GRADE 7

United States History I

 

THE FIRST AMERICANS

The first Americans were ice-age hunters who migrated across the land bridge from Asia. Stone points are evidence of the spread of their ancestors. Many became farmers after the ice-age mammals died off.

With the growth of agriculture, civilizations arose in Mesoamerica and Peru that excelled in trade, art, and architecture. The "mother culture" of Mesoamerica was that of the Olmecs, who were followed by the Mayas, the Aztec empire of Mexico, and the Inca empire of Peru.

Meanwhile, farming cultures developed in what is now the United States. In the southwestern desert lived the Mogollons, and Hohokams, and the Anasazis. In eastern woodlands a progression of societies--the Adena, Hopewell, and Mississippian--built huge mounds as burial grounds and religious sites.

By the 1400s hundreds of Indian tribes lived in North America, in six major culture areas: Arctic and Subarctic, Northwest Coast, Far West, Plains, Eastern Woodlands, and Southwest. Tribes within each area shared a way of life shaped by climate and resources.

 

Chapter 4 - Conquest of the Amereicas

 

Conquest of the Americas image

 

AFRICA, ASIA, AND EUROPE IN THE 1400s

By the 1400s Africa had long been part of a great trade network linking the Middle East and Asia. Trade led to the growth of rich empires and trade centers and the the exchange and sharing of ideas. Most Africans valued community life, music, and communication.

Arab traders help spread the goods of India and China throughout the Middle East and Africa. China became a rich and powerful country because of its technological advances, navy, and goods such as silk and porcelain. The Silk Road was the over-land route to the Middle East, and its ship sailed trade routes throughout Asia and to Africa. In the early 1500s, the Chinese ended their sea trade.

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Europe was divided into many small warring kingdoms. As the people relied on the protection of lords for survival, a feudal system of government developed. Christianity was the unifying force among Europeans. The Crusades helped introduce Europeans to African and Asian goods. In the 1300s and 1400s the growth of nations and the Renaissance fueled European interest in trade and exploration.. Portugal led the way as it explored the African coast.

 

VOYAGES OF EXPLORATION

In the 1400s Europeans wanted to establish direct trade with Africa and Asia. Among the early explorers who were looking for a trade route by sea were Bartolomue Dais, Vasco da Gama, and Christopher Columbus.

Columbus, convinced he could reach the Indies by sailing west, encountered continents unknown to Europeans. Sailing for Spain, he made four trips to the Americas, but believed until his death that he had reached the Indies.

His voyages to the Americas led to the Columbian Exchange, an exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and people that would eventually affect the whole world. 

In the race for discovery that followed Columbus's voyages and Magellan's circumnavigation, Spain gained control of the southern routes. England, the Netherlands, and France searched for a Northwest Passage, but to no avail. However, they gained valuable resources and made claims to land in North America.

Explorers of the 1400's

 

 

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