#1 - APUSH 1.1 Contextualizing Period 1 [UPDATED]

Summary

The lecture covers key themes in early American history, focusing on the period from 1491 to 1607. It discusses Native American migration via the Bering Land Bridge, the development of diverse societies across North and South America, and agricultural innovations like the Three Sisters farming method. The Columbian Exchange, which introduced crops, diseases, and livestock between the Old and New Worlds, is also explored. Additionally, the lecture highlights European expansion, the fall of the Aztec and Incan empires, and the political, social, and economic changes that resulted from European colonization.

Takeaways

• 📜 Period 1 of AP US History covers 1491 to 1607, focusing on Native populations and early European contact, ending with the settlement of Jamestown.
• 🌍 Native populations migrated to North and South America via the Bering Land Bridge and developed complex, diverse societies over thousands of years.
• 🌽 Many Native groups developed agricultural practices like Three Sisters farming (corn, squash, and beans), which was key to sustaining their populations.
• 🏞 Native societies adapted to their environments, such as the Aztecs with irrigation systems and the Incas with terrace farming in the mountains.
• 🤝 The Columbian Exchange brought significant changes, including the introduction of new crops, livestock, and deadly diseases, which decimated Native populations.
• 💀 Diseases like smallpox, influenza, and measles brought from Europe severely reduced the Native population, sometimes wiping out entire communities.
• 🍬 Sugarcane became a valuable export from the Caribbean to Europe, leading to the establishment of sugar plantations and later influencing European economies.
• ⚔️ The Spanish, led by conquistadors like Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro, toppled the Aztec and Incan empires, fundamentally altering the political landscape.
• 💒 European-Native interactions were marked by stark differences in religion, land use, and gender roles, with Europeans seeking to convert Natives to Christianity.
• 💰 The influx of gold and silver from the Americas to Europe played a key role in the shift from feudalism to capitalism and laid the groundwork for modern banking systems.

Q & A

What is the time frame for Period 1 in AP US History?

Period 1 in AP US History runs from 1491 to 1607, covering the events from European contact up to the first English settlements in Jamestown.

How did Native populations first migrate to the Americas?

Native populations migrated to the Americas through the Bering Land Bridge, which opened up about 35,000 years ago due to an ice age that lowered sea levels, revealing a land connection between Asia and North America.

What are the 'Three Sisters' in Native American agriculture?

The 'Three Sisters' refer to the three main crops cultivated by Native Americans: corn, squash, and beans. These crops were often grown together in a sustainable farming method.

How did Native Americans adapt their environment to practice agriculture?

Native Americans adapted their environment by using techniques like three sisters farming, irrigation channels, and terraced farming to sustain their agricultural practices, depending on the geography of their settlements.

What was the Columbian Exchange, and how did it affect both sides of the Atlantic?

The Columbian Exchange was the transfer of crops, livestock, diseases, and people between Europe, Africa, and the Americas. It had significant social, cultural, and political changes on both sides, including population declines in the Americas due to disease and increased agricultural diversity in Europe.

How did the introduction of Old World diseases impact Native American populations?

Old World diseases such as smallpox, influenza, and measles had a devastating impact on Native American populations, who had no immunity, leading to a drastic reduction in their numbers.

What were the motivations for European exploration and expansion in the Americas?

The primary motivations for European exploration were the pursuit of gold, the spread of Christianity (specifically Catholicism), and the desire for glory, which included territorial expansion and upward social mobility for conquistadors.

What was the Treaty of Tordesillas, and what did it establish?

The Treaty of Tordesillas was an agreement brokered by the Pope in 1494 to prevent conflict between Spain and Portugal. It divided the world into two zones for exploration, with Spain receiving the western hemisphere and Portugal receiving the eastern hemisphere, including a portion of Brazil.

How did the introduction of New World crops impact European society?

The introduction of New World crops, such as potatoes and corn, had a significant impact on European society by improving nutrition, increasing food availability, and supporting population growth, which eventually fueled further exploration.

