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Native Americans and early colonisation
1. Columbus discovered the ‘new’ world. How does this discovery, and especially the myth or
the mythology surrounding it, still influence American politics?
Christopher Columbus might have been wrong about his sea route to the Indies, he nevertheless
remains a powerful symbol for the Americans. American consciousness is strongly influenced by the
idea of ‘a new beginning’, ‘idea of a new beginning’ and Columbus perfectly fits this myth of a new
start. Columbus is seen in a mythical way, as the origin, the beginning of a successful story of a
powerful nation. The belief of a fresh start, a new beginning is very powerful in American thinking
and it is still very much part of American politics:
Each politician wants to start again. Trumpian ideologies like “Make America Great Again”
Clinton’s inaugural speech in 1993 in which he addresses the mystery of an American renewal
Barack Obama called for a new beginning between the US and the Muslims; start over again
(talking about the relationship)
Ronal Reagan, in a speech to the House of Commons, called for a renewal of trust in the USA, its
government, its people, the American dream etc.
All have in common: a new beginning cf. Columbian myth
2. Columbus discovered the new world by accident. What was the significance of his
discovery? And why did not he but someone else give his name to the new continent?
On October 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on a small island in the Caribbean Sea and is thus
historically seen as the “discoverer of America” but he never set foot on the mainland. Columbus,
however, wasn’t aware that he had discovered a new continent but, on the contrary, remained
convinced that he had found a new passage to India after the route to India was rendered difficult
after the fall of the Byzantine empire I have found Hispania! (not true). Amerigo Vespucci, another
explorer, wasn’t convinced of this theory, didn’t believe it was part of the ‘old world’, and insisted
Columbus had discovered new land. After Columbus, Vespucci was one of the most important
explorers to further scan the American continent
Amerigo Vespucci was the first to reach mainland America. Vespucci is also known for developing a
complex method to estimate longitudes and calculating the earth’s circumference with amazing
accuracy. Columbus’ calculations on the other hand were far off (his method was called ‘dead
reckoning’ = estimation with wind and time calculated on a previous point Dead reckoning is subject
to cumulative errors), he was even on the wrong continent (America, not Asia).
Columbus’ descriptions were part fiction, part truth, and were rather boring to read. Vespucci had a
powerful imagination and he wrote interesting letters (also focused on sex life, diet, religion …) to
friends in Europe, which were published in many languages. Because of this popularity, the German
cartographer Martin Waldseemüller in 1507 used the Latinized version of Vespucci’s name
(Americus Vespucius) to name the new continent. As all other continents had a feminine name
(Europa, Asia, Africa) he also used the feminine form ‘America’.
Christopher Columbus (1451 – 1506) can be credited for the establishment of European presence in
the New World. With the arrival of Columbus, however, Europe was able to fully establish itself in
this ‘new world’ and make it their own. The discovery of America came at a time when European
nations had an insatiable thirst for imperialism, for expanding their territory and broadening their
influence in faraway areas. The discovery of America thus was a case of perfect timing and was very
significant to secure the positions of these nations.
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3. The discovery of a new continent led to the concept of the ‘Columbian Exchange’. What is
meant with this concept and what was its impact?
“Columbian exchange” (ecological revolution) was a widespread cultural exchange that took place
in the decades after Columbus’ discovery between the Natives and Europeans. Exchange of animals,
plants, culture, human populations and ideas between Eastern and Western hemispheres (Old and
New World). Europeans got new food, metals and tobacco. Indians got new food, livestock, most
notably the horse. They also got diseases. It is estimated that the Indian population in America went
from 50 million to 5 million between 1492 and 1650.
The outcome of the exchange was not that equally divided between the old and the new world.
Many plants and animals were introduced in both worlds. However, the old world was able to put an
end to the famine that was present before the discovery of the new world.
The New World got a whole other "gift" of the old world, namely diseases. The Native Americans did
not have a natural immunity, so they were immediately ill after a contact with a new virus. Especially
the smallpox was deadly. It cost 90% of the population and this incident was called the "Great Dead".
4. English colonization and their settlements were very different from the Spanish approach.
What were the main differences?
English colonisation started later than the Spanish one, because the English people had to unite their
own kingdom first, before settling in America. The English people had to use a more northern route,
because the Spanish and the Portuguese already claimed the southern routes. This northern route
was shorter, but more risky. It was more dangerous because of the weather. The English were more
focused on moving families from Britain to the New World whereas the Spanish wanted to control
the area and create profit from trade.
5. Also the Dutch (and even the ‘Belgians’) had a strong interest in the northern part of the
New World. Where did they settle and how is their influence still visible today?
Henry Hudson, an Englishman employed by the Dutch East India Company, sailed his ship the Halve
Maen up the broad river that today bears his name. Along the way, Hudson traded with the native
tribes and established Dutch claims to the region and especially the fur trade that would prosper in
later years.
In 1614, a small colony, Fort Nassau, was set up at the site of modern Albany.
Eleven years later, in 1625, a fort was put on Manhattan Island and ships brought farmers from
Holland who were to supply the food for its garrison. Five farms (bouwerijen) were established on
the island to meet the needs of the colony. These farmers were in the service of the company. As
soon as the moat surrounding the fort was completed, the fort-to-be was christened Amsterdam
after the capital of the Netherlands, and the new town around it, Nieuw Amsterdam.
A year later Governor Peter Minuit concluded one of the best deals in history. He bought the whole
island from the Indians for sixty guilders of about twenty-five dollars’ worth of merchandise. The
Indians had no reason to complain either. They sold a piece of land which was already settled by
white men who had never asked their permission to do so. The concept of land ownership was
unknown to them since they were primarily hunters and fishermen.
