Chapter

16

The First Global Age: Europe, the Americas, and Africa 1492–1750

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1 Conquest in the Americas

2 Spanish and Portuguese Colonies in the Americas

3 Struggle for North America

4 Turbulent Centuries in Africa

5 Changes in Europe

Chapter Review and Assessment

Land Claims in the Americas and Africa, 1675 By 1675, Spain, France, Britain, and Portugal possessed sizable overseas empires. Oceangoing trade ships carried tons of goods between Europe and the Americas and Africa.

CHAPTER EVENTS GLOBAL EVENTS

SECTION 1 Conquest in the Americas

Reading Focus

What were the results of the first encounters between the Spanish and Native Americans?

How did Spanish conquistadors conquer the Aztec and Incan empires?

Why were the Spanish victorious?

Vocabulary conquistador immunity alliance civil war

Taking Notes

Print out this diagram. As you read, add other factors that help to explain why the Spanish were able to conquer Native American empires. Add as many boxes as you need.

Various factors enabled the Spanish to conquer the Aztec and Incan empires.

Setting the Scene

Spanish soldiers who reached the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán in 1519

were amazed by its size and splendor. From the emperor's palace, reported

one soldier, “We had a clear view of the … [majestic temples] of the

nearby cities, built in the form of towers and fortresses, … and others … all

whitewashed, and wonderfully brilliant.”

Within a few years, the Spanish had captured and destroyed the Aztec

capital. In its place, they built a new capital, Mexico City, that became the

heart of the Spanish empire in the Americas.

First Encounters

In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed in the islands that are now called the West

Indies, in the Caribbean. There, he encountered the Taíno people. The Taínos lived

in villages and grew corn, yams, and cotton, which they wove into cloth. They were

friendly and generous toward the Spanish.

Friendly relations soon evaporated, however. Spanish conquistadors (kahn kees tuh

dohrz), or conquerors, followed in the wake of Columbus. They settled on the

islands of Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti), Cuba, and Puerto

Rico. They seized the gold ornaments worn by the Taínos, then made them pan for

more gold. At the same time, the newcomers forced the Taínos to convert to

Christianity.

Meanwhile, a deadly but invisible invader was at work—disease. Europeans

unknowingly carried diseases such as smallpox, measles, and influenza to which

Native Americans had no immunity, or resistance. These diseases spread rapidly

and wiped out village after village. As a result, the Native American population of

the Caribbean islands declined by as much as 90 percent in the 1500s. This cycle of

disease and death was repeated in many other places across the Western

Hemisphere.

The Conquistadors

From Cuba, Spanish explorers probed the coasts of the

Americas. They spread stories of empires rich in gold.

Attracted by the promise of riches as well as by religious

zeal, a flood of adventurers soon followed.

Cortés in Mexico Among the earliest conquistadors was

Hernan Cortés. Cortés landed on the coast of Mexico in

1519 with about 600 men, 16 horses, and a few cannons.

As he headed inland toward Tenochtitlán, he was helped

by Malinche (mah lihn chay), a young Indian woman who

served as his translator and adviser. The Spanish called her

For images and information about the Aztecs and the

Doña Marina. Malinche knew both the Mayan and Aztec

languages, and she learned Spanish quickly.

From Malinche, Cortés learned that many conquered

peoples hated their Aztec overlords. The Aztecs, you will

recall, sacrificed thousands of captives to their gods each

year. Malinche helped Cortés arrange alliances with these

discontented groups. They would help one another fight

the Aztecs.

Moctezuma's Dilemma Meanwhile, messengers brought

word about the newcomers to the Aztec emperor

Moctezuma. He wondered if the leader of the pale-skinned,

bearded strangers might be Quetzalcoatl, the god-king who

had long ago vowed to return from the east. Moctezuma

sent gifts of gold and silver, but urged the strangers not to

continue to Tenochtitlán.

Cortés had no intention of turning back. Fighting and

negotiating by turns, he led his forces inland toward the

capital. At last, they arrived in Tenochtitlán, where they

were dazzled by the grandeur of the city.

Fall of Tenochtitlán Moctezuma welcomed Cortés to his

capital. However, relations between the Aztecs and

Spaniards soon grew strained, and the Aztecs drove the

Spanish from the city. Moctezuma was killed in the

fighting.

Spanish conquest, visit www.phschool.com.

Cortés retreated to plan an assault. In 1521, in a brutal

struggle, Cortés and his Indian allies captured and

demolished Tenochtitlán. An unknown Aztec lamented,

“Broken spears lie in the road; / We have torn our hair with

grief. / The houses are roofless now, and their walls are red

with blood.” On the ruins of Tenochtitlán, the Spanish later

built Mexico City.

Pizarro in Peru Cortés's success inspired other adventurers.

Among them was Francisco Pizarro. He arrived in Peru in

1532, just after the Incan ruler Atahualpa (ah tah wahl pah)

won the throne from his brother in a bloody civil war. A

civil war is fought between groups of people in the same

nation.

Helped by Indian allies, Pizarro captured Atahualpa after

slaughtering thousands of his followers. The Spanish

demanded a huge ransom for the ruler. The Incas paid it,

but the Spanish killed Atahualpa anyway.

Despite continuing resistance, the invaders overran the

Incan heartland. From Peru, Spanish forces surged across

Ecuador and Chile. Before long, Spain added much of

South America to its growing empire.

Reasons for Victory

How could a few hundred European soldiers conquer huge Native

American empires with populations in the millions? Several reasons

explain the amazing Spanish success.

1. Superior military technology was a key factor.

The Spaniards' horses frightened some Indians,

who had never seen such animals. Spanish

muskets and cannons killed Indian soldiers, while

metal helmets and armor protected the Spanish

from the Indians' arrows and spears.

2. Division and discontent among the Indians aided

the Spanish. The Spanish won allies by playing on

old hatreds among rival Indian groups. In fact,

Indians provided Cortés and Pizarro with much of

their fighting power.

3. Disease brought by the Europeans weakened the

Aztecs and Incas. As tens of thousands of Indians

died, some of the bewildered and demoralized

survivors felt that their gods were less powerful

than the god of their conquerors.

