alien encounters - national paralegal...

Pearson Education, Inc., publishing as Longman © 2008

CHAPTER 1 ALIEN ENCOUNTERS: Europe in the Americas

The American Nation: A History of the United States, 13th edition

Carnes/Garraty


SIGHTINGS

n TIERRA!—Christopher Columbus made landfall at the West Indian island he called San Salvador (natives called it Guanahani) on October 12, 1492

n By 1600, about 240,000 Spaniards had made their way to the Americas n The movement eventually brought 100 million persons throughout the world to the western hemisphere


COLUMBUS’S GREAT TRIUMPH—AND ERROR n Columbus was searching for a route to Asia for reasons of trade n Spices: pepper, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves helped cover the taste of spoiled meat

n Tropical foods: rice, figs, oranges n Other goods: perfumes, silk & cotton, rugs, textiles, dyestuffs, fine steel products, precious stones, various drugs

n If goods could be transported to Europe by sea rather than overland, the trip would be cheaper and more comfortable


COLUMBUS’S GREAT TRIUMPH—AND ERROR n Prince Henry the Navigator, the third son of John I of Portugal, became interested in navigation and exploration

n Ships were clumsy, instruments for reckoning latitude were inaccurate at best, and there were no instruments for figuring longitude

n Henry attempted to improve and codify navigational knowledge

n Henry’s captains sailed westward to the Madeiras, the Canaries and south along the coast of Africa

n In 1445, Dinis Dias reached Cape Verde n In the 1480s King John II undertook systematic new explorations focusing on reaching India


COLUMBUS’S GREAT TRIUMPH—AND ERROR n A weaver’s son from Genoa, Christopher Columbus was committed to the westward route to India and when the Portuguese showed no interest, he went to Spain

n There he received the funds to equip the Pinta, Niña, and Santa Maria, the title ‘Admiral of the Ocean Sea,’ political control over all lands discovered, and 10% of the profits from trade

n Even after three additional voyages, he continued to believe he had found a route to Asia n Believing he had reached the Indies, called the locals “Indians”


SPAIN’S AMERICAN EMPIRE

n In 1493, Pope Alexander VI divided the non Christian world between Spain and Portugal and the terms of exploitation were worked out in the Treaty of Tordesillas the following year

n The line that was drawn left Africa to the Portuguese and the New World to Spain n Exception was what became Brazil which fell on Portuguese side of line

n The Spanish spread out from their base on Hispaniola (Santo Domingo)


SPAIN’S AMERICAN EMPIRE

n 1513: Vasco Nuñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama and “discovered” the Pacific Ocean

n 1519: Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs n 1519: Ferdinand Magellan started 3 year voyage around world

n 1530s Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incas n Spaniards tricked and cheated the native inhabitants n Requiermento n Las Casas and criticism of Spanish actions


SPAIN’S AMERICAN EMPIRE n Shift from gold and silver to land exploitation through

the encomienda system n Conquistadores concentrated on conquering most heavily populated areas

n During the 1530s, the Spanish crown forced all the leading conquistadores to relinquish their military commands n New governors were obliged to confer with the Catholic archbishop and an advisory council of prominent colonists

n Catholic missionaries did much of the work of implementing Spanish civilization n When Indians resisted Christianity, friars resorted to force

n By 1570s Spanish had founded 200 cities and towns


EXTENDING SPAIN’S EMPIRE NORTH n 1513: Juan Ponce de Léon explored the east coast of

Florida n 1520s Pánfilo de Narváez explored the Gulf Coast of North

America westward from Florida n His lieutenant, Alvar Nuñez de Vaca, and three

companions (including a black slave named Esteban) wandered for years until they made their way across New Mexico and Arizona to Mexico City

n 15391543 Hernando de Soto traveled north from Florida to the Carolinas, then westward to the Mississippi River

n At the same time, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado ventured as far north as Kansas and as far west as the Grand Canyon


