Ch. 17 & 18 The Atlantic System and Africa Quiz Review

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What was the Atlantic world's greatest sugar producer by 1600?

-Brazil The Portuguese had introduced sugar cultivation into Brazil from islands along the African coast after 1550 and had soon introduced enslaved African labor as well

The Atlantic African slave trade was based on partnership between whom?

-European & African elites Although the organization of the Atlantic trade in Africa varied, it was based on a partnership between European and African elites. To obtain foreign textiles, metals, and weapons, African rulers and merchants sold slaves and many products. Most of the exported slaves were prisoners taken in wars associated with African state growth.

Even as became Atlantic Africa's most valuable export, what other goods remained a significant part of West Africa's exports?

-Gold, ivory & timber The transition to slave trading was not sudden. Even as slaves were becoming Atlantic Africa's most valuable export, goods such as gold, ivory, and timber remained a significant part of the total trade.

What was the life expectancy for nineteenth century Brazilian male slaves?

23 yrs

During the "sugar boom" from 11650-1800, how many slaves were transported to the Americas?

-7.5 million

What was a Maroon?

-Caribbean runaway slave As in Brazil, escaped slaves constituted another part of the free black population

Who were creoles?

Whites born in America to European parents & ppl mixed ancestry

In contrast to the plantation slavery of the americas, what role did most African slaves play in the Islamic world?

-soldiers & servants -treated w/higher degree of respect

During the first 150 years after the European discovery of the Americas, how many Africans were transported in the Atlantic slave trade?

-800,000

How did the slave trade add to Africa's military power?

*concerned w/own safety*> demanded protection -To stay competitive against other European traders, his company had to include large quantities of muskets and gunpowder in the goods, of exchanged -Thereby adding to Africans' military power West Africans' trading strengths were reinforced by African governments on the Gold and Slave Coasts that made Europeans observe African trading customs & prevented them from taking control of African territory. Rivalry among European nations, each of which established its own trading "castles" along the Gold Coast, also reduced Europeans' bargaining strength. In 1700 the head of the Dutch East India Company in West Africa, Willem Bosman˚, bemoaned the fact that, to stay competitive against the other European traders, his company had to include large quantities of muskets and gunpowder in the goods it exchanged, thereby adding to Africans' military power

How did most African kings and merchants obtain slaves for salve?

*high level competition* -Groups from rival kingdoms that were defeated in battle or kidnapped to purchase guns for survival Bosman dismissed misconceptions prevailing in Europe in his day. "Not a few in our country," he wrote to a friend in 1700, "fondly imagine that parents here sell their children, men their wives, and one brother the other. But those who think so, do deceive themselves; for this never happens on any other account but that of necessity, or some great crime; but most of the slaves that are offered to us are prisoners of war, which are sold by the victors as their booty."

What was the purpose of the Council of the Indies?

-(1524) Supervised all gov, ecclestiastial & commercial activity in Spanish colonies The Spanish crown moved quickly to curb the independent power of the conquistadors and to establish royal authority over both the defeated native populations and the rising tide of European settlers. Created in 1524, the Council of the Indies in Spain supervised all government, ecclesiastical, and commercial activity in the Spanish colonies. Geography and technology, however, limited the Council's real power. Local officials could not be controlled too closely, because a ship needed more than two hundred days to make a roundtrip voyage from Spain to Veracruz, Mexico, and additional months of travel were required to reach Lima, Peru

What was the Dutch West India Company?

-(1621); to carry the conflicts to Spain's overseas possessions Some Dutch merchants invested in Brazilian sugar plantations so that they might profit from transporting the sugar across the Atlantic and distributing it in Europe. However, in the first half of the seventeenth century the Dutch were fighting for their independence from the Spanish crown, which then ruled Portugal and Brazil. As part of that struggle, the Dutch government chartered the Dutch West India Company in 1621 to carry the conflict to Spain's overseas possessions

What was the Atlantic Circuit?

-A clockwise network of trade routes going from Europe to Africa, from Africa to the plantation colonies of the Americas (the Middle Passage), and then from the colonies to Europe. -Depended on prevailing winds & currents. To propel ships; desire for profits drive ship that each leg of circuit expected to produce At the heart of this trading system was a clockwise network of sea routes known as the Atlantic Circuit. It began in Europe, ran south to Africa, turned west across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas, and then swept back to Europe. Like Asian sailors in the Indian Ocean, Atlantic mariners depended on the prevailing winds and currents to propel their ships. What drove the ships as much as the winds and currents was the desire for the profits that each leg of the circuit was expected to produce

What factors made the West Indies (Caribbean) a major center of the Atlantic economy?

-African slaves & European capital The West Indies was the first place in the Americas reached by Columbus and the first part of the Americas where native populations collapsed. It took a long time to repopulate these islands from abroad and forge new economic links between them and other parts of the Atlantic. But after 1650 sugar plantations, African slaves, and European capital made these islands a major center of the Atlantic economy

What was the encomienda? Describe.