4. Many Indians believed that the disasters they

suffered marked the world's end. To Aztecs, the

destruction of Tenochtitlán signaled the end of the

reign of the sun god.

Ongoing Resistance Native Americans continued to resist the

invaders, however. For years, Mayas fought Spanish rule. Long after

the death of Atahualpa, revolts erupted among the Incas. Throughout

the Americas, Indians resisted Europeans by preserving aspects of

their own culture, such as language, religious traditions, and clothing.

Looking Ahead

The Spanish seized gold and silver statues and ornaments from the Aztecs

and Incas. After depleting these sources, they forced Native Americans to

mine silver in Peru and Mexico. In the 1500s and early 1600s, treasure

fleets sailed each year to Spain or the Spanish Philippines loaded with gold

and silver. This flood of wealth created both benefits and problems for the

economy of Europe.

An Aztec ornament

SECTION 2 Spanish and Portuguese Colonies in the Americas

Reading Focus

How did Spain rule its empire in the Americas?

What were the chief features of colonial society and culture?

How did Portugal and other European nations challenge Spanish power?

Vocabulary viceroy

plantation

encomienda peon peninsular creole mestizo

mulatto

privateer

Taking Notes

Print out this partially completed concept web. As you read, write key facts and ideas about the Spanish empire in the Americas in the appropriate circles. Add as many circles as you need.

Native American, African, and European traditions blended to form new cultures in the Americas.

Setting the Scene

Spain was immensely proud of its rich silver mines in the Potosí region of

Peru. By the 1540s, tons of Potosí silver filled Spanish treasure ships. Year

after year, thousands of Native Americans were forced to extract the rich

ore from dangerous shafts deep inside the Andes Mountains. Many Indians

died in the terrible conditions, only to be replaced by thousands more.

Scenes such as this were repeated in Mexico, the Caribbean, and other

parts of Spain's empire. A flood of Spanish settlers and missionaries

followed the conquistadors. Wherever they went, they claimed the land and

its people for their king and Church. When there was resistance, the

newcomers imposed their will by force. As devout Christians, they thought

it was their duty to bring their religion and civilization to the Indians.

From the first, though, Christian Europeans had much to learn from the

peoples that they conquered. In the end, a new culture emerged that

reflected European, Native American, and African traditions.

Ruling the Spanish Empire

In the 1500s, Spain claimed a vast empire stretching from California to

South America. In time, it divided these lands into five provinces. The

most important were New Spain (Mexico) and Peru.

Spain was determined to maintain strict control over its empire. To achieve

this goal, the king set up the Council of the Indies to pass laws for the

colonies. He also appointed viceroys, or representatives who ruled in his

name, in each province. Lesser officials and audiencias, or advisory

councils of Spanish settlers, helped the viceroy rule. The Council of the

Indies in Spain closely monitored these colonial officials to make sure they

did not assume too much authority.

The Catholic Church To Spain, winning souls for Christianity was as

important as gaining land. The Catholic Church played a key role in the

colonies, working with the government to convert Native Americans to

Christianity. Church leaders often served as royal officials and helped to

regulate the activities of Spanish settlers. As Spain's American empire

expanded, Church authority expanded along with it.

Franciscan, Jesuit, and other missionaries baptized thousands of Native

Americans. In frontier regions, they built mission churches and worked to

turn new converts into loyal subjects of the Catholic king of Spain. They

forcibly imposed European culture over Native American culture. They

also introduced European clothing, the Spanish language, and new crafts

such as carpentry and locksmithing.

The Economy To make the empire profitable, Spain closely controlled its

economic activities, especially trade. Colonists could export raw materials

only to Spain and could buy only Spanish manufactured goods. Laws

forbade colonists from trading with other European nations or even with

other Spanish colonies. The most valuable resources shipped from Spanish

America to Spain were silver and gold.

Sugar cane was introduced into the West Indies and elsewhere and quickly

became a profitable resource. The cane was refined into sugar, molasses,

and rum. Sugar cane, however, had to be grown on plantations, large

estates run by an owner or the owner's overseer. Finding the large numbers

of workers needed to make the plantations profitable was a major problem.

At first, Spanish monarchs granted the conquistadors encomiendas, the

right to demand labor or tribute from Native Americans in a particular

area. The conquistadors used this system to force Native Americans to

work under the most brutal conditions. Those who resisted were hunted

down and killed. Disease, starvation, and cruel treatment caused

catastrophic declines in the population.

Bartolomé de las Casas A few bold priests, like Bartolomé de las Casas,

condemned the evils of the encomienda system. In vivid reports to Spain,

Las Casas detailed the horrors that Spanish rule had brought to Native

Americans and pleaded with the king to end the abuse.

Prodded by Las Casas, Spain passed the New Laws of the Indies in 1542,

forbidding enslavement of Native Americans. The laws were meant to end

abuses against Native Americans, but Spain was too far away to enforce

them. Many Native Americans were forced to become peons, workers

forced to labor for a landlord in order to pay off a debt. Landlords

advanced them food, tools, or seeds, creating debts that workers could

never pay off in their lifetime.

Bringing Workers From Africa To fill the labor shortage, Las Casas urged

colonists to import workers from Africa. Africans were immune to tropical

diseases, he said, and had skills in farming, mining, and metalworking. Las

Casas later regretted that advice because it furthered the brutal African

slave trade. Colonists had begun bringing Africans to the Americas as

early as 1502.

As demand for sugar products skyrocketed, the settlers imported millions

of Africans as slaves. They were forced to work as field hands, miners, or

A Brutal System Bartolomé de las Casas, a conquistador turned priest, spoke out against the encomienda system and the treatment of Native Americans:

“It is impossible to recount the burdens with which their owners loaded them, more than [75 to 100 pounds], making them walk [hundreds of miles]…. They had wounds on their shoulders and backs, like animals…. To tell likewise of the whip-lashings, the beatings, the cuffs, the blows, the curses, and a thousand other kinds of torments to which their masters treated them, while in truth they were working hard, would take much time

servants in the houses of wealthy landowners. Others became peddlers,

skilled artisans, artists, and mechanics.

