyage - 1493 (25 Sept) to 1496 (11 June)
a. Sailing from Cadiz with 17 ships and 1,200 men (including
his brother Diego), he explored the Leeward Islands and Puerto
Rico, before discovering the destruction of his original
post.
b. A second post was established at Isabela (2
Jan 1494) on Santo Domingo.
c. Additional exploration occurred on Santo Domingo, Jamaica
and Hispaniola.
d. Isabela was abandoned and the city of Santo
Domingo was established in 1496.
e. Columbus left a second brother, Bartholomew, in charge of
the island before returning to Spain on 10 March 1496, arriving
at Cadiz on 11 June.
- Third Voyage - 1498 (30 May) to 1500 (25 Nov)
a. With seven ships, Columbus left for Santo Domingo, dividing
his fleet at the Canaries.
b. He sighted South America before arriving at Santo Domingo on
31 Aug.
c. The colony was in a state of rebellion
(1) Spain's new governor Francisco de
Bobadilla arrived on 23 Aug and sent three brothers
Columbus to Spain in chains in Oct.
(2) Although restored to their honors, they never regained
their authority, which was retained by the Spanish Crown.
- Fourth Voyage - 1502 (11 May) to 1504 (7 Nov)
a. With 4 ships, Columbus left Cadiz and landed at
Martinique on 15 June.
b. Columbus sailed to the Honduran coast and explored to the
South as far as central Panama (July 1502 - Apr 1503).
c. He was shipwrecked and marooned in Jamaica for 12 months
(June 1503-04).
D. Final Days of Columbus
- His Death -- 20 May 1506
a. He died in Valladolid, after struggling to regain his
privileges in the New World.
b. He remains were sent to Santo Domingo in 1540 with his
son's, Diego (died AD 1526).
c. His bones were later transfered to Havana when the Spanish
part of Santo Domingo was ceded to France in 1795, and then
moved to Seville in 1898.
- His Legacy
a. Columbus died believing that he had found a westward route
to Asia.
b. Having landed on unknown islands, he was convinced that the
islands spoken of by Sir John Manville had been reached, and
therefore he named the inhabitants which he had met
Indians .
E. Consequences of His Discovery
- Knowledge of His Discovery
a. It was soon apparent that something entirely different from
Asia had been found
b. Others soon made the same discovery -- Pedro
Cabral in 1500 sailed out to far west and hit the
coast of Brazil.
c. Amerigo Vespucci - Italian Banker from
Lisbon Portugal
(1) Having become interested in exploration, and having sailed
into European and African areas, he described his discoveries
in a series of very popular letters, which were printed,
translated into several languages and circulated.
(2) Following an excursion to South America, he returned to
Spain by mid-1500.
(3) As a result of his printed work, in which he referred to
this discovery as a New World , not India, a
German geographer, Martin Waldseemuller , in
1507 suggested that the lands be named after Amerigo, referring
to it as his discovery
(4) In the 1540s Geraldis Mercutor labeled his
map with America over the new world, which
gradually became the New World's designation instead of
India.
- Diplomatic Disputes Between Spain and Portugal Who Both
Claimed the New World
a. The Spanish monarchs asked the Pope to intervene in the
dispute.
b. Pope Alexander VI issued to papal bulls
(3-4 May 1493)
(1) Inter Caetera gave Spain all lands not
under Christian rule.
(2) Inter Caetera II set a demarcation line at
100 leagues west of the Azores and Cape Verde Islands beyond
which any future discoveries not held by a Christian king on
Christmas 1492 would belong to Spain.
c. Treaty of Tordesillas (7 June 1494) --
Portugal and Spain moved the line of demarcation to 370 leagues
west of the Cape Verdes -- Portugal received lands to its
east.
F. Significance of Columbus
- He led Spain into colonizing and exploring a whole new
hemisphere
- Treaty of Tordesillas 1494, ordained by
the Pope and signed by Isabella and John II, divided the New
World between Portugal and Spain.
- His discovery more than doubled the amount of aerable land
to be colonized, spelling the end of feudalism because there
would now be more land than people , the
opposite of the Old World
- This discovery changed forever the social structure of the
Old World because no one nation can control this vast
landmass.