-Amerinidan pals were discovered among the settlers & were forced to provide them w/ labor or textiles, food, or other goods From the time of Columbus, indigenous populations had been compelled to provide labor for European settlers in the Americas. Until the 1540s in Spanish colonies, Amerindian peoples were divided among the settlers and were forced to provide them with labor or with textiles, food, or other goods. This form of forced labor was called the encomienda. As epidemics and mistreatment led to the decline in Amerindian population, reforms such as the New Laws sought to eliminate the encomienda. The discovery of silver in both Peru and Mexico, however, led to new forms of compulsory labor. In the mining region of Mexico, Amerindian populations had been greatly reduced by epidemic diseases. Therefore, from early in the colonial period, Mexican silver miners relied on free-wage laborers. Peru's Amerindian population survived in larger numbers, allowing the Spanish to impose a form of labor called the mita˚. Under this system, one-seventh of adult male Amerindians were compelled to work for six months each year in mines, farms, or textile factories. The most dangerous working conditions existed in the silver mines, where workers were forced to carry heavy bags of ore up fragile ladders to the surface

What was the greatest stock market of the 17th & 18th centuries? Explain.

-Amsterdam exchange> to reduce risks in overseas trading, merchants, & trading companies bought insurance on their ships & cargoes from specialized companies that agreed to cover losses Individuals seeking returns higher than the low rate of interest paid by banks could purchase shares in a joint-stock company, a sixteenth-century forerunner of the modern corporation. Shares were bought and sold in specialized financial markets called stock exchanges. The Amsterdam Exchange, founded in 1530, became the greatest stock market in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. To reduce risks in overseas trading, merchants and trading companies bought insurance on their ships and cargoes from specialized companies that agreed to cover losses

How did the indigenous Amerindians exercise a powerful influence over the development of colonial societies?

-Aztec & Inca elite families sought to protect traditional privileges & rights through marriage or less formal alliances w/Spanish settlers -Used colonial courts to defend their claims to land -Spanish & Portuguese colonies= indigenous military alliances & laborers proved crucial to development of European settlements -Ameridian religious beliefs and practices survived beneath the surface of an imposed Christianity -Amarindian languages, (pistol, medical practices, & agricultural) techniques survived conquest & influenced Despite the imposition of foreign institutions and the massive loss of life caused by epidemics in the sixteenth century, indigenous peoples exercised a powerful influence on the development of colonial societies. Aztec and Inca elite families sought to protect their traditional privileges and rights through marriage or less formal alliances with the Spanish settlers. They also often used colonial courts to defend their claims to land. In Spanish and Portuguese colonies, indigenous military allies and laborers proved crucial to the development of European settlements. Nearly everywhere, Amerindian religious beliefs and practices survived beneath the surface of an imposed Christianity. Amerindian languages, cuisines, medical practices, and agricultural techniques also survived the conquest and influenced the development of Latin American culture

Describe the term "Amerindian Christianity"

-Blended catholic Christian beliefs with important elements. of traditions native cosmology & ritual European clergy arrived in the colonies with the intention of transmitting Catholic Christian belief and ritual without alteration. But the large size of Amerindian populations and their geographic dispersal over a vast landscape thwarted this objective. Linguistic and cultural differences among native peoples also inhibited missionary efforts. These problems frustrated Catholic missionaries and sometimes led to repression and cruelty. The limited success of evangelization permitted the appearance of what must be seen as an Amerindian Christianity that blended Catholic Christian beliefs with important elements of traditional native cosmology and ritual. Most commonly, indigenous beliefs and rituals came to be embedded in the celebration of saints' days or Catholic rituals associated with the Virgin Mary. The Catholic clergy and most European settlers viewed this evolving mixture as the work of the Devil or as evidence of Amerindian inferiority. Instead, it was one component of the process of cultural borrowing and innovation that contributed to a distinct and original Latin American culture

How did early settlers from Spain and Portugal seek to create colonial settlements similar to their homelands? Describe.

-Brought social structure with them -Extended family networks -Moved to establish religious, social, & administrative intuitions familiar to them -Viewed society as a vertical hierarchy of estates (classes of society) as chiformly catholic, & arrangement of patriarchy extended- family networks Early settlers from Spain and Portugal sought to create colonial societies based on the institutions and customs of their homelands. They viewed society as a vertical hierarchy of estates (classes of society), as uniformly Catholic, and as an arrangement of patriarchal extended-family networks. They quickly moved to establish the religious, social, and administrative institutions that were familiar to them

What was the African state most dependents on the slave trade?

-Dahomey> firmed part on economy of large & populous states & balanced by extensive overland trade w/ N. Neighbors & w/ states across Sahara In 1727 it was annexed by the larger kingdom of Dahomey˚, which maintained a strong trading position with Europeans at the coast. Dahomey's rise in the 1720s depended heavily on the firearms that the slave trade supplied for its well-trained armies of men and women

Describe how the introduction of European livestock had a dramatic impact on the New World.

-Dramatic impact on N.W environments & cultures -Cattle, pigs, horses, sheep, rats, & rabbits multiplied quickly Faced with few natural predators, cattle, pigs, horses, and sheep, as well as pests like rats and rabbits, multiplied rapidly in the open spaces of the Americas. On the vast plains of present-day southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, herds of wild cattle and horses exceeded 50 million by 1700. Large herds of both animals also appeared in northern Mexico and what became the southwest of the United States

What was seasoning? What percentage of new salves died during this process?