In what ways did Native American societies differ from European societies in terms of land use and social structure?

Native American societies typically used land communally and believed in its spiritual properties, whereas Europeans sought to modify and exploit the land for economic gain. Socially, many Native groups, like the Iroquois, were matrilineal, contrasting with the patriarchal structure of European society.

Outlines

00:00

📜 The Migration and Peopling of the Americas

This paragraph introduces the start of AP US History by contextualizing Period 1 (1491-1607). It covers the migration of native populations across the Bering Land Bridge around 35,000 years ago, leading to the settlement of various cultures throughout the Americas. These migrations resulted in diverse linguistic and cultural groups, with an estimated 54 million people living in the Americas by 1492. The key concept focuses on how these societies adapted to their environments and developed complex agricultural systems, including the ‘three sisters’ farming technique of corn, beans, and squash.

05:01

🌍 Agricultural Innovations and Environmental Adaptations

This paragraph highlights the adaptation of different native societies to their environments, particularly through agricultural innovations. It discusses how agriculture, including the ‘three sisters’ farming system, supported Native American diets. It also describes how certain civilizations, like the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas, modified their environments to support large populations through methods such as terracing and irrigation. These practices helped sustain sedentary civilizations capable of building complex infrastructure and religious monuments.

10:01

🔄 The Columbian Exchange and its Consequences

The focus shifts to the Columbian Exchange, which connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas, resulting in significant social, cultural, and political changes. Diseases brought from the Old World, such as smallpox and influenza, decimated Native American populations, while crops like sugarcane became important economic drivers. The paragraph also touches on the role of European explorers like Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro in the conquests of the Aztec and Incan empires, which were made possible through a combination of military force and strategic alliances.

🌱 Economic and Demographic Impacts of the Columbian Exchange

This paragraph delves into the demographic and economic impacts of the Columbian Exchange. It explains how Old World crops like potatoes and corn contributed to population growth in Europe, while gold and silver from the Americas fueled the development of capitalism and banking systems. It also discusses coerced labor practices, such as the use of Native Americans in mining operations, which played a key role in European economic expansion and the decline of feudalism in favor of capitalism.

⚖️ Divergent Worldviews and Cultural Differences

This section addresses the divergent worldviews between Native Americans and Europeans, particularly regarding land use, gender roles, and religion. Native Americans often practiced communal land use and believed in the spiritual significance of nature, while Europeans aggressively altered landscapes for agriculture and development. Matrilineal societies, such as the Iroquois, also contrasted with European patriarchy. Religion was another area of conflict, with Europeans seeking to spread Christianity while native peoples practiced diverse indigenous religions.

🎓 Recap: Native Migrations, Columbian Exchange, and European Expansion

The final paragraph summarizes the key points of the lecture: Native American migration across the Bering Land Bridge led to the development of diverse societies in the Americas. The Columbian Exchange brought about massive changes for both the Old and New Worlds, including population decimation due to disease and economic transformations through agriculture and mining. European expansion brought significant social, political, and religious changes, setting the stage for future lectures on AP US History.

Keywords

💡Period One (1491-1607)

Period One refers to the span of time from 1491, just before European contact, to the founding of the Jamestown settlement in 1607. This period is crucial in understanding the early interactions between Native Americans and Europeans, including the transformation of societies and the beginnings of European colonization. The video discusses how this period set the stage for subsequent historical developments.

💡Bering Land Bridge

The Bering Land Bridge was a land connection between Asia and North America that existed during the Ice Age. It allowed the first human populations to migrate into the Americas, leading to the eventual peopling of the continent. In the video, this is highlighted as the starting point for the development of diverse Native American societies.

💡Three Sisters Farming

Three Sisters Farming is an agricultural system where corn, beans, and squash are grown together. This method was widely used by Native American societies and provided a balanced diet. The video emphasizes the importance of this farming technique, not only for sustenance but also for shaping the environmental and social structures of these societies.

