Alperovich Moses Samuilovich, Slezkin Lev Yurievich ::: History of Latin America (from ancient times to the beginning of the 20th century)
At the turn of the XV-XVI centuries. the original process of development of the peoples of America was interrupted by the European conquerors-conquistadors. The conquest and colonization of America, which had such fatal consequences for its indigenous population, were due to the complex socio-economic processes that took place in European society.
The development of industry and trade, the emergence of the bourgeois class, the formation of capitalist relations in the depths of the feudal system caused at the end of the 15th - beginning of the 16th century. in the countries of Western Europe, the desire to search for new trade routes, capture the fabulous wealth of East and South Asia. (for this purpose, sea expeditions set off one after another on a long and dangerous voyage, equipped mainly by Spain and Portugal. The role of these powers in the overseas expansion of the 15th-16th centuries was determined not only by their geographical position, but also by the presence of numerous ruined nobility, which, after completion reconquista did not find any use for itself. Seeing no possibility of enrichment at home, the "unemployed" nobles hoped to find innumerable treasures overseas. "... Gold was that magical new one that drove the Spaniards across the Atlantic Ocean to America, - noted Engels, - gold - this is what the white man first demanded, as soon as he set foot on the newly opened shore.
In early August 1492, a flotilla under the command of the Genoese Christopher Columbus (caravels "Santa Maria", "Pinta" and "Nina"), equipped with the assistance and financial assistance of the Spanish crown, left the Andalusian port of Paloe in a westerly direction and after a long voyage in the Atlantic Ocean on October 12 reached the island, which was given the name of San Salvador (the locals called it Guanahani). This marked the beginning of regular communications between America and the rest of the world.
As a result of the travels of Columbus and other navigators (the Spaniards Alonso de Ojeda, Vicente Pinson, Rodrigo de Bastidas, the Portuguese Pedro Hlvarish Cabral) by the beginning of the 16th century. the central part of the Bahamas archipelago, the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Jamaica) and most of the Lesser Antilles (from the Virgin to Dominica), Trinidad and a number of small islands in the Caribbean were discovered; the northern and a significant part of the eastern coast of South America, most of the Atlantic coast of Central America were surveyed. Back in 1494, Spain and Portugal signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, which delimited the areas of their colonial expansion. The lands lying to the west of the conditional demarcation line, which ran at a distance of 370 leagues (over 2 thousand km) west of the Cape Verde Islands, were considered Spanish; territories located east of this line were recognized as Portuguese.
Adventurers, impoverished nobles, hired soldiers, and criminals rushed across the ocean from the Iberian Peninsula in pursuit of easy money. Through deceit and violence, the conquistadors seized the lands of the local population and declared them the possessions of Spain or Portugal. According to the figurative expression of the eyewitness Las Casas, "they walked with a cross in their hand and an insatiable thirst for gold in their hearts."
In 1492, Columbus founded the first colony of Navidad (Christmas) on the island of Haiti, which he called "La Isla Española" (Spanish Island). Four years later, the city of Santo Domingo was founded here, which became a springboard for the subsequent conquest of the entire island and the subjugation of its indigenous inhabitants. In 1508-1509. Spanish conquistadors began to colonize Puerto Rico, Jamaica and the Isthmus of Panama. In 1511, Diego de Velasquez's detachment landed in Cuba and began its conquest.
By plundering, enslaving and exploiting the Indians, the invaders brutally suppressed any attempt at resistance. They barbarously destroyed and destroyed entire cities and villages, and brutally dealt with their inhabitants. Las Casas, who personally observed the bloody "exploits" of the conquistadors, said that they hanged and drowned the Indians, cut them to pieces with swords, burned them alive, roasted them over low heat, poisoned them with dogs, not even sparing the elderly, women and children. In search of treasures, the conquerors sought to capture more and more new lands. “Gold,” Columbus wrote to the royal couple from Jamaica in 1503, “is perfection. Gold creates treasures, and whoever owns it can do whatever he wants, and is even able to bring human souls into paradise.
In 1513, Vasco Nunez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama from north to south and reached the Pacific coast, and Juan Ponce de Leon discovered the Florida peninsula, which became the first Spanish possession in North America. In 1516, the expedition of Juan Diaz de Solis explored the basin of the Rio de la Plata (“Silver River”) 3. A year later, the Yucatan Peninsula was discovered, and soon Juan de Grijalva explored the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
In 1519, the Spaniards, who arrived from Cuba under the command of Hernan Cortes, landed on the southwestern shore of this bay and founded the city of Veracruz. Using the discontent of the tribes oppressed by the Aztecs and hostile to them, they managed to attract the latter to their side. With their help, the conquerors occupied the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, and Motekuhsoma II and a number of rulers subject to him were captured by deceit. From the captives, as well as from the leaders and elders who remained at large, Cortes began to demand gold. “He was not a hero, not a knight, but the leader of a band of robbers,” wrote Heinrich Heine4 about him.
Outraged by the treachery and greed of the invaders, the population of Tenochtitlan in May 1520 raised an uprising and expelled them. During the stampede, more than half of the Cortes detachment died. However, the survivors took refuge in Tlaxcala, which has long been a sworn enemy of the Aztecs. Playing on these contradictions, the conquistadors gradually conquered the tribes that lived between the Anahuac Valley and the Gulf of Mexico, and then the villages located in the valley itself. Having thus isolated Tenochtitlan, they, with the assistance of the allied Indian tribes, despite the desperate resistance of the defenders of the capital, led by the young Cuautemoc (nephew of Motekuhsoma II), in August 1521 captured the city, almost completely destroyed during bloody battles. Its ruins were set on fire.
By the end of the 20s of the XVI century. the Spaniards captured a vast territory stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean, as well as most of Central America. In the future, the colonialists continued their advance to the south (Yucatan) and north (up to the basin of the Colorado and Rio Grande del Norte, Texas and California).
After the invasion of Mexico and Central America, detachments of conquistadors poured into the South American mainland. From 1530, the Portuguese began a more or less systematic colonization of Brazil, from where they began to export the valuable pau-brasil wood (from which the country's name comes). In the first half of the 30s of the XVI century. The Spaniards, led by Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro, conquered Peru, destroying the Inca civilization. The beginning of the conquest of the state of Tahuantinsuyu was a bloody massacre in the city of Cajamarca on November 16, 1532.
On that day, Atahualpa arrived in Cajamarca, at the invitation of Pizarro, accompanied by a magnificent retinue. At the meeting, according to a predetermined plan, the monk Vicente de Valverde read to the Inca ruler in Spanish the text of the Requerimiento, a document containing a list of standard requirements that were invariably presented to the Indians during the conquest. Declaring that Pizarro was acting on behalf of the King of Spain, who had received the land of the Incas as a gift from the Pope, Valverde suggested that Atahualpa accept Christianity and recognize himself as a vassal of Emperor Charles V. When the sense of the speech he heard in an incomprehensible language reached the astonished Sapa Inca, he resolutely rejected the harassment aliens, and the Gospel, handed to him by a monk to confirm his words, he threw to the ground.
