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1492
Columbus's Arrival
EUROPEANS - Columbus’s contact with the Native Americans was the first ever between Native Americans and Europeans. This is impactful because it led to the connection between the Old World and the New World. Europeans discovered new crops, new livestock, and allowed European nations to expand their influence and gain control of more land and resources. Mixing with Native American groups eventually led to a blending of culture and identity between the groups in some aspects -
1494
New World Crops
EUROPEANS - New World foods changed European culture and identity because it reshaped their diets, allowed poorer people to gain access to food easier, and lead to population growth due to having more food. -
1500
European Livestock
NATIVE AMERICANS - Native Americans lives were changed when they discovered new livestock from the Old World. It changed their culture by making it easier to hunt and made them a bigger threat to other tribes. This lead to some tribes having a more stable supply of food, and led them to have less nomadic lifestyles. This caused many things in their cultures and identity to change, like where they live and their diets. -
Period: 1505 to
Forced Displacement of Native Americans
NATIVE AMERICANS - Native Americans were displaced from their ancestral lands after European colonists began to settle in the New World. The Native Americans lost some of their culture because their ancestral lands had been stripped from them, they were losing their population to diseases and war, and were being forced to assimilate into European culture. This caused a loss of connection to their heritage. -
1518
Spread of Diseases
NATIVE AMERICANS - Native Americans were severely impacted by new diseases brought to the New World by Europeans. These Native Americans had no immunity to these diseases, unlike the Europeans. Native American tribes and societies crumbled and some were almost completely wiped out. They lost many traditions and cultures passed down without being recorded, and saw many societies collapse because so many core parts of their societies had been destroyed/killed. -
Period: 1526 to
Transatlantic Slave Trade
AFRICANS - The Transatlantic Slave Trade caused the forced removal of millions of Africans from the African continent. This changed social structures and formed rivalries between ethnic groups in Africa, and saw new cultural groups form from the slaves taken to the Americas. -
1528
Fur Trading
NATIVE AMERICANS - Native Americans became dependent on Europeans for trading for their goods like guns, tools, and cloth. This also caused animals to be overhunted. This impacted Native American culture because they were introduced to many new things, but it also changed traditional native traditions and way of economics. Most importantly it led to a greater dependence on Europeans for goods. -
1575
King Philip's War
NATIVE AMERICANS - King Philip's War was fought in 1575 through 1576 between Native American tribes and Europeans. Native Americans fought to protect their lands the Europeans attempted to seize. The English ended up winning and the natives suffered catastrophic losses. Families and communities in these tribes were destroyed. Lots of natives were sold into slavery or forced to become servants, they became mostly dependent on the colonies, and were forced to adapt some of the English's culture. -
Period: to
Formation of Creole Culture
AFRICANS - The formation of Creole culture was a major shift in the culture of African Americans because it saw lots of culture blending between different ethnicities, which resulted is new traditions, languages, social practices and more which shaped the culture and identity for many African Americans in the Americas. -
Jamestown Settlement
EUROPEANS - English settlers first permanent colony was in Jamestown. This laid the foundation for modern American society, as it was diverse and was also the first time English settlers were living with Native Americans. This created an entirely new culture and identity for the settlers because they were on a completely new continent and were far away from other societies, so they formed a new and unique culture. -
Massachusetts Legalizes Slavery
AFRICANS - Massachusetts legalizing slavery led to other colonies legalizing slavery, which began the start of slavery in the Americas. This impacted African culture and identity because it formed racial division and a racial hierarchy between African Americans and white Europeans. -
England Takes Control of New Amsterdam
EUROPEANS - The English taking control of New Amsterdam showed that there was competition and tension rising between the European powers to claim the New World. This completely changed the culture and identity of New Amsterdam and the English colonies, as it saw much more cultural blending and the formation of new identities. -
Pennsylvania Colony
EUROPEANS - The Pennsylvania colonies founding was a crucial point in the development of America's culture and identity. It was established with a strong emphasis on religious tolerance and brought in a diverse population trying to escape religious persecution. It also helped shape future democratic ideals for the United States, as well as a cultural blend. -
Period: to
Oral Storytelling Traditions
AFRICANS - African traditional stories and tales were passed down in enslaved communities. Because most slaves had no way to preserve their culture and tradition, oral storytelling was used to keep their culture alive. -
Spanish Florida Offers Freedom to Escaped Slaves
AFRICANS - Spanish Florida offering freedom to escaped slaves was a very important time because it led to new black communities in Florida, where escaped slaves were free at. This also enabled them to practice African traditions and keep their culture alive. This also inspired future rebellions from black slaves who aspired for freedom.