The Shaping Of North America Essay

I. The Shaping of North America • All of the world’s dry land was one huge continent and eventually broke off into seven • North America was created with The Canadian Shield being the first part to shape • About 2 million years ago, most of the land was covered in ice during the Ice Age • 10,000 years ago melting of Ice – lakes

II. Peopling the Americas • Ice Age caused sea level to drop creating a land bridge that connected North America with Eurasia bringing Asian hunters to America • Land bridge covered by water after ice age – no more immigration for a while • Temperature that ended ice age opened up valleys to Native American peoples • Incas, Mayans, and Aztecs were a few of the many different
The Spanish Conquistadores • Spain used the Treaty of Tordesillas to assure their shared possession of the new land with Portugal • 1500s – Spanish Conquistadores – dominant explorers • The discoverer of the Pacific Ocean, Vasco Nunez Balboa, said all lands washed by that sea belonged to his king • Ferdinand Magellan took a journey in 1519 from Spain, was killed in the Philippines but his ship made it back in 1522 being the first to travel around the globe • Encomienda allowed the government to give Indians to colonists that will Christianize them

IX. The Conquest of Mexico • 1519 – Hernan Cortes set sail for Mexico • Saved a Spanish castaway and picked up and Indian female slave • Looking for gold and wealth, afraid of retreat, burnt all his ships • Aztec chieftain Moctezuma believed Cortes was a legendary god and allowed him to the capital Tenochtitlan (eventually destroyed to make Christian