At a signal from Valverde, the soldiers who were present at the scene described attacked the unsuspecting Indians and, opening fire on them, killed hundreds of unarmed people. Atahualpa himself was taken prisoner. For his release, Pizarro demanded a huge ransom. Within a few months, the Incas collected the amount of gold and silver promised to the Spaniards. The whole room was filled with the delivered gold, and the other two with silver. But this did not save the unfortunate Sapa Inca, who was soon put on trial on charges of "mutiny" against the Spanish monarch and strangled.
The capture and death of the supreme ruler had a demoralizing effect on his subjects. In addition, they were absorbed by internal strife: with the same bitterness, the internecine war between the adherents of Huascar and Atahualpa continued. Giving preference to the "legitimate" dynasty, Pizarro enlisted the support of its supporters and a year after the tragic events in Cajamarca entered the capital of Cusco. After that, the detachments sent by him subjugated the northern regions of the Inca state (Quito).
Moving from Peru to the south, the conquerors led by Almagro invaded in 1535-1537. within the borders of the country they called Chile. However, having encountered stubborn resistance from the brave Mapuche (whom the Spaniards began to call Araucans) and not finding the expected precious metals and other treasures, the conquistadors returned to Cusco. There, Almagro tried to challenge the rights granted by King Pizarro, but in the fight against the latter he was defeated and was executed.
At the same time, Pedro de Mendoza began to colonize the Rio de la Plata. In 1536, he founded the settlement of Puerto de Santa Maria de Buenos Aires (Port of Our Lady of the Good Winds) on the western shore of the bay. But Buenos Aires and other Spanish strongholds on the Atlantic coast and at the mouth of the Parana and Uruguay were constantly attacked by warlike Indian tribes. Therefore, the center of Spanish possessions in this area soon moved deep into the continent, to the north. From the beginning of the 40s, Asuncion, founded in 1537 at the confluence of the river, became a springboard for the further capture and consolidation of land in the Rio de la Plata basin. Pilcomayo in Paraguay. However, due to the lack of great natural wealth and significant labor reserves there, as well as due to the geographical location of this area, the conquistadors were not economically interested in its development. As a result, few Spaniards came there, and even they usually did not bring their families. In 1617, the vast "province of Rio de la Plata" was divided. Its southern part retained its former name. The lands located to the north of the confluence of Paraguay with Parana, and the region of Guaira, stood out as an independent "province of Guaira", and soon became known as the "province of Paraguay".
Numerous detachments of European conquerors also rushed to the northern part of South America, where, according to their ideas, the legendary country of El Dorado was located. The German bankers Welsers participated in financing these expeditions, having received from their debtor Emperor Charles V (as King of Spain who bore the name of Charles I) the right to colonize the southern coast caribbean. Part of it between the peninsulas of Paria and Guajira was called Venezuela (“little Venice”) 2. In search of El Dorado, Spanish expeditions and detachments of German mercenaries penetrated in the 30s of the 16th century. in the valleys of the Orinoco and Magdalena rivers. In 1538 they reached the plateau of Cundinamarca, near Bogota. After the rights of the Welsers were annulled in 1545, the Spanish colonization of the Caribbean coast intensified significantly.
In the early 40s, Francisco de Orellana reached the river. Amazon and descended along its course to the Atlantic Ocean. Almost simultaneously, the Spaniards, led by Pedro de Valdivia, a participant in the conquest of Peru, undertook a new campaign in Chile, but by the beginning of the 50s they were able to capture only the northern and central part of the country. In the river valley Mapocho they founded the city of Santiago, on the coast of Coquimbo Bay - La Serena, and their main stronghold in the conquest of the territory south of the river. Bio-Bio became Concepción, built at its mouth. The penetration of the Spanish and Portuguese conquistadors into the interior of America continued into the second half of the 16th century, and the colonization of some areas (for example, southern Chile and northern Mexico) dragged on for a much longer period.
The defeat suffered by the Indian peoples in the clash with the European conquerors was due to many reasons. Chief among them is the lack of unity among the Indians. The tribes subject to the Aztecs, Mayans, Incas at a critical moment not only did not come to their aid, but took advantage of the situation to settle old scores with their enslavers. However, having turned out to be a tool in the hands of the conquistadors, at the same time, sooner or later they themselves became their victims. A significant factor contributing to the success of the conquest was the military-technical superiority of the Spaniards and the Portuguese. Of considerable importance was the presence of sharp social contradictions in the emerging public entities American Indians, where the process of social differentiation has already gone far enough.
The vast and rich lands of the New World, along with the Pyrenean states, were also claimed by other European powers - England, France, Holland. They unsuccessfully tried to capture various territories in South and Central America, as well as many islands of the West Indies. The achievement of this goal was facilitated by the piracy activities of filibusters and buccaneers, who robbed Spanish and Portuguese merchant ships and attacked the American colonies of Spain and Portugal. In 1578, the English navigator Francis Drake, a typical "gentleman of fortune", reached the coast of South America in the Rio de la Plata region and passed through the Strait of Magellan into the Pacific Ocean. Considering that the overseas possessions were in danger, the Spanish government equipped and sent a huge squadron to the shores of England. However, this "Invincible Armada" was defeated in 1588, which led to the weakening of the naval power of Spain. Soon the British expedition of Walter Raleigh sailed to the northern coast of South America. In search of the fabulous El Dorado, she entered the mouth of the Orinoco and moved 400 km up the river. In the XVI-XVII centuries. attacks on the Spanish colonies in America were carried out by English pirates John Hawkins, Thomas Cavendish, Henry Morgan, their Dutch "colleagues" Ioris Spielbergen, Piet Hein and others.
Brazil was also a victim of pirates - the British and French, especially during the period when, in connection with the accession of the Spanish branch of the Habsburg dynasty in Portugal, this Portuguese colony was included in the colonial empire of Spain (1581 -1640). Part of Brazil was captured and held for a quarter of a century (1630-1654) by Holland.
Despite all the attempts of powerful rivals to deprive the Spaniards and the Portuguese of the colonial monopoly, the clash of interests of the two largest states - England and France, which contested the world championship, contributed to the preservation of the weaker Spain and Portugal of most of their American possessions. With the exception of small Guiana, divided between England, France and Holland, as well as the Mosquito Coast (east coast of Nicaragua) and Belize (southeast Yucatan) - objects of English colonization, South and Central America until the beginning of the 19th century. continued to be under Spanish and Portuguese rule.
Only in the West Indies, for which during the XVI-XVIII centuries. England, France, Holland and Spain fought fiercely (moreover, many islands repeatedly passed from one power to another), the positions of the Spanish colonialists were significantly weakened. TO late XVIII- the beginning of the XIX century. they only managed to hold on to Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the eastern half of Haiti (Santo Domingo). According to the Ryswick Peace Treaty of 1697, Spain had to cede the western half of this island to France, which founded a colony here, which they began to call ??? (in traditional Russian transcription - St. Domingo). The French also captured (back in 1635) Guadeloupe and Martinique. Jamaica, most of the Lesser Antilles (St. Kitts, Nevis, Antigua, Montserrat, St. Vincent, Barbados, Grenada, etc.), the Bahamas and Bermuda archipelagos passed in the 17th century. to England. Its rights to many islands belonging to the Lesser Antilles group were finally secured by the Treaty of Versailles in 1783. In 1797, the British captured the Spanish island of Trinidad, located off the northeast coast of Venezuela. V early XIX v. they achieved official recognition of their claims to the island of Tobago, which had actually been in their hands (with some interruptions) since 1580.
