CHAPTERS in BRIEF the Atlantic World, 1492–1800

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CHAPTER CHAPTERS IN BRIEF The Atlantic World, 1492–1800 20 CHAPTER OVERVIEW Starting in 1492, the Spanish built a large empire in the Americas, but the native peoples suffered. In North America, the Dutch, French, Summary and English fought for control. England ﬁnally won. The labor of enslaved per- sons brought from Africa supported the American colonies. The contact between the Old World and the New produced an exchange of new ideas.

1 Spain Builds an rule. In addition, the Aztec were seriously weak- American Empire ened by new diseases brought to the Americas with KEY IDEA The voyages of Columbus prompted the the Spanish. Native peoples had no resistance to Spanish to carve out the first European colonies in the measles, mumps, and smallpox, which killed them Americas. by the hundreds of thousands. n 1492, Christopher Columbus, an Italian sailor, About 15 years later, another Spanish force, led Iled a voyage on behalf of Spain. He sailed west by Francisco Pizarro, conquered the mighty Inca from Europe intending to reach Asia but instead Empire of South America. Once again, the Spanish landed in the Americas. This was land that Europeans gained access to huge amounts of gold and silver. had not known existed before. Columbus thought By the mid-1500s, Spain had formed an American at first that he had reached Asia, or the Indies. He empire that stretched from modern-day Mexico misnamed the natives he met Indians and claimed to Peru. After 1540, the Spanish looked north of the land for Spain. The king and queen agreed to Mexico and explored the future United States. let him lead another voyage. This one was an expe- However, one large area of the Americas—Brazil— dition to form colonies, or controlled lands, that remained outside the control of Spain. Brazil was Spain would rule. the possession of Portugal. Colonists there built In 1500, a Portuguese explorer landed in Brazil huge farms called plantations to grow sugar, which and claimed that land for his country. In 1501, was in demand in Europe. another Italian sailor on behalf of Spain, Amerigo The Spanish had a pattern of living among the Vespucci, explored the eastern coast of South people they conquered. Because few Spanish set- America. He said that these lands were not Asia tlers in the Americas were women, Spanish men had but a new world. Soon after, a mapmaker showed children with native women. These children and the lands as a separate continent. He named them their descendants formed a large mestizo popula- America after Vespucci. tion, people with mixed Spanish and Native Other voyages gave Europeans more knowledge American blood. The Spanish also formed large about the world. One explorer reached the west farms and mines that used natives as slave labor. coast of Central America and first saw the Pacific Many landowners treated the native workers harshly. Ocean. Another, Ferdinand Magellan, led a bold Some Spanish priests criticized this treatment. In expedition from Spain that sailed completely 1542, the Spanish stopped making slaves of native around the world. Magellan himself died about peoples. They soon, however, would bring enslaved halfway around. However, a few members of his Africans to the Americas to meet labor demands. crew survived. They returned to Spain after sailing for almost three years. 2 European Nations Settle Spanish conquistadors, or conquerors, also North America

© they found great riches. In 1519, Hernando Cortés of North America, and England eventually emerged came to Mexico and defeated the powerful Aztec victorious. Empire. The Spanish had the advantage of riﬂes n the early 1500s, the French began to explore and cannons. They also had the aid of several INorth America. Jacques Cartier came across and native groups who were angry over harsh Aztec named the St. Lawrence River. He then followed it

