Native American Societies and European Exploration

This page provides an overview of Native American societies before European contact APUSH and the early stages of European exploration and colonization in the Americas.

The document begins by outlining various Native American societies across different regions of North America:

The Iroquois, known for their communal living in longhouses, were skilled farmers.

Highlight: The Iroquois cultivated the "Three Sisters" - corn, beans, and squash.

The Pueblo people, located in Utah and Colorado, were farmers who constructed impressive cliff dwellings and adobe structures.

Plains tribes were primarily nomadic hunter-gatherers who formed kinship bands and relied heavily on buffalo.

West Coast Native Americans established permanent settlements, with some Chumash villages housing over 1,000 people. They developed extensive trade networks and utilized abundant coastal resources, particularly fish.

Example: The Cahokia civilization in the Mississippi River Valley was a large, complex society with a population ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 people.

The document then transitions to discuss European exploration of the Americas:

Vocabulary: The "Columbian Exchange" refers to the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds following Columbus's voyages.

European exploration was motivated by several factors:

1. Lack of access to Asian trade routes
2. Technological advancements such as the sextant and astrolabe
3. The pursuit of "Gold, Glory, and God"
4. Spain's recent unification under the Reconquista

Definition: The Reconquista was the period of history during which Christian kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula reconquered territories from Muslim rule.

Christopher Columbus sailed for Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain in 1492, marking the beginning of sustained European contact with the Americas.

The document also touches on early European colonial society in the Americas:

Vocabulary: The Casta system was a hierarchical racial classification system used in Spanish America.

The Casta system ranked people as follows: Peninsulares (Spanish-born) → Criollos (American-born of Spanish descent) → Mestizos/Mulattoes → Natives/Africans

Definition: The Encomienda system was a Spanish labor system where conquerors were rewarded with land and Native slaves to work the land.

The treatment of Native Americans by European colonizers was a contentious issue, as evidenced by the debate between Sepúlveda and Las Casas.

Highlight: Native American populations were devastated by European diseases, making resistance to colonization difficult.

Finally, the document lists some of the key elements exchanged during the Columbian Exchange, including:

From Europe to the Americas: Smallpox, slaves, cows, chickens, horses, coffee, cattle, grains, bees, and sugar cane.

From the Americas to Europe: Tobacco, pumpkins, tomatoes, and potatoes.

Highlight: The Columbian Exchange APUSH had significant and lasting impacts on both hemispheres, reshaping ecosystems, agriculture, and human societies.