EXTENDING SPAIN’S EMPIRE NORTH n By the early 1600s Spanish explorers had reached Virginia and there was a small Spanish settlement at San Augustin in Florida

n In 1598 Don Juan de Onate led an expedition of 500 Spanish colonists and soldiers and a handful of Spanish missionaries into the land of the Pueblo Indians in the American Southwest n Pueblo resisted the incursion resulting in the slaughter of 800 Pueblo and the arresting of 500 more

n Men, after one foot was chopped off, were sold into slavery

n Onate was dismissed in 1614


EXTENDING SPAIN’S EMPIRE NORTH n Those who followed Onate made money by capturing Apache and Ute Indians, with the forced help of the Pueblos, and selling them as slaves in Mexico n Apaches and Utes retaliated against Pueblo settlements

n Friars Christianized the Indians and, in return, forced the Indians to build and maintain the missions, till the surrounding fields, and serve the needs of the friars and Spanish colonists

n By the 1670s, the Pueblos had grown tired of oppression and shamans called for revival of traditional religion


EXTENDING SPAIN’S EMPIRE NORTH n 1675—Spanish arrested 47 shamans, hanging three and whipping the remainder n One of latter, Popé, organized rebellion

n 17,000 Pueblos rose against Spanish, killing 200, driving remaining 800 to El Paso, and destroying Spanish buildings

n Spanish regained control in the 1690s n Learned to deal less harshly with Pueblos n Entered into complex trade with nomadic Indians of Great Plains and foothills of the Rockies

n By the early 1700s, Spain controlled vast American empire


DISEASE AND POPULATION LOSSES n For centuries diseases such as smallpox, measles, bubonic plague, diphtheria, influenza, malaria, yellow fever and typhoid had ravaged Europe, Asia and Africa n By 1500s these populations had developed a resistance to such diseases

n American Indians lacked exposure to diseases and hence lacked resistance n Effects of disease rippled out far from area of actual contact with Europeans

n Millions of Indians died


HOW MANY INDIANS DIED WITH EUROPEAN SETTLEMENT? n First problem was determining Indian population at time of European contact n Early 20 th century scholars estimated population in Canada and U.S. as 1 million

n 1960s and 1970s, scholars thought figures too low and Henry Dobyns proposed10 to 12 million in U.S. and Canada and over 100 million in western hemisphere

n Russell Thornton and others arrived at estimates between 4 and 8 million

n Mathematicians say data is insufficient for a reliable estimate

n All agree millions of Indians in U.S. and Canada died and tens of millions died in remainder of western hemisphere


ECOLOGICAL IMPERIALISM n European plants (especially weeds) and animals (especially

pigs, cattle and rats) disrupted Indian ecosystem leading to Indian malnutrition and greater susceptibility to disease

n European soldiers brought back syphilis from the New World n Also brought maize and potatoes which yielded 50 percent more

calories per acre than wheat, barley and oats n As Europeans shifted cultivation to new plants, their population

rose sharply n Manioc transformed tropical Africa in same way, leading to

importation of increasing African population to Americas to replace declining Indian population as slaves

n Indians did benefit from horses and sheep n In the 300 years after Columbus, Europe’s share of the world

population increased from 11 to 20 percent while the American Indians’ declined from 7 percent to 1 percent as a result of the Columbian exchange


SPAIN’S EUROPEAN RIVALS n By 1650 over 181 tons of gold and 16,000 tons of silver

had been shipped from the Americas to Spain n By 1585, a quarter of the empire’s revenue came from American gold and silver

n 1497 & 1498: John Cabot explored Newfoundland and the northeastern coast of the continent for England

n 1524: Giovanni da Verrazano explored from Carolina to Nova Scotia for France

n 1534: Jacques Cartier, also exploring for France, sailed up the St. Lawrence as far as present day Montréal

n Fishermen from France, Spain, Portugal and England exploited the cod and other fish off the coast of Newfoundland in the 16 th century


SPAIN’S EUROPEAN RIVALS

n Why did other countries not immediately follow Spanish lead in colonizing the Americas? n Spain had a large measure of internal tranquility by the 16 th century while France and England were suffering from religious and political strife

n Spanish seized those areas of the Americas which were best suited for producing quick returns

n First half of 16 th century, under Charles V, Spain dominated Europe as well as Americas, controlling the Low Countries, most of central Europe, and part of Italy


SPAIN’S EUROPEAN RIVALS

n Under Charles’ successor, Philip II, Spain seemed at its peak

n Added Portugal in 1580 n But there were a number of problems: n Corruption of Spanish court n Overdependence on gold and silver of colonies undermined local economy

n Disruption of Catholic Church caused by Protestant Reformation


THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION n Catholic Church suffering from a variety of problems in the early 1500s: n Spiritual lethargy & bureaucratic corruption n Sale of indulgences n Luxurious lifestyle of Pope and papal court

