Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Wars, Explorations, and Settlements

A new demand for wealth drove European powers to expand and explore

There was also a new religious motivation that pushed European powers to explore the new world

The exploration of what became Canada was part of a broader phenomenon of exploration in the western hemisphere; it's not unique!

 
 

  • Origins of European Expansionism
    • Why did Columbus sail the ocean blue?
      • Identity and the breakdown of feudalism
        • Lords and peasants: In feudalism, identity was found in what position you were born in
        • Gruel
        • "manager" class (bakers, millers, etc.)
          • This manager class was the in-between class, that processed the flour into refined, better formed food, rather than gruel.
        • Status
          • This is no longer simply about what social relationship a person is born into, but is taking on material symbolism; what you can consume.
          • Material goods vs. social relationships
          • Symbols (i.e. metals, spices, etc.)
            • Lords are particularly concerned about setting themselves apart from the manager class
      • Identity and Religion
        • Protestant reformation
          • Martin Luther
          • John Calvin
            • In some ways, Calvin was more influential because he brought the idea of divine election; and his followers used this idea to claim that material wealth is a symbol of God's blessing on your life
          • Henry VIII (1509-1547)
            • Wanted to divorce his wife to have a son; can't under Catholicism. Uses the reformation movement to break with the church and establish the church of England (Anglican).
          • Society of Jesus (1540) (Jesuits)
            • Very aggressive in crusading for the Catholic church; missionary work was becoming more and more important because of the reformations and splits
          • Philip II of Spain (1556-1598)
            • Was an intensely loyal Catholic, who supported the inquisition, and tried to suppress and crush a Dutch protestant rebellion.
            • Tried to expand the Spanish empire in South America
              • Did this for two reasons; first of all, to try to serve the catholic church, and secondly to make Spain a great and wealthy power.
  • Exploration
    • Spain and Portugal
      • Hernando Cortes
        • Landed on the coast of Mexico in 1519
        • Encountered the Aztec empire
        • He arrived on the Aztec year that predicted the return of the Gods
          • Many believed him to be a god in the beginning, but quickly realized that this was not the case.
          • In the meantime, Cortes was able to get into the capital city and capture Moctezuma, the emperor of the Aztecs, as well as create alliances with surrounding tribes that hated the Aztecs.
        • One of the first things that he did was to destroy the Aztec religious sites, and replace them with crosses, etc. then he systematically stripped the Aztec civilization of all wealth and gold.
      • Francisco Pizzaro
        • Conquered the Incan empire
        • Brought missionaries with him to convert the peoples, and stripped the temples and buildings of all wealth and sent it back to Spain
    • The Netherlands
      • 1581-The Dutch Republic is declared
        • Quickly became one of Europe's powers
        • Government: decentralized merchant republicanism
          • In other words, the manager class had overthrown the higher class of princes and kings
          • As a result, there are a series of cities and provinces that meet regularly in one central place
            • Decide that they do need a figurehead; so elect William Prince of Orange
        • Dutch East and West India Company
          • These companies begin to go over seas and compete with the Spanish and Portuguese for wealth
          • Controlled the slave-trade for a long time, which was how they got a lot of their money.
      • New Amsterdam, Fort Orange
        • Colony in North America that is trading guns for furs
    • England in the Americas
      • People weren't too worried about England in the early 1500's concerning power
      • Martin Frobisher sailed in the 1570's to try to find a route across the northern part of North America
        • Has a battle with the Inuit which he looses,
        • Takes two more voyages, but is not successful.
      • Henry Hudson
        • Sailed into Hudson's bay, and thought he had found the passage, until he hit land.
      • Francis Drake
        • Basically a pirate who worked for the Queen; would go into the Spanish harbour and capture gold and take it back to the Queen
      • A lot of piracy sponsored by the Queen of England occurred
      • Humphrey Gilbert
        • Began thinking about how the English could make a break from the King of Spain
        • Wrote "A Discourse on How Her Majesty May Annoy the King of Spain"(1577)
      • Roanoke (1580's)
        • Gave it a try, where a few hundred lower-upper-class gentlemen were brought to America; a few years later when a supply ship came, there was no trace of the settlement.
      • Jamestown (1607)
        • Very much created for the purpose of bringing Christianity to the "savages" of North America
      • Plymouth Rock (1620)
        • Founded in present-day Massachusetts by pilgrims who came from Puritans; claimed that the Church of England didn't go far enough in their reformation of the church