In time, Africans and their American-born descendants greatly

outnumbered European settlers in the West Indies and parts of South

America. Often, they resisted slavery by rebelling or running away. In the

cities, some enslaved Africans earned enough money to buy their freedom.

and much paper; and would be something to amaze mankind.”

—Bartolomé de las Casas, Short Description of the Destruction of the Indies

Primary Source How were the conditions Las Casas describes linked to the encomienda system?

Colonial Society and Culture

In Spanish America, the mix of diverse peoples gave rise to a new social

structure. The blending of Native American, African, and European

peoples and traditions resulted in a new American culture.

Social Structure At the top of colonial society were peninsulares, people

born in Spain. (The term peninsular referred to the Iberian Peninsula, on

which Spain is located.) Peninsulares filled the highest positions in both

colonial governments and the Catholic Church. Next came creoles,

American-born descendants of Spanish settlers. Creoles owned most of the

plantations, ranches, and mines.

Other social groups reflected the mixing of populations. They included

mestizos, people of Native American and European descent, and mulattoes,

people of African and European descent. Native Americans and people of

African descent formed the lowest social classes.

Cities Spanish settlers preferred to live in towns and cities. The population

of Mexico City grew so quickly that by 1550 it was the largest Spanish-

speaking city in the world.

Colonial cities were centers of government, commerce, and European

culture. Around the central plaza, or square, stood government buildings

and a Spanish-style church. Broad avenues and public monuments

symbolized European power and wealth. Cities were also centers of

intellectual and cultural life. Architecture and painting, as well as poetry

and the exchange of ideas, flourished.

Education To meet the Church's need for educated priests, the colonies

built universities. The University of Mexico was established as early as

1551. A dozen Spanish American universities were busy educating young

men long before Harvard, the first university in the 13 English colonies,

was founded in 1636.

Women wishing an education might enter a convent. One such woman was

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz. Refused admission to the University of Mexico

because she was a girl, Juana entered a convent at the age of 16. There, she

devoted herself to study and the writing of poetry. She earned a reputation

as one of the greatest poets ever to write in the Spanish language.

Cultural Blending Although Spanish culture was dominant in the cities, the

blending of diverse traditions changed people's lives throughout the

Americas. Settlers learned Native American styles of building, ate foods

native to the Americas, and traveled in Indian-style canoes. Indian artistic

styles influenced the newcomers. At the same time, settlers taught their

religion to Native Americans. They also introduced animals, especially the

horse, that transformed the lives of many Native Americans.

Africans added to this cultural mix with their farming methods, cooking

styles, and crops, including okra and palm oil. African drama, dance, and

song heightened Christian services. In Cuba, Haiti, and elsewhere, Africans

forged new religions that blended African and Christian beliefs.

The Portuguese Colony in Brazil

A large area of South America remained outside the Spanish empire. By

the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, Portugal claimed Brazil. Portugal issued

grants of land to Portuguese nobles, who agreed to develop the land and

share profits with the crown. Landowners sent settlers to build towns,

plantations, and churches.

The Economy Unlike Spain's American lands, Brazil offered no instant

wealth from silver or gold. Early settlers clung to the coast, where they cut

and exported brazilwood, used to produce a precious dye. Before long, they

turned to plantation agriculture and cattle raising. They forced Indians and

Africans to clear land for sugar plantations. As many as five million

Africans were sent to Brazil.

The thickly forested Amazon basin remained largely unexplored by

settlers. However, ruthless adventurers slowly pushed inland. They

attacked and enslaved Native American peoples and claimed for

themselves land for immense cattle ranches. Some even discovered gold.

A New Culture As in Spanish America, a new culture emerged in Brazil that

blended European, Native American, and African patterns. European

culture dominated the upper and middle classes, but Native American and

African influences left their mark. Portuguese settlers, for example, eagerly

adopted Indian hammocks. A settler expressed his enthusiasm:

“Would you believe that a man could sleep suspended in a net

in the air like a bunch of hanging grapes? Here this is the

common thing…. I tried it, and will never again be able to sleep

in a bed, so comfortable is the rest one gets in the net.”

—quoted in Latin America: A Concise Interpretive History (Burns)

Challenging Spanish Power

In the 1500s, the wealth of the Americas helped make Spain the most

powerful country in Europe. Its lofty position fueled envy among its

European rivals. Many English and Dutch shared the resentment that

French king Francis I felt when he declared, “I should like to see Adam's

will, wherein he divided the Earth between Spain and Portugal.”

European nations challenged Spain's power in various ways. To get around

Spain's strict control over colonial trade, smugglers traded illegally with

Spanish colonists. In the Caribbean and elsewhere, Dutch, English, and

French pirates preyed on Spanish treasure ships. Some pirates, called

privateers, even operated with the approval of European governments.

England's Queen Elizabeth, for example, knighted Francis Drake for his

daring raids on Spanish ships and towns.

Like the Spanish, the Dutch, English, and French hunted for gold empires

and for a northwest passage to Asia. As you will read, these nations

explored the coasts and planted settlements in North America.

Piracy on the Seas

Of all the privateers who plundered Spanish colonies, none was bolder than the Englishman whom the Spanish called El Draque (the Dragon). But Sir Francis Drake was more than just a pirate. He was also a skilled and daring explorer.

Drake led the second expedition ever to sail around the world. After a violent storm, he rounded the tip of South America in 1578 with only his flagship, the Golden

Hind. But that one ship was enough. Spain's settlements along the Pacific coast were unguarded. After all, no hostile ship had ever made it into these waters before! Drake plundered one Spanish town and captured two treasure ships before continuing on his mission. Thanks to these raids and others, El Draque enriched his queen—and won the lasting hatred of the Spanish.

Theme: Geography and History Why was Drake able to surprise the Spanish?

SECTION 3 Struggle for North America

Reading Focus

What problems did settlers in New France face?

What traditions of government evolved in the 13 English colonies?

How did competition for power affect Europeans and Native Americans?

Vocabulary missionary

revenue

compact

Taking Notes

Print out this partially completed table. As you read, fill in key information on the French and English colonies in North America.

France and England set up colonies and competed for dominance in North America.