Curacao, Aruba, Bonaire and other islands came under Dutch rule. The largest of the Virgin Islands (St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John), originally owned by Spain, and then the object of the struggle between England, France and Holland, in the 30-50s of the XVIII century. Bought by Denmark.
The discovery and colonization by Europeans of the American continent, where pre-feudal relations had previously reigned supreme, objectively contributed to the development of a historically more progressive social system there. Feudal in nature, it was distinguished by a significant originality, as it took shape under the specific conditions of the colonial regime and under the certain influence of certain socio-economic institutions that existed in America before the start of its conquest.
At the same time, these events were of great world-historical significance for accelerating the development of capitalism in Europe and drawing vast territories of the New World into its orbit. “The discovery of America and the sea route around Africa created a new field of activity for the rising bourgeoisie. The East Indian and Chinese markets, the colonization of America, the exchange with the colonies, the increase in the number of means of exchange and goods in general, gave an impetus hitherto unheard of to trade, navigation, and industry, and thus caused the rapid development of the revolutionary element in the disintegrating feudal society. The discovery of America prepared the creation of a world market, which "caused a colossal development of trade, navigation and means of overland communication."
However, the conquistadors were not inspired by the ideas of social progress: their main goal was to seize land, labor and treasures. They ruthlessly destroyed the ancient civilizations created by the indigenous population of America, barbarously destroyed the forms of economic life, social structure, and original culture that reached the New World among some peoples. high level development.
LNU them. Taras Shevchenko
FACULTY OF NATURAL SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY
on the course "Physical geography of continents and oceans"
on the topic: "HISTORY OF DISCOVERY AND RESEARCH OF NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA"
Performed:
3rd year student of the specialty "geography"
Alexandrova Valeria
Checked:
Candidate of Sciences, Doctor of Pediatric Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Geography
Tregubenko E.N.
Lugansk 2014
Introduction
Spanish colonization of the Americas
conclusions
Bibliography
Introduction
America - part of the world in the western hemisphere of the Earth, which includes 2 continents - North America and South America, as well as the adjacent islands and Greenland. America is considered to be all the lands west of the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific coast. The total area is 44,485 million km2.
America was originally called the "New World". This name is currently used by biologists. The name "New World" is given by the title of Amerigo Vespucci's book "Mundus Novus". Cartographer Martin Waldseemüller mapped a new part of the world with the Latin name "Americus", which he then changed to the feminine - "America", since the rest of the world is feminine. (Africa, Asia and Europe). At first, only South America was understood as America, in 1541 this name spread to both continents.
America was settled in ancient times by migrants from Eurasia. Having settled in the spaces of both continents, they gave rise to the indigenous population - American Indians, Aleuts and Eskimos. In relative isolation from the rest of the world, the Indians went the same socio-historical path as other peoples - from primitive communities to early civilizations (in Mesoamerica and the Andes), created a rich and unique culture.
The part of the world inhabited more than 20 thousand years ago by Indians, Eskimos and Aleuts was unknown to Europeans until the 8th century, when the Irish Saint Brendan made a legendary voyage to the shores of modern Canada. The first historically reliable visit to the shores of America was made by the Vikings, who wintered around 1000 on the island of Newfoundland. The first European colony in America was the Norman settlement in Greenland, which existed from 986 to 1408.
The official date of the discovery of America is October 12, 1492, when the expedition of Christopher Columbus, heading towards India, came across one of the Bahamas.
The Spaniards founded the oldest existing colony in America in 1496 on the island of Haiti (now Santo Domingo). The colonies in America were also acquired by Portugal (since 1500), France (since 1608), Great Britain (since 1620), the Netherlands (since 1609), Denmark (reconstruction of a colony on Greenland since 1721), Russia (development of Alaska since 1784).
Discovery of America as part of the world
America was discovered by Europeans long before Columbus. According to some historical data, America was discovered by ancient navigators (Phoenicians), as well as in the middle of the first millennium AD. - by the Chinese. However, the most reliable information is about the discovery of America by the Vikings (Normans). At the end of the 10th century, the Vikings Bjarni Herjulfson and Leif Eriksson discovered Helluland ("stone land"), Markland ("forest land") and Vinland ("vineyard land"), which are now identified with the Labrador Peninsula. There is evidence that in the 15th century. The American continent was reached by Bristol sailors and Biscay fishermen, who named it Fr. Brazil. However, all these voyages did not lead to the real discovery of America, i.e. identifying America as a continent and establishing relations between it and Europe.
America was finally discovered by Europeans in the 15th century. It was then that ideas spread in Europe that the earth was round and that it was possible to reach China and India by the western route (that is, by crossing the Atlantic Ocean). At the same time, it was believed that such a path is much shorter than the eastern one. Since control over the South Atlantic was in the hands of the Portuguese (according to the Alcasovas agreements reached in 1479), Spain, who wanted to establish direct contacts with the countries of the East, accepted the proposal of the Genoese navigator Columbus to organize an expedition to the west. The honor of discovering America rightly belongs to Columbus.
Christopher Columbus was from Genoa. He received his education at Pavip University; his favorite sciences were geography, geometry and astronomy. WITH early years he began to take part in sea expeditions and visited almost all the then known seas. He married the daughter of a Portuguese sailor, of whom much geographical maps and notes from the time of Henry the Navigator. Columbus carefully studied them. He also thought of looking sea route to India, but not past Africa, but directly across the Atlantic ("Western") ocean. Columbus was one of those who read the writings of ancient philosophers and geographers and found in them thoughts about the sphericity of the Earth (especially Eratosthenes and Ptolemy). Together with some scientists, he believed that. leaving Europe for the west. it will be possible to reach the eastern shores of Asia, where India and China lay. Columbus did not even suspect that on this path he would meet a whole huge mainland, unknown to Europeans.
August 1492, with a large gathering of mourners, Columbus left the harbor of Palos (in Andalusia) on three small ships with one hundred and twenty sailors; setting off on a long and dangerous voyage, the crews confessed and took communion the day before. Before the Canary Islands, the sailors sailed quite calmly, because this path was already known, but then they found themselves in a boundless ocean. As the ships with a fair wind rushed farther and farther, the sailors began to fall into despondency and more than once raised a grumble against their admiral. But Columbus, thanks to the unchanging firmness of spirit, knew how to pacify the recalcitrant and keep them hopeful. Meanwhile, various signs appeared, foreshadowing the proximity of the earth: unknown birds flew in, tree branches floated from the west. Finally, after a six-week voyage, one night, lights were noticed from the leading ship in the distance. There was a cry: "Earth, earth!" The sailors hugged each other, wept for joy and sang thanksgiving hymns. When the sun rose, a picturesque green island, covered with dense vegetation, opened up before them. Columbus in full dress admiral's costume, with a sword in one hand, with a banner in the other, landed on the shore and declared this land the possession of the Spanish crown and forced his companions to swear allegiance to himself as the royal governor. Meanwhile, the natives fled to the shore. Completely naked, red-skinned, beardless, the islanders looked with surprise at the white bearded people covered with clothes. They called their island Gwashgani, but Columbus gave it the name San Salvador (that is, the Savior); it belongs to the group of the Bahamas, or Lucayan Islands. The natives turned out to be peaceful, good-natured savages. Noticing the greed of the newcomers for the golden rings that they had in their ears and nose, they indicated by signs that to the south lay a land abounding in gold. Columbus went further and discovered the shores of the large island of Cuba, which he mistook for the mainland, precisely for the eastern coast of Asia (hence the erroneous name of the American natives - the Indians). From here he turned east and landed on the island of Haiti.