The Atlantic World 77 0078-wh10a-CIB-04 11/13/20031:34PMPage78 78 Name than justtrade,theEnglish wereinterestedin though, hadstormierrelations withcolonists.More benefiting fromit.ThosewholivedneartheEnglish, French andDutch,joininginthefurtrade many differentways.Manyworkedcloselywiththe America toBritain. France wasforcedtogiveupallitslandinNorth French andIndianWar. Whenitendedin1763, The finalfightstartedin1754andwascalledthe the FrenchsettlersinCanadaonmanyoccasions. to Georgia.Thesecolonistscameinconflictwith other coloniesalongtheAtlanticcoast,fromMaine was renamedNewYork. TheEnglishalsoplanted Dutch togiveuptheircolony. NewAmsterdam of NorthAmerica.First,theEnglishforced plantations thatusedenslavedAfricansasworkers. of theCaribbean.Theretheybuilttobaccoandsugar tures. Europeansalsotookpossessionofmanyislands known asahometopeopleofmanydifferentcul- European countries.NewNetherlandbecame very large,butitdidattractpeoplefromother along theHudsonRiver. Thecolonydidnotgrow they engagedinthefurtradeandsetuptradingposts City andcalleditNewNetherland.LiketheFrench, They settledinthelocationofmodernNewYork time inpartbecausemanyfamiliessettledthere. community dedicatedtoGod.Theysucceededover were calledPuritans.Theyhopedtobuildamodel England. Theywantedtopurifythechurchand did notagreewiththepracticesofChurch These settlersweredeeplyreligiouspeoplewho England begantosettleinmodernMassachusetts. for itinEurope. began togrowtobaccomeetthehighdemand hunger, orwarwiththenativepeoples.Soonfarmers struggled atfirst.Manysettlersdiedfromdisease, Jamestown, inmodernVirginia, in1607.Thecolony America. Thefirstpermanentsettlementcameat in beaverfur. France. Themainactivityinthiscolonywastrade Gulf ofMexico.TheareabecameknownasNew the MississippiRiverallwaytoitsmouthat and claimedtheareaaroundGreatLakes Quebec. Inthenext100years,Frenchexplored 1608, SamueldeChamplainsailedasfarmodern inward toreachthesiteofmodernMontreal.In The nativepeoplesrespondedtotheseeventsin The Europeanpowersbegantofightforcontrol Meanwhile, theDutchalsostartedanewcolony. In the1620sand1630s,othergroupsfrom The EnglishalsobegantocolonizeNorth Unit 4 , Chapter 20 S them tothecoastsell European traders. They movedinlandtocapturepeopleandbrought time, though,tonumberabout2millionin1830. in NorthAmerica.Theirpopulationincreasedover 400,000 slaveswerebroughttotheEnglishcolonies tobacco, sugar, andcoffeeplantations. About European coloniesalsobroughtslavestoworkon cent ofalltheAfricanssenttoAmericas.Other During the1600s,Brazilreceivedmorethan40per- tions inBrazil—increasedthedemandforslaves. Portuguese—looking forworkerssugarplanta- bringing AfricanstotheAmericas.However, the imported asslaves. finally ended,about9.5million Americas. enslaved millionsofAfricansinforcedlaborthe 15 would knownoplacestohidefromslavery. From Third, AfricanswerestrangerstotheAmericasand they wouldbeaccustomedtotheworkinvolved. die. Also,manyAfricansknewaboutfarmingso European diseases,sotheywouldnotgetsickand for threereasons.Africanshadresistanceto from disease,theEuropeansbroughtinAfricans, were treatedfarmoreharshly. in the1500swaslarger certain rights.TheEur North AfricaandSouthwestAsia.Mostdidhave 1600, Muslimstookabout17millionAfricansto to takelargenumbersofslaves.Between650and changed inthe600s,whenMuslimtradersstarted no largenumbersofpeoplewereenslaved.That of thecolonies. making itimpossibleforthemtoresistthegrowth thousands ofnativesdiedfromEuropeanillnesses, suffered evenmorefromdisease.Thousandsupon cannons. AsinSpanishlands,thenativepeoples though, couldnotovercomethesettlers’gunsand conflict eruptedintowarseveraltimes.Natives, to useforhuntingorgrowingtheirownfood.This was landthatNativeAmericanswouldnotbeable acquiring landforsettlers’livingandfarming.This KEY IDEA 3 00 world. Formostofthat lavery hasalonghistoryinAfricaandthe Many Africanrulersjoinedintheslavetrade. The Spanishfirstbeganthepracticeof In theAmericas,whennativesbegandying The AtlanticSlaveTrade to

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This trade was part of a triangular trade that ship of property and the right of a business to earn linked Europe, Africa, and the Americas. European a profit. Another new business idea was the joint- ships brought manufactured goods to Africa, trad- stock company. With this, many investors pooled ing them for people. They carried Africans across their money to start a business and share in the the Atlantic to the Americas, where they were sold profits. European governments began to follow an into slavery. The traders then bought sugar, coffee, idea called mercantilism. In this theory, a country’s and tobacco, which they carried back to Europe. power depended on its wealth. Getting more gold Another triangle involved ships sailing from the and silver increased its wealth, as would selling northern English colonies in North America. They more goods than it bought. Colonies played an carried rum to Africa, people to the West Indies, important role because they provided goods that and sugar and molasses back to the colonies to could be sold in trade. make more rum. With the American colonies, European society The part of the voyage that brought people to saw changes. Merchants grew wealthy and power- the Americas was called the middle passage. It was ful, and towns and cities grew larger. Still, most harsh and cruel. People were crammed into ships, people lived in the countryside, farmed for a living, beaten, and given little food. Many died, and many and were poor. others simply jumped overboard trying to escape. About 20 percent of the people on these ships died. Review Life on the plantations was harsh as well. People were sold to the highest bidder and then 1. Drawing Conclusions What single factor was worked from dawn to dusk in the fields of the plan- most devastating for the native peoples of the tations. They were given little food and lived in Americas and what effect did it have? small huts. Africans kept alive their traditional Analyzing Causes and Recognizing Effects music and beliefs to try to maintain their spirits. 2. How did settlement patterns in the Spanish Sometimes they arose in rebellion. From North colonies lead to a mixing of Spanish and native America to Brazil, from 1522 to the 1800s, there cultures? were small-scale slave revolts. 3. Why did the French and Dutch have better rela- tions with the native peoples than the English? 4. Comparing and Contrasting Compare and 4 The Columbian Exchange contrast the Muslim slave trade in Africa with and Global Trade the European slave trade that began in the KEY IDEA The colonization of the Americas introduced 1500s. new and different items into the Eastern and Western 5. Summarizing What was exchanged in the hemispheres. Columbian Exchange? here was constant movement of people from TEurope and Africa to the Americas. This large- scale mixing of people and culture was called the Columbian Exchange. Important foods such as corn and potatoes were taken from the Americas, where they originated, to Europe, Africa, and Asia. Some foods moved from the Old World to the New. Bananas, black-eyed peas, and yams were taken from Africa to the Americas. Cattle, pigs, and horses had never been seen in the Americas until the Europeans brought them. Of course, deadly ill-

McDougal Littell Inc. All rights reserved. nesses also moved to the Americas. They killed a © large portion of the Native American population. The settling of the Americas and the growth of trade led to a new set of business practices still followed today. One was the rise of an economic sys- tem called capitalism. It is based on private owner-

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