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Period: 12,600 BCE to
BEGINNINGS TO EXPLORATION
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476
Dark Ages
Caused by the collapse of the roman empire, the dark ages took place between the empire collapse and the beginning of the Renaissance. The reason its known as the dark ages is for the backwards practices and ways performed at the time, as well as the many records that were lost to history and didn't survive. During this time, warfare, famine, and disease were prevalent .The feudal system also hindered peoples opportunity to improve their way of living, making life difficult for the majority. -
1200
The Aztecs
As one of the last Mesoamerican cultures, the Aztec empire was located in primarily central Mexico.The capital city was Tenochtitlan, but in more modern times, is referred to as Mexico city. The Aztecs performed human sacrifice as it was apart of their religious beliefs. They also had a very strict caste system which consisted of four different social classes; slaves, commoners, nobility and lastly, the emperor and his immediate family, which held supreme power over the rest. -
1300
The Renaissance
Taking place between the 14th-17th century, the Renaissance was the rebirth of all things cultural, artistic, political and scientific. Referred to as "The Renaissance men", Leonardo DaVinci and Michelangelo were both painters, sculptors, and architects. These individuals were very accomplished with their work and in fact both made a huge impact during this era. The invention of the printing press spread literature to masses of Europe, drastically changing the perspective of society as a whole. -
1347
Black Death
Black death, also known as the Bubonic plague was a disease that spread into Europe through rodents that traveled in cargo ships used for trading purposes. Symptoms of the plague were fever, vomiting, diarrhea, and lastly the black boils that would eventually take over the entire body. The Bubonic plague killed one third percentage of the entire population of the Europe, causing multiple conflicts to arise such as the collapse of the Feudal Manor system and the abandonment of several villages. -
1492
Columbian Exchange
Following Columbus’s discovery of the ‘new world’ or the Caribbean islands began the Columbian exchange. The benefits of this trading process was that it introduced new technologies, food,crops, as well as different aspects of culture including religion etc. The downside of this however, introduced new diseases to the Natives, causing a mass genocide . The Columbian exchange is the main reason as to why a significant percentage of Indian nations collapsed while the European nations thrived. -
1493
Caribbean Colonies
While most of the Caribbean colonies thrived off of the production of tobacco and rice farming, sugar was the main crop produced on plantations, as the majority of the islands were covered with sugar cane fields. The main source of labor was through the enslavement of African Americans until the abolition of slavery, which then resulted in the migration of indentured laborers from India and China. These plantations contributed a significant amount to Europe's consumption as well. -
1535
New Spain
After the Spanish conquest of the Aztec empire (1519-1521),the vice-royalty of New Spain was established in the Americas. A great aspect in New Spain was the Encomienda system created by the Spanish crown; a Spanish labor system that granted Spanish encomenderos a number of native laborers who would do favors in forms of labor, goods, taxes and conversion in exchange of the encomenderos protection.It however, resulted in the significant depopulation in Indians from the brutality and diseases. -
English Colonization
One of the first settlements in English colonization was Jamestown, founded in 1607, it is located in present-day Virginia. Their cash crop was tobacco,which aided them in purchasing either food or supplies. In 1620, Puritans arrived into present-day Massachusetts off of a ship known as the Mayflower, the purpose of their arrival was in search of religious freedom. Despite all of this, the British weren't the first to Europeans to discover the new world, as it was initially the vikings. -
Charter Colonies
The charter colonies were one of the three groups that divided the 13 colonies, the three groups being the proprietary colonies and the Royal colonies.The charter colonies included Massachusetts,New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode island and New York, which were governed by a royal charter without direct interference of the crown. The Charter colonies are also established by agreement with the British government, as they were also able to elect their own governor and legislatures. -
Period: to
ENGLISH COLONIAL SOCIETIES
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Chesapeake Colonies
The Chesapeake colonies included Virginia and Maryland.These colonies had a cash crop known as tobacco that helped contribute to the demand for slave labor in the Southern colonies.However tobacco also ruined the soil and new land was constantly needed. Indentured servants were also prevalent in these colonies.Indentured servants were people who signed a contract of indenture requiring them to work for their Chesapeake masters in return for the cost of the Atlantic crossing. -
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious revolution started after William and Mary of Orange overthrew King James II .The reason being that the people feared catholic tyranny and were taking any chance to destroy Britain into becoming an absolute monarchy. The effects of this revolution established that England would have a constitutional monarchy, in which Parliament would a majority of the power. In 1689,Parliament later passed the Bill of rights, which separated and limited the powers of the king and queen. -
Salem Witch Trials
After 3 sick girls named Tituba, Sarah goode, and Sarah Osborne were the first to be accused of practicing witchcraft in Salem, Massachusetts,more and more people had been accused and even executed for practicing witch craft .These trials resulted in 200 people were accused and 20 were executed.Trials were put to an end by governor who's wife had been accused. Eventually the colony realized that the trials were faulty and tried to compensate with the families of those who were convicted
