APUSH CH. 1+2

Why did Spain's economy deteriorate and England's economy improve in the sixteenth century?

Spain's economy deteriorated because King Philip used the resources ga thered in the Americas to fight religious wars against Protestants in Europe, eventually draining the Spanish economy. England's economy, on the other hand, grew on account of a population increase and the burgeoning system of mercantilism.

How was the African slave trade adapted to European needs?

After Europeans discovered the economic possibilities of human trafficking, they established slave trading posts along the western coast of Africa. Initially, slaves purchased at these posts were sent to Europe. However, with the enormous work of settlement and plantation farming in the Americas, Europeans soon redirected much of the slave trade across the Atlantic Ocean.

How did Europe's desire for an ocean route to Asia shape its contacts with Africa?

Most importantly, the desire for an ocean route to Asia created relations between Europe and the coastal civilizations of West Africa. As Europeans sought a route to Asia, they discovered coastal towns and islands along the African coast where they established laboratories to investigate the potential of African soils. Rather than piercing the continent's in terior, Europeans traded with the peoples along the coast.

How did the ecological context of colonization shape interactions between Europeans and Native Americans?

The most important ecological context was the spread of European diseases such as smallpox and influenza, which killed millions of Native Americans and created a context in which relatively small numbers of men were able to conquer vast civilizations.

What factors allowed for the development of empires in central Mexico and the Andes?

Agricultural surplus contributed to population growth and allowed dense populations to live together, which led to the development of populous, urbanized, and wealthy societies in Mexico and Peru.

What conditions were necessary to establish successful neo-European colonies?

As opposed to Spain's tribute colonies or plantation colonies, neo -European colonies had a number of traits that distinguished them, making them successful. First was yeoman-based small-scale agriculture, which allowed for settlement but not an export-oriented incentive that would have led to consolidation of farms. Second was a purpose other than export-oriented agriculture. Religion (e.g. Puritanism in New England) provided the greatest prominent examples of a rationale. Finally, the arrival of women from Europe, continuing and replicating the family and social structure of European societies, was important. Many tribute and plantation colonies did not seek to replicate European social structures below the elite level and thus relied on Native American wmen or an influx of African labor to perpetuate the economically centered colonies.

In what ways was Bacon's Rebellion symptomatic of social tensions in the colony of Virginia?

Bacon's Rebellion demonstrated the tensions created on account of a surplus of landless laborers and indentured servants and a pervasive land shortage, which greatly affected the lower classes.

What factors might best explain the variations among Native American societies and cultures?

Geography, or the suitability of a given region for agricultural settlements, best explains variations among Native American societies and cultures. Where the land could support large-scale productive agriculture (e.g. in the central valley of Mexico), large bureaucratic empires and cultures emerged. Elsewhere, where some agricultural was permissible, semi-sedentary societies developed, for example in the eastern woodlands and the Great Lakes. Where agriculture was difficult, for instance on the Great Plains, hunter- gathers emerged.

How did Spanish Colonization affect people in the Americas and in Europe?

In the Americas, Spanish colonization brought social and economic dislocations. Socially, as almost 350,000 Spanish migrants arrived in the Americas, new social leveling based on race, known as the caste system, emerged. Native Americans were converted to Catholicism en masse. Economically, the Americans were re-oriented to serve Spanish and European needs and its transoceanic trading partners. In Europe, the Spanish Crown as well as Spain's merchants became fantastically wealthy. Money flowed into Spain then into Europe, especially the Catholic Church. Mention should also be made of the Columbian Exchange, the biological transformation between the hemispheres. Western Hemisphere contributions to the Eastern Hemisphere include foods (maize, potatoes, manioc, sweet potatoes, and tomatoes), and disease (syphilis). Eastern Hemisphere contributions to the Western Hemisphere include foods (wheat, barley, rye, and rice), weeds (dandelions, among others), animals (cattle, swine, horses, oxen, chickens, and honeybees), and disease (most importantly smallpox).

How did Native Americans' conceptions of the spiritual world influence their daily lives?

Native American conceptions of the spiritual world deeply influenced all aspects of society. On a political level, native leaders claimed spiritual lineage and priests occupied an influential position in society. Throughout the strata of society, Native Americans believed that the spiritual world was intimately related to the physical one — storms, harvests, illnesses, and victory in battle were believed to be caused by the spiritual realm. To appease the spirits, Native Americans celebrated festivals, practiced sacred rituals, and, in the case of the Aztecs, offered human sacrifices.

What made New England different from New France and New Netherland?

