CH1 – New World Beginnings

Time Frame: 33,000 BCE – 1769 CE

Objectives: At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

• Describe the geological and geographical conditions that set the stage for North American history.
• Describe the origin and development of the major Indian cultures of the Americas.
• Explain the developments in Europe and Africa that led to Columbus’s voyage to America.
• Explain the changes and conflicts that occurred when the diverse worlds and peoples of Europe, Africa, and the Americas collided after 1492.
• Describe the Spanish conquest of Mexico and South America, and of the later Spanish colonial expansion into North America.
• Describe the major features of Spain’s New World Empire, including relations with the native Indian populations.

Resources

• Native American Websites
  Well-organized list of Native American websites
• The Columbian Exchange (Video)
  Simple, helpful video with transcript from NBC news.
• The Columbian Exchange (Text)
  By Alfred Crosby, Professor Emeritus, University of Texas at Austin