💡Mesoamerican Civilizations

Mesoamerican Civilizations, such as the Aztecs and Mayans, are highlighted in the video for their advanced agricultural and architectural practices. The video discusses how these civilizations adapted to their environments through innovations like irrigation and terrace farming, illustrating the complexity of pre-Columbian societies in the Americas.

💡Columbian Exchange

The Columbian Exchange refers to the widespread transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and culture between the Americas, Europe, and Africa following European exploration. The video highlights the profound demographic and environmental changes that resulted from this exchange, particularly the devastating impact of European diseases on Native American populations.

💡Smallpox

Smallpox was one of the deadliest diseases brought by Europeans to the Americas during the Columbian Exchange. Native populations had no immunity, leading to massive depopulation. The video mentions smallpox as a key factor in the decline of Native American societies following European contact.

💡Hernán Cortés

Hernán Cortés was a Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that resulted in the fall of the Aztec Empire. The video discusses Cortés' role in shaping European colonial ambitions in the Americas, including his use of alliances with rival native groups to defeat the Aztecs.

💡Treaty of Tordesillas

The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in 1494, was an agreement between Spain and Portugal, dividing the newly discovered lands outside Europe between them. The video explains that this treaty helped prevent conflict between the two Catholic nations and allowed both to pursue their imperial ambitions in different parts of the world.

💡Feudalism to Capitalism

The transition from feudalism to capitalism is described as a significant economic shift in Europe, fueled by the influx of wealth from the Americas. The video explains how resources like gold and silver extracted from the Americas played a role in the rise of capitalist systems and the decline of feudal structures in Europe.

💡Matrilineal Societies

Matrilineal societies, such as the Iroquois, traced their lineage through the female line. This contrasts with the patriarchal systems of European societies. The video highlights this cultural difference, particularly in the context of gender roles and family structures, as part of the broader differences between Native American and European worldviews.

Highlights

Introduction to AP U.S. History covering Period 1 from 1491 to 1607, focusing on European encounters and early English settlements.

Native populations migrated to the Americas via the Bering Land Bridge 35,000 years ago, leading to the development of diverse and complex societies.

By 1492, an estimated 54 million people inhabited the Americas, forming distinct cultural and linguistic groups despite common ancestry.

Different native societies adapted to their environments through innovations in agriculture, resource use, and social structures.

Three Sisters farming (corn, squash, and beans) was an essential agricultural innovation that sustained many Native American societies.

Advanced civilizations like the Aztecs, Mayans, and Incas modified their environments to support large sedentary populations through infrastructure projects like terraced farming and irrigation.

The Columbian Exchange connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas, resulting in the transfer of crops, livestock, diseases, and populations across continents.

European diseases like smallpox and influenza decimated Native American populations due to a lack of immunity.

The introduction of New World crops like potatoes and corn increased European populations and fueled further exploration and expansion.

Spanish conquistadors, such as Hernán Cortés and Francisco Pizarro, toppled powerful empires like the Aztecs and Incas, often with the help of native allies.

The Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 divided the New World between Spain and Portugal, assigning Brazil to the Portuguese.

The Spanish extracted vast amounts of gold and silver from the New World, laying the foundation for the rise of capitalism in Europe.

Native American and European worldviews clashed over issues like land use, gender roles, religion, and power structures.

Europeans aggressively altered landscapes for agriculture and settlement, while Native Americans practiced more sustainable land-use methods like managed fires.

The native practice of matrilineal inheritance, particularly among the Iroquois, contrasted with European patriarchal structures, highlighting major social differences.

