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1 Notes
1.1 Prologue
- Usually conquest of America is viewed from a Western (Eurocentric) perspective, but we should look at it also from a Native American perspective
- This isn't easy because Native Americans didn't really write stuff down
- Text will look at how we might actually do this
1.2 Ch 2
- European settlement didn't seem so significant in the 16th and early
17th century
- Rivalries between tribes, etc. seemed more important
- Consequences of European settlement
- Environmental changes that were bad for Indians
- Cultural changes
- Spreading of microbes
1.2.1 Pattern of settlements
- Spanish settlement in southeast (e.g. Florida)
- Basque, French, English fishing from Newfoundland to Cape Cod
- Some made semi-permanent camps which acted as trading camps
- English in Chesapeake Bay, settled Jamestown 1607
- French build Quebec in Stadacona 1608
- Henry Hudson explores Hudson river 1609
- Large European companies start settling in areas
1.2.2 European settlements lead to importing of European objects
- Trading system created
- Some European manufacturers made items for Indians or took Indian items and made them into European objects
- Raw materials were important; metal items were valued by what they were made from rather than function
- Indians only started using European goods as they were intended after large colonies were settled
- European goods were valuable to Indians as well as European settlers and improved quality of life
- Some Indian culture shaped itself around European objects / absorbed European culture
- Weapons were much better
- Ofc guns were cool
- Metal blades had much greater impact initially
- Arms race among Indian tribes
- Stabilized after enough European colony settlements (200 years)
- Guns sought after after arms race stabilization
- Policies in place to prevent trade to Indians, but trade happened anyways because of economic incentive
- Beaver hunting and traps
- Beaver pelts were very, very important
- Beaver hunting reshaped political power
- Intertribal and intratribal politics shifted from beaver pelts ### Environmental changes
- Demand for beavers led to overhunting led to regional extinctions
- Didn't impact beaver populations in the long term
- Impacted environment significantly
- Use of land differed between Indians and European settlers
- Land as "resource" (Indian) vs "commodity" (European)
- Indian farming productivity was significant
- Diversity in plants (corn, beans, squash, etc)
- North America lacked farmable animals
- Deforestation and pasture creation for domesticated farm animals by
Europeans
- Restricted Native American lifestyles
- Pigs, Chickens, etc. stole resources away from wild animals ### Disease introduction
- Crap ton of impact in the form of deaths, even in early days of settlement
- Problem worsened from family migrations to North America
- Disease decreased labor output by Natives
- Created many socioeconomic problems
1.3 Conclusion
Native Americans were dynamic and adapted to changing environment
2 Summary of Reading
- Trading in North America was extremely important for both European
settlers and Native Americans
- Trading in North America influenced environment, politics, and social dynamics
- Also disease lmao