          • Moved to the New World to be a "City On a Hill"
    • France
      • Wars of religion
        • Had there roots in two different tensions:
        • Protestants vs. Catholics
          • Literally killing each-other in the streets to gain control
        • Economic tension; between the king and nobles, based on the crown's increasing power to raise taxes
          • The nobles were trying to resist the kings taking their wealth.
        • Henry IV (r. 1594-1610)
          • Was a calvinist protestant who was making a move towards the French thrown
          • He was one of the most powerful nobles, but he couldn't create a large enough base, since only about 1/3 of France were protestants
            • Converted to Catholicism, and was declared King.
          • Catholicism and the kingdom are interlocked
          • 1598-edict of Nantes that said they would tolerate Protestantism
          • Assassinated in 1610, but his successor, Louis XIII (r. 1610-1643) would continue his work in entrenching the church and state together
            • Louis was kinda spineless; so hired Cardinal Richelieu to basically be the head of affairs
            • Cardinal Richelieu aspired to make Louis the most powerful Prince over the most powerful kingdom, hence exploration
      • French Exploration
        • Etienne Brule went to live among the natives at the age of 20, in order to see how they survived, and their technology
          • More people were sent to do this; called the coureur de bois (runners of the woods), who's sole purpose was to go and learn of the native ways
          • Chief goal was always to discover how to extract resources
        • Pierre-Esprit Radisson (1636-1710)
          • Was captured by the Mohawks, and while he was in their hands he learned their language, their way of life, the best way to get furs, etc.
          • Escaped, and viewed the natives as savages, and as such believed that it was France's right to take the resources, even if through brutal killing
          • Eventually switches sides, and begins to work for the British; was the one who got the Charter for the Hudson's Bay Company
        • Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle
          • Sailed down the Mississippi river
          • Claimed all the land down the Mississippi river, and called it Louisiana, after the king
  • Settlements
    • New Scotland founded in 1620
      • Created by Sir William Alexander
        • Wanted more prestige and wealth for himself, and went to King James I for permission to go and create a settlement in the new world
        • King James was like "huyah!" and supported it, since James was looking for a away to expand British power
      • The settlement was a disaster, since very few people wanted to go, and it was eventually turned over to the French
    • Newfoundland
      • Newfoundland Company; was founded by powerful British merchants
        • Largely based around the fish industry
        • Decided the best way to exploit the resources was to create settlements on Newfoundland, but due to the harsh weathers, piracy, and other reasons, these settlements never flourished.
        • Very few people survived!
    • Acadia
      • Central focus for the French in concerning settlements
        • The French like the English had decided that settlements were the best way to exploit the new resources
      • Largely the crown promoted the settlement of Acadia, but they were joined by the Jesuit missionaries, who insisted on being part of settlement in order to convert these new dark lands
      • Control of Acadia switched from British and French hands quite a few times
    • Canada
      • Emerged out of efforts to settle Acadia
      • Samuel de Champlain
        • Job was to ensure that Acadia had access to the wealth of the interior.
        • Sails up the St. Lawrence and founds Quebec as a trading post
        • Went further inland and created alliances with natives and indigenous peoples
        • 1618-Champlain returned to his French Overseers, and told them that a trading post or two won't cut it, because the bounty of resources is so great that there needs to be permanent settlements there in order to really gain the wealth of this new land.
          • The crown was very enthusiastic; but Champlain was no administrator, he was a visionary
      • Cardinal Richelieu
        • In 1627, took over direct control over this area called Canada, and it was labeled New France.
        • Very much interested in gaining wealth for France, but also motivated by the church, considering he's a cardinal!
          • Founded the Company of One Hundred Associates
        • By 1635, there were no more than 150 settlers, so Merchants are allowed to simply do it on their own (i.e. hire settlers, etc, and the crown would tax them in exchange for military protection).
        • By the 1660's, there were approximately 6000 settlers

Conclusions:

  • wealth and status was extremely important; nobles trying to increase wealth, kings trying to maintain their position and become the wealthiest king!
  • Religious identity; the expansion of the church itself, and the zeal of the Jesuits became very prominent
    • The church was used to complete power, and when that power was questioned, it revitalized the zeal of the church to hold onto that power
  • The settlements were part of a broader phenomenon
    • Definitely not for the purpose of creating a new nation; they were European focused exploration

No comments:

Post a Comment