Transcripts

welcome to the first lecture of ap us

history we are going to start with the

very first topic in the course and exam

description which is contextualizing

period one period one runs from 1491 to

1607 and we're going to talk about

everything that happened up until

european contact all the way through the

very first english settlements to

jamestown in 1607.

now what the college board wants us to

know by the end of this topic is to be

able to explain the context for european

encounters in the americas from 1491 to

1607. so let's get to it the very first

key concept 1.1 says as native

populations migrated and settled across

the vast x-mans of north america over

time they developed distinct and

increasingly complex societies by

adapting to and transforming their

diverse environments the very first part

of this is the migration and the

peopling of the americas the way they

got to the american continent was

through the bering land bridge which

opened up about 35 000 years ago this

ice age lowered the sea level which

revealed some land connecting the asian

and north american continent

people were able to continue that

migration for the next 25 000 years and

as you can see on this map there was

also a possible sea route that aided

that migration all of this would have

continued to the very southern tip of

south america at tierra del fuego

as the population continued to come from

asia into north america they splintered

off and they created different cultures

and so by the end of the migration you

had thousands of different cultural and

linguistic groups across north and south

america

anthropologists estimate that about 54

million people inhabited north and south

america before columbus stumbled upon

the bahamas in 1492. though they all

came from the very same ancestry these

migrants across the bering land bridge

created a diverse amount of groups as

they splintered off

now the next key concept is 1.1 roman

numeral 1 and it says different native

societies adapted to and transformed

their environments through innovations

and agriculture resource use and social

structure the way in which they adapted

to their environments and the

geographies in which they settled really

helped form the differences in all of

the different groups so here you see

just north america all the different

large language and cultural groups

across what is now the united states and

even within these groups you would have

many differences so within a tribe there

are bands in those bands there are

different kinship groups and even

linguistic differences amongst some of

the larger tribes

one of the innovations that they came up

with was agriculture now most of the

native societies in north america had

some form of agriculture sometimes they

would supplement the agriculture with

hunting some might be migratory so they

would plant food in some areas and then

migrate let the soil regain its

nutrients and then come back in a

different season or in a different year

three sisters farming was the three

crops that were the most important they

were corn squash and beans as you can

see from the picture here they all kind

of grew together in the same area

the squash would grow closer to the

ground the corn would grow and stalk and

then you would also have vines of beans

dangling from the corn stalks three

sisters farming is not just important

because it's how people fed themselves

but the food that the three sisters

farming grew the corn the squash and the

beans were also very nutritious foods

another american crop that was new to

europeans was the potato found in south

america potatoes are very nutritious and

they are high in calories so you don't

need to eat that many of them in order

to get full and have energy that you

need to go about your day's support to

work

and whenever these crops get shared with

the europeans it's going to have a huge

effect on european populations but this

is how native societies were able to

sustain themselves those that practice

agriculture would plant some combination

of corn squash beans and even potatoes

now we're going to see that some native

populations went even further in their

use of agriculture to the point that

they were changing their environment in

order to be able to continue to feed

more and more people

here are three different civilizations

that were in mesoamerica south america

and central america at the very top is a

city or model of the city of

denoteziplan this was the capital city

of the aztecs which was located in

central mexico in modern day mexico city

they changed the environment by leveling

out a marshy land in the middle of a

lake and that's where they built their

capital

because they were in the middle of a

lake they were able to build irrigation

channels that would continue to provide

water for their crops on the bottom left

you see the city of machu picchu it was

up in the mountains so living in the

mountain is going to require a lot of

environmental modification in order to

adapt for example they had to implement

terrorist farming as a way to adopt to

the mountainous terrain

on the bottom right is the mayan capital

city of tikal anytime in which

civilizations are building these very

heavy temples and stone structures that

means that they're going to be sedentary

and be there for a long time no one

builds a huge temple and then walks away

and migrates to another area that's very

uncommon because you're putting a lot of

