PART 1: Transformations of North America

By asdfg432
  • 1450

    Peasant society in Europe

    • most Europeans were farmworkers
    • survival meant constant labor
    • land determined status
    • many peasants died from disease or malnourishment
    • Europe was isolated from other civilizations
  • 1450

    West African traders carried large amounts of gold over the Sahara

    • constituted of all the gold in circulation in Europe, North Africa, and Asia
  • Period: 1450 to

    CHAPTER 1: Colliding Worlds

  • 1500

    Height of the Aztec Empire

    • population of around 250,000
    • capital was Tenochtitlán
  • 1517

    Martin Luther condemns the Catholic Church

    • Ninety-Five Theses criticizes the Church's corrupt practices
    • translated the Bible for the common people
    • starts the Protestant Reformation
  • 1519

    Europeans first encounter Tenochtitlán

    • Europeans were surprised
    • cities in Europe were small compared to Tenochtitlán
  • 1519

    Hernán Cortés conquers Aztec Empire

    • disease and superior technology contributed to Cortés' victory
  • Period: 1521 to

    CHAPTER 2: American Experiments

  • 1532

    Francisco Pizarro vanquishes Incas

    • seized enormous wealth
    • before war, half of population had already died from disease
    • Spain became master of wealth and population
  • 1536

    Calvin established a rigorous Protestant regime

    • preached idea of predestination
    • Institutes of the Christian Religion depicted God as an absolute sovereign
    • stressed human weakness and God's omnipotence
  • 1540

    Hernando de Soto encounters a Mississippian community

    • network of towns built around fields of maize
    • the spread of maize led to the rapid development of Native American culture