-During which 1/3 (33%) died of unfamiliar diseases *Slaves newly from Africa went thru period of adjustment to a new environment* The very young were carried off by dysentery caused by contaminated food and water. Slaves newly arrived from Africa went through the period of adjustment to a new environment known as seasoning, during which one-third, on average, died of unfamiliar diseases

Why were plantation slaves motivated to work hard?

-Escape punishment Skilled slaves received rewards of food and clothing or time off for good work, but the most common reason for working hard was to escape punishment

By end of 16th century, the elite of Spanish America include whom?

-European immigrants & Creoles included both European immigrants & creoles. Europeans dominated the highest levels of the church and government as well as commerce. Creoles commonly controlled colonial agriculture and mining. Wealthy creole families with extensive holdings in land and mines often sought to increase their family prestige by arranging for their daughters to marry successful Spanish merchants and officials. Often richer in reputation than in wealth, immigrants from Spain welcomed the opportunity to forge these connections. Although tensions between Spaniards and creoles were inevitable, most elite families included members of both groups

What was the long-term results of workers abandoning traditional agriculture and becoming laborers in the silver mines of Peru?

-Free wage labor -Weakened Amerindian village life - Promoted the assimilation of Amerindians into Spanish-speaking Catholic colonial society As the Amerindian population fell with each new epidemic, some of Peru's villages were forced to shorten the period between mita obligations. Instead of serving every 7 years, many men were forced to return to mines after only a year or 2. Unwilling to accept mita service and the other tax burdens imposed on Amerindian villages, large numbers of Amerindians abandoned traditional agriculture and moved permanently to Spanish mines and farms as wage laborers. The long-term result of these individual decisions weakened Amerindian village life and promoted the assimilation of Amerindians into Spanish-speaking Catholic colonial society

What was manumission as provided by Spanish and Portuguese law? How did most slaves become manumitted?

-Granting freedom to individual slaves -Saved money & purchased freedom The majority of those gaining their liberty had saved money and purchased their own freedom. This was easiest to do in cities, where slave artisans and market women had the opportunity to earn and save money. Only a tiny minority of owners freed slaves without demanding compensation. Household servants were the most likely beneficiaries of this form of manumission. Only about 1 percent of the slave population gained freedom each year through manumission. However, because slave women received the majority of manumissions and because children born subsequently were considered free, the free black population grew rapidly

Why does the text refer to the horse as the most significant animal introduced by Europeans into the N.W?

-Increased efficiency of hunters & military capacity of warriors on the plains -Permitted the Apache, Sioux, Blackfoot, Comanche, Assiniboine, & others to more efficiently hunt vast herds of buffalo in N. America -Revolutionzed for a raucanion & pampas peoples in S. America No animal had a more striking effect on the cultures of native peoples than the horse, which increased the efficiency of hunters and the military capacity of warriors on the plains. The horse permitted the Apache, Sioux, Blackfoot, Comanche, Assiniboine, and others to more efficiently hunt the vast herds of buffalo in North America. The horse also revolutionized the cultures of the Araucanian (or Mapuche) and Pampas peoples in South America

How did investors make the operation of producing sugar more efficient and profitable?

-Increased size of typical west India plantation from around 100 acres (double size from 17th and 18th centuries) investors gradually increased the size of the typical West Indian plantation from around 100 acres (40 hectares) in the seventeenth century to at least twice that size in the eighteenth century. Some plantations were even larger. In 1774 Jamaica's 680 sugar plantations averaged 441 acres (178 hectares) each; some spread over 2,000 acres (800 hectares). Jamaica specialized so heavily in sugar production that the island had to import most of its food. Saint Domingue had a comparable number of plantations of smaller average size but generally higher productivity. The French colony was also more diverse in its economy. Although sugar production was paramount, some planters raised provisions for local consumption and crops such as coffee and cacao for export

What were the new Caribbean colonies established by France and England in 1600s? why?

-Jamaica (eng), Hispaniola (French), & Saint Domingue-Haiti (French) To find more land for sugar plantations, France and England founded new Caribbean colonies. In 1655 the English had wrested the island of Jamaica from the Spanish (see Map 17.1). The French seized the western half of the large Spanish island of Hispaniola in the 1670s. During the eighteenth century this new French colony of Saint Domingue˚ (present-day Haiti) became the greatest producer of sugar in the Atlantic world while Jamaica surpassed Barbados as England's most important sugar colony. The technological, environmental, and social transformation of these island colonies illustrates the power of the new Atlantic system

In the 18th century, what was the major source of slaves in the interior of the Bight of Biafra (present day Nigeria)?

-Kidnaping -P.O.W the densely populated interior of the Bight of Biafra contained no large states. Even so, the powerful merchant princes of the coastal ports made European traders give them rich presents. Because of the absence of sizable states, there were no large-scale wars and consequently few prisoners of war. Instead, kidnapping was the major source of slaves

Why were the Portuguese reluctant to set up a costly colonial government in Brazil?