effort into it in order to feed these

sedentary populations there has to be a

lot of food so the building was always

coupled with some form of infrastructure

project that allowed these civilizations

to feed their people the next key

concept says contact among european

natives and africans resulted in the

colombian exchange and significant

social cultural and political changes on

both sides of the atlantic ocean

so the colombian exchange connected

europe africa and north and south

america the things that were being

traded or exchanged through this

colombian exchange included crops

diseases livestocks and coerce one of

the most important things that was being

brought from the old world that's europe

and africa to north america

new world where diseases so you see the

list here smallpox influenza typhus

measles malaria diphtheria whooping

cough these were all diseases that the

people that were living in the new world

had no immunities for which meant that

once they came into contact with that

disease and they got sick it was a high

chance that not only were they going to

die but the disease was going to spread

further which would lead to a decimation

of the new world population

so those estimated 54 million people

that were living before 1492 in that

territory are going to go down to a very

small fraction

there were some crops that are coming

from the old world going into the new

world one of the most important ones

that's going from the old world to the

new world is sugarcane because sugarcane

is a luxury item in europe at this time

it costs a lot of money because it's

it's hard to acquire it only grows in

certain areas and then once you're able

to grow it it takes a lot of money a lot

of effort a lot of labor to extract the

actual sugar morsels from the sugar cane

because the caribbean had the very warm

tropical climate that was conducive to

growing a lot of sugarcane that was

something that was established all

through the caribbean and then later

through south america

the political changes that were brought

about by the colombian exchange were

some regime changes in the americas the

first one was the aztec empire being

toppled by the spanish conquistadors in

this picture and on the top left you see

hernan cortez the leader of the

conquistadors that had been given

permission by the spanish crown to go

out and conquer bring back goods bring

back gold and claim any new territory or

land for the king and queen of spain at

first irvan cortes had a difficult time

in trying to conquer the aztec empire

because they had their capital city at

the center of a lake it was difficult to

access and even if the spanish tried to

siege the city the city was

self-sufficient they had food that they

could continue to grow within the city

walls cortes had to acquire the help of

rival native groups and rivals of the

aztecs a translator named malinche

helped cortes navigate through these

alliances and initially introduced

cortes de moctezuma moktasuma the leader

of the aztecs mistakenly thought that

cortes arrival had been the fulfillment

of an aztec prophecy he believed that

the spanish marked the coming of the

serpent god getsaid

the other large empire that fell during

this time was the incan empire that

attack was led by francisco pisarro the

last incan leader is here on the top

right his name is

he's eventually killed by conquistadors

but before he is killed he converts to

catholicism because when he was going to

be executed they were going to burn his

body he obviously didn't want that so he

agreed to switch over to catholicism

that his body would remain intact after

his death

the next key concept here is european

expansion into the western hemisphere

generated intense social religious

political and economic competition and

changes within european society now up

to this point we really just talked

about the spanish going out into the new

world and exploring and conquering and

getting gold and spreading christianity

the success of the spanish and the new

world is going to be seen by its

european rivals as something that they

wants to replicate the portuguese

especially had been very successful in

exploring in asia and going around the

tip of africa but now that the proof of

concept of going out to the new world

had been proven by the spanish the

portuguese also wanted to go out and

explore the new world the problem was

that both the spanish and the portuguese

were patrons of the catholic church and

the catholic church did not want them

fighting over land and territory because

then the catholic church would probably

get a lot less money and support these

two countries therefore the pope

brokered a deal between the two called

the treaty of tortosius in 1494. he set

a line of longitude that split up the

world into two sides one side was for

the spanish exploration and conquest and

then the other side was to the

portuguese to explore and conquer that

relegated the portuguese mostly to the

eastern hemisphere but as you can see on

the map there you have a tiny little

sliver of south america which is where

we have modern day brazil king john ii

of portugal and king ferdinand of spain

signed the treaty and stated before

brazil becomes the only way the only new

world piece of territory that the

portuguese are able to acquire in the

next key concept the colombian exchange

and the development of the spanish

empire in the western hemisphere

resulted in extensive demographic

economic and social changes we've