Setting the Scene

In the 1600s, other European powers moved into the Americas and began

building settlements. France, the Netherlands, England, and Sweden joined

Spain in claiming parts of North America.

At first, the Europeans were disappointed. North America did not yield

vast treasure or offer a water passage to Asia, as they had hoped. Before

long, though, the English and French were turning large profits by growing

tobacco in Virginia, fishing off the North Atlantic coast, and trading fur

from New England to Canada.

By 1700, France and England controlled large parts of North America. As

their colonies grew, they developed their own governments, different from

each other and from that of Spanish America.

Building New France

By the early 1500s, French fishing ships were crossing the Atlantic each

year to harvest rich catches of cod off Newfoundland, Canada. Distracted

by wars at home, however, French rulers at first paid little attention to

Canada—New France, as they called it. Not until 1608 did Samuel de

Champlain build the first permanent French settlement in Quebec. Jesuits

and other missionaries, hoping to spread Christianity to Native Americans,

soon followed. They advanced into the wilderness, trying to convert

Native Americans they met.

Slow Growth Helped by Native American allies, French explorers and fur

traders traveled inland, claiming vast territory. Soon, France's American

empire reached from Quebec to the Great Lakes and down the Mississippi

to Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico.

The population of New France grew slowly. Wealthy landlords owned

huge tracts, or areas of land, along the St. Lawrence River. They sought

Samuel de Champlain1567(?)–1635

Samuel de Champlain was an explorer, geographer, and mapmaker. As founder and first governor of the French colony of Quebec, he is known as the Father of New France, the French colonial empire in North America.

Champlain explored many of the waterways of New

settlers to farm the land, but the harsh Canadian climate attracted few

French peasants.

Many who went to New France soon abandoned farming in favor of fur

trapping and trading. They faced a hard life in the wilderness, but the

soaring European demand for fur ensured good prices. Fishing, too,

supported settlers who lived in coastal villages and exported cod and other

fish to Europe.

Government Policy In the late 1600s, the French king Louis XIV set out to

strengthen royal power and boost revenues, or income from taxes, from his

overseas empire. He appointed officials to oversee justice and economic

activities in New France. He also sent more settlers and soldiers to North

America. The Catholic Louis, however, prohibited Protestants from

settling in New France.

By the early 1700s, French forts, missions, and trading posts stretched

from Quebec to Louisiana. Yet the population of New France remained

small compared to that of the 13 English colonies expanding along the

Atlantic coast.

France. He especially loved the St. Lawrence River, which he said was “beautiful as the Seine, rapid as the Rhône, and deep as the sea.” He helped to make it the main highway for trade through New France and to make himself the force behind the colony's settlement.

Theme: Impact of the IndividualWhy is Champlain considered the Father of New France?

The 13 English Colonies

The English built their first permanent colony at Jamestown, Virginia, in

1607. Its early years were filled with disaster. Many settlers died of

starvation and disease. The rest survived with the help of friendly Native

Americans. The colony finally made headway when the settlers started to

grow and export tobacco, a crop they learned about from the Indians.

In 1620, other English settlers, the Pilgrims,* landed at Plymouth,

Massachusetts. They were seeking religious freedom, rather than

commercial profit. Before coming ashore, they signed the Mayflower

Compact, in which they set out guidelines for governing their North

American colony. A compact is an agreement among people. Today, we

see this document as an important early step toward self-government. It

read:

“We, whose names are underwritten … having undertaken for

the Glory of God, and Advancement of the Christian Faith … a

voyage to plant [a] colony in the [Americas] … do enact,

constitute, and frame, such just and equal Laws … as shall be

thought most [fitting] and convenient for the general Good of

the Colony.”

—Mayflower Compact

Many Pilgrims died in the early years of the Plymouth colony. Local

Indians, however, taught them to grow corn and helped them survive in the

new land. Soon, a new wave of Puritan immigrants arrived to establish the

Massachusetts Bay Colony.

Growth In the 1600s and 1700s, the English established 13 colonies. Some,

like Virginia and New York, were commercial ventures, organized for

profit. Others, like Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, were set

up as havens for persecuted religious groups.

Geographic conditions helped shape different ways of life in the New

England, middle, and southern colonies. In New England, many settlers

were farmers who transferred to North America the village life they had

enjoyed in England. In parts of the South, there emerged a plantation

economy based on tobacco, rice, and other crops.

Like New Spain, the English colonies needed workers to clear land and

raise crops. A growing number of Africans were brought to the colonies

and sold as slaves. In several mainland colonies, enslaved Africans and

their descendants outnumbered people of European descent.

Government Like the rulers of Spain and France, English monarchs

asserted control over their American colonies. They appointed royal

governors to oversee colonial affairs and had Parliament pass laws to

regulate colonial trade. Yet, compared with settlers in the Spanish and

French colonies, English colonists enjoyed a large degree of self-

government. Each colony had its own representative assembly elected by

propertied men. The assemblies advised the royal governor and made

decisions on local issues.

The tradition of consulting representative assemblies grew out of the

English experience. Beginning in the 1200s, Parliament had played an

increasingly important role in English affairs. Slowly, too, English citizens

had gained certain legal and political rights. England's American colonists

expected to enjoy the same rights. When colonists later protested British

policies in North America, they viewed themselves as “freeborn

Englishmen” who were defending their traditional rights.

*Pilgrims were a band of English Puritans, a Protestant group, who rejected the practices of the official Church of England.

Competing for Power

By the 1600s, Spain, France, England, and the Netherlands were

competing for colonies and trade around the world. All four of these

nations had colonies in North America, where they often fought over

territory. After several naval wars with the Netherlands, the English seized

the Dutch colony of New Netherland in 1664 and renamed it New York.

English settlers in Georgia clashed with the Spanish in nearby Florida.

Competition was also fierce in the Caribbean region. Dutch planters

developed sugar production in the Caribbean into a big business. The

French acquired Haiti, the richest of the sugar colonies, as well as

Guadeloupe and Martinique. The English took Barbados and Jamaica. By

the 1700s, the French and English Caribbean islands, worked by enslaved

Africans, had surpassed the whole of North America in exports to Europe.