Why were protests so successful this time? n Charismatic Leaders n Martin Luther, who started the movement in 1517 n John Calvin, who helped carry it forward


THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION—Political Support n German princes stopped payments to Rome and seized church property

n Swiss cities established political independence from Catholic kings

n Francis I of France, although remaining Catholic, exerted authority over clergy

n Efforts of Spain to suppress Protestantism in Low Countries fueled nationalist movements

n Henry VIII of England broke from Rome in 1534 when, in search of a male heir, he tried to get his marriage annulled but the Pope refused


THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION—Economic Issues n As commercial classes rose to positions of influence, England, France, and United Provinces of the Netherlands experienced a flowering of trade and industry

n DUTCH: built the largest merchant fleet in the world, captured most of the Far Eastern trade from the Portuguese, infiltrated Spain’s Caribbean stronghold

n ENGLISH: merchant companies began to play vital role as colonizers forming joint stock companies that were predecessors to modern corporation


ENGLISH BEGINNINGS IN AMERICA n Muscovy Company spent large sums looking for a passage to China around Scandinavia and tried six times to reach East Asia overland through Russia and Persia

n In the 1570s, backed by Queen Elizabeth I of England, Martin Frobisher made three voyages across the Atlantic looking for a northwest passage to Asia or new sources of gold

n The Queen also supported privateers such as Sir Francis Drake, who preyed on Spanish shipping


ENGLISH BEGINNINGS IN AMERICA n Elizabeth also backed settlement efforts such as the unsuccessful efforts of Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1578, 1579, and 1583

n The first settlement, on Roanoke Island off the coast of North Carolina in 1585, was sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh n Colony was reestablished in 1587 n Ships due to arrive in 1588 to resupply did not come due to the attack of the Spanish Armada, and when ships did arrive in 1590 not a trace of the colonists could be found

n Destruction of the Spanish Armada left England free to pursue colonization of New World


ENGLISH BEGINNINGS IN AMERICA n Settlement efforts were costly and in 1584 Richard

Hakluyt urged crown support n Stressed

n Military advantages n The spread of Protestantism n The possible enrichment of the parent country through expanding markets, increasing tax revenues, and the provision of employment and raw materials

n Forests of America would provide timber and naval stores needed for bigger navy and merchant marine

n Elizabeth, however, did not pursue Hakluyt’s suggestions and the settlement that started in earnest after her death in 1603 was backed mainly by merchant capitalists, not the Crown


THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA n In April 1606, James I chartered two companies (one based in London; the other of Bristol & Plymouth merchants) to settle Virginia (the name for all area controlled by England at the time)

n In 1607 the first 100 settlers arrived and settled Jamestown in the Chesapeake Bay area n Settled in malaria infested swamp n Did not get crop into ground due to lateness of season and so had little food

n More than 1/3 of settlers were gentlemen, many of the rest were gentlemen’s servants

n Over half died the first winter


THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA n While company directors stressed futile pursuits, Captain John Smith urged his fellow colonists to build houses and raise food and asked for the company to send more settlers with useful skills

n Recognizing the weakness of the colonists, Smith tried to maintain good relations with the local Indians though he had few compunctions about cheating them and little respect for them

n After Smith left, the colony lacked direction and each year settlers died in wholesale lots from disease, starvation, Indian attack, and ignorance and folly


THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA n Colonists were saved by realization they needed to grow their own food and by the cultivation of tobacco, which had a ready market in England

n In 1612, John Rolfe introduced West Indian tobacco.

n While the advent of tobacco allowed colonists to buy manufactured goods, by then they had served their seven years of indenture; since the London Company had made it easy for settlers to obtain their own land, no profit went to the London Company


THE SETTLEMENT OF VIRGINIA n Colonists mistreated Powhatan Indians despite the fact that

only Indian help had allowed the colonists to survive at all n Chief Openchancanough concluded that English land hunger

could not be abated and tried to wipe them out in an attack that killed 347 settlers n Many of survivors died that winter of hunger

n Between 1606 and 1622, the London Company invested more than £160,000 and sent over 6000 colonists

n No dividends were ever paid and by 1624 fewer than 1500 were still alive

n In 1624, King James revoked the company’s charter, making Virginia a royal colony