already touched upon the demographic

change that's anything that has to do

with people so the new world crops

increase in the old world populations

a lot of people were now able to eat

potatoes corn and they were able to

plant them in their small plots of land

so people lived longer and as they lived

longer they were

to have more kids and as their kids had

more kids

now there's a surplus of population in

europe that means that there are more

people than land that they can live on

and it's going to fuel further new world

exploration because as people want to

improve their situation and want upward

mobility they're going to find new ways

to do it

some of the economic effects of the

colombian exchange is that the gold that

came from the new world also helped lay

the foundations of the banking system in

europe the spanish conquistador saw that

some of the native birbs that they came

into contact wore some jewelry that

contained gold eventually they found

gold mines in south america silver mines

in mexico and they started to extract

this gold using

usually coerced labor of native

americans and then sending it back to

spain

using coins and depositing it into banks

is going to start the momentum to

establish a capitalist system in europe

it's not going to happen immediately and

it's not going to be overnight but we're

going to see a shift from feudalism to

capitalism the end of feudalism begins

with the mineral wealth that the spanish

were able to find in the new world now

in the next key concept in their

interactions europeans and native

americans asserted divergent world views

regarding issues such as religion gender

roles family

land use and power

this means that the europeans and native

groups in north and south america were

vastly different which is a logical

claim but we want to make sure that we

hit on some of the specific things that

they really had indifference

the first one was their use of land

native groups in north america really

didn't have a desire to aggressively

change their landscapes some believed

that nature held spiritual properties

they did use the land as we said they

planted foods they practiced

agricultures but in some areas they

would forage they would get food from

the forest this was especially true in

areas like the pacific coast in northern

california in the northeast the iroquois

along the appalachian ranges would go

into the forest and hunt gather and

supplement with agriculture the ways in

which they would interact with their

environment there is that sometimes they

would encourage forest growth through

managed fires that's what the picture is

here on the top left in the forest in

california fire encouraged growth of

larger trees it also cleared the forest

floor which makes it more accessible for

people to walk through and to hunt

on the top right you see cave dwellings

by the anasazi people on the mesa

verdict in mesa vertical lorado

there were also cave dwellings in new

mexico a good example of the groups that

really did change their environment

would be the aztecs this is the capital

city of tenochtitlan in the middle of

lake texaco

even this adaptation of environment by

the aztecs is not quite as extreme as

what we're going to be seeing with

europeans as soon as the spanish begin

to expand their new world empire they're

going to start building churches and

cathedrals made of stone

usually the same stone that had made up

the temples of the natives these are the

ways in which they differed in the ways

in which they were using their

environment in terms of gender roles

we'll see that some native groups

especially the iroquois in the northeast

are going to organize themselves along

matrilineal lines that means that they

are going to follow the lineage of the

females of the mothers in the family

this will seem quite different to

europeans coming from a patriarchal

system

early spanish explorers were really

motivated by gold

they wanted to extract as much as they

could from the land and take it back to

spain one of their other motivations was

to spread christianity specifically

catholicism and of course

glory meant that they wanted to conquer

the people who were in the new world the

conquistadors that would go out there to

be the main fighting force they were

looking to gain mobility titles or even

just new land in the new world so that

they could have upward mobility

in terms of religion europeans and

natives differed in that the native

americans were not christian there was a

diverse amount of religion in the new

world almost as diverse as the language

groups that developed but in the eyes of

the spanish it didn't matter

because they weren't christian and

that's all that mattered to europeans

as a quick recap the natives migrated

across the land bridge to create a

diverse continent of people each was

unique in their use of the environment

and its social structures the colombian

exchange brought about massive change

for all involved and european expansion

brought about social economic and

political changes in europe these are

all the things that we're going to keep

in mind as we go into the next set of

lectures for all of period one

thank you for watching this lecture i

hope you enjoyed it if you want to watch

the next lecture click on the video link

on the screen and if you want to find

more lectures and practice for the ap

exam you can visit

apushslides.com i wish you the best of

luck in all of your studies