Europeans Discover the Americas

PERMS – An acronym (A word that stands for every initial in the word) used to define a time period.

Letter Acronym Definition

P: Political:

Government, rules, laws

E: Economy:

Money, trade, flow of money

R: Religion:

How popular, how much power, choice?

M: Military:

Presence? Army, Navy, Protection

S: Social: Culture, People, Events- What’s happening in society?

Examples: Present day CanadaIf someone asked to define the time period of today how could you do it? Use the perms model to give 2 points about Canada today!

P: Political:

Parliamentary Democracy, 3 levels of government

E: Economy:

Canadian currency (loonie, toonie), rich in Alberta, every province has its own money (ups and downs) – industry fuels Canada’s economy

R: Religion:

Many different religions exist in Canada – Christianity to Buddhism to Atheist, free to practice yet limited with their power

M: Military:

Present in Canada: Navy, Airforce, and Army; often used in peace keeping roles

S: Social: Multicultural Society, human rights and equality

Immigration is the movement of people into a country to which they are not native in order to settle there, especially as permanent residents or future citizens

Emigration is the act of leaving one's native country with the intent to settle elsewhere

Migration (human) is the movement of people from one place in the world to another for the purpose of taking up permanent or semi-permanent residence, usually across a political boundary

Push factors are reasons why a person might move from one area to live in another

Push factors may include conflict, natural disasters, famine, extreme religious activity or religious persecution, poor economic activity, lack of job opportunities race and discriminating cultures, political intolerance, and persecution of people who question the status quo.

Pull factors are reasons that might draw a person to live in an area

Pull factors may include better economic opportunities, more jobs, the promise of a better life, or escape from political or religious persecution or conflict

Imperialism: A policy of conquering and then ruling other lands as colonies.

Colonialism: The process of acquiring and maintaining colonies.

Mercantilism: An economic theory and practice, dominant in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century, that promoted governmental regulation of a nation's economy for the purpose of augmenting state power at the expense of rival national powers

The earliest known contact between Europeans with the Aboriginal peoples of North America happened when Norse explorers landed in Newfoundland at L’anse aux Meadows around 1000 BCE; 500 years before Columbus

The archaeological remains of the Norse village was discovered in 1960 by Helge and Anne Stine Ingstad

Evidence suggests that contact was not harmonious; there was confrontation

Little evidence that Aboriginals adopted any Norse technology

First Nations

Aboriginal societies flourishing in a variety of distinct physical environments

Depended on nature and trade for survival

Maintain deep spiritual relationship with environment

Acquired new knowledge and developed new technologies based on environments

Created diverse and complex societies including government structures

Boreal Forests Woodlands – Peoples on hunted land and marine animals and gathered plants

Southern Lowlands – Rolling hills and temperate climate allowed peoples planted and cultivated crops

Interior Plains – Peoples lived nomadic lifestyle while hunting bison; invented lightweight tepee

Northern Subarctic – Lived nomadic lifestyle as hunters and gatherers; temporary settlements; created birch covered wigwams

Pacific Coast – Lived in permanent settlements; built dams and depended on resources from the sea; rich artistic culture

Arctic – Harsh environment; hunters of land and marine animals; built igloos

Contact around 1500 CE disrupted the delicate balance of Aboriginal life in North America

At first, Europeans relied on knowledge, technologies, and skills of First Peoples to cope in unfamiliar wilderness

First Peoples found European technologies useful

Contact between Europeans and First Peoples took place over a 200 year period (1497 – 1793 CE)

Trade brought European technologies to west coast before face to face contact occurred

Europeans

Powerful nations and empires practiced colonialism by seeking to rule over other peoples and places

During European expansionism, European powers claimed and settled territories in the Americas

Americas natural resources exploited for the benefit of the homeland

Spain, Portugal, and Netherlands were first great powers in Europe (15th and 16th Centuries); England and France dominant (17th Century) as wealth and influence of others diminished

During the 16th to 18th centuries, European expansion was because of the three Gs: GoldGospelGlory

To find a sea route to the spices of Asia To find gold, silver, and precious stones To control a larger empire To expand their knowledge of the world To expand Christianity To find animal furs

Beginning of 16th Century Europe entering the Modern Age

Political alliances and rivalries formed between kingdoms and city states; each vied for supremacy of Europe

Economic growth occurred; new seafaring and military technologies developed; prompted nations to expand influence beyond Europe

Trade centered on spices, silks, and gems from Asia; Italian city states of Pisa, Genoa, and Venice dominated

In the 1400s, there was no refrigeration so in order to prevent meat from spoiling, people drowned their meat in salt to preserve and dry it (like beef jerky)

They also used a lot of spices like pepper to cover up the taste of the salted or spoiled meat.

Unfortunately for Europeans, these spices did not grow anywhere in Europe; only found in Asian countries like China, Japan, and India (these countries were known together as "The Indies").