The Spaniards everywhere met the same savages who willingly exchanged their gold plaques for glass beads and other beautiful trinkets and, when asked about gold, constantly pointed to the south. On the island of Haiti, called Hispaniola (Little Spain), Columbus built a fortress. On the way back, he almost died from a storm. The ships landed in the same harbor of Palos. Everywhere in Spain on the way to royal court The people greeted Columbus with delight. Ferdinand and Isabella received him very kindly. The news of the discovery of the New World quickly spread, and many hunters came to go there with Columbus. He undertook three more voyages to America.
During his first trip (August 3, 1492 - March 15, 1493), Columbus crossed the Atlantic Ocean and reached the island of Guanahani (modern Watling), one of the Bahamas, then Columbus discovered the islands of Cuba and Haiti. According to the Spanish-Portuguese agreement concluded on June 7, 1493 in Tordesillas, a new delimitation of spheres of influence in the Atlantic was carried out: a line 2200 km west of the Azores became the border; all lands to the east of this line were recognized as the possession of Portugal, all lands to the west - to Spain.
As a result of the second trip of Columbus (September 25, 1493 - June 11, 1496), the Windward (Dominica, Montserrat, Antigua, Nevis, St. Christopher) and the Virgin Islands, the island of Puerto Rico and Jamaica were discovered.
In 1497, England entered into rivalry with Spain, trying to find a northwestern route to Asia: the Genoese Giovanni Caboto, having sailed under the English flag (May-August 1497), discovered Fr. Newfoundland and, possibly, approached the North American coast (Labrador and Nova Scotia Peninsulas); the next year he again undertook an expedition to the northwest with his son Sebastian. So the British began to lay the foundations of their dominance in North America.
The third voyage of Columbus (May 30, 1498 - November 1500) led to the discovery of about. Trinidad and the mouth of the Orinoco; On August 5, 1498, he landed on the coast of South America (Paria peninsula). In 1499 the Spaniards reached the coast of Guiana and Venezuela (A. de Ojeda) and discovered Brazil and the mouth of the Amazon (V. Ya. Pinson). In 1500 the Portuguese P.A. Cabral was carried by a storm to the shores of Brazil, which he mistook for an island and named Vera Cruz ("True Cross"). During his last (fourth) journey (May 9, 1502 - November 7, 1504), Columbus discovered Central America, passing along the coast of Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama to the Gulf of Darien.
In 1501-1504 A. Vespucci, under the Portuguese flag, explored the Brazilian coast to Cape Cananea and put forward the hypothesis that the lands discovered by Columbus were not China and India, but a new mainland; This hypothesis was confirmed during the first world travel F. Magellan; the name America was assigned to the new continent (on behalf of Vespucci - Amerigo).
Development, colonization and exploration of America
After the discovery of America as part of the world, Europeans began to actively colonize and develop new territories. America was not colonized by all the states of Europe, but only by Spain (Central and South America), Portugal (South America), France (North America), Great Britain (North America), Russia (Alaska, California) and Holland.
English colonization of America
In the 17-18 centuries. Great Britain will colonize and develop almost the entire Atlantic coast North America. In 1607
French colonization of the Americas
French colonization of America begins in the 16th
During this period of colonization, the French founded numerous cities, including Quebec.
Spanish
Spanish colonization (conquista, conquista) began with the discovery by the Spanish navigator Columbus
Portuguese colonization of the Americas
As mentioned above, only modern Brazil, or the eastern part of South America, was in the possession of Portugal. The period of Portuguese colonization of the mainland spanned over 300 years since the discovery of Brazil on April 22
Dutch colonization of the Americas
The sphere of influence of Holland in America included only the region on the territory of the eastern coast of North America, which stretched from 38 to 45 degrees north latitude (the so-called New Netherland), as well as the territory of the modern state of Suriname. The New Netherland lasted only from 1614 to 1674. And Suriname in 1667 England
Swedish colonization of the Americas
New Sweden - Swedish colony
Russian colonization of America (Russian America)
Russian America - the totality of possessions Russian Empire in North America
The first Russians who discovered Alaska (America) from Siberia were the expedition of Semyon Dezhnev
In parallel with the colonization and development of America, activities were also carried out to study and study the nature, climate, relief, and other Americas. In the study of America in different time many travelers, scientists and researchers took part: H. Columbus, F. Magellan, Amerigo Vespucci, J. Cook, D. Cabot, A. Humboldt, J. Cartier, J. Verrazano, E. Soto, V. Bering, O. Kotzebue, J. Bussingault, J. Kane, R. Piri and others.
north south america colonization
conclusions
America as part of the world was discovered a little more than 500 years ago, and even less developed and colonized. But, despite this, America has experienced the richest history of its discovery and development, perhaps even richer than the history of Eurasia or Africa. For several centuries, this part of the world was actively settled and studied by Europeans, hoping to receive any dividends from this in the future.
Bibliography
1. America
Ashkinazi L.A., Gainer M.L. America Without Complexes: Sociological Studies, 2010
Geevsky I.A., Setunsky N.K. American Mosaic. M.: Politizdat, 1995. - 445 p.,
Magidovich I.P. History of discovery and exploration of North America. - M.: Geografgiz, 1962.
Magidovich I.P. History of discovery and exploration of Central and South America. - M.: Thought, 1963.
John Lloyd and John Mitchinson. The book of general delusions. - Phantom Press, 2009.
Talakh V.N.
The history of the United States, as taught in schools and universities, usually begins either with the voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492 or with the prehistory of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, and ends with the events of recent decades.
The indigenous population lived in what is now the United States until the arrival of European colonists, mostly from England, around the 1600s. By the 1770s, the Thirteen British Colonies along the Atlantic coast of North America had over two and a half million people. The colonies prospered, grew, and developed their own autonomous legal and political systems. The British Parliament sought to assert its power over the colonies by imposing ever new taxes, which the Americans considered unconstitutional because they were not represented in Parliament. The escalation of conflicts in April 1775 resulted in a full-scale war, and on July 4, 1776, the American colonies declared independence, and became the United States of America.
