a. The shaping of north America
i. In the beginning, all the continents were together ii. Most mountain ranges were formed before the split iii. Canadian shield anchored north America iv. The ice age was held about 2 million years ago
v. The great lakes were formed from melting glaciers
b. Peopling in the Americas
i. Most people came to the Americas through the land bridge created by the low sea levels ii. As the glaciers melted the sea levels rose again, eliminating the land bridge, isolating the Americas for several years iii. By the time Europeans got to the Americas an average of 54 million people were living there iv. Tribes like the Incas Mayans and Aztecs made there own civilizations and make towns with out and of the technology Europe at the time had
c. The earliest Americans
i. Agriculture, like corn growing accounted for the size of native Americans ii. Corn help transform nomadic hunters into agriculture villagers iii. The Pueblo people constructed irrigation systems iv. The northern parts of Americas devolved later
v. The Mississippian settlement at Cahokia near present day St. Louis like other tribes of its kind die out because of drought vi. Three-sister-farming beans, corn, and squash rotating to save moisture in the land. Made higher populated groups like the Cherokee vii. Before Europe, the native people we living in small, scattered out groups were the women took car of the crops and the men hunted viii. Unlike the Europeans, Native Americans wanted to preserve the land ix. The land did not feel the hand of the Native Americans
d. Indirect Discoveries of the New World
i. The Europeans had no clue the Americas existed, the closes they got to it was a place close to L’Anse aux Meadows But not many people supported the Voyages. So it was soon forgot about ii. Later Other countries start to want more power so they looked for a way to expand and go towards Asia, the penetration of Africa, and the completely accidental discover of the Americas iii. The crusades brought more culture back to Europe iv. These new good got expensive, so people wanted to cut out the middle man and find a quicker way to get these new rare goods
e. Europeans Enter Africa
i. Marco Polo’s stories (true or not) created a desires for a cheaper rout to the treasure of the east ii. This made Europe need to expand, sailors now had better technology like the caravel a ship that could sail closer into the wind iii. Most parts of southern Africa was unreachable and the only things know about it were stories until the Portuguese started to venture down the western coast in the middle of the fifteenth century iv. The Portuguese set up trading posts for gold and slaves. Even in its early nature slavery came from African cultures
v. They set up their own traffic in slaves to work on their sugar plantations that was on African coast lines. Slave trading became a huge business. vi. The Portuguese then pushed to find a way to Asia
1. Bartholomeu Dias sailed to the southern tip of Africa
2. Ten years later Vasco da Gama reached India vii. Meanwhile Spain was coming together, with the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabel and the exposition of the Muslim moors, Spain looked westward
f. Columbus comes upon a new world
i. Now there was a hug shift in history with due to the new inventions in technology like the Mariner’s compass ii. Christopher Columbus was an Italian sailor the sleeked the Spanish to give him 3 ships and a crew. They were unsuccessful until 1492 when they sighted an island in the Bahamas iii. He was originally looking for India and that is where the term “Indians” came from iv. This created 4 continents Europe Africa and the two Americas each providing something
1. Europe- markets the capital technology
2. Africa- furnished labor
3. Americas- Raw materials (metals and soil for sugar cane)
g. When worlds collide
i. The Columbian exchange ii. Columbus