-Limited -Found mineral wealth nor rich native empires -Spend resources on trade network In the 16th century Portugal concentrated its resources & energies on Asia & Africa. Because early settlers found neither mineral wealth nor rich native empires in Brazil, the Portuguese king hesitated to set up expensive mechanisms of colonial government in the New World. Seeking to promote settlement but limit costs, the king in effect sublet administrative responsibilities in Brazil to court favorites by granting twelve hereditary captaincies in the 1530s. After mismanagement and inadequate investment doomed this experiment, the king appointed a governor-general in 1549 and made Salvador, in the northern province of Bahia, Brazil's capital. In 1720 the first viceroy of Brazil was named. The government institutions of the Spanish and Portuguese colonies had a more uniform character and were much more extensive and costly than those later established in North America by France and Great Britain. Taxes paid in Spanish America by the silver and gold mines and in Brazil by the sugar plantations and, after 1690, gold mines funded large and intrusive colonial bureaucracies. These institutions made the colonies more responsive to the initiatives of Spain and Portugal, but they also thwarted local economic initiative and political experimentation

By the end of the 1500s, where was the Spanish Empire in America? Where was the Portuguese.

-Limited to Atlantic coast of Brazil (East) -Carribean islands, Mexico, American S.W, C. Am, Caribbean, & Pacific coasts of S. Am., Andean highland, plains of Rio de la plata region (Argentina, uruguany, & Paraguay) -Portuguese developed slower -Occupied much of Brazilian coast The frontiers of conquest and settlement expanded rapidly. Within one hundred years of Columbus's first voyage to the Western Hemisphere, the Spanish Empire in America included most of the islands of the Caribbean, Mexico, the American southwest, Central America, the Caribbean and Pacific coasts of South America, the Andean highlands, and the vast plains of the Rio de la Plata region (a region that includes the modern nations of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay). Portuguese settlement in the New World developed more slowly. But before the end of the sixteenth century, Portugal occupied most of the Brazilian coast

Who were the mestizos? Who were the mulattos?

-Mestizos= few European/Creole fathers recognized their mixed offspring -Mulattos= individuals of mixed European & African descent Within a century of settlement, groups of mixed descent were in the majority in many regions. There were few marriages between Amerindian women and European men, but less formal relationships were common. Few European or creole fathers recognized their mixed offspring, who were called mestizos˚. Nevertheless, this rapidly expanding group came to occupy a middle position in colonial society, dominating urban artisan trades and small-scale agriculture and ranching. In frontier regions many members of the elite were mestizos, some proudly asserting their descent from the Amerindian elite. The African slave trade also led to the appearance of new American ethnicities. Individuals of mixed European and African descent—called mulattos—came to occupy intermediate position in the tropics similar to the social position of mestizos in Mesoamerica and the Andean region. In Spanish Mexico and Peru and in Brazil, mixtures of Amerindians and Africans were also common

How did the Spanish attempt to protect and control trade to the colonies?

-More ambitious -Granting Seville then Cadiz monopoly trade -The combination of monopoly commerce and convoy systems protected shipping -facilitated the collection of taxes, but these measures -slowed the flow of European goods to the colonies -kept prices high. Frustrated by these restraints -colonial populations established illegal commercial relations with the English, French, and Dutch Both Spain and Portugal attempted to control the trade of their American colonies. Spain's efforts were more ambitious, granting first Seville and then Cádiz monopoly trade rights. Similar monopoly privileges were then awarded to the merchant guilds of Lima, Peru, and Mexico City. Because ships returning to Spain with silver and gold were often attacked by foreign naval forces and pirates, Spain came to rely on convoys escorted by warships to supply the colonies and return with silver and gold. By 1650 Portugal had instituted a similar system of monopoly trade and fleets. The combination of monopoly commerce and convoy systems protected shipping and facilitated the collection of taxes, but these measures also slowed the flow of European goods to the colonies and kept prices high. Frustrated by these restraints, colonial populations established illegal commercial relations with the English, French, and Dutch. By the middle of the seventeenth century a majority of European imports were arriving in Latin America illegally

Why did Caribbean sugar planters switch to slaves by the mid-1700s?

-More suited than Europeans to field labor & Europeans both died in large numbers in American tropics -Africans' higher survival rate was not decisive bc morality has about the same among later generation of blacks and whites born in West Indies & acclimated to its diseases The shift in favor of African slaves was a product of many factors. Recent scholarship has cast doubt on the once-common assertion that Africans were more suited than Europeans to field labor, since newly arrived Africans and Europeans both died in large numbers in the American tropics. Africans' slightly higher survival rate was not decisive because mortality was about the same among later generations of blacks and whites born in the West Indies and acclimated to its diseases

Along with the plantation system, what other elements went into the creation of new Atlantic economy?

-New economic institutions, new partnership, between private investors & government in Europe, & new working relationships between European & African merchants *new trading system is a prime example of how European capitalist relationships were reshaping the world* Many separate pieces went into the creation of the new Atlantic economy. Besides the plantation system itself, three other elements merit further investigation: new economic institutions, new partnerships between private investors and governments in Europe, and new working relationships between European and African merchants. The new trading system is a prime example of how European capitalist relationships were reshaping the world

How did Bartolome de Las Casas attempt to defend the Amerindians in early colonial period?