With the huge military and financial assistance of France and the competent leadership of General George Washington, the American rebels won the war for independence, and in 1783 a peace treaty was signed. During and after the war, the 13 states were united by the Articles of Confederation, which established a weak federal government. When this system became ineffective, the US Constitution was adopted in 1789, and later the Bill of Rights was included in it. Washington became the first president and Alexander Hamilton the financial adviser. The First Party System arose - two national parties arose around a dispute about support or resistance to Hamilton's policies. During the presidency of Thomas Jefferson, the United States bought Louisiana from France, doubling the territory. Second and last war with Great Britain was conducted in 1812, its result was the cessation of support by the European powers for the attacks of the Indians on the North American settlers.
With the sponsorship of the Jeffersonian and Jacksonian Democrats, the American nation began to occupy the lands of Louisiana, reaching as far as California and Oregon. The expansion was driven by the discovery of vast amounts of inexpensive land for farmers and slave owners, and was accompanied by violence against the native population and a growing difference between North and South regarding the institution of slavery. By 1804, slavery had been abolished in all states north of the Mason-Dixon Line, but flourished in the southern states thanks to the great demand for cotton.
After 1820, a series of compromises delayed the issue of slavery. In the mid-1850s, a new Republican Party took over in the North and promised to stop the spread of slavery. When Republican Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election, eleven southern states seceded from the United States and formed the Confederacy in 1861. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), the army of the North, under the command of General Ullis Grant, defeated the forces of the south, commanded by Robert E. Lee. The union was preserved, and slavery was abolished. During the era of Reconstruction of the South (1863-1877), the US expanded the rights of freedmen, the national government was strengthened, and the 14th amendment to the constitution was adopted, which recognized the equality of all US citizens. Reconstruction was completed in 1877, but after the withdrawal of troops, a number of states enacted laws to limit the rights of blacks, their segregation and oppression, collectively known as the Jim Crow Laws. Most blacks remained dissatisfied with their position until the 2nd half of the 20th century.
At the turn of the 20th century, with the explosion of entrepreneurship in the North and the arrival of millions of workers and farmers from Europe, the US became the world's leading industrial power. The construction of the national railroad network was completed, and mining and construction of factories began in the Northeast and Midwest. Mass dissatisfaction with corruption, inefficiency and traditional politics led to the era of Progressivism (1890-1920s), during which many political and social reforms were carried out. In 1909, the 16th Amendment to the constitution established a single national income tax, in 1912 the 17th Amendment introduced direct election of senators, and in 1920 the 19th Amendment guaranteed women's suffrage.
Initially neutral, in the First World War in 1917 the United States declared war on Germany and contributed to the victory of the Entente. After the prosperous 1920s, the Stock Market Crash of 1929 began the decade of the Great Depression. Democratic President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ended the Republican dominance of the political arena and, by launching the New Deal, saved the country's economy. Modern American liberalism was laid down, social security was established, the minimum wage was introduced, and relief for the unemployed was introduced. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into the Second World War. world war. The United States made a significant contribution to the victory over Hitler's Germany and, especially, over Imperial Japan in the Pacific, where atomic bombs were first used.
After the end of the Second World War between the USSR and the USA began cold war, which resulted in an arms race, a space race, proxy wars and propaganda campaigns. The US staked on the policy of containment of communism, relying on Western Europe and Japan. To stop the spread of communism, the US also intervened in the Korean and Vietnam Wars. In the 1960s, there were active movements for civil rights demanding equal rights for African Americans.
The Cold War ended in 1991 with the collapse of the USSR, and the United States became the only superpower in the world. Al-Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001 in the United States led to US intervention in the Middle East, incursions into Afghanistan and Iraq. In 2008, the United States experienced the worst crisis since the Great Depression, and in the 2010s it emerged from it and began slow economic growth.
Pre-Columbian America
It is not completely known how and when the Native Americans settled in America and the territory of the modern United States. The prevailing theory today suggests that humans migrated from Eurasia through the then-existing land corridor between Chukotka and Alaska, called Beringia. Migration began about 30 thousand years ago and stopped about 10 thousand years ago, when the end ice age led to sea level rise and the land corridor disappeared. These early inhabitants, called Paleo-Americans, soon spread throughout the Americas and split into many peoples.
The pre-Columbian period begins with the appearance of the first people in America and ends with the beginning of the active influence of Europeans on the American continent. Although Columbus technically made his voyages between 1492 and 1504, significant European influences on American history began decades and even centuries after Columbus's first landing.
colonial period
After a period of exploration by the great European nations, the colonization of the Americas began. The first successful English settlement was established in 1607. Europeans brought horses, cattle and pigs to America, and exported turkeys, corn, potatoes, pumpkins, tobacco and beans. Many explorers and early settlers died from local diseases, but the impact of European diseases on the indigenous population, especially smallpox and measles, was much stronger. Due to their lack of immunity from imported diseases, large numbers of Native Americans died in epidemics before the founding of major European colonies.
Spanish, Dutch and French colonization
The Spaniards were the first Europeans to visit what is now the United States. Christopher Columbus during the Second Expedition, November 19, 1493 landed on Puerto Rico, Juan Ponce de Leon reached Florida in 1513. Spanish expeditions quickly reached the Appalachians, Mississippi, Grand Canyon and the Great Plains. In 1540, Hernando de Soto led an extensive expedition into what is now the Southwestern United States. That same year, Francisco Vazquez de Coronado explored Arizona and Kansas. Small Spanish settlements later became large cities: San Antonio in Texas, Albuquerque in New Mexico, Tucson in Arizona, Los Angeles and San Francisco in California.
The New Netherland occupied the Hudson River Valley and was centered on present-day New York. The Dutch traded furs with the Indians in the north, preached Calvinism, and founded the Reformed Church in America. Despite the fact that the colony passed to Great Britain in 1664, the Dutch left a rich legacy in American cultural and political life. In culture, this is a secular breadth of views, mercantile pragmatism in cities, rural local traditionalism and religious tolerance. Notable Dutch Americans included Martin Van Buren, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Eleanor Roosevelt.
New France existed from 1534 to 1763. The first French settlements were established in Quebec, Acadia and Louisiana. Many French villages were located along the Mississippi and Illinois rivers, the cities were New Orleans, Mobile and Biloxi. The French had close relations with the Indians of the Great Lakes and the Midwest.
British colonization
The East Coast strip of the modern United States, along with a few Dutch and Swedes, was mostly colonized by the British. The first English settlement was in 1607 at Jamestown on the James River in Virginia. The affairs of the colony were not going well, many colonists died from starvation and disease, in 1622, during the uprising of the Powhatan Indians in Virginia, hundreds of English settlers died. Only at the end of the 17th century, with the arrival of a new wave of settlers, many of whom were exiled prisoners, was it possible to organize a stable economy based on the export of tobacco. Other conflicts with the Indians were King Philip's War in New England and the Yamasee War in the Carolinas.
New England was populated mainly by Puritans seeking religious freedom. In 1620 the Pilgrims founded Plymouth Colony, which became the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. The middle colonies - New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware were characterized by great religious diversity. The first English colony south of Virginia was the Carolinas, and Georgia, the last of the Thirteen Colonies, was founded in 1733. People of different religious denominations came to the English colonies to escape persecution in Europe. The religiosity of the colonists increased dramatically after the First Great Awakening in the 1740s.