British-French Rivalry During the 1700s, Britain and France emerged as

bitter rivals for power around the globe. They clashed in Europe, North

America, Africa, and Asia. In North America, the French and Indian War

raged from 1754 to 1763. A worldwide struggle, known as the Seven

Years' War, erupted in Europe in 1756 and spread to India and Africa.

Although France held more territory in North America, the British colonies

had more people. Trappers, traders, and farmers from the English colonies

were pushing west into the Ohio Valley, a region claimed by France. The

French, who had forged alliances with local Indians, fought to oust the

intruders.

During the war, British soldiers and colonial troops launched a series of

campaigns against the French in Canada and on the Ohio frontier. At first,

France won several victories. Then, in 1759, the tide turned in Britain's

favor. From ships anchored in the St. Lawrence River, British troops

launched an attack on Quebec, the capital of New France. The British

scaled steep cliffs along the river and captured the city. Though the war

dragged on until 1763, the British had won control of Canada.

The Peace Treaty The 1763 Treaty of Paris officially ended the worldwide

war. The treaty ensured British dominance in North America. France ceded

Canada and its lands east of the Mississippi River to Britain. As you have

read, the British also forced the French out of India. France, however,

regained the rich sugar-producing islands in the Caribbean and the slave-

trading outposts in Africa that the British had seized during the war.

Impact on Native Americans

As in Spanish America, the arrival of European settlers in North America

had a profound impact on Native Americans. Some Native Americans

traded or formed alliances with the newcomers. On the Great Plains, as we

will see, the arrival of the horse transformed the lifestyle of buffalo-hunting

Indians.

War and Disease Frequently, however, clashes erupted. As settlers claimed

more land, Native Americans resisted their advance. Bitter fighting

resulted. In the end, superior weapons helped the English to victory. Year

by year, the flood of new settlers pushed the frontier—and the Indians—

slowly westward.

As elsewhere, the Native American population of North America

plummeted. Disease weakened or killed large numbers. For example, in

1608, an estimated 30,000 Algonquins lived in Virginia. By 1670, there

were only about 2,000 Algonquins remaining.

Native American Legacy While encounters with Europeans often brought

disaster to Native American societies, the Indian way of life helped shape

the emerging new culture of North America. Settlers adopted Native

American technologies. From Indians, they learned to grow corn, beans,

squash, and tomatoes and to hunt and trap forest animals. Today's

Thanksgiving menu of turkey and pumpkin pie reflects Indian foods.

Trails blazed by Indians became highways for settlers moving west. Across

the continent, rivers like the Mississippi, lakes like Okeechobee, and

mountains like the Appalachians bear Indian names. Some Europeans came

to respect Native American medical knowledge. Today, many people are

taking a new look at Indian religious traditions that stress respect for the

natural environment.

SECTION 4 Turbulent Centuries in Africa

Reading Focus

How did the arrival of Europeans in Africa lead to the Atlantic slave trade?

How did the slave trade contribute to the rise of new African states?

What groups battled for power in southern Africa?

Vocabulary triangular trade

repeal

monopoly

Taking Notes

Print out this partially completed flowchart. As you read, fill in key events in the development of the Atlantic slave trade. Add as many boxes to the chart as you need.

The Atlantic slave trade, the rise of new states, and power struggles created turbulence in Africa.

Setting the Scene

“The first object which saluted my eyes when I arrived on the coast was the

sea, and a slave ship which was then riding at anchor and waiting for its

cargo. These filled me with astonishment, which was soon converted into

terror when I was carried on board.” So wrote Olaudah Equiano. In the

1750s, when he was 11 years old, Equiano was seized from his Nigerian

village by slave traders. He was then transported as human cargo from

West Africa to the Americas.

Enslaved Africans like Equiano formed part of an international trade

network that arose during the first global age. Encounters between

Europeans and Africans had been taking place since the 1400s. By then,

Africa was home to diverse societies, and Islam had become an important

force in some parts of the continent. As Europeans arrived, they would

bring their own influences to Africa.

European Outposts in Africa

In the 1400s, Portuguese ships explored the coast of West Africa, looking

for a sea route to India. They built small forts along the West African coast

to trade for gold, collect food and water, and repair their ships.

The Portuguese lacked the power to push into the African interior. They

did, however, attack the coastal cities of East Africa, such as Mombasa

and Malindi, which were hubs of international trade. With cannons

blazing, they expelled the Arabs who controlled the East African trade

network and took over this thriving commerce for themselves.

The Portuguese, however, gained little profit from their victories. Trade

between the interior and the coast soon dwindled. By 1600, the once-

prosperous East African coastal cities had sunk into poverty.

Other Europeans soon followed the Portuguese into Africa. The Dutch, the

English, and the French established forts along the western coast of Africa.

Like the Portuguese, they exchanged muskets, tools, and cloth for gold,

ivory, hides, and slaves.

The Atlantic Slave Trade

In the 1500s, Europeans began to view slaves as the most important item of

African trade. Slavery had existed in Africa, as elsewhere around the world,

since ancient times. Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, Indians, and

Aztecs often enslaved defeated foes. Our word slave comes from the large

number of Slavs taken from southern Russia to work as unpaid laborers in

Roman times.

The Arab empire also used slave labor, often captives taken from Africa. In

the Middle East, many enslaved Africans worked on farming estates or

large-scale irrigation projects. Others became artisans, soldiers, or

merchants. Some rose to prominence in the Muslim world even though they

were officially slaves.

European and African Slave Traders The Atlantic slave trade began in the

1500s, to fill the need for labor in Spain's American empire. In the next 300

years, it grew into a huge and profitable business. Each year, traders

shipped tens of thousands of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic to work

on tobacco and sugar plantations in the Americas.

Europeans seldom went into the interior to take part in slave raids. Instead,

they relied on African rulers and traders to seize captives in the interior and

bring them to coastal trading posts and fortresses. There, the captives were

exchanged for textiles, metalwork, rum, tobacco, weapons, and gunpowder.

The slave trade intensified as the demand for slaves increased in the

Americas and as the demand for luxury goods increased in Africa.

Merchants from many lands engaged in the slave trade. Arabs brought

human cargoes out of East Africa. Portuguese traders carried slaves to

the Americas from West Africa. A Portuguese soldier is depicted in the

delicate ivory carving.