-Protection against abuse & exploisution of Spanish settlers -(Priest) (1474-1566) most influential defender of the Amerindians in the early colonial period -Forced labor of Amerindians --Moved by deaths of so many Amerindians & by misdeeds of Spanish Despite its failures, the Catholic clergy did provide native peoples with some protections against the abuse and exploitation of Spanish settlers. The priest Bartolomé de Las Casas (1474-1566) was the most influential defender of the Amerindians in the early colonial period. He arrived in Hispaniola in 1502 as a settler and initially lived off the forced labor of Amerindians. Deeply moved by the deaths of so many Amerindians and by the misdeeds of the Spanish, Las Casas gave up this way of life and entered the Dominican Order, later becoming the first bishop of Chiapas, in southern Mexico. For the remainder of his long life Las Casas served as the most important advocate for native peoples, writing a number of books that detailed their mistreatment by the Spanish. His most important achievement was the enactment of the New Laws of 1542—reform legislation that outlawed the enslavement of Amerindians and limited other forms of forced labor

What role did the Catholic Church play in both Spanish America and Brazil?

-Religious base element -Remained catholic rocks>jesuits influence -Agent for intro & transmission of Christian belief as well as European language & culture -Why 65% of Christianity is Catholicism In both Spanish America and Brazil the Catholic Church became the primary agent for the introduction and transmission of Christian belief as well as European language and culture. It undertook the conversion of Amerindians, ministered to the spiritual needs of European settlers, and promoted intellectual life through the introduction of the printing press and formal education

In what two respects were sugar plantations very damaging to the environment?

-Removes more nutrients from soil than animal fertilizer & follow periods can restore - Deforestation continued a trend begun 16th century In some ways the mature sugar plantation was environmentally responsible. The crushing mill was powered by water, wind, or animals, not fossil fuels. The boilers were largely fueled by burning the crushed canes, and the fields were fertilized by manure from the cattle. In two respects, however, the plantation was very damaging to the environment: soil exhaustion and deforestation

What two industries dominated the economic development of colonial Latin America?

-Silver mines of Peru/Mexico -Sugar plantations of Brazil The mineral wealth of the New World fueled the early development of European capitalism and funded Europe's greatly expanded trade with Asia. Profits produced in these economic centers also promoted the growth of colonial cities, concentrated scarce investment capital and labor resources, and stimulated the development of livestock raising and agriculture in neighboring rural areas (see Map 17.1). Once established, this colonial dependence on mineral and agricultural exports left an enduring social and economic legacy in Latin America

What happened at Potosi (Bolivia) in 1545?

-Single richest silver deposit in the Americas was discovered Gold worth millions of pesos was extracted from mines in Latin America, but silver mines in the Spanish colonies generated the most wealth and therefore exercised the greatest economic influence. The first important silver strikes occurred in Mexico in the 1530s and 1540s. In 1545 the single richest silver deposit in the Americas was discovered at Potosí, in what is now Bolivia, and until 1680 the silver production of Bolivia and Peru dominated the Spanish colonial economy. After this date Mexican silver production greatly surpassed that of the Andean region

What diseases did Europeans bring with them to the New World?

-Small pox, measles, diphtheria, typhus, influenza, & pulmonary plague Smallpox, which arrived in the Caribbean in 1518, was the most deadly of the early epidemics. In Mexico and Central America, 50 percent or more of the Amerindian population died during the first wave of smallpox epidemics. The disease then spread to South America with equally devastating effects. Measles arrived in the New World in the 1530s & was followed by diphtheria, typhus, influenza, and, perhaps, pulmonary plague. Mortality was often greatest when two or more diseases struck at the same time. Between 1520 and 1521 influenza, in combination with other ailments, attacked the Cakchiquel of Guatemala

What were the by-products of sugar manufacturing?

-Spades for planting, hoes to control the weeds, and sharp machetes to cut the canes -Needed crushed within a few hours to exact sugary sap -Max efficiency, each plantation needed its own expensive crushing & processing equipment From the mill, lead-lined wooden troughs carried the cane juice to a series of large copper kettles in the boiling shed, where the excess water boiled off, leaving a thick syrup. Workers poured the syrup into conical molds in the drying shed. The sugar crystals that formed in the molds were packed in wooden barrels for shipment to Europe. The dark molasses that drained off was made into rum in yet another building, or it was barreled for export

Describe the Viceroyality of New Spain and Viceroyality of Peru.

-Spanish territories -Enjoyed broad power bc distance from Spain -N.S= 1535, Mex city (cap), mex, s.w of use, c.a, & islands of carribean -Peru= lima (cap), 1540s> to gov Spanish south am Each viceroyalty was divided into a number of judicial & administrative districts The highest-ranking Spanish officials in the colonies, the viceroys of New Spain and Peru, enjoyed broad power because of their distance from Spain. But the two viceroyalties in their jurisdiction were also vast territories with geographic obstacles to communication. Created in 1535, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, with its capital in Mexico City, included Mexico, the southwest of what is now the United States, Central America, and the islands of the Caribbean. The Viceroyalty of Peru, with its capital in Lima, was formed in the 1540s to govern Spanish South America (see Map 17.1). Each viceroyalty was divided into a number of judicial and administrative districts. Until the seventeenth century, almost all of the officials appointed to high positions in Spain's colonial bureaucracy were born in Spain. Eventually, economic mismanagement in Spain forced the Crown to sell appointments to these positions; as a result, local-born members of the colonial elite gained many offices

By 17th century, what industry came to dominate the Brazilian economy?