- By 1521, Cortes had opened the coiffures
of gold and silver of the Aztecs but this destabilized Europe
in the long run due to the inflation it caused.
G. Discovery of Gold in Mexico
- The discovery of gold produced the greatest land
rush in world history as all headed to the New World
in search of riches.
- Men like Pizarro gathered 1500 followers
and went into the Andes Mountains to the Inca civilization
which had more riches than the Aztecs of Mexico City.
- The huge influx of gold to Spain made them even richer than
Portugal and enabled Spain to become the first
Superpower of Europe .
- This led to many wars that took place almost solely out of
fear of Spanish power.
VI. Early Exploration
A. Major explorers were Spanish with Hispaniola as the initial base
and a second temporary trading post established in Venezuela and
Colombia.
- Sebastian de Ocampo (1508) circumnavigated
Cuba, proving it was an island.
- The subjugation of the Caribbean islands was the first
military problem - Puerto Rico (1508-09), Jamaica (1510) and Cuba
(1511).
- Vasco Nunez de Balboa (1513) crossed the
Isthmus of Panama to discover the Pacific Ocean.
- The ships of Fernando Magellan (a
Portuguese) under Spanish flags left in 1519.
a. Although killed in the Philippines (Apr 1521), one ship
completed the first European circumnavigation of the world,
returning to Spain in Sept 1522, led by Sebastiano del
Cano .
b. The Philippines were occupied by Spain under Miguel Lopez de
Legaspi 1564
- The conqueror of Puerto Rico, Juan Ponce de
Leon , when searching for the mythical Fountain
of Youth , discovered and explored Florida in 1513 and
visited Florida's Keys and Bahamas before returning to Puerto
Rico.
- The governor of Cuba, Hernando de Soto , led
an expedition to Florida, discovered the Mississippi River near
Memphis and went as far north as the Blue Ridge Mts and as far
west as Eastern Oklahoma (1539-42) before dying of a fever in 1542
with his party returning under the leadership of Luis Moscoso de
Alvarado (after exploring the upper Brazoa
River).
- Hernando Cortes (1518-21) conquered the
Aztecs under Montezuma , landing at Vera Cruz and
traveling 200 miles inland.
- Francisco Pizzaro defeated the Incas by
1532.
- Panfilo de Narvaez (1528) landed with 400
colonists in Florida but was unsuccessful before sailing for
Mexico. Only two survivers reached Mexico City in April 1536,
including Cabeza de Vaca , who told of riches in
New Mexico.
- Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led an
expedition into New Mexico, Arizona, the Texas panhandle, and as
far north as Kansas, in search of the Seven Cities of
Cibola , discovering the Grand Canyon (Don Garcia
Lopez de Cardenas ) and buffalo instead (1540-42).
- West coast exploration into the Guld of California (1539-43)
was led by Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo (d. 1543) and
his successor Bartolome Ferrelo who went as far
north as the Oregon-California border, although permanent Spanish
settlement did not occur until 1769 at San Diego, 1770 at Monterey
and 1776 at San Francisco.
- Juan de Onate dispatched an expedition which
explored from Kansas to the Gulf of California, dounding
Santa Fe in 1609-10.
- Results
a. The work of Cortes and Pizarro established Spanish
America.
(1) The Spanish ruled over Indian villages requiring tribute in
goods and services.
(2) By the 1550s however, so many Indians died from diseases that
the Spanish imported African slaves to labor in the colonies.
b. Catholic Missionaries differed from the
conquistadors in that they pursued "souls" of the Indians rather
than gold and silver.
(1) Missionaries were determined to rid the heathens
(non Christians) of their native religions and culture
by "Christianizing" them.
(2) Although missionaries were elitist and Eurocentric toward the
Indians, they did nevertheless wholeheartedly try to protect
them.
B. Other Explorers
- English
a. Italian merchant/mariner John Cabot (b.
1455) migrated to Bristol in the late 1480s, and was given a
patent by Henry VII (March 1497) to discover for England
regions to the east, west and north (to avoid Portuguese
claims).
(1) It included a trade monopoly and customs exemptions in
exchange for 20% of all profits.
(2) First Voyage - 1497 (2 May - 6 Aug) - Sailing from Bristol
with his son Sebastian , he sighted land near
Newfoundland which he claimed for England, and sailed to the
Southwest as far as Maine before returning to Bristol.