Each of the 13 American colonies had a different form of government, but as a rule they were all governed by a governor appointed from London and a local elected legislature that made laws and imposed taxes. The colonies grew rapidly and attracted many immigrants from England. Tobacco, rice and cotton plantations brought many black slaves from the British West Indies, and by 1770 black slaves made up one-fifth of the population of the colonies. The question of independence from Great Britain did not arise as long as the colonies needed British military assistance against the Indians, French and Spaniards. But by 1765, these threats began to fade.
18th century
Political integration and autonomy
The French and Indian War (1754-1763, American theater of the Seven Years' War) was a turning point in the political development of the colonies. Canada and Louisiana were annexed to Great Britain, French and Indian influence was greatly reduced. The war led to greater integration of the colonies, which was reflected in the Albany Congress and Benjamin Franklin's "Join or Die" call. In 1765, Benjamin Franklin created the concept of the United States.
After the annexation of the French American possessions, King George III issued the Royal Declaration of 1763, according to which the colonists were forbidden to settle in the Indian territories so as not to spoil relations with them, and to protect the North American possessions, a network of British forts was built, which the colonists were supposed to maintain. In 1765, the British Parliament, bypassing the colonial legislatures, passed the Stamp Duty Act, which taxed the trade in a number of goods in the colonies. The question was raised whether the British Parliament had the right to tax Americans who were not represented in it. During the protests under the slogan "No taxation without representation" in the late 1760s and early 1770s, American colonists refused to pay taxes.
The Boston Tea Party of 1773 was a direct response by Boston activists to the imposition of a new tax on tea. The British brought troops into Boston, limited local government and demanded compensation. in 1774 the leaders of the American patriots gathered at the First Continental Congress and decided to defend their rights. The Second Continental Congress in 1775 decided to organize a defense against the British. The American Revolutionary War began with the Battle of Concord and Lexington in April 1775, when British troops attempted to disarm the local militia and arrest Patriot leaders.
American Revolution and War of Independence
The Thirteen Colonies began the War of Independence in 1775, and on July 4, 1776, the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, proclaimed the Declaration of Independence of the United States. George Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of the American forces. Although tactically he was inferior to the British, losing many battles, strategically he made a sure bet on guerrilla tactics. In 1776, he forced the First of four British armies to leave Boston, at the Battle of Saratoga in 1777 he stopped the advance of the British (Second Army) and secured the Northeast of the United States. At the same time, the United States called on the French, who entered into an alliance and brought Spain and the Netherlands into it.
The British shifted their actions to the south, but in 1781 Washington defeated the third English army at Yorktown. The Americans experienced great supply problems, lacking ammunition, equipment, clothing and even food, however, successfully using guerrilla tactics, they controlled most of the territory. The British held only New York and a few other points.
Loyalists, on whom the British counted too heavily, made up no more than 20% of the population, and were never organized. After the defeat at Yorktown in 1781, the British began to seek peace. The Paris Peace Treaty of 1783 confirmed the status of the United States as an independent state. The United States became the first European colony to achieve independence.
The first years of the Republic
Confederation and constitution
In the 1780s, the issue of western territories was resolved. The states ceded these lands to Congress, and territories were established there, which, as they were settled, became new states. The Nationalists feared that the Confederacy would be too weak to endure an international war, or even internal rebellions such as Shays' Rebellion in 1786 in Massachusetts. Therefore, in 1787, the Philadelphia Convention was convened, which adopted the US Constitution. The constitution provided for a strong central government, headed by a president with broad powers. In order to avoid dictatorship, power was divided into three branches. To appease anti-Federalists who feared too much federal power, the Bill of Rights was passed in 1791, including the first ten amendments to the US constitution.
Even during the preparation of the draft constitution, disagreements arose between the free northern and slave-owning southern states. The constitution was adopted through compromises. Three-fifths of the number of slaves in the southern states were equated with free ones when calculating the participation of states in the federal government (while the slaves themselves did not have rights), this increased the influence of the southern states in parliament. At the same time, Congress pledged to ban the international slave trade in 20 years (which it did in 1807).
First presidents
The first President of the United States was the hero of the Revolutionary War, George Washington. He was unanimously elected by the electoral college. In 1789, the US capital was moved from New York to Philadelphia, and in 1800 to the newly built city of Washington, DC. The main achievement of the Washington administration is the creation of a strong federal government. Under the leadership of Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, the Bank of the United States was created, and the public debt was partially repaid. John Adams and Alexander Hamilton created the Federalist Party of the United States, and Thomas Jefferson and James Madison created the Republican (Democratic-Republican) Party.
In 1794, Washington and Hamilton, with the support of the Federalists, concluded the Jay Treaty with England, restoring a good relationship between countries. The treaty passed despite Republican opposition. The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 was the first test of federal power. Western settlers rebelled against the federal alcohol tax. Washington called in the state militia and personally led the army against the rebels. Washington refused to run for a third presidential term, thus creating an unspoken rule for subsequent presidents.
In the 1796 presidential election, Federalist John Adams defeated Republican Thomas Jefferson. The Federalists passed the Alien and Unrest Acts. In 1798-1800, an undeclared Quasi-War was waged between revolutionary France and the United States. The war was fought at sea for control of trade with England, which the French sought to cut off. Adams sent a diplomatic mission to Paris and ended the war. Another achievement of Adams is the creation of the Federal Army, which was preparing under the threat of a French invasion.
Slavery
Within two decades of independence, the Northern States, inspired by revolutionary ideals of equality, abolished slavery. In some states, the abolition has been gradual. The states of the Upper South made it easier to leave at will, as a result of which, by 1810, up to 10% of all blacks were freedmen there. On average, up to 13.5% of blacks were free in the country. However, in the Deep South, due to the development of cotton cultivation, the demand for slaves was high and freedmen were few. The internal slave trade flourished there and brought good profits. In 1809, President James Madison banned US participation in the Atlantic slave trade.
19th century
Era of Jeffersonian Democrats
Thomas Jefferson won the 1800 presidential election. His main achievement was the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. The territory of the United States almost doubled, and many settlers rushed west of the Mississippi. Jefferson, himself a scientist, sent the Lewis and Clark Expedition to study the purchased lands, which reached the Pacific coast. In the course of the Marbury v. Madison trial, a precedent was set by which Supreme Court was given the power to strike down laws of Congress and states that were inconsistent with the constitution.
War of 1812
During the Napoleonic Wars and the Continental Blockade, the British commandeered American ships and drafted American sailors into the British fleet, and supported Indian attacks in the Midwest. The Americans were angered by such actions and also desired to annex all or part of British North America. Despite the strong opposition of the Federalist Party and the Northeastern States, who did not want to harm trade with England, on June 12, 1812, the US Congress declared war on Britain.
The war went badly for both sides. Both sides unsuccessfully tried to invade enemy territory. American Supreme Command, except last year war, was incompetent. The American militia proved ineffective, the American soldiers rushed home, and the offensive in Canada failed. The English blockade disrupted American trade, ruined the treasury, and irritated New England merchant circles, which traded in smuggling with Britain. Finally, General William Henry Harrison's American forces took control of Lake Erie and defeated Tecumseh's Indians in Canada, while General Andrew Jackson eliminated the Indian threat in the Southeast. The Indian threat of colonization of the Midwest was eliminated. Along with this, the British captured most of Maine.
