The Atlantic World,1492 – 1800

Columbus’s Voyage Paves the Way• Aug. 3, 1492 = Nina, Pinta, & Santa Maria set

sails• Oct. 12, 1492 = Columbus reaches the Caribbean• He thinks he is in the East Indies & calls the natives “los

indios”• The land he came to is now called the West Indies• The original inhabitants in the Americas became known as

Indians

• Columbus claimed the island for Spain & called it San Salvador, or “Holy Savior”

Christopher Columbus

• Spain agreed to finance 3 more journeys for Columbus• On his second voyage, he

began to set up colonies for Spain in the Caribbean

Other Explorers Take to the Seas• 1500 = Pedro Alvares Cabral of

Portugal reaches modern-day Brazil

• 1501 = Amerigo Vespucci explored the eastern coast of South America• Italian sailing for Portugal• He returned to tell everyone it

isn’t Asia, but a whole “new world”

• 1507 = German mapmaker named the new continent America after Vespucci

Other Explorers Take to the Seas• Early 1500’s = Vasco Nunez de Balboa of

Spain walked across Panama & viewed the Pacific Ocean

• 1519 = Ferdinand Magellan wanted to explore the new ocean• Portuguese explorer sailing for Spain• He left with 230 men and 5 ships• After sailing the large Pacific Ocean, the

crew was greatly reduced by disease & starvation

• When they reached the Philippines, Magellan got involved in a local war & was killed

• The crew continued to sail west• 1522 = Magellan’s crew return with one

ship & 18 men• They were the first to sail around the world

Spain Builds an American Empire• 1519 = Hernando Cortes and the conquistadors looked to

colonize the mainland of the Americas• Eventually, Spain colonizes modern-day Southwest USA, Mexico,

and South America

Cortes Conquers the Aztecs• Cortes was originally

welcomed into Tenochtitlan by the Aztec emperor Montezuma II• By 1520, the Aztecs drove

the Spaniards out due to their greed for gold• 1521 = Cortes and the

conquistadors fight back & defeat the Aztecs

Reasons for Spain’s Victory• 1) superior weaponry• Muskets & cannons vs. arrows

• 2) enlisted many of the surrounding tribes to fight against the Aztecs

• 3) disease• Measles, mumps, smallpox, typhus, etc.• The natives didn’t have a built up immune system to these

foreign diseases

Pizarro Subdues the Incas• 1532 = Francisco Pizarro

conquered the Incas in South America• Pizarro met with Atahualpa

( the Incan ruler) & captured him• Atahualpa offered gold &

silver as ransom for his return• Spain takes the ransom &

kills Atahualpa• Pizarro was able to conquer

the rest easily

Spain’s Pattern of Conquest• Spanish settlers were known as peninsulares• Intermarriages were common between the

Spaniards & Natives• Mestizo = mixed between Spaniards & Native

Americans

• Spain oppressed the Natives• Encomienda = Natives forced to farm, ranch, or mine

for Spanish landlords• The Spanish landlords promised the Spanish authorities in

Europe that they would treat the workers fairly

Conquistadors Push North• 1513 = Juan Ponce de Leon claimed Florida for Spain

• 1540 = Francisco Vasquez de Coronado explores the Southwest• (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas)• He found little gold, so Spain began to send priests to explore &

colonize the Southwest

Opposition to Spanish Rule• Spanish priests worked to spread Christianityto improve the treatment of the Native Americans• Due to the writings from a Dominican monk

Bartolome’ de Las Casas & other priests, Spanish authorities in Europe abolished the encomienda system in 1542• They began to have labor shortages• Las Casas suggested the use of Africans instead because they

were stronger & more resistant to the diseases• He later changed his view & denounced slavery, but it was too

late!

Competing Claims in North America

• Other European nations wanted their own American colonies after seeing Spain & Portugal’s success.

European Nations Settle North America• France, England, and Holland tried to find another route to

the Pacific, but they were unsuccessful• They settled colonies in North America instead

A Trading Empire• New France = 65,000 population• Many French colonists had no desires to build towns or raise

families• They wanted to convert the Natives• Young single men came for economic opportunities

• Started the fur trade• Beaver skin hats became popular in Europe

The English Settle at Jamestown• 1608 = English settled Jamestown with 100

settlers & 3 ships after receiving finances from King James• The colonists started out horrible because they were

more interested in finding gold than planting crops• During the first few years, 7 out of every 10 people

died of hunger, disease, or fighting with the Natives• Eventually, Jamestown will slowly become a profitable

colony• Cash crop = tobacco

Puritans Create a “New England”• 1620 = Pilgrims left religious persecution in England & settled

Plymouth, Massachusetts• 1628 = Puritans settle Massachusetts Bay while escaping

religious persecution in England• Both of these settlements were mostly families & became very

successful

The Dutch Found New Netherland• 1609 = Henry Hudson explored 3 waterways now called

Hudson River, Hudson Bay, and Hudson Strait• (englishmen sailing for the Dutch)

• The Dutch claimed the land around these waterways & started a fur trade with the Iroquois• They built trading posts at Orange (now Albany) & on Manhattan

Island• Started the Dutch West India Company• Expanded their territory & trade

• 1621 = New Netherland is colonized• Attracts a diverse population due to religious toleration

• (Dutch, Germans, French, & Scandinavians that were Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, & Jews)

Colonizing the Caribbean• French = Haiti, Guadeloupe, & Martinique• British = Barbados & Jamaica• Dutch = (took from Spain) Netherlands Antilles & Aruba

• All were huge tobacco & sugar plantations• All needed a lot of laborers

The Fight for North America• As the French, British, & Dutch expand, they began to battle

with each other.

The English Oust the Dutch

• 1664 = the Duke of York showed up to drive the Dutch out & the Dutch surrendered without firing a shot• The British renamed the area

New York

• By 1750 = about 1.3 million English settlers lived in 13 colonies stretching from New Hampshire to Georgia

England Battles France• 1754-1763 = French & Indian War or the Seven Years War• The British & French began fighting over the Ohio River Valley

with their allies• They also fought for colonial supremacy in Europe & the West Indies

• The British wins!• They gained control of almost the entire eastern half of North

America

Native American Reaction Many original inhabitants fell to disease and warfare.

A Strained Relationship• Most of the Native Americans had peaceful

relationships with the French & Dutch while dealing with the fur trade• The Natives did the trapping & traded the fur with the

Europeans for guns, hatchets, mirrors, & beads• The early relations between the British & Natives

were peaceful & cooperative• It later worsened as the issues of land & religion grew

• Puritans saw the Natives as the agents of the devil & heathens, or people without a faith• The Natives soon began to think the same about the

white invaders

Settlers & Natives Americans Battle• 1622 = Powatan tribe attacked colonists near

Jamestown killing 350 settlers• The colonists struck back & massacred hundreds of

Powatan• 1675 = King Philips War• Bloodiest battle between colonists & Natives in

Massachusetts• Native American ruler Metacom ( also known as King Philip)

led an attack on 52 colonial villages• Both sides massacred hundreds of victims

• After a year, the colonists defeated the Natives

Natives Fall to Disease• More destructive than the Europeans’ rifle & cannons were

their diseases• One tribe went from 24,000 in 1616 to 750 in 1631 due to

smallpox, measles, etc.• Loss of Natives was a severe loss of laborers, too for the

Europeans• Which led to African slavery in the Americas