It was very difficult to get the spices from Asia to Europe. Spices had to be brought across thousands of miles of dangerous mountains and deserts by spice traders, with bandits waiting to rob the spice caravans.

The alternative was to bring the spices by ship, but the sea voyage was also dangerous because of pirates and storms.

Since it was so difficult to get spices from Asia to Europe, spices were very expensive.

In 1453, spices became even more expensive and difficult to find in Europe when the land route from Asia to Europe was cut-off by the Turkish Empire

The European rulers tried several times to defeat the Turks in battle, but they were turned back each time.

Several European rulers finally decided to try to find a route around the Turkish Empire

Western European Nations believed economic and military supremacy in Europe depended on finding a direct ocean route; Italian city states and Islamic lands could be completely avoided

If a country could find a way to get these valuable spices to Europe, the rulers would be very rich.

Inspired by Columbus in 1497, Italian John Cabot attempted to find a northern route to Asia for England after Spain denied to sponsor him

Thinking he found China, Cabot landed at either Newfoundland, Labrador, or Cape Breton claiming the “new found land” for England

Found seemingly unlimited supply of cod on the Grand Banks – by early 1500s was great source of a scarce food for England

Fishing fleets arrived from Europe and began trading with First Peoples (metal pots, knives, and knives for furs and robes worn by Aboriginals)

Northwest Passage: The route through the islands north of Canada that ships can pass through from east to west or back again. In the past, many explorers tried to find this passage in the hopes that it would be a useful shortcut to Asia.

European rulers fought many wars. They fought against each other and against the Turkish Empire

These wars were very expensive, so they needed to find lots of gold, silver, and precious stones to pay for them

They believed that Asia was loaded with gold, silver, and precious stones, so they decided to find it and bring it back.

European leaders believed the country that could amass the most wealth would control Europe

Some European rulers, especially the King of Spain and the King of Portugal, wanted to claim as much land as they could.

They wanted to take all of the natural resources from this land and use the people that lived there as slaves to do their work.

1450 CE, Portugal expanded trade routes down the Atlantic coast of Africa

1488 Diaz sailed around southern tip of Africa; 1498 da Gama sailed across Indian Ocean to India to trade for spices, silks, and gems

Portuguese expanded trade routes to China, Japan, and South Asia

Aboriginal populations decimated; Africans forced into slavery to work plantations in Portuguese colonies marking the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade

Spain and Portugal chief rivals

Spain sponsored Italian Christopher Columbus expedition to cross Atlantic Ocean in 1492 CE in search of passage to Asia

Reach island that id today’s Haiti and Dominican Republic convinced he found India – naming the island Hispaniola and its people Indians

Columbus’ explorations followed by series of invasions, conquering what is now Latin America creating a vast Spanish Empire

Cortes destroyed Aztec empire (now Mexico) in 1519 and enslaved its people to mine for gold and silver

Population of Mexico at first contact was 27 million; by 1650 reduced to 1 million people through violence, disease, and overwork

In the late 1400s, Europeans did not know much about the world. Most of them had never been outside of Europe.

The European map of the world included only Europe, Asia, and the top of Africa.

They thought there was only one ocean, the Ocean Sea.

Although many people thought the world was flat, educated Europeans knew that it was round. The problem was they had no idea how large the world was.

In the late 1400s, there was only one religion in Europe, Christianity. The European rulers were very religious. They wanted to convert everyone to Christianity.

Roman Catholic Church greatly influenced Europe’s values, practices, and laws; but these practices were being questioned by religious leaders seeking reform

Reformation (1517 – 1555 CE) began as movement to renew Christian morals in European society but quickly spread into politics, art, science, and economics

Eventually separated reformers from Roman Catholic Church to form Protestant denominations within Christianity such as Lutherans, Presbyterians, and Baptists

Movement was primarily in Northern European countries such as Germany, England, France and Scotland

They thought that the Pope was becoming more concerned with world power and money, and straying from the original intension of the church which was spirituality.

The impact of this movement would later play a profound role in the Americas, as missionaries attempted to convert Aboriginal Peoples to Christianity.

Martin Luther’s 95 Theses (October 31, 1517)

challenged the teachings of the Church on the nature of

penance (desire to be forgiven), the authority of

the pope, and the usefulness of indulgences.

They sparked a theological debate that would result in

the Reformation and the birth of the Lutheran,

Reformed, and Anabaptist traditions within

Christianity.

Separation of Church spawned Counter-Reformation in Spain, Portugal, and France

Monarchs committed to spreading beliefs and values of Roman Catholic Church

Movement would have profound role in Americas; missionaries attempted to convert First Peoples to Christianity

As Europeans moved out of Europe into the New World they brought their religions with them

English were protestant, French were Roman Catholic, Dutch were Protestant,

Spanish & Portuguese were Roman Catholic

Each group would attempt to convert the aboriginal people to their faith or religion.

Eventually, the French found that animal furs, especially beaver hats, were very valuable in Europe. Imagine everyone walking around in a beaver hat!