1. A New World
week 1 learning objectives
1. Describe the major patterns of Native American life in North America before Europeans arrived.
2. Explain how Indian and European ideas of freedom differed on the eve of contact.
3. Explain what impelled European explorers to look west across the Atlantic.
4. Explain what happened when the peoples of the Americas came in contact with Europeans.
5. Identify the chief features of the Spanish empire in America.
6. Identify the chief features of the French and Dutch empires in North America.
Week 1 - Questions for contemplation
• Compare and contrast the following precontact societies: Aztec, Inca, Cahokia, and the ancestors of the Hopi and Zuni.
• The Europeans’ understanding of freedom based on ownership of private property had little meaning to most Indian societies. What was far more important than individual autonomy to most Indian communities, and why?
• Evaluate “Gold, God, and Glory” as reasons for the European conquest of the Americas. Did one outweigh another in motivating the Europeans? How were these reasons used to justify the conquest? How genuine were they?
• The conquest of the New World by the Europeans resulted in interaction among cultures. Discuss this interaction and how it affected both the Europeans and the Indians. Be sure to discuss the demographic consequences.
• Bartolomé de Las Casas was a voice of freedom for the Indians in Spanish America. Explain what motivated him to speak out. What kind of influence did he have on the Spanish? On the Indians? On the African slaves? In what sense was his understanding of freedom limited?
• Compare the Spanish colonies with those of the French and Dutch. Think about economies, freedoms, religion, government structure, and intermarriage. How did the French and Dutch learn from the experiences of the Spanish?
• Imagine you are an attorney accusing Spain of human rights violations in a sixteenth-century world criminal court. Draw on the “Voices of Freedom” pieces in this chapter to help you prepare your closing argument. What do you imagine Spain’s defense attorney would argue?
• Discuss the borderlands area of New France. What roles did the French settlers, missionaries, trappers, and various Indian tribes play?