(3) Second Voyage - (May 1498) - With a new patent, Cabot left
Bristol enroute to Japan and the Spice Islands via
Newfoundland.
(4) He probably explored North America's coast south to the
Delaware or Chesapeake Bay.
b. English-Portuguese transatlantic voyages between 1501-04
with the Anglo-Portuguese Company of Adventureres to
the New Found Lands made annual trips as far south as
the Mid-Atlantic States through 1505.
c. Sebastian Cabot - In 1509 he sailed
northwest, later claiming to have reached Hudson Bay before
returning to England.
d. In 1527, the Crown sent two ships from Plymouth,
(Samson and Mary Guildford which
explored the North Atlantic Coast before arriving in the West
Indies
e. Sir Francis Drake (13 Dec 1577 - 26 Sept
1580).
(1) Allegedly sailing for Alexandria, he secretly preyed on
Spanish shipping in the Pacific
(2) After anchoring in San Francisco Bay, territory of which he
claimed for England, he continued northward in search for the
west end of the Northwest passage before sailing eastward,
completing a circumnavigation (1580)
f. Later English exploration for the Northwest
Passage (1576-1606)
(1) Martin Frobisher (1576) at 62 degrees
north reached Baffin Land and entered Frobisher Bay, believed
to be a strait between America and Asia.
(a) He established the Company of Cathay to exploit his
discovery and later reached Hudson Strait, thought to be a
morely likely passage to Asia.
(b) He returned with worthless ore from his three trips to the
new world.
(2) John Davis made three trips in search of the
Northwest Passage in 1585-87, traveling as far
north as 73 degrees in Baffin Bay.
(3) George Weymouth (1602) under the auspices of the East India
Company was forced by a mutiny to return to England.
(4) John Knight explored the coasts of Newfoundland and
Labrador.
- Portuguese
a. With patents from King Manoel
(1) Joao Fernandes (1499) sailed to Greenland.
(2) Gaspar Corte-Real explored the east and
part of the west coast of Greenland in 1500, again in 1501, but
disappeared southward on a third voyage.
(a) Miguel, his brother, also disappeared in search of him.
(b) Later search parties visited Newfoundland looking for the
brothers.
b. Pedro Alvarez Cabral (1500) reached the
coast of Brazil.
c. Amerigo Vespucci switched flags (1502) and
sailed the coast of Argentina.
(1) A letter written to his former employer and patron, Lorenzo
di Pier Francesco de' Medici, stated his conviction that this
was a Mundus Novus (new world)
(2) Other letters, now believed to be forgeries, claim four
voyages for Vespucci to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic
coast of North America.
- French
a. French fishing vessels proceeded as far as Newfoundland in
1504.
b. Francis I King of France in 1524 accepted
the challenge of finding a Northwest Passage
to Asia, by dispatching the Italian navigator Giovanni
de Verrazano to explore the North American coast from
the Carolinas to Newfoundland.
(1) He reached the North Carolina coast in 1524
(2) He then proceeded northward to New York Harbor and
Narragansett Bay and as far as Nova Scotia before returning to
Dieppe, France.
c. Jacques Cartier (b. 1491) in 1534 explored
the west coast of Newfoundland and in a second voyage he sailed
up the St. Lawrence River to Quebec and as far
as Montreal .
d. Samuel de Champlain made 11 trips to
eastern Canada between 1603-35 and established fur-trading
posts and friendly relations with local Indian groups.
- Dutch
a. Henry Hudson searched for the Northwest
Passage (1608) reaching the Kara Sea
b. On a later westward voyage in 1609 he sailed to the Carolina
coast before entering the Delaware Bay and Hudson River,
sailing as far as Albany.
c. Sailing later for the English in 1610, Hudson coasted along
the eastern shore of Hudson Bay to James Bay but was eventually
set adrift by his own men in 1611.