Triangular Trade The Atlantic slave trade formed one part of a three-legged

trade network known as the triangular trade. On the first leg, merchant

ships brought goods to Africa to be traded for slaves. On the second leg,

known as the Middle Passage, the slaves were transported to the West

Indies. There, the enslaved Africans were exchanged for sugar, molasses,

and other products. On the final leg, these products were shipped to Europe

or European colonies in the Americas. The prosperity of port cities such as

Nantes in France, Bristol in England, and Salem in Massachusetts thus

depended in large part on the slave trade.

Horrors of the Middle Passage For enslaved Africans, the Middle Passage

was a horror. Once purchased, Africans were packed below the decks of

slave ships. Hundreds of men, women, and children were crammed into a

single vessel. Slave ships became “floating coffins” on which up to half the

Africans on board died from disease or brutal mistreatment.

Some enslaved Africans resisted. A few tried to seize control of the ship

and return to Africa. Others committed suicide by leaping overboard. One

African recalled such an incident during the Middle Passage:

“One day … two of my wearied countrymen who were chained

together … jumped into the sea; immediately another …

followed their example…. two of the wretches were drowned,

but [the ship's crew] got the other, and afterwards flogged him

unmercifully for thus attempting to prefer death to slavery.”

—Olaudah Equiano, The Life of Gustavus Vassa

African Leaders Resist Some African leaders tried to slow down the

transatlantic slave trade or even to stop it altogether. They used different

forms of resistance. But in the end, the system that supported the trade was

simply too strong for them.

King Affonso 1456–1543

“Most powerful and excellent King of the Kongo, We convey you greetings in that We much love and esteem you.” So wrote the king of Portugal to King Affonso in 1512. Affonso (born Nzinga Mbemba) had a long and warm relationship with the Portuguese. However, some years later, in 1526, Affonso wrote in dismay to the king of Portugal: ”Merchants are taking every day our natives, sons of the land and sons of

An early voice raised against the slave trade was that of Affonso I, ruler of

Kongo in west-central Africa. As a young man, Affonso was tutored by

Portuguese missionaries. After becoming king in 1505, he called on the

Portuguese to help him develop Kongo as a modern Christian state.

Before long, however, Affonso grew alarmed. Each year, more and more

Portuguese came to Kongo to buy slaves. They offered high prices, and

government officials and local chiefs eagerly entered the trade. Even

Christian missionaries began to buy and sell Africans.

Affonso insisted that “it is our will that in these Kingdoms there should not

be any trade of slaves nor outlet for them.” Kongo, he stated, could benefit

from contacts with Europe, but the trade in human lives was evil. His

appeal failed, and the slave trade continued.

In the late 1700s, another African ruler, the almamy of Futa Toro in

northern Senegal, tried to halt the slave trade in his lands. Since the 1500s,

French sea captains had bought slaves from African traders in Futa Toro.

The almamy decided to put a stop to this practice. In 1788, he forbade

anyone to transport slaves through Futa Toro for sale abroad. The sea

captains and local chiefs protested, and called on the almamy to repeal, or

cancel, the law. The almamy refused. He returned the presents the captains

had sent him in hopes of winning him over to their cause. “All the riches in

the world would not make me change my mind,” he said.

The almamy's victory was short-lived, however. The inland slave traders

simply worked out a new route to the coast. Sailing to this new market, the

French captains easily purchased the slaves that the almamy had prevented

them from buying in Senegal. There was nothing the almamy could do to

stop them.

our nobles and vassals and our relatives, because the thieves and men of bad conscience … grab them and get them to be sold…. Our country is being completely depopulated.”

In the end, Affonso's ties to Portugal were not strong enough. He sought help to build modern ships, but no Portuguese shipbuilders ever arrived. And his attempts to end the slave trade had no effect.

Theme: Impact of the IndividualWhy do you think Affonso is admired today, even though his efforts failed?

Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade Historians are still debating the number of

Africans who were affected by the Atlantic slave trade. In the 1500s, they

estimate, about 2,000 enslaved Africans were sent to the Americas each

year. In the 1780s, when the slave trade was at its peak, that number topped

80,000 a year. By the 1800s, when the overseas slave trade was finally

stopped, an estimated 11 million enslaved Africans had reached the

Americas. Another 2 million probably died under the brutal conditions of

the voyage between Africa and the Americas.

The slave trade caused the decline of some African states and the rise of

others. In West Africa, the loss of countless numbers of young women and

men resulted in some small states disappearing forever. At the same time,

there arose new African states whose way of life depended on the slave

trade. The rulers of these powerful new states waged war against other

Africans so they could gain control of the slave trade in their region and

reap the profits.

Rise of New African States

Among the large states that rose in West Africa in the 1600s and 1700s

were Oyo, Bornu, and Dahomey. Another state, the Asante kingdom,

emerged in the area occupied by modern Ghana.

The Asante Kingdom In the late 1600s, an able military leader, Osei Tutu,

won control of the trading city of Kumasi. From there, he conquered

neighboring peoples and organized the Asante kingdom. Osei Tutu claimed

that his right to rule came from heaven. Leading chiefs served as a council

of advisers but were subject to the royal will.

Officials chosen by merit rather than by birth supervised an efficient

bureaucracy. They managed the royal monopolies over gold mining and the

slave trade. A monopoly is the exclusive control of a business or industry.

The Asante traded with Europeans on the coast, exchanging gold and

slaves for firearms. But they shrewdly played off rival Europeans against

one another to protect their own interests.

Islamic Crusades In the 1700s and early 1800s, an Islamic revival spread

across West Africa. It began among the Fulani people in northern Nigeria.

The scholar and preacher Usman dan Fodio denounced the corruption of

the local Hausa rulers. He called for social and religious reforms based on

the Sharia, or Islamic law. In the early 1800s, Usman inspired Fulani

herders and Hausa townspeople to rise up against their rulers.

Usman and his successors set up a powerful Islamic state. Under their rule,

literacy increased, local wars quieted, and trade improved. Their success

inspired other Muslim reform movements in West Africa. Between about

1780 and 1880, more than a dozen Islamic leaders rose to power, replacing

old rulers or founding new states in the western Sudan.

