EH-Chapter+1

CH. 1 · Millions of years ago the earth contained one single land mass. · North America has been geologically shaped in a short amount of time compared to how old the earth is. · It is believed that Asian hunters crossed a land bridge from Siberia to Alaska when the last ice age dropped the sea level. These first immigrants eventually moved all across North and South America. · Over time, these people created thousands of tribes, languages, and cultures. · Mexico first began the spread of corn which provided life for many civilizations and helped to settle villages. · Technology and the importance of society were different all around the continent. · The “three sister” farming technique sparked the growth of many new nations. · Many women had power in North American native communities. · Native Americans really had no need to abuse the earth’s resources. They took only what they needed to survive. · Scandinavians were the first to discover North America. · Europeans began seeking spices and other exotic items from Asia around the 1400s. · Europeans eventually discovered new ways of sailing around Africa to get the goods that they were looking for in Asia. · Tons of gold had been found in Africa which prompted the Portuguese to make trading posts in Africa. · Slave trading began at Portuguese posts. · Spain became united. · Printing presses allowed for widespread knowledge. · Christopher Columbus convinced the Spanish to let him sail three ships westward. · On October 12, 1492, Columbus and his crew sighted an island in the Bahamas. · Columbus had been looking for a new water route to the Indies but instead found North America. · Europeans saw many new animals in the Americas. · Three fifths of crops around the world originated from the Americas. · Europeans introduced many new plants and animals to the Americas as well as diseases that killed millions of natives. · Natives also give Europeans new diseases such as the STD syphilis. · Europeans found that there were many useful resources in the Americas. · Spain claimed Columbus’s discovery and divided land with Portugal. · Spain was the main exploring and colonizing nation at this time. · Spain is responsible for many discoveries in North America. · New World gold and silver helped grow capitalism and transformed the world economy. · This made way for commercial banking. · The “west Indies” were a cache of men and weapons used to invade the Americas. · The inhabitants of the West Indies were used by Spanish invasioners to test techniques to conquer the natives on the mainland. · One technique was used to enslave natives to colonists. · Herrnan Cortes found translators in order to better conquer central Mexico. · Cortes heard of riches in the Aztec empire and wanted to pursue them. · Cortes burned his ships to stop his men from revolting and gathered Indian allies to conquer the Aztecs. · The Aztecs believed that Cortes was a god and welcomed him and his men to their capitol. · The Aztecs eventually attacked Cortes who eventually seized their capitol and built Mexico City on top of it. · The English sent John Cabot to explore northern North America. · Spanish settlers converted many people to Catholics. · Spanish began to move into Texas as they continued to create more and more missions including the Alamo. · California had remained unsettled for many years until missions were set up across the coast and San Diego was founded in 1769. · Many Indians that went to the Spanish missions eventually lost contact with their culture. · The Spanish tried to mix with natives by adopting some of their culture and marrying unlike the English who eventually drove the natives off of their land.