New World Beginnings33,000 B.C.-A.D. 1783

Theme: The first discoverers of America, the ancestors of the American Indians, were small bands

of hunters who crossed a temporary land bridge from Siberia and spread across both North and South

America. They evolved a great variety of cultures ,which ranged from sophisticated urban

civilizations in Mexico and Central and South America to the largely semi nomadic societies of North

America.

I. The First AmericansA. Physical Geography

1. Mountains create barriers2. People followed food

a. Water featuresb. Beringia (40,000-8000)

3. Ice Age (2m-10,000)

B. 1st Americans/Amerindians1. Sedentary Civilizations2. Semi-sedentary “Americans”

a. Pueblo Indiansb. Mount Buildersc. Eastern Indians

3. Clash of Culturesa. Ownership, authority, religious

beliefs, war, slavery

II. The Amazing RaceA. Non-Europeans came but

didn’t stayB. Vikings came but left no

trace!C. Fish and spices in demandD. Europeans colonize

1. nation-state competition, new technology, economics, Christianity

2. Portuguese Explorers3. Spanish Conquistadores4. Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)

III. Spanish ConquestA. Impact of Spanish Colonization

1. “Columbian Exchange2. Conquistadors Legacy3. NO of “Black Legend” but rather

empire builders

B. Threats to Spanish Control1. Encomienda system est. slavery.2. Presidios in CA and FL

a. English (John Cabot)b. Italians (Verrazano)c. French (Cartier and LaSalle)d. Native Americans, (Pope’s

Rebellion, 1680)