CHAPTER 2

African and European Backgrounds

West Africa: Tradition and Change During the 14th and early 15th

centuries, Mali (capital city: Timbuktu) was the leading power in the West African savanna

This is a poem by Taylor Mali:

African and European Backgrounds

European Culture and Society

From this: to this:

From this: to this:

African and European Backgrounds

European Culture and SocietyFrom this: to this:

The Enclosure Movement resulted in massive overcrowding in the cities.

African and European Backgrounds

Religious UpheavalsTHE PROTESTANT REFORMATION

(appealed to the poor and middling classes… NOT the rich)

MARTIN LUTHER

JOHN CALVIN

African and European Backgrounds

The Reformation in England, 1533-1625Henry VIII (1509-1547): Created the Anglican Church (Church of England)

Edward VI (1547-1553): Calvinist

African and European Backgrounds

The Reformation in England, 1533-1625 Mary I (1553-1558): Catholic

Elizabeth I (1558-1603): Protestant (mostly)

James I (1603-1625): Anglican (disliked Puritans)

African and European Backgrounds

The Reformation in England, 1533-1625PURITANS

Separatists vs. Non-separatistsAppealed to middling classes Appealed to middling classes

Calvinists Calvinists

Disapproved of many Catholic and Disapproved of many Catholic and

Anglican beliefs (i.e. church hierarchy) Anglican beliefs (i.e. church hierarchy)

Wanted to separate from the Anglican Wanted to purify the Anglican church

church from within

Europe and the Atlantic World,1400-1600

Portugal and the Atlantic, 1400-1500Portugal, under the leadership of

Prince Henry the Navigator, led the way in European long-distance

oceanic explorations

Caravel (ship)Magnetic CompassAstrolabe (early GPS system)New, improved maps

Looking to trade or raid

Unintentional consequence…

Europe and the Atlantic World,1400-1600

The “New Slavery” and RacismExisting Slavery “New” Slavery- Due to indebtedness or POW - Became a prosperous business

- Absorbed into the family or released after - Worked laboriously until death

paying off the debt

- Not overly huge in numbers - Unprecedented magnitude of slaves

- Not often tied to religion - It became a Christian duty to own slaves

- Race was not a factor - Race became a HUGE factor

- A PERSON - DEHUMANIZED PROPERTY

Europe and the Atlantic World,1400-1600

To the Americas and Beyond, 1492-1522

Europe and the Atlantic World,1400-1600

Spain’s Conquistadors, 1492-1536Christopher Columbus

What many Americans perceive about Columbus…

• He was Spanish

• He was the first to propose that the

world was round

• He discovered America

• He discovered America

• He was friendly to the “Indians”

• He was famous

• He became rich

Europe and the Atlantic World,1400-1600

Spain’s Conquistadors, 1492-1536 Christopher Columbus

What many people didn’t learn about Columbus…• He was Italian (Genoese)

• He never reached the mainland of North or South America

• He didn’t discover America as much as he ran into a

land mass that was already occupied

• He died poor and fairly unknown

• He was “America’s” first slave trader (Taino Indians

followed by black Africans)

• He was responsible for “America’s” first gold rush

• He was possibly “America’s” first

Christian missionary

Europe and the Atlantic World,1400-1600

Spain’s Conquistadors, 1492-1536Hernán Cortés Francisco PizarroConquered the Aztec Empire Conquered the Inca Empire

Both were extremely brutal men

Central Mexican population in 1519:13-25 million

Central Mexican population in 1600:700,000

Used surprise and better weapons,but mostly… SMALLPOX tocultivate the greatest demographicdisaster in world history!

Europe and the Atlantic World,1400-1600

The Columbian Exchange

Footholds in North America,1512-1625

Spain’s Northern FrontierHernando de Soto

He went looking for…

GOLD He didn’t find any, however he pretty

much wiped out the Mississippian Native

American population with diseases whilst exploring

Footholds in North America,1512-1625

Spain’s Northern FrontierFrancisco Vásquez de Coronado

He also went looking for gold… the seven cities of

gold

He also didn’t find any gold on his explorations

He did, however, make a lot of the Native

Americans dislike the Spanish

Footholds in North America,1512-1625

Spain’s Northern FrontierJuan de Oñate

He proclaimed the

area of modern

day New Mexico

for the Spanish.

He was very brutal

and enslaved many

Native Americans.

Footholds in North America,1512-1625

Spain’s Northern FrontierSaint Augustine, Florida (1565)

North America’s first

PERMANENT EUROPEAN

settlement

It was a Spanish military base

meant to fend off the English

and French. It was also used as

a missionary base.

Now it’s a tourist trap

Footholds in North America,1512-1625

France: Colonizing CanadaGiovanni de Verrazano and Jacques Cartier looked for gold and the NW Passage… they found neither, but claimed a lot of territory for France

Verrazano Cartier

Footholds in North America,1512-1625

France: Colonizing CanadaThe French did find their “gold” in the form of…

They became allies with

the Huron Indians, and

helped them fight their

enemies…

the Mohawks and other

tribes belonging to the

Iroquois Confederacy

Quebec (1608) established by Samuel de Champlain

Footholds in North America,1512-1625

England and the Atlantic World, 1558-1603Like everyone else, the English were looking for the NW Passage and gold. Like everyone else, they didn’t find either of them. So, sea dogs (like Francis Drake) started to raid Spanish fleets and ports (pirates). When the English defeated the Spanish Armada (1588) it allowed them to focus more on the New World.

Walter Raleigh attempted a permanent colony at

Roanoke, however, when he returned he found that

all the colonists were gone. All that was left was…

Footholds in North America,1512-1625

Failure and Success in Virginia, 1603-1625A joint-stock company, the Virginia Company of London, went looking for gold. In so doing, they created the first permanent ENGLISH settlement in Jamestown, Virginia Colony (1607)

Footholds in North America,1512-1625

Failure and Success in Virginia, 1603-1625John Smith Pocahontas John Rolfe

Saved the colony withhis policy of “He whodoes not work, shall noteat.”

Saved the colony with her convincing her father, the Chief, to feed thestarving colonists.

Saved the colony withhis salable variety of tobacco.

Footholds in North America,1512-1625

Failure and Success in Virginia, 1603-1625• Headrights greatly helped to

increase the population

• 50 acres to whomever paid theirtransportation

• So… the RICH people paid the way for many indenturedservants to come to Jamestown,and the RICH folks got hugetracts of land

• Most of the indentured servantsdied before their service (usually4-7 years) was over

Footholds in North America,1512-1625

New England Begins, 1614-1625The Peanuts Gang actually does a fairly good job of telling the story… up until the part where the colonists start mistreating the Indians.

Footholds in North America,1512-1625

A “New Netherland” on the Hudson, 1609-1625The Dutch explorers (who hired the Englishman, Henry Hudson) claimed

much of the Hudson River and the SW tip of Manhattan Island in modern day New York. They also made fur their main focus. They allied themselves with the Iroquois Nations, especially the Mohawks who were

enemies of the

Huron Indians

(who were allies

with the French.