The British made a daring raid on the US capital - Washington, and burned down government buildings. However, an attack on Baltimore was repulsed in 1814. The British offensive in upstate New York was also repulsed. And finally, in early 1815, Andrew Jackson defeated the British corps at the Battle of New Orleans, becoming the most famous hero of the war.
On December 24, 1814, the Treaty of Ghent was signed. It was decided to maintain the status quo and pre-war borders. The peace treaty with the most powerful of empires, the news of which reached the United States simultaneously with the news of Jackson's victory at New Orleans, was perceived as a victory for the United States. The losing side was the Indians. The promises of the British about the creation of an independent Indian state were not fulfilled, military support ceased. The Federalist party, which opposed the war, also lost - it lost popularity forever.
Era of Good Feelings
The Federalist Party, after the end of the War of 1812, weakened, lost popularity, and no longer played a prominent role. The Republican Party remained the only major party, thus ending the First Party System.
The euphoria after the Anglo-American War, which was called the Second Revolutionary War, was called the Era of Good Feelings. The 5th President of the United States, James Monroe, in 1823 proclaimed the Monroe Doctrine, according to which European powers should not colonize the Americas or interfere in their affairs. The doctrine was adopted under the influence of American and British concerns about Russian and French expansion in America.
During the war with England, the Bank of the United States was closed, and in 1816, President Madison established the Second Bank of the United States. But very quickly the central bank began to be perceived as a threat to the average American by the elite, and in 1832 President Andrew Jackson, running for a second term, promised to close the bank. The license of the US Second Bank was not renewed.
Indian resettlement
In 1830, Congress passed the Indian Removal Act, which authorized the President of the United States to negotiate with the Indians for the purchase of their land and the issuance of land across the Mississippi River in return. The primary goal was to remove the Indians, including the Five Civilized Tribes, from the US Southeast, which was claimed by many settlers. Jacksonian Democrats demanded the forced removal of Indians who did not want to move, Whigs and religious leaders were against such a measure as inhumane. During the Cherokee migration, called the Road of Tears, thousands of Indians died and many of the Seminoles in Florida refused to leave, leading to the Seminole Wars.
Second party system
In the 1820s, the Jeffersonian Republican Party became the only major party in the United States, and an active process of factional division within it began. In 1828, the Democratic Party formed, followed by the Whig Party in 1833, and the Second Party System began, lasting until 1860, when the Whig Party disbanded over a debate over slavery. The Democratic Party advocated the preservation of slavery, an agrarian society and conservatism, the Whigs - for industrialization, modernization and reform.
Second Great Awakening and abolitionism
The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious movement that began in the 1790s, peaked in the 1820s, and continued into the 1840s. The movement was led by Baptist and Methodist preachers who attracted millions of new members to existing evangelical organizations as well as creating new ones. The awakening stimulated the development of many reform movements, including abolitionism.
After 1840, the growing abolitionist movement, influenced by preachers, proclaimed a crusade against the sin of slavery. William Lloyd Garrison in 1831 founded the largest anti-slavery newspaper, the Liberator, since 1840 the former slave Frederick Douglass wrote articles in it, and in 1847 he began publishing his own newspaper, the North Star. Many opponents of slavery, including Abraham Lincoln, rejected Garrison's religious rhetoric, regarding slavery as a social evil rather than a sin. The abolitionists also created the "Underground railway"- a secret route for the flight of slaves to the North and Canada.
Clear Destiny and Expansion to the West
The population of the American colonies and the United States grew at a very rapid pace, and the settlers moved to the West, developing new lands. The Louisiana Purchase produced an even greater land surplus. On the western outskirts of the United States formed the American Frontier, better known in Russia as the Wild West. In the Wild West, a special way of life was established - the development of desert lands, the creation and protection of communities, the establishment of law and order, the construction of farms, communications, markets and the formation of new states. From the early 1830s until 1869 along the Oregon Road to Pacific Ocean over 300,000 people passed. Mass migration to the West gave rise to the concept of Manifest Destiny, according to which the US mission was to expand from ocean to ocean.
Numerous American settlers moved to Texas and California, which were part of Mexico. In 1836, the Republic of Texas declared independence, and in 1845, long and difficult negotiations culminated in the annexation of Texas to the United States. This led to the start of the Mexican-American War. The Whig Party opposed the war, while the Democrats supported the war and expansion. During the war, American troops captured Mexico City and in 1848 the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty was signed, Mexico recognized the annexation of Texas, and transferred vast territories to the United States - California and New Mexico. Gold was discovered in Northern California at the same time, and the California Gold Rush began - even more colonists moved to the West Coast. After the annexation of new lands, President James Polk also annexed the lands of Oregon to the United States, creating the Oregon Territory there.
Division between North and South
After the expansion of the United States to the west, the issue of slavery began to escalate. Back in 1820, the Missouri Compromise was concluded - the state of Maine was admitted to the union free, and Missouri - slave-owning, it was agreed to accept two states in the USA - one free and one slave-owning. Both sides - northern abolitionists and southern slave owners - became more active and sought to establish their own rules in the new western territories. Finally, in 1850, the Compromise of 1850 was brokered by Whig Henry Clay and Democrat Stephen Douglas. California was admitted as a free state, in return the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, obliging the federal government to seek out and capture southern runaway slaves even in the northern states and return them to their owners. In response to this law, abolitionists stepped up their criticism of slavery, in particular, it was then that Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote her famous novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.
In 1854, Senator Douglas introduced the Kansas and Nebraska Act in the name of freedom and democracy, which passed and repealed the Compromise of 1820. From now on, the population of each new state itself chose whether to be free or slave. Anti-slavery forces organized a new Republican Party. On the eve of Kansas becoming a state, many radical supporters and opponents went there to establish their own rules in the state by voting. As a result, this resulted in the Kansas Civil War, which went down in history as "Bleeding Kansas". By the end of the 1850s, the Republican Party was victorious in most of the northern states, winning a majority of the electoral college votes. This meant that slavery would no longer be allowed to expand and would be doomed to a slow death.
Slavery flourished in the South thanks to the cultivation and sale of cotton, which was in great demand in Europe. By 1860 there were 4 million slaves in the South. Slave owners made big profits and were well represented politically - for 50 of the first 72 years of US independence, slave owners were the head of state, and only slave owners were re-elected. There were occasional slave uprisings: in 1800 by Gabriel Prosser, in 1822 by Danmark Vesey, in 1831 by Nat Turner and in 1859 by John Brown. But all of them involved only dozens of people and they all failed, causing only a tightening of control over fugitive and freed slaves.
In 1860 presidential elections won Republican Abraham Lincoln, who promised to end slavery throughout the country. In response, seven southern states announced their withdrawal from the United States and the creation of the CSA - the Confederate States of America. On February 8, 1861, Confederate troops attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina, which was under federal ownership, in an attempt to disarm. Abraham Lincoln responded by calling on the army to crush the Confederacy in April, and four more states joined in. Four slave states - Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri - remained in the United States and became known as the border states. Another state - West Virginia - arose as a result of separation from Virginia, which also remained in the United States.