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However, the directors of the company were trained merchants, legal-minded men, and before they
made Manhattan the strategic centre of their New Nederland, they wanted things in writing, which
they got, and cheaply too at a thousand acres to the dollar.
If history would have been a little different, the West India Company, which was established in 1621
and given jurisdiction over the trade with the Caribbean and North America, now would have been
one of the richest real estate holders in the world.
But things went differently. The English conquered New Amsterdam and the West India Company
went bankrupt.
In 1624, a year before the Dutch set up a fort on Manhattan Island, a ship called Nieu Nederlandt,
chartered by the West India Company, had arrived on the same island. The vessel carried about thirty
families, most of whom were Walloons, accompanied by a few Flemings.
The passengers were soon dispersed. Eight men moved quickly to the lower part of Manhattan and
erected a fort there, on the site of the present Battery Park.
Four couples and eight men were sent to the Delaware River (near the present town of Gloucester,
New Jersey), and two families and six men were sent to the Fresh River (now Connecticut), where a
small fort was built on the site of the present city of Hartford. About eighteen families remained on
the Nieu Nederlandt and proceeded up the Hudson. they finally landed near the present city of
Albany (New York State Capital).
6. The puritans and their ideas (philosophy, religion, morality) would strongly
influence America’s future destiny, up till today. How and where can you see the
puritan’s influence in America’s history? Also make a link with the idea of ‘Manifest
Destiny’ and explain how John Gast’s painting ‘American Progress’ illustrates this
idea.
Back to the 16th century, reformation in England, the reaction against the church, started when King
Henry VIII declared himself supreme head of the Church of England (or the Anglican Church). After
the break with Rome, the Church of England veered strongly towards Protestantism, although the
political establishment would remain rather cautious about the protestant attacks on the worldly
hierarchy. The Church needed to be purified of its false ceremonies, non-Scriptural teachings, and
superstitious rituals.
To the Puritans, there were only two valid sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper. The other
sacraments (Confession, Penance, Confirmation, Ordination, Marriage, Confession, Last Rites) of the
Church of England and the Roman Catholic church were inventions of man, had no scriptural basis,
and were therefore superstitions, to the point of being heretical.
They also opposed mass, and considered marriage a civil affair to be handled by the State - not a
religious sacrament. The legitimacy of the Pope, the Saints, and the church hierarchy were rejected,
as was the veneration of relics. Icons and religious symbols such as crosses, statues, stain-glass
windows, fancy architecture, and other worldly manifestations of religion were rejected as a form of
idolatry.
It was the rejection of the authority of the church hierarchy, and of the sacraments, that was the
primary cause of conflict between the Pilgrims and the Church of England.
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This mentality that the Pilgrims landed in North America would have a lasting influence on American
social life. Today, the word ‘puritan’ has a slightly negative connotation as it refers to someone with a
rather narrow-minded view on morality, someone for whom the joys of life lead to hell. But in
another sense, Puritanism also formed the basis of a new way of thinking, a way of thinking we
cherish very much nowadays, subsequently increasing importance of literacy and education instead
of religious authority, a growing individualism was implicit.
This individualism led to an atomization or dispersion of authority that the monarchy duly feared,
and that later generations of Americans could easily label ‘democratization’. As such, the Puritans
were an important factor in setting up an educational system (already in 1636, the Harvard
university of Boston was established) and they in many ways were at the origin of the concept of
democracy. In the 19th century, manifest destiny was a widely held belief in the United States that
its settlers were destined to expand across North America.
There are three basic themes to manifest destiny:
The special virtues of the American people and their institutions
The mission of the United States to redeem and remake the west in the image of agrarian
America
An irresistible destiny to accomplish this essential duty
American Progress, (1872) by John Gast, is an allegorical representation of the modernization of the
new west. Columbia, a personification of the United States, is shown leading civilization westward
with the American settlers. She is shown bringing light from the East into the West, stringing
telegraph wire, holding a school textbook that will install knowledge and highlights different stages of
economic activity and evolving forms of transportation.
7. Which were the original 13 colonies and how did some of them get their names? Where did
most of the immigrants of these colonies come from? Why did they leave their home countries?
First English settlement was set up by Walter Raleigh in 1584 at Roanoke Island, in an area later
named Virginia in honour of Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen (now North Carolina).
Next permanent English settlement appeared in New England. In 1620 the English ship the
Mayflower carried a group of 18 families to Plymouth, outside the bounds of Virginia. The colonists
belonged to a small religious community known as Separatist Puritans, who had earlier fled from
England to the Netherlands to practice their religion.
In 1628, Puritan merchants obtained a charter to settle north of the Separatist colony at Plymouth.
With a fleet of eleven ships and 700 passengers they crossed the Atlantic in 1630. On this journey,
Governor John Winthrop delivered a sermon.
In 1614, a small colony, Fort Nassau, was set up at the site of modern Albany. Eleven years later, in
1625, a fort was put up on Manhattan Island and ships brought farmers from Holland who were to
supply the food for its garrison. Five farms (bouwerijen) were established on the island to meet the
needs of the colony. These farmers were in the service of the company. As soon as the moat
surrounding the fort was completed, the fort-to-be was christened Amsterdam after the capital of
The Netherlands, and the new town around it, Nieuw Amsterdam.
In the end the thirteen colonies were: Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Georgia, Connecticut,
Massachusetts Bay, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Virginia, New York, North Carolina,
and Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New
Jersey were formed by mergers of previous colonies.
