Chapter 2: Encounters and Colonies

Chapter 2 explains how three vastly different cultures—Native American, European, and African—came to settle in the Americas. Their interactions sometimes benefited each other, and sometimes they did not.

Section 1 discusses the Native American cultures of North America. Archeological evidence suggests that the first people to arrive in North America walked from Asia across a land bridge called Beringia. Others may have come by boat along the Pacific coast. Over time these people, now known as Native Americans, spread across North America. Native Americans developed organized communities that included egalitarian societies, agricultural and trade cooperatives, and even alliances. This section details the cultures of the Southwestern Anasazi, the Moundbuilders of the Ohio Valley, the Mississippians, and the powerful League of the Iroquois.

Section 2 describes the European explorations and their effects on the Americas. In the second half of the 1400s, Spanish and Portuguese explorers sailed west in hopes of finding an ocean passage to the riches of Asia and Africa. What they stumbled upon were the populous lands of the Americas. The Europeans' presence had disastrous results for the Native Americans. The Spanish crushed the Aztec and Inca civilizations, enslaved Native Americans, and brought decimating diseases. In contrast, Europeans profited from the riches they plundered and from the plantations they established in the West Indies and South America. To perform the plantations' backbreaking labor, Europeans enslaved millions of Africans and brought them to the Americas.

Section 3 focuses on the Europeans who built their settlements in the Americas. Unlike the Spanish and French, the English came in large numbers to colonize North America. By 1732, English settlers had established 13 colonies along the Atlantic seaboard. In New England, English Puritans created their own self-government and developed a thriving economy. Northern Europeans inhabited the rich farmlands of the Middle Colonies, and William Penn's promise of religious freedom brought many colonists to Pennsylvania. The Southern Colonies, where most enslaved Africans worked, attracted colonists with their plantation-grown cash crops.

Section 4 describes how struggles between Native Americans and colonists arose over two issues—conflicting values and the colonists' encroachment onto Native American territories. In the Southwest, Native Americans rebelled when Spanish priests attempted to destroy their religion, and they were successful in driving the priests back to Mexico. When Eastern Native Americans rebelled against colonial expansion, they were not as fortunate. After two major defeats, the Native Americans living on the Atlantic seaboard submitted to English control. In North America's interior, the powerful Iroquois held onto their power only as long as the rivalry between Britain and France existed. As the colonies' European and African populations skyrocketed, revivalism and the Great Awakening swept through the colonies. These two religious movements encouraged individual responsibility and inspired Americans to challenge authority, especially in such matters as enslavement and government.