Battles for Power in Southern Africa

Over many centuries, Bantu-speaking peoples had migrated into southern

Africa. In 1652, Dutch immigrants also arrived in the region. They built

Cape Town to supply ships sailing to or from the East Indies. Dutch

farmers, called Boers, settled around Cape Town. Over time, they ousted or

enslaved the Khoisan herders who lived there. The Boers held to a

Calvinist belief that they were the elect, or chosen, of God. They looked on

Africans as inferiors.

In the 1700s, Boer herders and ivory hunters began to push north from the

Cape Colony. As they did, they had to battle several powerful African

groups.

Shaka and the Zulus The Zulus had migrated into southern Africa in the

1500s. In the early 1800s, they emerged as a major force under a ruthless

and brilliant leader, Shaka. He built on the successes of earlier leaders who

had begun to organize young fighters into permanent regiments.

Between 1818 and 1828, Shaka waged relentless war and conquered many

nearby peoples. He absorbed their young men and women into Zulu

regiments. By encouraging rival groups to forget their differences, he

cemented a growing pride in the Zulu kingdom.

Shaka's wars disrupted life across southern Africa. Groups driven from

their homelands by the Zulus adopted Shaka's tactics. They then migrated

north, conquering still other peoples and creating their own powerful states.

Later Shaka's half brother took over the Zulu kingdom. About this time, the

Zulus faced a new threat, the arrival of well-armed, mounted Boers

migrating north from the Cape Colony.

Boers Versus Zulus In 1815, the Cape Colony passed from the Dutch to the

British. Many Boers resented British laws that abolished slavery and

otherwise interfered in their way of life. To escape British rule, they loaded

their goods into covered wagons and started north. In the late 1830s,

several thousand Boer families joined this “Great Trek.”

As the migrating Boers came into contact with Zulus, fighting quickly

broke out. At first, Zulu regiments held their own. But in the end, Zulu

spears could not defeat Boer guns. The struggle for control of the land

would rage until the end of the century.

SECTION 5 Changes in Europe

Reading Focus

How did European explorations lead to a global exchange?

What impact did the commercial revolution and mercantilism have on European economies?

How did these changes affect ordinary people?

Vocabulary inflation

capitalism

entrepreneur joint stock company mercantilism tariff

Taking Notes

Print out this diagram. As you read, fill in ways in which exploration and increased trade affected life in Europe. To help you get started, part of the diagram has been filled in.

European exploration and increased trade stimulated a global exchange, a commercial revolution, and other changes in Europe.

Setting the Scene

In 1570, Joseph de Acosta visited the Americas. He wrote in amazement

about the many strange forms of life that he saw there. “[There are] a

thousand different kinds of birds and beasts of the forest, which have never

been known, neither in shape nor name….” To Europeans like Acosta, the

Americas seemed like a “new world.”

European explorations between 1500 and 1700 brought major changes to

Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Here, we will look at the impact that these

explorations had on Europe itself.

A Global Exchange

When Columbus returned to Spain in March 1493, he brought with him

“new” plants and animals that he had found in the Americas. Later that

year, Columbus returned to the Americas. With him were some 1,200

settlers and a collection of European animals and plants. In this way,

Columbus began a vast global exchange that would have a profound effect

on the world. In addition to people, plants, and animals, it included

technology and even disease. Because this global exchange began with

Columbus, we call it the Columbian Exchange.

New Foods From the Americas, Europeans brought home a variety of

foods, including tomatoes, pumpkins, and peppers. Perhaps the most

important foods from the Americas, however, were corn and the potato.

Easy to grow, the potato helped feed Europe's rapidly growing population.

Corn spread all across Europe and to Africa and Asia, as well.

At the same time, Europeans carried a wide variety of plants and animals

to the Americas. Foods included wheat and grapes from Europe itself, and

bananas and sugar cane from Africa and Asia. Cattle, pigs, goats, and

chickens, unknown before the European encounter, added protein to the

Europe's Sweet Tooth

Today, we take sugar for granted. But at one time, it was strictly a luxury item that few European households

Native American diet. Horses and donkeys also changed the lives of Native

Americans. The horse, for example, gave the nomadic peoples of western

North America a new, more effective way to hunt buffalo.

Impact on Population The transfer of food crops from continent to

continent took time. By the 1700s, however, corn, potatoes, manioc, beans,

and tomatoes were contributing to population growth around the world.

While other factors help account for the population explosion that began at

this time, new food crops from the Americas were probably a key cause.

The Columbian Exchange sparked the migration of millions of people.

Each year, shiploads of European settlers sailed to the Americas.

Europeans also settled on the fringes of Africa and Asia. The Atlantic slave

trade forcibly brought millions of Africans to the Americas. The Native

American population declined drastically.

The vast movement of peoples led to the transfer of ideas and technologies.

Language also traveled. Words such as pajama (from India) or hammock

and canoe (from the Americas) entered European languages.

could afford. Then, in 1493, Columbus brought sugar cane plants to the Caribbean. The new crop thrived. As sugar supplies increased, sugar prices fell, and the former luxury item appeared on more and more European tables. It was also used to sweeten a popular new treat from the Americas—chocolate.

Still, Europe's new “sweet tooth” had a tragic side effect. In just 150 years, close to 4 million Africans were shipped as slaves to the Caribbean and Brazil to work the sugar plantations there.

Theme: Global InteractionWho was originally responsible for bringing sugar cane to the Americas?

A Commercial Revolution

The opening of direct links with Asia, Africa, and the Americas had far-

reaching economic consequences for Europeans. Among these

consequences were an upsurge in prices, known as the price revolution,

and the rise of modern capitalism.

The Price Revolution In the early modern age, prices began to rise in parts

of Europe. The economic cycle that involves a rise in prices linked to a

sharp increase in the amount of money available is today called inflation.

European inflation had several causes. As the population grew, the demand

for goods and services rose. Because goods were scarce, sellers could raise

their prices. Inflation was also fueled by an increased flow of silver and

gold. By the mid-1500s, tons of these precious metals were flowing into

Europe from the Americas. Rulers used much of the silver and gold to

make coins. The increased money in circulation, combined with the

scarcity of goods, caused prices to rise.