VII. Spain's Colonization
A. Introduction
- Prerequisites for Colonization
a. Growing population
b. Willingness to colonize
c. Location - on the tip of Europe bordering on the
Atlantic Ocean
d. Wealth to colonize - Following the conquest of the
Moors in Jan 1492 with the fall of Grenada, the expulsion of
conversos (converted Jews) and
moriscos (moors who did not convert to
Catholicism), resources for a new Holy War were used in the New
World to conquer and Christianize the Indians.
e. Effective civil government - Spanish monarchs promoted
exploration and colonization
- Spanish Approach to Colonization
a. Medieval approach
c. Catholic Institutions - Thomist world
model
c. Governed by an absolute monarchy from Spain, not from the New
World
- Problems in Colonization
a. Larger land area to control
b. Climate varied throughout Spanish empire to a greater degree
than used to in Europe.
VIII. Challenges to the Spanish Colonial Lead
A. Reasons for Waning Spanish Domination
- Spain's Armada , defeated off the coast of
England in July 1588, signalled a rise of English naval
superiority.
- Spain lost control of the Holy Roman Empire
to France in 1600.
- The Spanish monarchs, devoutly Catholic, overextended their
resources when aiding the Pope's attempt to recapture Protestant
lands.
B. French Attempts At Colonization
- Because of Verrazano's exploration, the French began to
claim part of the New World.
- An official royal expedition by Jacques Cartier (1534-41)
tried to colonize near present-day Quebec but his failure ended
briefly official attempts to explore the New World.
- French Protestant exiles (Huguenots )
built two forts in North Florida (late 1500s) but they were run
off by Spain, who established the oldest North American colony,
St Augustine FL
- After Europe's religious wars, French interest in the New
World fur trade revived.
a. Champlain (1603-35) explored the St. Lawrence-Great Lakes
area, esp. Lake Huron.
b. Other French explorers (last half of the 17th century)
established fur trading routes and good contacts with the
Indians
c. This gave France vast claims to the Ohio Valley region and
to territory down the Mississippi (present-day Louisiana, named
for Louis XIV).
d. Because the French had allied with the Algonquin Indians,
the Iroquois remained hostile with them, and later aided the
Dutch and the French.
C. French Colonial Policy
- French policy did not successfully create large colonies
because it did not favor mass immigration.
a. The French government wanted to create a perfect colony
controlled by France.
b. Only young, healthy faithful Catholic couples were desired
-- no Protestants needed
c. Colonial economies were controlled in France through price
and wage controls.
d. Colonial control remained in the hands of a few advisors
appointed and sent by the king.
e. The French Catholic Church attempted to control the
literature, dress and language.
f. Use the land tenure system (whereby peasants received small
land grants by working for the masters for a set number of days
per year) did not prevent the settlers from having much greater
freedom than was planned.
g. The availability of land weakened royal control over
colonists, which reduced tax revenues and required work days
were reduced as an enhancement to colonization.
- France's use of the New World to reward good French
citizens hampered their colonial success.
a. The French sent young girls of marriageable age to the
colonies, taxed unmarried daughters aged sixteen years, and
gave pensions to colonial families of ten or more.
b. The French were not successful at using an Indian labor
force in the colonies; thus no place was made for the Indian in
New France, although native Americans were well known to the
traders and French Catholic missionaries.
D. Dutch Attempts at Colonization
- Spain controlled Europe's lowlands or
Netherlands , part of the Holy Roman
Empire.
a. Under Spanish domination, the Dutch converted to Calvinism
and resented Spain's attempts to reconvert them to
Catholicism.
b. They also viewed Spain's taxation policies toward them as
repressive, resented Spain's military presence, and its
authoritarian government.
c. The Spanish personality was also alien to the Dutch.
- The Dutch, rebelling against Spanish control beginning in
1567, received aid from England's Elizabeth I starting in 1577,
but were not officially recognized by Spain as independent
until 1648.
- Dutch Exploration and Colonization
a. Henry Hudson under the Dutch flag in 1609 began to explore
for a Northwest passage around the New York harbor area.
b. A Dutch-Spanish truce delayed settlement in the area but
after war resumed in 1621 the Dutch formed the West
India Company for fur trading purposes.
c. In 1624 Fort Orange (present-day Albany) was
established.
d. In 1626 the Dutch made their famous $24 purchase of
Manhattan Island from the Indians, although evidence exists
that the sellers did not own it.
e. The Dutch found willing allies among the Iroquois who hated
the French.
f. By the 1660s, however, New Netherland was being overrun by
English settlers.