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5. Political Transformations

European Empires in the Americas

Western Europe was distinctive because the conquered territories were an ocean away from the imperial heartland instead of adjacent

after Columbus, Spanish focused empire-building on Caribbean, then turned to mainland in early 16th and conquested Aztecs and Incas

Portuguese established selves along coast of Brazil

early 17th: British, French, Dutch launch colonial settlements along eastern coast of North America

Europeans extended empires to encompass most of Americas by mid-18th

European advantage

Geography

Atlantic rim of Europe (Portugal, Spain, Britain, France) closer to Americas than Asian competitors

complex currents and fixed winds of Atlantic that blew in one direction was different from alternating monsoons of Indian Ocean

forced Western mariners to innovate in ways that made their ships among most maneuverable

Marginal position and rivalries

Indian Ocean world was enormously rich

little incentive for Chinese, Indians, Muslims to venture beyond

by 1200s, European elites increasingly aware of marginal position in world of Eurasian commerce

determined to gain access to Indian Ocean world

once Americas were discovered, windfalls of natural resources (e.g. highly productive agricultural lands) drove further expansion

also motivated by enduring rivalries of competing European states

Reasons

relatively independent merchant class sought direct access to Asian wealth to avoid reliance on Muslim intermediaries

impoverished nobles and commoners both found opportunity for gaining wealth and status in colonies

missionaries, others inspired by crusading zeal to enlarge realm of Christendom

persecuted minorities in search of new start in life

Advantages

states, trading companies: mobilized both human and material resources

innovations: mapmaking, sailing techniques, ship design (building on earlier Mediterranean, Indian Ocean, Chinese models)

technology: ironworking, gunpowder weapons, horses; initially had no parallel in Americas

Allies

divisions within and between local societies provided allies for European invaders

various subjects of Aztec Empire resented Mexica domination

willingly joined conquistador Hernán Cortés in Spanish assault

in final attack on Tenochtitlan: Cortés had fewer than 1000 Spaniards, many times that number of Tlaxcalans (former Aztec subjects)

after Aztec defeat, many joined Cortés as he carved out a Spanish Mesoamerican empire far larger than Aztecs’

Inca elite welcomed Spanish invaders as liberators and settled with them to share rule of Andean farmers and miners

violent dispute between two rival contenders for throne (brothers Atahualpa and Huáscar) helped invaders recruit allies to augment their minimal forces

Spanish military victories were not solely of their own making

product of alliances with local peoples

supplied bulk of Europeans’ conquering armies

Germs and diseases

Native Americans were not familiar with them

decimated societies, sometimes before Europeans arrived

in particular regions (Caribbean, Virginia, New England), a combination of

rapid buildup of immigrant populations, and

sharply diminished native numbers

allowed Europeans to outnumber local peoples within a few decades

Doña Marina

aka Malinal (original name), Doña Marina (Spanish name), La Malinche (Spanish approximation of original name)

experienced encounter of Old World and New as bridge between them

daughter of elite in borderlands between Maya and Aztec

sold into slavery to protect half-brother’s inheritance

came into possession of Maya chieftain

Hernán Cortés received her as a gift to Spanish

she soon picked up Spanish, became interpreter, cross-cultural broker, strategist

often uncovered spies, plots that would have impeded defeat of Aztecs

became his mistress, bore son

Cortés married her off to Juan Jaramillo, another Spanish conquistador

Cortés provided her with several pieces of land

son taken from her and raised in Spain

accompanied Cortés on mission to Honduras

encountered mother and half-brother

family thought they would be put to death

Doña Marina quickly reassured, forgave, gave gifts of jewels and clothes

after death: controversial

colonial era: ally of Spanish

after independence: traitor to own people

shunning heritage

siding with invaders

mother of Mexico’s mixed-race/mestizo culture

The Great Dying and the Little Ice Age

The Great Dying

chief among consequences of Europeans’ acquisition of American empires

demographic collapse of Native American societies

precise figures debated

pre-Columbian population of Western Hemisphere was substantial (60-80 million)

greatest concentrations: Mesoamerica, Andes (Aztecs and Incas)

absence of acquired immunities to Old World diseases

isolation from Afro-Eurasian world

lack of most domesticated animals

e.g. smallpox, measles, typhus, influenza, malaria, yellow fever

when Native Americans came into contact with these European and African diseases, died in appalling numbers

many cases: lost up to 90% of population

densely-settled Caribbean islands virtually vanished within 50 years of Columbus arriving