New England was different because it was established as a new and permanent community rather than as a money-making venture. New England colonists came in family groups with balanced sex ratios and an organized approach to community formation. In addition, religion played a pivotal role in New England.

Why did New France and New Netherland struggle to attract colonists?

State policies discouraged migration to the remote and rugged territory of New France. Louis XIV barred Huguenots because he feared that they would gain control of the colony. Migrants were also discouraged by the remote and rugged terrain and because of the oppressive feudal system in the colony. New Netherland likewise struggled to attract colonists, primarily because the country was too small to support much emigration and because Dutch migrants preferred to take their chances in Southeast Asia.

How was sub-Saharan Africa affected by the arrival of European traders?

The arrival of European traders in sub-Saharan Africa, which began in the fifteenth century, reoriented trade networks. Prior to the arrival of the European merchants, sub-Saharan trade, primarily in gold and only later in human chattel, flowed through the Ghana, Mali, and Songhai empires en route to the Mediterranean, enriching those empires. After Europeans arrived, power shifted to the so-called Gold Coast of Africa to cater to European shipping, thus undermining the existing empires.

How do the states of the savanna compare to those of the Americas and Europe?

The comparisons between the states of the savanna and those of the Americas and Europe are many: They all contained highly complex societies that were rife with political conflict, and rich natural resources, the domestication of livestock, extensive commerce, and military might characterized the more advanced societies in these three regions.

Why were West African leaders eager to engage in trade with Europeans?

West African leaders welcomed trade with Europeans because it granted them increased access to foreign goods as well as access to new markets for their own goods. Initially, the commerce had a positive impact on Africa, providing new plants and animals and trade networks.

How did the growth of commerce shift the structure of power in European societies?

Crusades and the expansion of Christian power during the 1300s created an economic and cultural ethos of competition that fed the expansion of mercantilism. Profits from commerce created powerful merchants, bankers, and textile manufacturers who spurred technological innovation in communication and navigation. Monarchs allowed merchants to trade throughout their realms and collected taxes for the privilege. The alliance between the Spanish and Portuguese monarchs, merchants, and royal bureaucrats pushed expansion overseas. Italian city-states, Spain, and Portugal became powerful players in the fifteenth century on account of vast expansion of commerce between the 1300s and 1500s.

How did the growing influence of the Christian Church affect events in Europe?

In the fifteenth century, Christianity ceased to be a unifying force in European society asthe Protestant Reformation and the founding of the Anglican Church caused both religious and political tensions, leading to centuries of religious wars. During these conflicts, France replaced Spain as the most powerful European state and propelled Holland and England to seek imperial claims in the Western Hemisphere.

How did the labor demands of plantation colonies transform the process of colonization?

Initially, the plantation colonies drew their labor from indentured servants, whites who agreed to a period of labor in return for passage to the Americas. However, as the seventeenth century progressed, plantation colonies required a steadier and cheaper labor supply and the labor primarily used became African slaves. The first of what historians believe were African slaves arrived in Jamestown in 1619. Especially after the tobacco market collapsed in the 1660s, African slave labor became increasingly vital as planters needed to cut productions costs even more dramatically, leading to the entrenchment of the slave system.

How did landscape, climate, and resources influence the development of Native American societies?

Landscape, climate, and resources deeply influenced the development of Native American societies. Regions with bountiful landscapes were more prone to host highly developed, complex, and stratified societies, such as the Aztec and Mayan and Mississippi Valley civilizations. In areas with harsher, les forgiving climates, native peoples were less likely to develop complex urban societies.

Compare the pressures that Native American groups faced from colonists in New England and New Mexico. What was similar, and in what ways did their circumstances differ?

Native American groups in both regions faced some similarities in dealing with European colonists. For example, both were integrated into the European economies - the Wampanoags raised and sold hogs to the English while the Pueblos were forced to offer labor to the Spanish. These two Native American groups, however, differed in how they dealt with their European neighbors. The Wampanoags dealt largely peacefully with the English until 1675, when Metacom (King Phillip) decided coexistence was no longer viable. On the other hand, the Pueblos were a subjugated people and rebelled as a result. A further difference exists in what happened to each group after their rebellion; the Wampanoags were largely decimated while the Spanish created institutions to integrate and transform Pueblo lives, e.g. mission communities.

How did the political, economic, and religious systems of Native Americans, Europeans, and Africans compare, and how did things change as a result of contacts among them?

Points of comparison between the three cultures prior to contact include: the primary importance of religion and agriculture; the existence of smaller as well as more complex societies; and a large range of economic conditions, from great wealth to dire poverty. After contact, the three continents traded natural resources, disease, and slaves. Native Americans suffered from European conquest and the widespread dispersion of European diseases. Africa lost many souls to the Atlantic slave trade, which fueled warfare along the western coast of the continent. In general, Europe gained from the increased trade networks.

