Time Period #1 [1491 to 1607]

Europeans and American Indians maneuvered and fought for dominance, control, and security in North America, and distinctive colonial and native societies emerged

1.1 From Pangaea to Paradise - The Americas Before European Conquest [1491] Pre-Columbian indigenous populations were not sparsely settled in a pristine wilderness,  rather, a vastly more populous and sophisticated civilizations that actively shaped and influenced the land around them

1.2 To the Ends of the Earth: The Age of European Exploration and Discovery [1400-1600] Overseas exploration emerges as a powerful factor in European culture as the world’s regions, peoples, and economies became increasingly interconnected.

1.3  The Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492
An ecological collision of organisms across the Atlantic between the Old World and the New, changed the history of our planet creating the Modern World.

1.4 Devils in the Desert: Spanish Exploration and Conquest [1500-1620] Rich in resources and natural beauty, the Americas became irresistible to gold-hungry Spanish Conquistadors seeking to harvest souls and extract gold.

1.5 Encomienda: Indigenous Labors Systems in New Spain The Spanish Empire ruthlessly bound Indigenous people and imported Africans into a coerced labor system, initiating debates that challenged the idea of colonial exploitation based on race.

1.6 The Spanish Mission System – “A Wealth of Souls to Harvest” The Spanish clergy, particularly Jesuits and Franciscans, played a critical role in settling the Southwest using the mission system. Over the centuries, this became the most effective means of “civilizing” natives.

1.7 The French and the Dutch, in the New World 1524 to 1608 European explorers, traders, settlers, soldiers and missionaries explore beyond the Southwest and help establish an economic base for North American trade.

1.8 Gentlemen in the Wilderness - The Planting of English America [1588 – 1607]
A group of haughty gentleman-adventurers undertake a poorly planned, badly led and foolishly located English colony that will miraculously survive and prosper.