Unit 1 Power Point 1

Early European exploration and interactions

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North America pre-Colombus

Teaming with life 25 Million people 100s of different tribes

and languages Different cultures Different Governments Different Economies Trade between each

other Unclaimed by

Europeans

Early European exploration and colonization resulted in the redistribution of the world’s population as millions of people from Europe and Africa voluntarily and involuntarily moved to the New World.

The European’s world in 1492

English, French, and Dutch explored North America searching for the gold that had made Spain & Portugal rich.

European Exploration Europeans set sail in

search of the 3 G’s

God

Gold

Glory

Columbian Exchange“Columbus did not discover a new world.  He established contact between two worlds, both already

old.”  -- Historian J. H. Perry

Europeans bring sugar, pigs, horses, wheels, and guns

Native Americans give beans, corn, tomato, potatoes, tobacco, and syphilis

Explorations and settlements lead to violent conflict with the First Americans

Native Americans lost their traditional territories

Millions of Native Americans died due to the diseases of the Europeans.

Strategies of Europeans

Gov’t sponsored exploration & colonization

Joint stock companies companies Trading posts Church established missions

European Colonies

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Why did people want to move? Population of England

was growing Farmers were taking

land (enclosure) Religious reasons Primogeniture Establishment of the

Joint Stock Company Want trade, resources,

wealth, markets, and place to send criminals

Characteristics of early exploration and settlements in the New World

New England was settled by Puritans seeking freedom from religious persecution in Europe. They formed a “covenant community” based on the principles of the Mayflower Compact and Puritan religious beliefs and were often intolerant of those not sharing their religion. They also sought economic opportunity and practiced a form of direct democracy through town meetings.

The Middle Atlantic region was settled chiefly by English, Dutch, and German-speaking immigrants seeking religious freedom and economic opportunity.

Virginia and the other Southern colonies were settled by people seeking economic opportunities. Some of the early Virginia settlers were “cavaliers,” i.e., English nobility who received large land grants in eastern Virginia from the King of England. Poor English immigrants also came seeking better lives as small farmers or artisans and settled in the Shenandoah Valley or western Virginia, or as indentured servants who agreed to work on tobacco plantations for a period of time to pay for passage to the New World.

The Charter of the Virginia Company: Guaranteed to

colonists the same rights as Englishmen as if they had stayed in England.

This provision was incorporated into future colonists’ documents.

Colonists felt that, even in the Americas, they had the rights of Englishmen!

English ColonizationEnglish Colonization

Jamestown, established in 1607 by the Virginia Company of London as a business venture, was the first permanent English settlement in North America. The Virginia House of Burgesses, established in 1619, was the first elected assembly in the New World. It has operated continuously and is known today as the General Assembly of Virginia.

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English Colonization Several failed attempts

Including Roanoke Jamestown founded – 1st permanent English

Colony – VA Company of London – make $

1606-1607 40 people died on the voyage to the New World.

1609 another ship from England lost its leaders and supplies in a shipwreck off Bermuda.

Settlers died by the dozens!

“Gentlemen” colonists would not work themselves.

Game in forests & fish in river uncaught.

Settlers wasted time looking for gold instead of hunting or farming.

The Jamestown Nightmare

The Jamestown Nightmare

High Mortality RatesHigh Mortality Rates

The “Starving Time”:1607: 104 colonists

By spring, 1608: 38 survived

1609: 300 more immigrants

By spring, 1610: 60 survived

1610 – 1624: 10,000 immigrants

1624 population: 1,200

Adult life expectancy: 40 years

Death of children before age 5: 80%

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Tobacco Saves Virginia Tobacco – (Rolfe)

makes the colony prosper Slaves brought 1619 to

Jamestown (Middle Passage)

1618 — 20,000 pounds 1622 —60,000 pounds 1627 — 500,000 pounds 1629 —1.5 million

pounds

Exploration and colonization initiated worldwide commercial expansion as agricultural products were exchanged between the Americas and Europe. In time, colonization led to ideas of representative government and religious tolerance that over several centuries would inspire similar transformations in other parts of the world.

Interactions among Europeans, Africans, and American Indians The explorations and settlements of the

English in the American colonies and Spanish in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, often led to violent conflicts with the American Indians. The Indians lost their traditional territories and fell victim to diseases carried from Europe. By contrast, French exploration of Canada did not lead to large-scale immigration from France, and relations with native peoples were generally more cooperative.

The growth of an agricultural economy based on large landholdings in the Southern colonies and in the Caribbean led to the introduction of slavery in the New World. The first Africans were brought against their will to Jamestown in 1619 to work on tobacco plantations.