Study Questions Chapter 25

When and how did slavery come to North America? How did the arrival of slavery impact the societies that emerged there?

African slaves replaced indentured servants in the late seventeenth century. Slave labor was not yet prominent in North America because of lack of labor-intensive crops. New England merchants participated in slave trade and distillation of rum.

What was distinctive about the European exploration and settlement of Australia?

Dutch mariners explored west Australia in the seventeenth century, meanwhile there were no spices, no farmland to use. Australia held little interest to the Europeans until the eighteenth century, when British captain James Cook explored east Australia in 1770.

What became the basis of the economy and settlement in the North American colonies of France and England?

French and English missions were less successful because the North American populations were not settled or captive. English colonists had little interest in converting indigenous peoples but French missionaries worked actively, but met only modest success.

What kinds of communities were established in the New World colonies of Portugal and Spain? How were they organized? How were they governed?

In Spanish and Portuguese settlements, mestizo societies emerged. Peoples of varied ancestry lived together under European rule. Typically, whites owned the land and held the power, mixed races performed much of the manual labor, and Africans and Indians were treated as slaves.

Explain how sugar production came to dictate so much of colonial Brazilian life.

Martim Afonso de Sousa brought the production of sugarcane to Brazil and this brought many Europeans to South America. Sugarcane was considered the highest valued traded good and served a great importance.

How did Pizarro conquer the Inca Empire with 180 men?

Pizarro was able to conquer the Inca Empire with 180 men because of guns, germs, and steel. Internal problems and smallpox aided in his success as well.

What was the basis of the economy of the Spanish empire? Who profited most from this?

Silver was the basis of Spanish New World wealth, considering it was more plentiful than gold. Conquistadores profited the most from this by melting Aztec and Inca gold artifacts into ingots.

Compare the French and English settlements of North America. What kind of settlers came to each? How did these colonies differ from the Iberian colonies further south?

The French and English missions were less successful than the Spanish. North American populations were not settled or captive, English colonists had little interest in converting indigenous peoples, and French missionaries worked actively, but met only modest success.

Explain the impact of the encomienda system of land distribution on the future of Spanish America.

The encomienda system granted land to Spanish with total control over local people. This was one of the factors that led to the decline of the Taino people of the Caribbean.

Describe the typical relations between French and English settlers and the Native Americans.

The relationship between French and English settlers and the Native Americans was hostile and uneasy. The French and English took over the Native Americans for their natural resources, so the Natives often retaliated back by raids into the colonized areas.

What determined the social hierarchy in the Iberian colonies? Who tended to have wealth and power?

The viceroys governed the colonies and would report back to the king. The social hierarchy was determined by how pure your blood was, and if you were a Native to Spain or Portugal. Those of mixed races or Native races of Africa or the New World tended to stay at the bottom of the social stratification.

What became of the Taino people of the Caribbean?

When Spanish settlers arrived, they did not want to preform heavy labor. So they used the encomienda system, which gave Spanish settlers the right to compel the Taino people to work in their mines/fields. It was brutal business, however, and by 1515, social disruption and physical abuse had brought a decline to the Taino pop. By the middle of the 16th century, they had largely disappeared.