Summary
Highlights
Native American societies were diverse, adapting to their environments. Examples include the Pueblo people who were farmers with advanced irrigation, the nomadic hunter-gatherers of the Great Plains, the fishing villages of the Chumash, the Iroquois farmers in longhouses, and the Cahokia civilization in the Mississippi River Valley.
European kingdoms unified and sought trade routes to Asia. Portugal led with a trading post empire, using maritime technology. Spain, after the Reconquista, sponsored Columbus, leading to the discovery of the Americas and competition among European nations.
The Columbian Exchange involved the transfer of people, animals, plants, and diseases between the Americas and Europe. Foods like potatoes and maize went to Europe, while wheat, rice, cattle, and horses went to the Americas. Disease, particularly smallpox, devastated Native American populations.
Spain focused on agriculture, using the encomienda system to exploit native labor. Due to native resistance and disease, they imported African slaves. The Spanish implemented the casta system, a social hierarchy based on racial ancestry.
Europeans viewed natives as inferior, justifying exploitation. Natives and Europeans adopted aspects of each other's cultures. Some, like Sepulveda, argued for native inferiority, while others, like Las Casas, defended native rights. Europeans also used biblical interpretations to justify African slavery.