-Sugar plantations Before the settlement of Brazil, the Portuguese had already developed sugar plantations that depended on slave labor on the Atlantic islands of Madeira, the Azores, the Cape Verdes, and São Tomé. Because of the success of these early experiences, they were able to quickly transfer this profitable form of agriculture to Brazil. After 1550 sugar production expanded rapidly in the northern provinces of Pernambuco and Bahia. By the seventeenth century, sugar dominated the Brazilian economy

Why did sugar planers come to rely more on African slaves than Amerindian slaves?

-Sugar plantations -Planters found them to be more productive and more resistant to disease Although African slaves at first cost much more than Amerindian slaves, planters found them to be more productive and more resistant to disease. As profits from the plantations increased, imports of African slaves rose from an average of two thousand per year in the late sixteenth century to approximately seven thousand per year a century later, outstripping the immigration of free Portuguese settlers. Between 1650 and 1750, for example, more than three African slaves arrived in Brazil for every free immigrant from Europe.

What led to the development of an international slave trade?

-Terrible loss of Amerindian life & rising profits of sugar planters The sugar plantations of colonial Brazil always depended on slave labor. At first the Portuguese sugar planters enslaved Amerindians captured in war or seized from their villages. They used Amerindian men as field hands, although in this indigenous culture women had primary responsibility for agriculture. Any effort to resist or flee led to harsh punishments. Thousands of Amerindian slaves died during the epidemics that raged across Brazil in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This terrible loss of Amerindian life and the rising profits of the sugar planters led to the development of an internal slave trade dominated by settlers from the southern region of São Paulo. To supply the rising labor needs of the sugar plantations of the northeast, slave raiders pushed into the interior, even attacking Amerindian populations in neighboring Spanish colonies. Many of the most prominent slavers were the sons of Portuguese fathers and Amerindian mothers

How were Native Americans punished for secretly observing old beliefs and rituals?

-Those who didn't convert to catholicism> faced execution -Punished severely -Miltant religion (Catholicism) -Trial & punishment of two converted Aztec nobles for heresy 1530s -Resorted to tortue, executions, & destruction of native manuscripts to eradicate traditions beliefs, & rituals among Maya -Violent repression of native religious practice & efforts to recruit an Amerindian energy The Catholic clergy sought to achieve their evangelical ends by first converting members of the Amerindian elites, in the hope that they could persuade others to follow their example. Franciscan missionaries in Mexico hoped to train members of the indigenous elite for the clergy. These idealistic efforts had to be abandoned when church authorities discovered that many converts were secretly observing old beliefs and rituals. The trial and punishment of two converted Aztec nobles for heresy in the 1530s highlighted this problem. Three decades later, Spanish clergy resorted to torture, executions, and the destruction of native manuscripts to eradicate traditional beliefs and rituals among the Maya. Repelled by these events, the church hierarchy ended both the violent repression of native religious practice and efforts to recruit an Amerindian clergy

Along with sugar cane, what became the most significant cash crop in West Indies by 1600s?

-Tobacco Spanish settlers introduced sugar-cane cultivation into the West Indies shortly after 1500, but these colonies soon fell into neglect as attention shifted to colonizing the American mainland. After 1600 the West Indies revived as a focus of colonization, this time by northern Europeans interested in growing tobacco and other crops. In the 1620s and 1630s English colonization societies founded small European settlements on Montserrat˚, Barbados˚, and other Caribbean islands, while the French colonized Martinique˚, Guadeloupe˚, and some other islands. Because of greater support from their government, the English colonies prospered first, largely by growing tobacco for export

What is meant by the term columbian exchange?

-Transfer of ppl, animals, plants, & diseases between new & old worlds The European invasion & settlement of the Western Hemisphere opened a long era of biological & technological transfers that altered American environments. Within a century of first settlement, the domesticated livestock and major agricultural crops of the Old World (the known world before Columbus's voyage) had spread over much of the Americas, and the New World's useful staple crops had enriched the agricultures of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Old World diseases that entered the Americas with European immigrants and African slaves devastated indigenous populations. These dramatic population changes weakened native peoples' capacity for resistance and facilitated the transfer of plants, animals, and related technologies. As a result, the colonies of Spain, Portugal, England, & France became vast arenas of cultural and social experimentation.

How did indigenous commoners suffer the heaviest burden in the new European colonial societies?

-Tribute payments, forced labor obligations, and the loss of traditional land rights Tribute payments, forced labor obligations, and the loss of traditional land rights were common. European domination dramatically changed the indigenous world. The old connections between peoples and places were weakened or, in some cases, lost. Religious life, marriage practices, diet, and material culture were altered profoundly. The survivors of these terrible shocks learned to adapt to the new colonial environment. They embraced some elements of the dominant colonial culture and its technologies. They found ways to enter the market economies of the cities. They learned to produce new products, such as raising sheep and growing wheat. Most importantly, they learned new forms of resistance, like using colonial courts to protect community lands or to resist the abuses of corrupt officials

How did Old World diseases overwhelm native populations? Describe.

