Changes

The key to learning history is to find what you like and build on that.  Learn what you like and then learn everything else that is connected with it.  Since everything in history is somehow connected with everyone else, you can learn all of history just by starting with what you like.  If you are most interested in religion, then learn about the 13 colonies based on their different attitudes towards religion.  If you are most interested in one colony, then learn about it and how it relates to other colonies.  If you like military history, then use that as your starting point.

The key to learning history is to find what you like and build on that.  Learn what you like and then learn everything else that is connected with it.  Since everything in history is somehow connected with everyone else, you can learn all of history just by starting with what you like.  If you are most interested in religion, then learn about the 13 colonies based on their different attitudes towards religion.  If you are most interested in one colony, then learn about it and how it relates to other colonies.  If you like military history, then use that as your starting point.

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Maybe we could write most of American history just by predicting what would probably happen.  Imagine a big chunk of land in between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.  There are people who live on the land.  Ask yourself: why would Europeans want to go there?  What reasons can you think of?

Maybe we could write most of American history just by predicting what would probably happen.  Imagine a big chunk of land in between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.  There are people who live on the land.  Ask yourself: why would Europeans want to go there?  What reasons can you think of?

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Search for gold. Convert the natives to Christianity.  Conquer the natives.  Obtain freedom.  Why do your parents homeschool?  For some of the same reasons. Go there for the same reason people climb a mountain:  because it is there!  Escape where you are.  Set up a special religious community.  Meet new people and make new friends.  Trade goods with the people.  Learn from the people.  Have adventures and then write about them.

Discovering gold and other forms of wealth was the primary goal of European explorers. The conversion of native peoples to Christianity was often given as a reason to explore the Americas, but this was distant second to the search for wealth. What is likely to happen if a bunch of Europeans go this land? Conflicts with Native Americans are almost inevitable, as are conflicts with other European powers over their claims to these new lands.

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What is likely to happen if a bunch of Europeans go this land?  Conflicts with the natives.  Conflicts with other European countries.  Conflicts with the mother country that sent the settlers.  New opportunities for improvements, for new products, for new businesses, for new religions, for new systems of government.

What is likely to happen if a bunch of Europeans go this land?  Conflicts with the natives.  Conflicts with other European countries.  Conflicts with the mother country that sent the settlers.  New opportunities for improvements, for new products, for new businesses, for new religions, for new systems of government.

<b>Exploration</b>

<b>Exploration</b>

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Europeans began to expand their horizons – literally. They fought the Holy [[Crusades]] from 1095 to 1291 to protect Christian pilgrimage to [[Jerusalem]] against Moslem attacks. Europeans wanted to expand the world of Christianity, and spread the [[Gospel]]. Meanwhile, European science and geography continued to advance, such that they knew they could reach the Orient by sailing West around the world.

Europeans began to expand their horizons – literally. They fought the[[Crusades]] from 1095 to 1291 to protect Christian pilgrimage to [[Jerusalem]] against Moslem attacks. Europeans wanted to expand the world of Christianity, and spread the [[Gospel]]. Meanwhile, European science and geography, borrowing heavily from Islamic scholars, continued to advance, and realized that it was theoretically possible to reach the Orient by sailing West around the world.

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About 1000 A.D., the Scandinavian [[Leif Ericson]] discovered [[Vinland]], which is probably present [[New England]], and founded a small colony that failed. Nothing further came of that effort.  Because this exploration amounted to nothing, it is not particularly significant.

About 1000 A.D., the Scandinavian Leif Ericson discovered Vinland, which is present New Foundland, and established a small colony that failed. Because the Norse discoveries were unknown to the rest of Europe, nothing further came of that effort.

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By 1482, a determined Italian explorer named [[Christopher Columbus]] sought financing to sail west in order to reach India.  He tried Portugal, but it had its own successful explorers.  Why would Portugal need Columbus? Finally, in 1492, Spain funded his effort in 1492.

In 1453, Constantinople, the eastern capitol of the old Roman Empire fell to the Ottoman Turks.  This severed the overland routes to the east, and Europeans began looking for other ways to reach Asia.  Under the direction of Prince Henry the Navigator, the Portuguese embarked on a long term project of reaching Asia by sailing east, around the horn of Africa. By 1482, a determined Italian explorer named [[Christopher Columbus]] sought financing to sail west in order to reach India.  He tried Portugal, and was committed to its eastward route to Asia.  Finally, in 1492, after the completion of the Reconquista, Spain funded Columbus’ effort.

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Columbus set sail in three ships.  First sighted land in late 1492. On Christmas eve, December 24, 1492, one of Columbus's ship, the [[Santa Maria]], reached the island of [[Haiti]]. Columbus named the settlement “La Navidad,” meaning “The Nativity,” and dropped off 40 men with a promise to return to them the next year. Columbus then wrote to the King and Queen of Spain the following in his Journal: “In all the world there can be no better or gentler people. Your Highnesses should feel great joy, because presently they will be Christians, and instructed in the good manners of your realms.”

Columbus set sail in three ships, and on October 12th, 1492, one of Columbus's ships, the Santa Maria, sighted an island they named San Salvador. Columbus named the settlement “La Navidad,” meaning “The Nativity,” and dropped off 40 men with a promise to return to them the next year. Columbus wrote to the King and Queen of Spain of the Tiano people he encountered: “In all the world there can be no better or gentler people. Your Highnesses should feel great joy, because presently they will be Christians, and instructed in the good manners of your realms.” Columbus reported that native peoples could easily be converted to Christianity, “since they have no religion.” He also thought they would make good slaves.

