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Pre-Columbian Era: The time before Columbus’ arrival in North America.
Origins: Native Americans descended from travelers who crossed a land bridge known as Beringia about 40,000 to 15,000 years ago during the last Ice Age.
Notable Tribes:
- Pueblo People: Inhabited the Southwest, known for their cliff dwellings.
- Chinook People: Located in the Pacific Northwest, nomadic in nature.
- Iroquois and Algonquin Tribes: Experienced early interactions with Europeans, practiced permanent agriculture.

1492: Columbus arrives in the New World, sparking the Contact Period, despite earlier Norse exploration.
Columbian Exchange: A significant exchange of plants, animals, foods, diseases, and ideas between Europe and the New World.
Spanish Colonial System:
- Conquistadors: Spanish explorers who established dominance in the New World.
- Encomienda System: Allowed conquistadors authority over local natives whom they were obliged to protect and convert to Catholicism. This system led to the exploitation of native labor.
- Racial Caste System:
1. Europeans
2. Mestizos (mixed European and Native descent)
3. Zambos (mixed Native and African descent)
4. Africans
Spanish Armada: Provided military protection for Spanish colonies and deterred competition.

Following Spanish colonization, other European powers sought to establish colonies for wealth and religious expansion.
Technological Advances: Innovations like the sextant improved navigation.
Joint Stock Companies: Facilitated colonial trade and exploration, e.g., Virginia Company, British and Dutch East India Companies.
Differing Views on Native Treatment:
- Juan de Sepulveda: Advocated for subjugation and enslavement of natives.
- Bartolome de Las Casas: Proposed peaceful coexistence and equality between Spaniards and natives.
Intermarriage: More frequent among Spanish and Indigenous peoples compared to English and Dutch.
Catholicism: Spread through the Spanish Mission System, exemplified by figures like Juan de Onate.

As colonization expanded, so did the purchase and use of African slaves, particularly on Caribbean plantations.
Cultural Development: Enslaved peoples in the Caribbean and North America, such as the Maroon communities, developed unique cultures blending Christianity and African traditions.

English settlers included both men and women, leading to less intermarriage with Native Americans compared to the Spanish.
Roanoke (1587): Sir Walter Raleigh's failed first attempt at colonization, often referred to as the "Lost Colony".
Jamestown (1607): Established by the Virginia Company, marked the successful colonization effort.
- High mortality rates among settlers.
- Leadership by Captain John Smith, who famously stated, "he who will not work shall not eat" improved living conditions.
- Following Smith's return to England, food supplies from the Powhatan Confederacy ceased, leading to "starving time" where colonists resorted to cannibalism.
- John Rolfe: Key figure who introduced tobacco cultivation, easing relations with natives through marriage to Pocahontas.

Indentured Servitude: Many settlers worked for seven years to pay off their passage in return for land and the opportunity to participate in governance.
Headright System: Granted 50 acres of land to colonists who paid for their passage, promoting land ownership and settlement.
House of Burgesses: Established some self-governance in Virginia; only landowning white males could participate.

French settlers lived among Native Americans, often intermarried and were generally less intrusive than other colonizers.
Coureurs du Bois: French fur traders who navigated the wilderness for resources.

Pequot War: Conflict in which the Puritan settlers sought land in Connecticut; Pequot retaliated, resulting in mass killing and subjugation.
King Philip's War: Wampanoag leader Metacomet led a rebellion against English settlement expansion and conversion efforts. The death of Metacomet caused the dismantling of Native alliances and further violence.
Pueblo Revolt: Response by Pueblo people against Spanish rule, leading to temporary expulsion of the Spanish. After Spanish re-conquest, they implemented more conciliatory policies.

Indentured Servants vs. Enslaved Labour: Initially, indentured servants were preferred due to their familiarity with the land, but increasing stability concerns led to a shift to African slavery.
The Middle Passage: Inhumane shipping route for African slaves, leading to high mortality rates due to disease and poor conditions.
By the Civil War, slavery predominantly flourished in the Southern economy, while the Northern states gradually phased it out.

Described as "salutary neglect", the British allowed the colonies to govern themselves with minimal interference.
Economic Independence: Colonies developed diverse economies due to this leniency.

Mercantilism: The economic theory favoring exports over imports and accumulation of gold and silver.
Navigation Acts: Legislation aimed at controlling colonial trade to ensure profits for England.
Protective Tariffs: Imposed on imports to encourage English products over foreign alternatives.
Colonial Resistance: Despite dissatisfaction with taxation, colonies refrained from rebellion due to military reliance on England.

Colonial governments had governors appointed by the monarchy and bicameral legislatures with lower houses elected by colonial residents.
New England Confederation: One of the first attempts at a centralized government, albeit weak and primarily advisory.

Bacon’s Rebellion: An uprising led by Nathaniel Bacon against Governor Berkeley's policies regarding Native Americans, disrupting the balance between colonial leadership and common people's needs.
Stono Rebellion: A significant early slave rebellion where South Carolina slaves sought freedom. Collected support failed, leading to increased repression of enslaved individuals.
Salem Witch Trials: Hysteria fueled by strict Puritan rule and societal tensions leading to trials and executions, emphasizing the theocratic control that colored early colonial thought.
Great Awakening: A religious revival led by figures like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, transcending traditional forms of worship and examining one’s relationship with God.