La civilisation américaine

Who discovered America?

- Vickings, 900

-Egyptians , venetians, 400

Branded= marquer au fer rouge

Colombus : first traveler who organized a colony , had fire arms contrarily of the Vikings .

The history is interpreted , multiple point of view, and most of the time interpreted by the winners like Christopher Columbus, the person at the top , who has the power . point of view is about their history , culture , mythology.

Americans insist on THE DATE, like a new beginning for them , 1482, way of ignoring the Indians who where there before, the originals Americans . the American mythology is associated with this European colonization , this particular moment.

Lies my teacher told me p13, 14 proportionally , not same importance of facts in books , like 12 different portrait of CC , we don’t even know exactly from he comes . he went to new land with 90 men and 3 ships , he thought the circumference of earth was much smaller , he thought he was on the other side of India .

First it was the Canary islands , and 33 days after the Bahamas , and West Indies (Jamaica, etc ), belong to the king of Spain , , he takes possession of land and people ; native population, the treatment: Christian salutation . But he knew that this are people not exactly looks like Indians. At the beginning they come from Asia , centuries before.

What CC wanted was spices , gold , slaves ;because the more people you ; powerful you are. CC asked for , and he started the colony , he left 39 persons . when we went back he said to the king that he saw a lot of gold , and that Indians made very good slaves ( who was completely false, dying easily of diseases, and didn’t wanted to obey ) he was fabulating , and so the king finance another voyage with this time 1200 persons and 17 ships .

When they arrived the 39 persons of the beginning were not there anymore , he concluded that the Indians killed them , so he attacked them , and destroyed an entire village.

Every 3 month , Indians had to bring valuable metals , if don’t he punished them with rapes, cutting hand, arm , etc… One of the worst things for Indians were the diseases , no immunity for European microbes , and knew no treatment for . On 54 years they passed from 250 000 to 5 000.

It was easy to make disappear this culture , they were no walls , no houses , and the territory was for everyone , no appurtenance , separation of property not existed , and it was an important aspect for colonization .

They understood each other by what they were not , they saw the differences before everything else , who become most of the time source of conflict , for CC , the Indians had no culture and no religion which was completely wrong .

FIRST COLONY :

at the beginning they were no relation with English , America was colonized by different people at the same time : Portuguese , French ( 1/5 of America was at them), Dutch . English came relatively late . They were afraid by others, always in war in Europe. They tried to find a place where that would not be see . in the 1580’s they signed a peace treaty with French and Spanish , so , where more men available for going in new land , and stop to spend money for war , but for colony .

Could go to America and not be attacked by others . the first british attempt was in 1585 with sir Walter Raleigh, 104 persons to settle in north america .

Small island in north Carolina , they decided to set the colony , was not fertile and a lot of diseases , bad weather, the one who not died back to England: failure

Another group in 1604 Chesapeake Bay with king James I , in Virginia , they sent 3 ships with a private company: Virginia company of north and south . gave the permission to be able to go and colonize .

People who bought shares made more money later , in 1607 . Because 80% died from disease .

Also in 1622 Virginia company transported 10 000 persons from England and 80% died again , showing the difficult conditions of being there . One of the major reason for that was food , not enough food .

Jamestown :

adventurers want to get rich quick. Looking for gold spices , things who have value in Europe , ignored problem of food , died because they were hungry. Captain John Smith , was leader for a while , tough man, is going to change things. Forced them to go to work and develop colony , was very angry with him, did not like the situation . Indians try to help them during the winter , and they also took food by force from the Indians : started having serious conflicts between the 2 people.

The Native Americans had a great leader named Powhatan : known like a charismatic leader , his soldiers captured John Smith and kept him prisoner . They were going to kill him for an Indian ritual , but the daughter of Powhatan : Pocahontas threw herself on him , and ask to safe his life.

P had 9 or 10 years old and JS 60 , her father wanted to make peace with English , but John Smith hostilities doesn’t stop after that . She married an Englishman, went in England , died of diseases, because of her immune system.

At the beginning the return of money for the Virginia company was very small , but they found a new product , tobacco. Used and planted in West Indies , was becoming fashionable, and it was an expensive product , the difference between the sell price and the cost production was 1/5. Brought real profits for colonialists , so they needed more land and workers , and had to go in the Indians territories , in the middle lands , wanted more and more land to plant tobacco. So it not saved Virginia Company because it boom comes late , they finished bankrupted.

King James I terminate the license of Virg. Company in 1624 .

CM 2 CIVILISATION

They realized that the key of English development was people: workers , administrators there was not enough . Some people want to come work in America , but poor, pay the ticket for them , with a 7 years contract, not payed during this timenad few people could possess land , his own property in Europe , but with America , it came possible. They just had some clothes , food and equipments who were paid by V Company .

Conditions are very hard , 80% of them died during this period , but the ones who survived received their land ( indentured servants ) . they manage to put people rapidly in the colony instead of French Spanish, Etc

They were 2 categories : the voluntaries who signed and people take by forced there and also the

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