“PURIFYING” THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND n Henry VIII had broken from the Catholic Church and founded the Anglican Church, though his daughter Mary attempted to reinstate Catholicism during her reign (15531558)

n It was under his second daughter Elizabeth (1558 1603) that the Anglican Church became the official church for all of England

n This church closely resembled the Catholic Church except the King/Queen of England was the head of the church and services were in English not Latin

n On one side were ardent Catholics who chose to leave England or practice their faith in private


“PURIFYING” THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND n On the other were more radical Protestants (Puritans) who felt changes had not gone far enough and insisted the church needed to be “purified” of Roman leftovers

n Among their biggest problems with church teachings was the implication that anyone other than God could free one from the mire of sin

n While only the heretic Arminians stated that one could absolve oneself through actions on earth, the Anglican Church implied that ones’ good actions might sway God’s view


“PURIFYING” THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND n Congregationalists—favored decentralized church structure with the members of each church and their chosen ministers beholden only to one another

n Presbyterians—favored some organization on local level but one controlled by elected laymen not clergy

n During Elizabeth’s reign, most puritans hoped that church could be saved from within but under James I, many worried the court was returning to “popish” ways n All James I did for Protestants during 22 year reign was to authorize a new translation of the Bible in 1611—the King James Version


BRADFORD AND THE PLYMOUTH COLONY n In 1606, the first group of puritans went further and “separated” from the Anglican Church n Separatists either had to go underground or into exile

n In 1608, 125 separatists left England for the Low Countries, first to Amsterdam then to Leyden

n By 1619 disheartened by the difficulties of making a living, disappointed by failure of others from England to join them, and distressed that their children were being led astray from the path of righteousness, these “Pilgrims” decided to leave in search of a better place


BRADFORD AND THE PLYMOUTH COLONY n The Puritans negotiated with the Virginia Company to settle at the mouth of the Hudson River on the upper edge of the company’s territory

n The Pilgrims formed a joint stock company to help pay for the trip as well as taking nonPilgrims (of 100 who set out only 35 were Pilgrims)

n Left from Plymouth, England, on the Mayflower, in September 1620 n In December, arrived at Cape Cod Bay, north of their destination and the territory controlled by the London Company


BRADFORD AND THE PLYMOUTH COLONY n In order to establish a government, they drew up the Mayflower Compact, thus establishing the early American ideal that a society should be based on a set of rules chosen by its members n William Bradford was chosen as the first governor

n The Pilgrims went ashore at Plymouth and suffered through a winter of starvation in which half died


BRADFORD AND THE PLYMOUTH COLONY n The Pilgrims were aided in survival by a local Indian named Tisquantum (called Squanto by the Pilgrims) who spoke English n Taught the Pilgrims best places to fish, and what to plant and how to cultivate it

n After first successful harvest, Pilgrims treated Indian neighbors to a Thanksgiving feast

n Bradford claimed to treat the Indians fairly but they yielded land mainly because many had died as a result of disease

n By 1650, still fewer than 1000 settlers


WINTHROP AND MASSACHUSETTS BAY COLONY n Before Puritans arrived, the Plymouth Company had tried

settling on the Kennebec River in 1607 but had not succeeded n Fisherman continued to come to the area n It was christened New England by Captain John Smith in 1614

n In 1620, the Plymouth Company reorganized itself as the Council for New England n Group was more interested in real estate deals than in settlement and one deal was a small grant to a group of Puritans from Dorchester who settled in Salem in 1629

n These Dorchester Puritans organized the Massachusetts Bay Company and obtained a royal grant in the area between the Charles and Merrimack Rivers


BRADFORD AND THE PLYMOUTH COLONY n Other Puritans (nearly 1,000 in the summer of 1630)

joined in a mass migration as King Charles I cracked down on them n These Puritans carried with them the charter for the Massachusetts Bay Company and by fall they had founded Boston and several other towns

n Despite high initial death rates, by 1640 over 10,000 puritans had arrived in Massachusetts n John Winthrop was elected governor and declared the colony to “be as a Citty upon a Hill, the eies of all people are upon us”

n Colonists created an elected legislature, the General Court

n Right to vote and hold office was limited to male church members, though clergymen could not hold office


