Near present-day St. Louis stand the remains of Cahokia, a city that around 1100 CE may have been home to more people than London at the time. It's a useful starting point, because Period 1 doesn't begin with Columbus. It begins with the Americas already full of diverse societies, each adapted to its own environment.
Before contact
- In the Southwest, peoples such as the Pueblo farmed maize with irrigation and built permanent towns.
- On the Great Plains, many groups moved with the seasons to hunt.
- In the Northeast and Mississippi River valley, people mixed farming, hunting and fishing, and some built large settlements.
The spread of maize north from Mexico supported bigger, settled populations and more complex societies.
Contact and the Columbian Exchange
In 1492 Columbus reached the Caribbean for Spain. What followed was the Columbian Exchange: maize and potatoes travelled to Europe and Africa; horses, cattle, wheat and sugar cane came to the Americas; and diseases such as smallpox killed a huge share of Native peoples, who had no immunity.
The horse reshaped life on the Plains, where peoples such as the Lakota and Comanche became mounted bison hunters.
The Spanish colonial system
Spain built the largest empire in the Americas. The encomienda system forced Native people to work for colonists. As Native populations collapsed, colonists turned to enslaved Africans. The casta system ranked people by ancestry.
Spaniards argued about all of this. Bartolomé de las Casas condemned the cruelty, and in the Valladolid debate (1550–51) he argued against Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda over whether conquest was justified.
Common mistakes students make
- Treating Native peoples as one group. The course stresses their variety.
- Saying warfare caused most Native deaths. Disease killed far more.
- Starting the story in 1492. Period 1 begins with societies already in place.
- Focusing on England. In this period, Spain is the main colonial power.
Try it
Say each answer before you flip. Then ask: Spanish colonists switched from forced Native labour to enslaved Africans. What changed, and why then?
AP® is a registered trademark of the College Board, which is not affiliated with Braineos and doesn't endorse it.