What motivated Portuguese and Spanish expansion into the Atlantic, and what were its unintended consequences?

Portuguese and Spanish explorers of the fifteenth and sixteenth century were primarily motivated to find a route to the lucrative markets in Asia and the Indian Oceans. Especially after 1451, they were impeded by the increasingly hostile Ottoman Empire, which controlled the eastern Mediterranean, which encouraged the Portuguese and Spanish to seek an ocean route. Two unintended consequences immediately resulted from this Spanish and Portuguese expansion. First, Europeans (primarily the Portuguese at first) established trade with West Africa, seeking first gold and later slaves, ultimately leading to the African slave trade. Second, the Spanish encountered an entirely new landmass - the Americas.

In what ways were the lives of Europeans similar to and different from those of Native Americans?

The lives of Europeans and Native Americans were similar in many ways: the patchwork of social organization throughout the regions, the reliance on agriculture, the primary importance of religion, and the conflicts over land and power which characterized the lives of many people on both continents. Their lives were different as well. Monotheism, patriarchy, and a more unified system of governance differentiated the lives of Europeans from those of Native Americans.

How had recent developments changed Western Europe by 1491?

The major transformation that catalyzed change in Europe before 1491 was the inauguration of large- scale trading networks begun by the Italian city-states of Genoa, Florence, Pisa, and Venice. Beginning in the twelfth century, merchants from these areas began penetrating the Arab-dominated Mediterranean, in turn selling their goods to continental Europeans. The wealth created allowed merchant families to patronize the arts and to seek new answers to existing questions, leading to the cultural transformation known as the Renaissance (ca. 1300 to 1450), the ideas from which were propagated along the new trade routes into the rest of Europe.

How did the proximity of the Powhatan Chiefdom affect developments in early Virginia?

The proximity of the Powhatan Chiefdom in general and the uprising in 1622 reduced the population of the colony by one-third and resulted in great property loss. It accelerated English invasion and territorial control by increasing English militancy and land-taking as a strategy to defeat Indians in a "just war."

How were the experiences of indentured servants and slaves in the Chesapeake and the Caribbean similar? In what ways were they different?

The similarities between the experiences of servants and saves in the Chesapeake and the Caribbean include the importance of cash crops, the emergence of plantations, and the dire economic and living conditions. For servants, their contracts were not lifelong, although many died during their service. The differences of slave experiences between the Chesapeake and the Caribbean in the sixteenth century are noteworthy. Slaves in the Caribbean outnumbered the white population, which made the institution more brutal, whereas the institution was more porous in the Chesapeake. Often, slaves were able to purchase their freedom.

What did these three rebellions— Metacom's War, the Pueblo Revolt, and Bacon's Rebellion — have in common?

Each of these three rebellions resulted from the difficulties arising from European expansion in the limited lands of the Americas. Metacom's War, started by King Phillip to push the English back into the sea, resulted because of increasing English encroachments on land King Phillip viewed as belonging to the Wampanoags. The Pueblo Rebellion arose because of Spanish encroachments into present-day New Mexico. Bacon's rebellion, although fought among Europeans, was centered on the desires of one group - the coastal elites allied with Governor Berkeley - to prevent poor whites - nominally lead by Nathaniel Bacon - from encroaching on Native American lands to setup farms of their own, which would undermine crop prices for the coastal elites.

In what ways did European migrants transfer familiar patterns and institutions to their colonies in the Americas, and in what ways did they create new American worlds? How did Native Americans adapt to the growing presence of Europeans among

In the Americas, the ethos of those colonists who arrived in the colonies remained largely intact. Religion shaped life in New England just as capitalism and exploitation shaped life in the Chesapeake, Mesoamerica, and the Andes. The primary importance of agriculture largely remained consistent from Europe to the Americas as well. New customs of governance, property laws, and slave and indentured labor characterized the new American worlds that developed. Local representative governments developed in New England. Land in the Chesapeake was accessible to all white men as long as they could afford it. In Spain's tribute colonies, the importance of resources extraction kept many Spaniards from settling down long enough to build social structures. The laws surrounding human bondage changed. In the American colonies, slavery was a life sentence, and it was hereditary; a pregnant slave would give birth to a slave regardless of the status of the father. Native Americans reacted to the increased presence of Europeans with an uneven response of accommodation and resistance, such as the persistence of native religions in Mesoamerica and the Indian War of 1622 in British North America.