Main Themes 1. That the colonization of the Americas was a collision of cultures --the European and the Native American-- that had been developing along completely different lines for thousands of years. 2. How a variety of ambitions and impulses moved individuals and nations to colonize the New World. 3. The way the motives of the colonizers and their experiences prior to immigrating shaped their attitudes toward Native American cultures. 4. How these same motives and experiences helped determine the sociopolitical arrangements in the new colonies. 5. The ways that the Old World influenced the history of the New.
| Learning Objectives A thorough study of Chapter One should enable the student to understand: |
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The history of the Native Americans before the arrival of Europeans. |
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What the New World was like at the time of Christopher Columbus. |
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The ways in which the peoples of the New and Old Worlds affected each other when their societies came in contact in the late fifteenth century. |
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The changes taking place in western Europe that resulted in widespread interest in colonization. |
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The colonial policies of each nation involved, and the effect each had on the future of the Americas. |
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The reasons for the rivalry between Spain and England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the impact of that rivalry on international affairs. |
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The African cultures from which black slaves were taken and the early development of slavery. |
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The role of religion in European efforts to colonize the New World. |
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The ways in which the experiences of the English in Ireland influenced their efforts to colonize North America. |
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The first efforts of the English to establish a colony and the reasons for their failure. |
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The host of connections that existed between what happened in the Americas and what was happening in the rest of the world. |