Chapter 2: A Continent on the Move, 1400-1725

1. The New Europe and the Atlantic World
   1. Spanish Expansion in America
      1. The papacy averted potential conflict between Spain and Portugal over which country had the right to explore and settle the Western Hemisphere.
         1. As a result of the line drawn by the pope and the Treaty of Tordesillas, most of the Western Hemisphere fell to Spain, with the exception of Brazil (to Portugal).
      2. Spain’s policy for its possessions in the Western Hemisphere included Christianization of the American Indians, expansion of Spain’s holdings, trade, and the discovery of gold and silver.
         1. Columbus was unable to accomplish much in the way of advancing Spain’s policy.
         2. Hernando Cortés expanded Spain’s dominion with the conquest of the Aztecs in Mexico.
         3. Juan Ponce de Léon expanded Spanish control to Florida.
         4. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Hernando de Soto, and Francisco Vasquez de Coronado explored large sections of the south and south-central portions of the later United States.
      3. Gold and silver became the main goal of Spain’s conquistadors and royal officials.
         1. Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire for its gold.
         2. The Spanish turned to slavery to mine the silver and gold that made Spain the richest nation in Europe.
   2. Philip, Elizabeth, and Dreams of an English Eden
      1. Spain’s new wealth and the conflict between Catholics and Protestants led to conflict with other nations, especially England, beginning in the reign of Queen Elizabeth.
         1. She supported the rebellion of the Protestants of the Netherlands against Spain.
         2. She authorized attacks by privateers like Francis Drake on Spanish possessions and shipping.
      2. Spain’s King Philip II supported plots by Catholics inside England to overthrow Elizabeth.
         1. Mary Queen of Scots plotted to seize the English throne, for which she was executed and which led to greater tension between the two countries.
      3. Elizabeth embarked on a policy of establishing English colonies in the New World.
         1. In part, her intention was to deal with a shortage of farmland and to meet the needs of English merchants for greater opportunities.
         2. English expansion there was also another way to oppose Spain.
      4. Sir Walter Raleigh established the colony of Roanoke off the coast of Virginia.
         1. It followed an unsuccessful attempt by Sir Humphrey Gilbert to establish a colony off the coast of Newfoundland.
         2. Sir Walter chose a more southern location because it would block the Spanish in Florida.
      5. Gold and silver from the Western Hemisphere led to wealthbut also to trouble.
         1. The influx of money caused severe inflation throughout Europe.
         2. Increasing prices created social unrest, which in turn contributed to greater interest in colonization in the Western Hemisphere.
      6. Philip II decided to invade England.
         1. The Spanish monarch decided on war with England as part of the battle against Protestantism and to block English colonization in the New World.
         2. In 1588, Philip attempted to invade England with the Armada, but met with disaster.
         3. Though Spanish power would remain great, the Armada disaster effectivelybrought an end to Spain’s near monopoly over New World colonization.
2. European Empires in America
   1. The Troubled Spanish Colonial Empire
      1. Spain’s New World empire was in decline during the eighteenth century.
         1. It was too large to govern efficiently, and its officials were often corrupt.
         2. Bureaucratic and Church interference in the labor system and taxes were continual problems.
   2. The French Presence in America
      1. By ignoring their possessions in the New World, France may have erred in the opposite extreme.
         1. The population remained small.
      2. Only after 1663 did the French crown begin to intervene, and New France became a royal colony in 1674.
      3. Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, recognized the strategic and economic promise in Joliet’s and Marquette’s discovery of the Mississippi River.
         1. TheThe acquisition of Louisiana was a major accomplishment for LaSalle and for France.
   3. The Dutch Enterprise
      1. By the 1630s, the Dutch dominated the African slave trade and had conquered a number of Caribbean islands.
      2. Henry Hudson’s search for the Northwest Passage gave Holland its first serious claim to American territory.
      3. New Netherland attracted a diverse population and offered patroonships to any company stockholder willing and able to bring fifty colonists at his own expense.
3. Indians and the European Challenge
   1. The Indian Frontier in New Spain
      1. Indian assistance had been crucial to Spain’s victories against the Aztecs and Incas.
      2. The 1598 Oñate Expedition executed and enslaved Indians who resisted the Spanish incursion.
         1. Oñate’s excesses led to his removal and some of his company founded Santa Fe in 1609.
         2. The 1680 Pueblo Revolt overthrew the Spanish, but they returned to Santa Fe in 1693.
   2. The Indian World in the Southeast
      1. Since access to gold and easy enslavement of Indians was not possible here, the conquistadors moved on.
      2. Although Spanish presence in the region was minor, the impact of Spanish diseases on the Indians was enormous.
      3. The Creek Confederacy balanced the competing demands of European powers and took advantage of the competition between them.
   3. The Indian World in the Northeast
      1. The Hurons and their allies aligned themselves with the French; the Iroquois League sided with the English.
      2. Enthusiastic about trade with the Dutch, the Iroquois soon wiped out fur supplies in their own territory and began an even more serious push to acquire new lands.
         1. Non-Iroquois Indians resented the Dutch presence.
   4. The New Indian World of the Plains
      1. The same forces of climate change, the pressure of shifting populations, and novel European goods created a new culture and economy among the Plains Indians.
         1. Before 1400, Plains Indians rarely strayed from riverways that form the Missouri River drainage.
         2. The Ice Age greatly increased the number of buffalo on the Plains.
         3. Some Caddos abandoned their agricultural villages in exchange for a mobile hunting lifestyle.
         4. The increase in buffalo also served as a magnet to draw new groups into the area.
         5. Introduced by the Spanish, horses became a mainstay of the southern plains buffalo hunting culture.
      2. The continual demand for horses, accompanied by the pressure for hunting ranges created a new dynamic on the Plains and set a new economy into motion.
4. Conquest and Accommodation in a Shared World
   1. New Spain’s Northern Frontiers
      1. The most attractive economic enterprise was still ranching.
      2. New Mexicans looked northward for trading opportunities, since they were largely removed from the imperial economy centered around Mexico City.
   2. Life in French Louisiana
      1. Despite the territory’s strategic location, its fertile soils, and large populations of fur-bearing animals, few Frenchmen showed any interest in settlement.
         1. In spite of the Choctaw alliance, which guaranteed ample food supplies and made territorial acquisition possible, Louisiana remained unattractive to French farmers.
   3. The Dutch Settlements
      1. As an alternative to patroonships, the West India Company offered to grant a tract of land to any free man who agreed to farm it.