Civil War
The American Civil War began on April 12, 1861, when military establishment The Confederates attacked Fort Sumter in South Carolina. In response, President Lincoln drafted 75,000 men into the army on April 15 and ordered the return of the forts, the defense of the capital, and the preservation of the Union. The US and CSA armies met at Bull Run, and the Union was defeated in the first battle of a war that dragged on for several years.
The war was fought in two theaters - Western and Eastern.
The history of the country is inextricably linked with its literature. And, thus, studying, it is impossible not to touch on American history. Each work belongs to a particular historical period. Thus, in his Washington, Irving talks about the Dutch pioneers who settled along the Hudson River, mentions the seven-year war for independence, English king George III and the country's first president, George Washington. In order to make parallel connections between literature and history, in this introductory article I want to say a few words about how it all began, because those historical moments that will be discussed are not reflected in any works.
Colonization of America 15th - 18th century (brief summary)
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
An American philosopher, George SantayanaIf you are asking yourself why you need to know history, then know that those who do not remember their history are doomed to repeat its mistakes.
So, the history of America began relatively recently, when in the 16th century people arrived on the new continent discovered by Columbus. These people were different color skin and different incomes, and the reasons that prompted them to come to the New World were also different. Some were attracted by the desire to start new life, others sought to get rich, others fled from government persecution or religious persecution. However, all these people, representing different cultures and nationalities, were united by the desire to change something in their lives and, most importantly, they were ready to take risks.
Inspired by the idea to create new world practically from scratch, the pioneers succeeded in this. Fantasy and dream become reality; they, like Julius Caesar, they came, they saw and they conquered.
I came, I saw, I conquered.
Julius Caesar
In those early days, America was an abundance of natural resources and a vast expanse of uncultivated land inhabited by a friendly local population.
If you look a little more back in time, then, presumably, the first people who appeared on the American continent were from Asia. According to Steve Wingand, this happened about 14 thousand years ago.
The first Americans probably wandered over from Asia about 14,000 years ago.
Steve Wiengand
Over the next 5 centuries, these tribes settled on two continents and, depending on the natural landscape and climate, began to engage in hunting, cattle breeding or agriculture.
In 985 AD, the warlike Vikings arrived on the continent. For about 40 years they tried to gain a foothold in this country, but yielding in superiority to the indigenous people, in the end, they abandoned their attempts.
Then, in 1492, Columbus appeared, followed by other Europeans, who were attracted to the continent by greed and simple adventurism.
Columbus Day is celebrated on October 12 in America in 34 states. Christopher Columbus discovered America in 1492.
Of the Europeans, the Spaniards were the first to arrive on the continent. Christopher Columbus, being an Italian by birth, having received a refusal from his king, turned to the Spanish king Ferdinand with a request to finance his expedition to Asia. It is not surprising that when, instead of Asia, Columbus discovered America, all of Spain rushed to this outlandish country. France and England followed the Spaniards. Thus began the colonization of America.
Spain got a head start in the Americas, mainly because the aforementioned Italian named Columbus was working for the Spanish and got them enthusiastic about it early on. But while the Spanish had a head start, other European countries eagerly sought to catch up.
(Source: U.S. history for dummies by S. Wiegand)
At first, meeting no resistance from the local population, the Europeans behaved like aggressors, killing and enslaving the Indians. The Spanish conquerors, who plundered and burned Indian villages and killed their inhabitants, were especially cruel. Following the Europeans, diseases also came to the continent. So the measles and smallpox epidemics gave the process of extermination of the local population a stunning speed.
But from the end of the 16th century, powerful Spain began to lose its influence on the continent, which was greatly facilitated by the weakening of its power, both on land and at sea. And the dominant position in the American colonies passed to England, Holland and France.
Henry Hudson founded the first Dutch settlement in 1613 on Manhattan Island. This colony, located along the Hudson River, was called New Netherland, and its center was the city of New Amsterdam. However, later this colony was captured by the British and transferred to the Duke of York. Accordingly, the city was renamed New York. The population of this colony was mixed, but although the British prevailed, the influence of the Dutch remained quite strong. V American English Dutch words are included, and the appearance of some places reflects the "Dutch architectural style» - tall houses with sloping roofs.
The colonialists managed to gain a foothold on the continent, for which they thank God every fourth Thursday of November. Thanksgiving is a holiday to celebrate their first year in a new place.
If the first settlers chose the north of the country mainly for religious reasons, then the south for economic reasons. Without ceremony with the local population, the Europeans quickly pushed him to unsuitable lands for life or simply killed them.
The practical English were especially firmly established. Quickly realizing what rich resources this continent conceals, they began to grow tobacco in the southern part of the country, and then cotton. And to get even more profit, the British brought slaves from Africa to cultivate plantations.
Summing up, I will say that in the 15th century Spanish, English, French and other settlements appeared on the American continent, which began to be called colonies, and their inhabitants became colonists. At the same time, a struggle for territories began between the invaders, and especially strong hostilities were fought between the French and English colonists.
The first inhabitants of South America were the American Indians. There is evidence that they were from Asia. Approximately 9000 years before our era, they crossed the Bering Strait, and then descended to the south, passing through the entire territory of North America. It was these people who created one of the most ancient and unusual civilizations in South America, including the mysterious states of the Aztecs and Incas. ancient civilization South American Indians was ruthlessly destroyed by the Europeans, who began the colonization of the continent in the 1500s.
Capture and looting
By the end of the 1500s, most of the South American continent had been taken over by Europeans. They were attracted here by huge natural resources - gold and gems. During colonization, Europeans destroyed and plundered ancient cities and brought diseases from Europe that wiped out almost the entire indigenous population - the Indians.
Modern population
There are twelve independent states in South America. The largest country, Brazil, covers almost half of the continent, including the vast Amazon Basin. Most of the inhabitants of South America speak Spanish, that is, the language of the conquerors who sailed here from Europe on their sailing ships in the 16th century. True, in Brazil, on whose territory the invaders once landed - the Portuguese, the official language is Portuguese. Another country, Guyana, speaks English. Native American Indians still survive in the highlands of Bolivia and Peru. The majority of the inhabitants of Argentina are white, and in neighboring Brazil there are a large number of descendants of African black slaves.
Culture and sports
South America has become the birthplace of many unusual people and a hospitable home that has gathered many different cultures under its roof. Bright colorful houses in La Boca, the bohemian quarter of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. This area, which attracts artists and musicians, is inhabited mainly by Italians, descendants of settlers from Genoa who sailed here in the 1800s.
The most favorite sport on the continent is football, and it is not surprising that it was the South American teams - Brazil and Argentina - that became world champions more often than others. Pele played for Brazil - the most outstanding footballer in the history of this game.
In addition to football, Brazil is famous for its famous carnivals, which are held in Rio de Janeiro. During the carnival, which takes place in February or March, millions of people pass through the streets of Rio in the rhythm of the samba, and millions more spectators watch this colorful action. The Brazilian carnival is the most massive holiday held on our planet.