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But he had grossly underestimated the size of the world, and when he reached San Salvador, Haiti (Hispaniola) and Cuba he thought he reached the Far East.  So he called the natives Indians.  He left some men there but they were killed by the natives.  Columbus reported back that new people had been found to evangelize with Christianity.

But he had grossly underestimated the size of the world, and when he reached San Salvador, Haiti (Hispaniola) and Cuba he thought he reached the Far East.  So he called the natives Indians.  He left some men there but they were killed by the natives.  Columbus reported back that new people had been found to evangelize with Christianity.

Soon Spain and Portugal divided the Americas with the [[Line of Demarcation]], drawn by the Pope.  The [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] moved the line in 1493.  It was a North-South line that gave Spain North America and the western part of South America, but Portugal received Brazil.  That’s why Brazilians speak Portugese to this day.

Soon Spain and Portugal divided the Americas with the [[Line of Demarcation]], drawn by the Pope.  The [[Treaty of Tordesillas]] moved the line in 1493.  It was a North-South line that gave Spain North America and the western part of South America, but Portugal received Brazil.  That’s why Brazilians speak Portugese to this day.

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Columbus sailed on three subsequent voyages, but never achieved his goal and died discredited. What was his motivation? Primarily to spread Christianity, but also to find gold to reward his sponsors and fund further expeditions.  Ultimately, his purpose focused on a dream to liberate Jerusalem, as the Crusades attempted.

Columbus made three subsequent voyages, but never achieved his goal and died discredited. What was his motivation? Primarily to find gold to reward his sponsors and fund further expeditions.

 

What influence did Columbus have? He gave Spain [[Haiti]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Jamaica]] and [[Cuba]] by 1515. Spain then settled Florida (St. Augustine), and later Santa Fe, New Mexico. Spanish [[Hernando Cortes]] conquered the Aztecs in central Mexico (1521), and [[Francisco Pizarro]] conquered the Incas of Peru (1531). They seized much gold in the process.

What influence did Columbus have? He gave Spain [[Haiti]], [[Puerto Rico]], [[Jamaica]] and [[Cuba]] by 1515. Spain then settled Florida (St. Augustine), and later Santa Fe, New Mexico. Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortes conquered the Aztec Empire of central Mexico (1521), and Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incas of Peru (1531). They seized much gold in the process.  

 

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But while Spanish soldiers came to America, Spanish women did not.  So there were not many distinct, permanent Spanish settlements.  Also, the Spanish were also entirely subservient to their King back in Europe.  Separate governments did not develop.

But while Spanish soldiers came to America, Spanish women did not.  So there were not many distinct, permanent Spanish settlements.  Also, the Spanish were also entirely subservient to their King back in Europe.  Separate governments did not develop.

<b>Settlements</b>

<b>Settlements</b>

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Some Englishmen invested money in what was called a “[[joint stock company]],” which was similar to a modern-day corporation, for the purpose of finding gold or other treasures. Called the “[[Virginia Company]],” it established the first permanent settlement for England in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607. It was a disaster and the investors never received a profit. The settlers lacked a common purpose and wasted their time searching for treasure, or simply doing nothing at all. They almost starved to death.

Some Englishmen invested money in what were called “joint stock companies,” which were similar to modern-day corporations, for the purpose of finding gold or other treasures. One of the most important of the joint stock companies was the Virginia Company of London. It established the first English permanent settlement in North America at Jamestown in 1607. Financially, Jamestown was a disaster and the investors realized little in the way of profits. The early settlers lacked a common purpose and wasted their time searching for treasure, or simply doing nothing at all. They almost starved to death.

 

1607 is one of the few dates you should memorize. This was after the Spanish had settled in Florida, but before the French had settled in Quebec. So remember the sequence: Spanish, English, and then French.

1607 is one of the few dates you should memorize. This was after the Spanish had settled in Florida, but before the French had settled in Quebec. So remember the sequence: Spanish, English, and then French.

 

From 1607-1611, the Jamestown settlement lived under socialism, whereby the group shared its food with everyone no matter how much or little he worked.  This economic system was a complete failure as no one had any incentive to do any work. [[John Smith]] arrived from England and he installed a conservative economic system:  “don’t work, don’t eat!” Magically, by 1614 there was suddenly plenty to eat.

After the initial “starving time,” leadership of the colony passed to a former solider named John Smith. Smith was a strict disciplinarian, who decreed that “he that doth not work, shall not eat.” However, food shortages continued. Smith and his successors augmented existing food supplies by sometimes trading with the local Powhatan peoples, but at other times, he exhorted maize form them with threats of violence.

 

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But Jamestown settlers were there to find fortune, and there was not any gold or silver.  Indians had discovered tobacco and Europeans were beginning to become addicted on it.  Many Europeans recognized that tobacco was bad for them, and some wanted to prohibit it.  In 1613, Englishman [[John Rolfe]], who married the Indian [[Pocahontas]] in Virginia, began growing tobacco to export to Europe.  The King banned the growing of tobacco in England, so Rolfe had no competition.  Cash began pouring in for the tobacco, and this so-called “cash crop” became highly profitable for the Jamestown settlers.

But Jamestown settlers were there to find fortune, and there was not any gold or silver.  Indians had discovered tobacco and Europeans were beginning to become addicted on it.  Many Europeans recognized that tobacco was bad for them, and some wanted to prohibit it.  In 1613, Englishman [[John Rolfe]], who married the Indian [[Pocahontas]] in Virginia, began growing tobacco to export to Europe.  The King banned the growing of tobacco in England, so Rolfe had no competition.  Cash began pouring in for the tobacco, and this so-called “cash crop” became highly profitable for the Jamestown settlers.