-Weakened capacity for resistance & fallilitated the transfer of plants, animals, & related technologies *Result=colonies of Spain, Portugal, England, & France became vast arenas of cultural & social experimentation* Because of their long isolation from other continents (see Chapter 15), the peoples of the New World lacked immunity to diseases introduced from the Old World. As a result, death rates among Amerindian peoples during the epidemics of the early colonial period were very high. The lack of reliable data has frustrated efforts to measure the deadly impact of these diseases. Scholars disagree about the size of the precontact population but generally agree that, after contact, Old World diseases overwhelmed native populations. According to one estimate, in the century that followed the triumph of Hernán Cortés in 1521, the indigenous population of central Mexico fell from a high somewhere between 13 million and 25 million to approximately 700,000. In this same period nearly 75 percent of the Maya population disappeared. In the region of the Inca Empire, population fell from about 9 million to approximately 600,000. Brazil's native population was similarly ravaged, falling from 2.5 million to under a million within a century of the arrival of the Portuguese. The most conservative estimates of population loss begin with smaller precontact populations but accept that epidemics had a catastrophic effect.

Describe the conditions for slaves on the sugar plantations of Brazil and the Carribean

-Worst on sugar plantations -Harsh discipline, brutal punishments, & back breaking labor= common -Gender imbalance -Disease -Poor housing, diet, hygiene, & medical care -Lack of salve family & marriage patterns Conditions for slaves were worst on the sugar plantations of Brazil & the Caribbean, where harsh discipline, brutal punishments, and backbreaking labor were common. Because planters preferred to buy male slaves, there was always a gender imbalance on plantations. As a result, neither the traditional marriage and family patterns of Africa nor those of Europe developed. The disease environment of the tropics, as well as the poor housing, diet, hygiene, and medical care offered to slaves, also weakened slave families

What was a plantocracy? What was the percentage of slaves in West Indian populations by the 1700s?

-a small number of very rich men who owed most of the slaves & most of the land -90% or more were slaves During the 18th century West Indian plantation colonies were the world's most polarized societies. On most islands 90 percent or more of the inhabitants were slaves. Power resided in the hands of a plantocracy, a small number of very rich men who owned most of the slaves and most of the land. Between the slaves and the masters might be found only a few others—some estate managers and government officials and, in the French islands, small farmers, both white and black. Thus it is only a slight simplification to describe eighteenth-century Caribbean society as being made up of a large, abject class of slaves and a small, powerful class of masters

What was the essence of early modern capitalism?

-a system of large financial institutions: banks, stock exchanges, & chartered trading companies that enabled wealthy investors to reduce risks & increase profits Two European innovations enabled private investors to fund the rapid growth of the Atlantic economy. One was the ability to manage large financial resources through mechanisms that modern historians have labeled capitalism. The essence of early modern capitalism was a system of large financial institutions—banks, stock exchanges, and chartered trading companies—that enabled wealthy investors to reduce risks and increase profits.

What did new mercantilist policies foster among Europeans?

-competitors among nations w/own citizens -taxes to exclude outsiders Such new mercantilist policies fostered competition among a nation's own citizens, while using high tariffs and restrictions to exclude foreigners.

What factors contributed to the high mortality on Atlantic slave ships?

-efforts of captives to escape -crew force-fed slaves who refused to eat, but some successfully willed themselves to death -developed deep depression>"fixed melancholy" Some deaths resulted from the efforts of the captives to escape. As on the voyage of the Hannibal recounted at the beginning of the chapter, male slaves were shackled together to prevent them from trying to escape while they were still in sight of land. Because some still managed to jump overboard in pairs, slave ships were outfitted with special netting around the outside. Some slaves developed deep psychological depression, known to contemporaries as "fixed melancholy." Crews force-fed slaves who refused to eat, but some successfully willed themselves to death

What was Mercantilism?

-policies adopted by European states to promote their citizens' overseas trade & accumulate capital in the form of precious metals, especially gold and silver -discouraged citizens trading w/ foreign *no long time structure merchants & use armed force when necessary to recur exclusive relocations *colonial expansion* *dominate economic theory* -replaced by capitalism The capitalism of these centuries was buttressed by mercantilism, policies adopted by European states to promote their citizens' overseas trade and accumulate capital in the form of precious metals, especially gold and silver. Mercantilist policies strongly discouraged citizens from trading with foreign merchants and used armed force when necessary to secure exclusive relations

Describe the Songhai empire of west Africa in 1500s & 1600s

-pushing its dominion into Sahara from south -Drew wealth from trans Saharan trade & ruled by an indigenous Muslim dynasty -wealth from gold and salt -Muslim The great Songhai˚ Empire of West Africa was pushing its dominion into the Sahara from the south. Like its predecessor Mali, Songhai drew its wealth from the trans-Saharan trade and was ruled by an indigenous Muslim dynasty. However, Songhai's rulers faced a challenge from the northwestern kingdom of Morocco, whose Muslim rulers sent a military expedition of four thousand men and ten thousand camels across the desert. Half the men perished on their way across the desert. Songhai's army of forty thousand cavalry and foot soldiers faced the survivors in 1591, but could not withstand the Moroccans' twenty-five hundred muskets. Although Morocco was never able to annex the western Sudan, for the next two centuries the occupying troops extracted a massive tribute of slaves & goods from the local population and collected tolls from passing merchants

How did the New World dietary staples-corn, potatoes, and manioc-revolutionize agriculture in Western Europe?