Central Mexico: 10-20 million → 1 million

Dutch/British territories experienced similar

The Little Ice Age

interacted with Great Dying in Americas

period from 13th to 19th

unusually cool temperatures, most prominently in Northern Hemisphere

causes debated

low point in sunspot activity

volcanic eruptions, whose ash and gases blocked sun’s warming energy

recently linked to demographic collapse in Americas

Great Dying resulted in desertion of large areas of Native American farmland

ended forest management through burning

resurgence of plant life that took large amounts of carbon dioxide (greenhouse gas) out of atmosphere

shorter growing seasons and less hospitable weather adversely affected food production in regions across world

onset, duration, effects varied by region

General Crisis

impact of cooler climate reached peak often in mid-17th, helping to spark the General Crisis

much of China, Europe, North America: record or near-record cold winters

near equator in tropics, Southern Hemisphere: extreme conditions, irregular rainfall

Europe: wet, cold summers reduced harvests dramatically

China and others: severe droughts ruined crops

difficult weather conditions accentuated other stresses, leading to widespread famines, epidemics, uprisings, wars

occurred during General Crisis:

collapse of Ming Dynasty in China

nearly constant warfare in Europe

civil war in Mughal India

only fully subsided when more favorable weather patterns took hold (18th)

in Americas

central Mexico (heartland of Aztecs, center of Spanish colonial rule): severe drought 1639-1944

price of maize skyrocketed

granaries left empty

many people left without water

prompted unsuccessful plot to declare Mexico’s independence from Spain

Caribbean region in 1640s: torrential rains

accompanied more frequent El Niño weather patterns

ideal conditions for breeding of mosquitoes that carried yellow fever and malaria

climate often plays an important role in shaping human history

human activity (e.g. importation of deadly diseases to Americas) may help shape the climate

Columbian exchange

To Americas

Great Dying and Little Ice Age created acute labor shortages

made room for immigrant newcomers

colonizing Europeans

enslaved Africans

combinations of indigenous, European, African peoples created new societies in Americas replacing many and varied cultures before 1492

brought plants, animals

new plants made European diet/way of life possible

wheat

rice

sugarcane

grapes

garden vegetables, fruits

weeds

the animals were new to the Americas, multiplied in environment free of natural predators

horses

transformed Native American societies, especially in North American West

settled people such as Pawnee abandoned fields to hunt bison on horseback

male-dominating hunting/warrior culture emerged, so women lost much of earlier role as food producers

pigs

cattle

goats

sheep

made ranching economies and cowboy cultures possible

To Eastern Hemisphere

American food crops provided nutritional foundation for population growth that was hallmark of modern era

such as

corn

potatoes

cassava

Europe: calories (corn, potatoes) pushed population from 60 million (1400) to 390 million (1900)

crops later provided cheap, reasonably nutritious food for millions of industrial workers

potatoes allowed Ireland’s population to grow enormously, condemned many of Irish to starvation/emigration when airborne fungus from Americas destroyed crop (mid-19th)

China: corn, peanuts, sweet potatoes supplemented traditional rice, wheat, to sustain modern population explosion

by early 20th: food plants from America was about 20% of total Chinese food production

Africa: corn took hold quickly, used as cheap food for transatlantic trade

stimulants (tobacco, chocolate)

by 17th: tobacco was “gentleman’s companion” in China

how-to manuals for Chinese on smoking techniques

tea from China, coffee from Islamic world also spread globally

never before had such large-scale, consequential diffusion of plants, animals operated to remake biological environment of planet

Long-term benefits

unequally distributed

Africas, Americas: social disruption, slavery, disease, death on almost unimaginable scale

Western Europe: reaped greatest rewards

mountains of new information

shook conventional understandings of world

contributed to revolutionary new way of thinking (Scientific Revolution)

wealth of colonies provided part of foundation for Industrial Revolution

precious metals

natural resources

new food crops

slave labor

financial profits

colonial markets

colonies were

outlet for rapidly growing European populations

represented enormous extension of European civilization

colonial empires facilitated changing global balance of power

thrust previously marginal Western Europeans into increasingly central, commanding role

“Without a New World to deliver economic balance in the Old, Europe would have remained inferior, as ever, in wealth and power, to the great civilizations of Asia”

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Go to "Comparing Colonial Societies in the Americas"

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