APUSH Amanda Lupoli
APUSH Textbook Notes 8/19/24
Period 1 Block 1
Chapter 1: The World Before 1492
Intro:
- Humans came to NA on foot and/or small boats 25-35000 years ago, following herds/fish
- Became isolated from rest of world until 1492
1.1: The Peopling of North America
- Bering Land Bridge: connected Alaska and Siberia b/c of glaciers and low ocean level
- Clovis people: earliest (debated) NA settlers, spear points invented after arrived from Asia
- Largest civilizations in Central and South America, a few in NA: Anasazi and Cahokia
- Anasazi in SW, grew crops, had cities in Chaco Canyon, large pueblos built into cliffs
- Declined over time, by 1490s, Hopi, Pueblo and Navajo more prominent
- Cahokia (Mound Builders) in Mississippi River Valley around 1000AD
- Big cities, culture spread widely with trade.
- Earth mounds for burying leaders/religious ceremony
- Agriculture allowed for stratified society; maize and beans crucial
Summary: Humans came to the Americas 1000s of years ago, either by land over the land bridge near
Alaska or by sea in small boats hugging the coast. While most large societies were in South and Central
America, a few early civilizations in North America had large and complex cities, including the Anasazi in the
Southwest and the Cahokia in the Southeast near the Mississippi River.
1.2: The Diverse Communities of the Americas in the 1400s
***Map on page 9 w/regions
- Diversity but commonalities (spiritual, harmony w/land, community health > individual wealth)
- 7 million natives in US/Canada, many more in Mexico etc. as many as 100 million all told (more than
Europe or Africa)
- Diverse living depended greatly on geography and environmental factors
- Pueblo in SW had irrigation for agriculture (corn, beans, squash), domesticated animals
- Mississippi Valley had many tribes (Cherokee, Creeks, etc.), smaller communities than
Cahokia (500-2000 ppl), no cities. Agriculture and well-built homes
- Pacific Coast Shasta had towns w/large houses. Lived on salmon in settled community w/art
- Others lived in family groups, hunter/gatherers b/c of abundant resources
- In NE, Iroquois Confederacy. Longhouses, towns, women leaders. Algonquian on Atlantic
Coast, hunting, fishing and farming, settled towns/villages
- Aztec empire in Mexico with huge cities (big as Europe), social hierarchy, extensive trade network,
human sacrifice, military strength
- Mayans had written language, math and calendaring. Grew food and cotton for trade
- Inca in SA, ruled over millions. Emperor considered divine.
- War and trade connected societies far and close. Tribes saw themselves as distinct (not as Native
Americans v Europeans, etc.) so didn’t unite early against outsiders, wanted to use them instead.
- Idea of war was to restore balance, not total conquest like europeans
Summary: Many Native Americans believed in the importance of nature, spirituality and community. North
America was sparsely populated compared to farther south, and very diverse based on geographic factors.
For example, in areas with abundant resources, like the Paciifc Coast, there was no need for agriculture,
while in the Southwest irrigation was necessary for farming to occur, and on the East Coast there were large
towns and farming was prominent. Farther south were the Aztec, Mayan and Incan empires. All of these
were connected by trade and war, but saw themselves as distinct (tribal, not racial, identity), different
mentality from Europeans.
1.3: A Changing Europe in the 1400s
- Vikings sailed to NA before Columbus
- Europeans recovering from Black Death (plague killed ⅓ at least), low population, societal shifts
- Pretty basic, Catholic Church powerful, not a lot of travel or change
- Ottoman Empire took Constantinople in 1453, important trading hub; blocked european access to
Asia
- New route needed: first to look was Portugal
- Explored African coast, Vasco De Gama reached India in 1498.
- Trade to India and China made Portugal rich
- Slavery was gone Europe but still in Mid-East and Africa. Changes and transforms with colonization
of Americas, have huge impacts later.
- England and France had internal wars, rest of Europe not unified
- Spanish Reconquista ended 1492, reunited and strengthened Spain, kicked out Muslims
- Muslims brought math, paper, cotton, rice, sugar, etc. to Spain.
- Isabella and Ferdinand took over all of Spain, unified it under Catholicism (expelled Jews)
Summary: In the 1400s, Europe was recovering from the plague, which wiped out ⅓ or more. Peolpe were
Catholic, lived locally without a lot of trade, travel, or education. The Ottomans took Constantinople in 1453
and cut off access to Asia, so Europeans needed new routes. By end of 1400s, Portuguese found the first
route around the cape of Africa, established trading posts and got rich. Most of Europe either not unified or
distracted by wars, Spain reunifies by end of 1400s, kicks out Muslims and begins to look outward under
Ferdinand and Isabella (hire Columbus).
1.4: Africa in the 1400s * What were the civilizations of Africa like in the 1400’s?
North Africa Coastal Africans Ghana (empire in West Africa) Mali
→Trade with Europe → traded →controlled rich trade routes → Grew and
→Cultural diffusion w/Portuguese ( ivory, converted to Islam
(Christianity & Islam) gold, slaves for cloth
and iron)
Songhay Kongo and Benin → Overall, the importance of trade, powerful military
and govt led Portuguese to seek peaceful agreements
→ most powerful by end → farther S, less
rather than conquest and war
of 1400s, Muslim but powerful. converted to
→ Slave trade established, mostly local or overland to
w/religious toleration Christianity by
mid east. Most captured in war, seen as other (identity
Portuguese
was tribal, not racial)
1.5: Asia in the 1400s * What were the civilizations of Asia like in the 1400’s?
Explored Indian Ocean (stopped mid-1400s, became isolated)
↑
←China→ More unified than rest of world (Chinese empire esp. but others too)
↙ ↓ ↘
impressive army technology
cities
Summary: Africa had complex and strong empires throughout, engaged in trade with Europe and the
Mid-East, including ivory, gold, and slaves in exchange for iron, cloth and spices. When Portuguese
explored, they chose peaceful trade deals rather than war because empires too strong. Asia was more
unified than the rest of the world, especially the strong and advanced Chinese empire. However, early naval
exploration and trade shifted to an isolated state policy leaving little competition for Europeans when the
time came.