-rapid growth of world population after 1700 resulted in large measure from the spread of these useful crops, which provided more calories per acre than did any Old World staples other than rice In return the Americas offered the Old World an abundance of useful plants. The New World staples— maize, potatoes, and manioc—revolutionized agriculture and diet in parts of Europe, Africa, and Asia (see Environment and Technology: Amerindian Foods in Africa, in Chapter 18). Many experts assert that the rapid growth of world population after 1700 resulted in large measure from the spread of these useful crops, which provided more calories per acre than did any Old World staples other than rice. Beans, squash, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, peanuts, chilies, and chocolate also gained widespread acceptance in the Old World. In addition, the New World provided the Old with plants that provided dyes, medicinal plants, varieties of cotton, and tobacco

What did the expansion of sugar plantations in the West Indies require?

-sharp increase in volume of the slave trade from Africa a sharp increase in the volume of the slave trade from Africa (see Figure 18.1). During the first half of the seventeenth century about ten thousand slaves a year had arrived from Africa. Most were destined for Brazil and the mainland Spanish colonies. In the second half of the century the trade averaged twenty thousand slaves a year. More than half were intended for the English, French, and Dutch West Indies and most of the rest for Brazil. A century later the volume of the Atlantic slave trade was three times larger

What was the role of charactered companies in the Atlantic economy?

-to promote national claims w/o government expense, France & England gave groups of private investors monopolies over trade to their West Indies colonies in exchange for the payment for annual fees . To promote national claims without government expense, France and England gave groups of private investors monopolies over trade to their West Indies colonies in exchange for the payment of annual fees. The other change was that the companies began to provide free passage to the colonies for poor Europeans. These indentured servants paid off their debt by working three or four years for the established colonists

Describe how tobacco use became so popular in Europe by the 1600s

-used for recreation>medicine -sold in 17,000 shops in & around London -English businessmen were dreaming of a tobacco trade as valuable as Spain's silver fleets This New World leaf, long used by Amerindians for recreation and medicine, was finding a new market among seventeenth-century Europeans. Despite the opposition of individuals like King James I of England, who condemned tobacco smoke as "dangerous to the eye, hateful to the nose, harmful to the brain, and dangerous to the lungs," the habit spread. By 1614 tobacco was reportedly being sold in seven thousand shops in and around London, and some English businessmen were dreaming of a tobacco trade as valuable as Spain's silver fleets

What were the 3 levels of Caribbean free society by the 18th century?

1) wealthy owners of large sugar plantations "Grand blacs"> dominated economy & society of the island 2) less well-off Europeans "petite blancs"> raises provisions for local consumption & crops such as coffee, indigo, & cotton for export, relying on own slave labor 3) free blacks> as numerous as free whites & engaged in similar occupations; ranked below whites socially; few became wealthy enough to own their own slaves The lives of the small minority of free people were very different from the lives of slaves. In the French colony of Saint Domingue, which had nearly half of the slaves in the Caribbean in the eighteenth century, free people fell into three distinct groups. At the top of free society were the wealthy owners of large sugar plantations (the grands blancs˚, or "great whites"), who dominated the economy and society of the island. Second came less-well-off Europeans (petits blancs˚, or "little whites"). Most of them raised provisions for local consumption and crops such as coffee, indigo, and cotton for export, relying on their own and slave labor. Third came the free blacks. Though nearly as numerous as the free whites and engaged in similar occupations, they ranked below whites socially. A few free blacks became wealthy enough to own their own slaves

Describe three phases, or "legs", of the triangular trade that defined the Atlantic Circuit (make sure you know the *Middle Passage*)

1. (From Europe to Asia) carried European manufactures; notably metal bars, hardware, & guns. As well as great quantities of cotton textiles brought from India 2. More goods went to purchase slaves, who were transported across Atlantic to plantation colonies in part of Atlantic circuit 3. Plantation goods from colonies from where they were scarce & therefore more valuable The first leg, from Europe to Africa, carried European manufactures—notably metal bars, hardware, and guns—as well as great quantities of cotton textiles brought from India. Some of these goods were traded for West African gold, timber, and other products, which were taken back to Europe. More goods went to purchase slaves, who were transported across the Atlantic to the plantation colonies in the part of the Atlantic Circuit known as the Middle Passage. On the third leg, plantation goods from the colonies returned to Europe. Each leg carried goods from where they were abundant and relatively cheap to where they were scarce and therefore more valuable. Thus, in theory, each leg of the Atlantic Circuit could earn much more than its costs, and a ship that completed all three legs could return a handsome profit to its owners. In practice, shipwrecks, deaths, piracy, and other risks could turn profit into loss

Why did men outnumber the women on Caribbean plantations?

Because slave ships brought twice as many males as females from Africa

What factors kept sub-Saharan Africans from being conquered by expansive Middle Eastern empires?

Geography, trading skills, & military prowess of sub Saharan Africans had kept them from being conquered


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