BRADFORD AND THE PLYMOUTH COLONY n After getting permission from the General Court, a group of colonists who wished to form a new church would select a minister and conduct their spiritual matters as they saw fit

n Membership was restricted to those who could present satisfactory evidence of having experienced “saving grace”

n In the 1630s, the majority of people were members


TROUBLEMAKERS: Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson n ROGER WILLIAMS: an extreme separatist who arrived

in 1631 and was minister in Salem by 1635, quickly offended everyone through his religious libertarianism and his insistence that it was a sin to take land without buying it from the Indians

n By the end of 1635, Williams was asked to leave the colony within 6 weeks which he did in January 1636

n He traveled to the head of Narragansett Bay, worked out a deal with the Indians and founded Providence, establishing Rhode Island and Providence Plantations after obtaining a charter from Parliament in 1644 n Government was relatively democratic, all religions were tolerated and church and state were rigidly separated


TROUBLEMAKERS: Roger Williams and Anne Hutchinson n ANNE HUTCHINSON: arrived in Boston in 1631 where, as a

midwife, she often discussed with women her criticisms of the minister

n Debate was over issue of who God’s “Saints” were n Ministers said could not be sure so had to monitor your behavior n Hutchinson said that smacked of Catholicism and Saints should

just know n Also suggested that those possessed of God’s grace were

exempt from the rules of good behavior and even from the laws of the Commonwealth (accused of antinomianism)

n After claiming regular communication with God, Hutchinson was banished and left with supporters for Rhode Island in 1637

n In 1642 she moved to the Dutch colony of New Netherland where she and all but her youngest child were killed by Indians


OTHER NEW ENGLAND COLONIES n Owners of the Plymouth Company divided their holdings in 1629 with one taking Maine (expanded in 1639) and the other New Hampshire n Massachusetts purchased Maine in 1677 and New Hampshire became a royal colony in 1680

n In 1636, Reverend Thomas Hooker founded Hartford and helped draft the Fundamental Orders that governed the towns of Connecticut valley in 1639 n By 1662 Connecticut had obtained a royal charter


PEQUOT WAR AND KING PHILIP’S WAR n Indians identified more with their hunting group, headed by a

sachem, rather than a particular tribe n Colonists repeatedly exploited disunity among the Indians

n In the 1630s the Pequots became worried by the steady stream of settlers into southeastern Connecticut n 1636—Pequots refused to pay tribute in wampum and to surrender

tribal members responsible for recent clashes n Governments of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Plymouth

declared war n 1637—New England armies and their Indian allies the

Narragansetts and Mohegans attacked a palisaded Pequot village and burned it to the ground, killing all 400 Pequots n Indian allies claimed English way of fighting was too savage n Pequots were crushed


PEQUOT WAR AND KING PHILIP’S WAR n In the 1670s, Wampanoag sachem Metacom decided to

drive out the English n Started an uprising in 1675 that attacked more than half of the 90 Puritan towns in New England, destroying 12

n 1000 puritans were massacred n 1676 the colonists went on the offensive, bolstered by Mohawk allies

n Metacom was killed and many of the remaining Wampanoag and their allies were killed when the colonists surrounded and burned a large fort they built in the Great Swamp in Rhode Island

n About 4000 Wampanoags and their allies died in what was termed ‘King Philip’s War’


MARYLAND AND THE CAROLINAS n After the 1630s, it was increasingly easy to create

successful colonies (mostly through royal charters) and many were encouraged to do so as prospects in England and Europe worsened

n Proprietors obtained large land grants and then granted land to settlers for a small annual rent while holding on to undeveloped land for speculative purposes

n Maryland was granted by Charles I to George Calvert, Lord Baltimore, and a Catholic who wanted a haven for his coreligionists n First settlers arrived in 1634, founding St. Mary’s which quickly turned to tobacco production similar to nearby Jamestown


MARYLAND AND THE CAROLINAS n The need to attract settlers meant Lord Baltimore had to abandon his feudal privileges and allow settlers to own their farms and have a say in local affairs

n While Calvert had wanted a colony of Catholics there was a large Protestant majority which resulted in a Toleration Act in 1649 that guaranteed freedom of religion to anyone who believed in Jesus Christ

n As a result of these efforts, the Calverts made a fortune and maintained an influence in the colony until the Revolution


