Ceniya Jefferson
1 Period
AP US History
Notes
“Analyze”
“Describe”
“Examine”
BRIEF :
- What was America before the Columbus exploration/discovery ?
You need to know the before to understand the impact.
- Shift of power, very diverse & sophisticated people came & took over. Complex political
systems, strict religion, etc. - Native Americans, their environment determined where they
lived, they understood their resources
- Mesoamerican people made chocolate beverages, Mayans & Aztecs believed cacao seeds
had so much value as a form of currency. Forwards in chocolate history- bitter drinks, to
chocolate bars.
- Native societies in North America developed strong regional distinctions based on their
environment.
- False advertisement to pictures & paintings (made to tell a story) created the idea that
colonizers loved the natives, everyone got along great, people wandered in, in & out of
people’s houses etc., but it’s not true. Ex : Pocahontas
KEY TURNING POINT : Maize
( Impact of agriculture )
- Because Portugal left the port open, there was conflict with Spain. Fernidina Isabella funded
the Columbus expedition. Columbus was looking for Asia for spices to bring back but went to
an alternative route (controlled by the Muslims( who were heavily hated)), to see if it was
shorter.
- Spain, England, & France are different, Spain is closer to the states.
, - In 1493, the Pope signed the doctrine, which was used several years later to determine who
can take land & when. As long as no Christians are there, it’s free land. If those who refuse to
turn Christian, they go against the document.
- Spain & Portugal are the most relevant sea wise. The Treaty of Tordesillas- controlled who
controlled what & determined the regional language. (Ex : Brazil - only country that speaks
Portuguese.
- Europe, Africa, & the Americas, the Columbian exchange, it was the spread of disease.
The Americans were more isolated and when the Spanish came over, they brought over
smallpox, it wiped several out.
- The exchanges and voyage was for Spain looking for gold & silver. Wealth, but inflation
would occur in Spain due to private wealth turning public.
Spanish in the Americas,
there was supposed to be Christianization. Native Americans taken for slaves, the Spanish
brought disease so they died most of the time. Then it’s their original land so the Natives ran
away because they knew the environment. Africans were second after the Natives, so there
was an increase in African slaves .
- There needed to be taxes, so the class system was broken into races. People born in Spain,
people who are from Spain but were born in the colonies, then mixed families like Indian
women & African father, to any type of previous slaves. Whoever didn’t have any money were
the ones who had to pay the most
Bartolomé De Las Casas
- 16th Century Priest went to convert people to Christianity. Encomienda System & Impact on
African Slavery
- He saw the brutality due to making people convert, he thought it was right but saw it wasn’t
right and went to pack to go petition the crown saying “ we’re not saving souls, we’re forcing
them to Christ.” But someone has to continue the work, so he offered up more people, so he’s
reliably a terrible person.