Growth of Capitalism Expanded trade and the push for overseas empires

spurred the growth of European capitalism, the investment of money to

make a profit. Entrepreneurs, or enterprising merchants, organized,

managed, and assumed the risks of doing business. They hired workers and

paid for raw materials, transport, and other costs of production.

As trade increased, entrepreneurs sought to expand into overseas ventures.

Such ventures were risky. Capitalist investors were more willing to take the

risks when demand and prices were high. Thus, the price revolution of the

early modern age gave a boost to capitalism.

Entrepreneurs and capitalists made up a new business class devoted to the

goal of making profits. Together, they helped change the local European

economy into an international trading system.

New Business Methods Early capitalists discovered new ways to create

wealth. From the Arabs, they adapted methods of bookkeeping to show

profits and losses from their ventures. During the late Middle Ages, as you

have read, banks sprang up, allowing wealthy merchants to lend money at

interest. The joint stock company, also developed in late medieval times,

grew in importance. It allowed people to pool large amounts of capital

needed for overseas ventures.

Bypassing the Guilds The growing demand for goods led merchants to find

ways to increase production. Traditionally, guilds controlled the

manufacture of goods. But guild masters often ran small-scale businesses

without the capital to produce for large markets. They also had strict rules

regulating quality, prices, and working conditions.

Enterprising capitalists devised a way to bypass the guilds. The “putting-

out” system, as it was called, was first used to produce textiles but later

spread to other industries. Under the “putting-out” system, a merchant

capitalist distributed raw wool to peasant cottages. Cottagers spun the wool

into thread and then wove the thread into cloth. Merchants bought the wool

cloth from the peasants and sent it to the city for finishing and dyeing.

Finally, the merchants sold the finished product for a profit.

The “putting-out” system separated capital and labor for the first time.

From this system controlled by merchants, the next step would be the

capitalist-owned factories of the Industrial Revolution of the 1700s, as you

will read.

Mercantilism

European monarchs enjoyed the benefits of the commercial revolution. In

the fierce competition for trade and empire, they adopted a new economic

policy, known as mercantilism, aimed at strengthening their national

economies.

Mercantilists supported several basic ideas. They believed that a nation's

real wealth was measured in its gold and silver treasure. To build its supply

of gold and silver, they said, a nation must export more goods than it

imported.

The Role of Colonies Overseas empires were central to the mercantile

system. Colonies, said mercantilists, existed for the benefit of the parent

country. They provided resources and raw materials not available in

Europe. In turn, they enriched a parent country by serving as a market for

its manufactured goods.

To achieve these goals, European powers passed strict laws regulating

trade with their colonies. Colonists could not set up their own industries to

manufacture goods. They were also forbidden to buy goods from a foreign

country. In addition, only ships from the parent country or the colonies

themselves could be used to send goods in or out of the colonies.

Increasing National Wealth Mercantilists urged rulers to adopt policies to

increase national wealth and government revenues. To boost production,

governments exploited mineral and timber resources, built roads, and

backed new industries. They imposed a single national currency and

established standard weights and measures.

Governments also sold monopolies to large producers in certain industries

as well as to big overseas trading companies. Finally, governments

imposed tariffs, or taxes on imported goods. Tariffs were designed to

protect local industries from foreign competition by increasing the price of

imported goods.

The Banana Wars

Governments have been using tariffs to protect their own industries for years. This practice continues today, as the “Banana Wars” between the United States and Europe demonstrate. American multinational companies produce bananas in countries like Honduras and Ecuador. Former European colonies in the Caribbean also produce bananas. European governments decided to let Caribbean bananas come into their countries more cheaply than the bananas produced by American firms, thus taking market share from the American firms. To retaliate, the United States government placed a 100 percent tariff on certain goods from Europe, making them much more expensive. Some 500 years after they began, tariff wars go on.

Theme: Continuity and ChangeWhy do tariff wars develop?

The Lives of Ordinary People

How did these economic changes affect Europeans? In general, their

impact depended on a person's social class. Merchants who invested in

overseas ventures acquired wealth. But the price revolution hurt nobles.

Their wealth was in land, and they had trouble raising money to pay higher

costs for stylish clothing and other luxuries. Some sold off land, which in

turn reduced their income. In towns and cities, the wages of hired workers

did not keep up with inflation, creating poverty and discontent.

Most Europeans were still peasants. Europe's growing involvement in the

world had little immediate effect on their lives. Changes took generations,

even centuries, to be felt. For example, tradition-bound peasants were often

reluctant to grow foods brought from the Americas. Only in the later 1700s

did German peasants begin to raise potatoes. Even then, many complained

that these strange-looking tubers tasted terrible.

Within Europe's growing cities, there were great differences in wealth and

power. Successful merchants dominated city life. Guilds, too, remained

powerful. And as trade grew, another group—lawyers—gained importance

for their skills in writing contracts. Middle-class families enjoyed a

comfortable life. Servants cooked, cleaned, and waited on them. Other city

residents, such as journeymen and other laborers, were not so lucky. They

often lived in crowded quarters on the edge of poverty.

Regardless of social class, European families were patriarchal. As husband

and father, a man was responsible for the behavior of his wife and children.

Women had almost no property or legal rights. A woman's chief roles were

as wife and mother. Society stressed such womanly virtues as modesty,

household economy, obedience, and caring for the family. Middle-class

women might help their husbands in a family business. Peasant women

worked alongside their husbands in the fields.

Looking Ahead

In the 1500s and 1600s, Europe emerged as a powerful new force on the

world scene. The voyages of exploration marked the beginning of what

would become European domination of the globe. In the centuries ahead,

competition for empire would spark wars in Europe and on other

continents.

European expansion would spread goods and other changes throughout the

world. It would also revolutionize the European economy and transform its

society. The concept of “the West” itself emerged as European settlers

transplanted their culture to the Americas and, later, to Australia and New

Zealand.

For centuries, most Europeans knew little or nothing about other lands.

Exposure to different cultures was both unsettling and stimulating. As their

horizons broadened, they had to reexamine old beliefs and customs.