MARYLAND AND THE CAROLINAS n The proprietors of Carolina tried to exercise their granted

powers by drafting the Fundamental Constitutions which created a hereditary nobility and a landed hierarchy that proved unworkable

n The first settlers arrived in 1670, mostly from Barbados, where slave labor was driving out small independent farmers n Charles Town (Charleston) was founded in 1680 while another

population center formed just south of Virginia in Albemarle with settlers predominantly from Virginia

n Charles Town engaged in a thriving trade in furs and the export of foodstuffs to the West Indies while the Albemarle settlement was poorer and more primitive

n The two separated in 1712, becoming North and South Carolina


FRENCH AND DUTCH SETTLEMENTS n Jacques Cartier attempted to found a French colony at Québec in the 1530s but was unsuccessful n Not until the end of the century was another colonization attempt made

n Intrepid French traders initiated a trade with Indians for furs, which had become valuable in Europe due to the cold temperatures of the ‘little ice age’ n Indians valued European metal knives and hatchets, woolens and alcohol


FRENCH AND DUTCH SETTLEMENTS n French traders viewed the Indians as essential trading

partners n By 1650 there were only 700 French colonists in New France

n French government sought to protect its vulnerable holdings by building forts on key northern waterways and sending soldiers to protect the traders n By 1700, 15,000 French colonists lived in scattered settlements

n In contrast 250,000 English (and 34,000 African slaves) occupied English colonies

n French recruited the Algonquian Indians as allies even as English worked with their enemies the Iroquois


FRENCH AND DUTCH SETTLEMENTS n Result was warfare pitting FrenchAlgonquian and EnglishIroquois in increasingly bloody conflict as Indians gained guns and ammunition

n The Dutch founded New Netherland in the Hudson Valley after the 1609 explorations of Henry Hudson

n As early as 1624 the Dutch established an outpost at Fort Orange (present day Albany) and two years later founded New Amsterdam at the mouth of the Hudson River, while Peter Minuit (director general of the West India Company) bought Manhattan Island from the Indians


FRENCH AND DUTCH SETTLEMENTS n The Dutch traded with the Indians for furs and plundered Spanish colonial commerce

n Charter of Privileges of Patroons authorized large grants of land to individuals who could bring over 50 settlers n Only Rensselaerswyck was successful

n Removed from his post in 1631, Peter Minuit helped the Swedes found New Sweden on the lower reaches of the Delaware River but after years of conflict it was overrun by the Dutch in 1655


THE MIDDLE COLONIES

n English and Dutch trade rivalries resulted in King Charles II granting his brother James, Duke of York, the entire area between Connecticut and Maryland (which included the Dutch colony of New Netherland)

n In 1664 English forces captured New Amsterdam and its population of 1500 without a fight and the rest of the colonies soon followed n Renamed the colony New York

n Life remained much the same under English rule as it had under Dutch, though a local assembly was established in the 1680s


THE MIDDLE COLONIES n In 1664, the Duke of York gave New Jersey (the region between

the Hudson and the Delaware) to John, Lord Berkeley, and Sir George Carteret who offered land on easy terms, established freedom of religion, and a democratic system of local government

n A considerable number of New England and Long Island Puritans moved to the colony

n In 1674, Berkeley sold his interest to two Quakers n Quakers believed in the Inner Light (a direct mystical experience

of religious truth), refused to take oaths, and were pacifists, which generally made them unwelcome

n The Concessions and Agreements of 1677, drafted for the new Quaker colony, created an autonomous legislature and guaranteed settlers freedom of conscience, the right to trial by jury, and other civil rights


THE MIDDLE COLONIES n William Penn was responsible for the main Quaker settlement when King Charles II paid off his debt by giving Penn the region north of Maryland and west of the Delaware River in 1681

n In 1682, Penn founded Philadelphia in his new colony of Pennsylvania which had gained Delaware as a gift from the Duke of York

n Penn treated the Indians fairly and opened settlement to anyone who believed in one God

n However, in government he was more paternalistic and the assembly could only approve or reject laws proposed by the governor and council n Individual rights were well protected


THE MIDDLE COLONIES n Penn sold large and small tracts to settlers on easy terms but reserved large areas for himself n Promoted Pennsylvania tirelessly n Attracted large numbers of settlers, especially Germans

n By 1685 there were almost 9,000 settlers and by 1700 there were twice that number

n The colony produced wheat, corn, rye and other crops n Much of produce was sold to sugar plantations of the West Indies


European Footholds Along the Atlantic, 1584–1650


CULTURAL COLLISIONS

n Indians worshipped a variety of gods but Europeans saw them as nonreligious n Worse, some viewed them as heathens or even minions of Satan

n Some saw them as unworthy of conversion while others, such as the Spanish friars, believed in the value of conversion n As late as 1569, when Spain introduced the Inquisition in the colonies, natives were exempt because they were viewed as incapable of rational judgment


CULTURAL COLLISIONS n Europeans assumed Indian chiefs ruled with the same

authority as their own kings n Instead Indian loyalties were shaped by complex kinship

relations n As a result, Europeans often accused Indians of treachery

when some failed to honor commitments made by their chiefs

n Indians regarded treatymaking as an act of brotherhood, marked by rituals affirming mutual support and were confused when settlers blamed Indians for violating the precise wording of the treaty

n Tendency for colonists to talk about kings and governors as fathers made little sense to Indians whose childhood mainly involved mothers while fathers were indulgent and nonintrusive


CULTURAL COLLISIONS n Generally, Indians who depended on hunting and fishing had little use for private property and were confused by European tendency to amass possessions and work all the time

n Indians were puzzled by the fact that European men worked in the fields rather than the women as among the Indians

n Indians tended to gain status by distributing their goods, rather than amassing them

n Europeans saw this lack of concern for material things as an indication that Indians were childlike creatures, not to be treated as equals


CULTURAL COLLISIONS n Saw “childlikeness” of Indians as justification to take the land and use it “properly” n But Indians cleared fields, burned underbrush in the forests, diverted rivers and streams, built roads and settlements, and built huge earthen mounds

n Yet due to metal plows and axes, the European imprint was deeper and more devastating

n Indians held land communally n Tribal boundaries were traditional and not marked by treaties or fences

n Agricultural products were often stored communally and drawn on by all as needed

n Indians resented the intensity of European cultivation


CULTURAL COLLISIONS

n Indians did not seek to possess land and as a result did not seek to destroy their enemies but n to prove their own valor n to avenge an insult or perceived wrong n to acquire captives who could take the place of missing family members

n Preferred ambush to confrontation with a superior force

n Europeans preferred to fight in heavily armed masses that aimed to obliterate the enemy


CULTURAL FUSIONS n Interaction between Indians and Europeans was typical of the settlement years

n Colonists learned a great deal from the Indians n Names of plants and animals n What to eat in their new home and how to catch or grow it (especially corn)

n What to wear n How to best get from one place to another (birchbark canoes particularly helpful)

n How to fight n In some respects, how to think

n Colonists also adopted Indian birchbark canoes


CULTURAL FUSIONS n Indians adopted European technology, particularly goods made of metal (though through 17 th century bow remained more effective than flintlock)

n Indians very active participants in fur trade where each side profited: Indians traded plentiful fur for valuable European objects while Europeans gained valuable furs in exchange for “cheap” European goods

n The fur trade shifted Indian patterns n Hunting parties became larger n Villages shifted nearer trade routes and European forts n Some groups combined into confederations to control larger hunting territories


CULTURAL FUSIONS

n Europeans and Indians became interdependent

n European colonists did not want to be like the Indians, whom they considered the epitome of savagery and barbarism n Repudiation of the Indians was part of the collective identity of the settlers, part of what made them Americans rather than transplanted Europeans


MILESTONES


WEBSITES n Vikings in the New World http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/vikings/index.html n The Columbus Doors http://xroads.virginia.edu/~cap/columbus/col1.html n 1492: An Ongoing Voyage http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/1492.exhibit/Intro.html n The Computerized Information Retrieval System on Columbus and the Age of Discovery

http://muweb.millersville.edu/~columbus/ n Contact Era in New Hampshire http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/users/deetz/


WEBSITES n The Discoverers’ Web http://www.win.tue.nl/cs/fm/engels/discovery n The Plymouth Colony Archives Project at the University of Virginia

http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/users/deetz/ n Jamestown Rediscovery http://www.apva.org/jr.html n Jamestown http://www.nps.gov/colo n Williamsburg http://www.history.org n William Penn, Visionary Proprietor http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/PENN/pnhome.html

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