The English in the New World

The English started planting new colonies in the New World in order to prevent Spain from dominating the Western Hemisphere. The immigration started in the early 1600s with a few hundred English colonies and grew to millions of newcomers in more than three centuries.

The first newcomers arrived in small, overcrowded ships. During the long voyage of six to twelve weeks many people died of disease, ships were often battered by storms and some were lost at sea.

However, Spanish rivalry was not the main reason for establishing colonies in the New World, the colonists were often driven by other ideas – many of them were seeking the freedom to practice their religion or escaping economic difficulties of mother country. The Industrial Revolution of the 17^th century in England changed the mode of production – now new textile industry demanded supply of wool; so many peasants were driven from their lands in favor of sheep cultivation. The displaced peasant population saw the New World as a source of cheap land and great natural resources.

The first colonists had to adjust to the entirely new for them climate and geography of North America. The English expected America to have the same climate as northwestern Europe, as both places face the Atlantic. They didn't know that both American and European weather come from the west – it means that America's western air comes from the continental interior, while Europe's western air comes from the ocean. Continental air brings the weather totally different from the weather in England and northwestern Europe – the weather on the Atlantic coast is extremely cold in winter and very hot in summer.

Climatic difference was coupled for the first settlers with geographical novelties – the land was covered with virgin forest, extending nearly 2,100 kilometers along the eastern seaboard. The big rivers – the Kennebec, Hudson, Delaware and other offered a water link between the coast and the sea. The Appalachian Mountains and some Indian tribes formed the barrier between the coastal plain and the interior lowland.

The colonists had to adjust to growing native plants – pumpkin, squash, beans and corn. In many cases they would not have survived without the help of the Native Americans.

Task 3. Fill in the table representing different types of the first European settlements in North America.

	Spanish	French	Dutch	English
Reasons for establishment
Type of settlement (model of colonization)
Main occupation of settlers

The Old and New Worlds Meet

The 16^th century marked the emergence of a new "Atlantic world" that linked Europe, Africa and the Americas. European nations tried to acquire valuable colonies throughout the world while indigenous people tried to adapt to Europeans' presence and interference.

The conflict among Europeans for control of the Americas and Africa changed the course of history in all three continents. Europeans entered the modern era characterised by commercial capitalism, emergence of new states and new forms of Christianity. Expansion and colonization provided new fields for investment and profit.

Though the Atlantic world brought some benefits to West Africans and Native Americans, it also caused catastrophic changes in their lives – Indians suffered untold losses of population and land; Africans experienced slavery, poverty and underdevelopment.

Europeans' success was much connected with other peoples' troubles – the prosperity of new colonies started with growing such unfamiliar American crops as corn and tobacco, extensive trade with Native Americans and later – with enslaved African laborers to work in their fields.

Trade with Europeans changed Indian way of living – many tribes concentrated on hunting animals for European market, having abandoned traditional modes of life. Some northeastern tribes specialized in producing food stuffs to the fur hunters; others supplied pelts for the market.

Most of the Indians were friendly at first and taught the newcomers many things. They showed Indian trails to sources of water and deposits of silver, copper and other minerals. Also they taught Europeans to make snowshoes, moccasins and travel by canoe.

Contacts with Europeans changed life in the New World greatly. They introduced many animals, the most precious of which were horses. In 1540, when the Spaniard Francisco Coronado set out in Mexico and traveled to the Grand Canyon, his party lost some horses, which escaped. In few generations the Plains Indians, who had never seen horses before, became masters of horsemanship and expanded their activities.

This unintended gift was not as dangerous as the diseases carried from the Old World to the New. Native Americans had no immunity to European diseases – so smallpox, influenza, and measles killed hundreds of thousands people. The greatest killer was smallpox, which was spread by direct human contact. European diseases depopulated great areas so when the English colonists started to establish settlements there were a few Native Americans to oppose them. As one historian has observed, America was more a widowed land than a virgin one when the English arrived there.

But there also was a new disease carried to Europe from America – a virulent form of syphilis. Though not so deadly as smallpox, syphilis was dangerous and debilitating. It quickly spread over Europe and Asia.

Not only diseases became a matter of exchange between the Old and New Worlds – food was another of the Indians' important gifts. The vegetable crops of America were introduced in Europe: corn, beans, squash, manioc and potatoes from the New World produced higher yields than European wheat and rye. These crops promoted a considerable of population in Europe in the 17^th century. In their turn Europeans taught Indians how to domesticate animals, thus also enriching Native Americans' diet. The discovery of tobacco changed the Old World – tobacco's popularity has continued to the present day.

Cultural Focus: Commemorating First Discoverers

Two holidays in the USA are celebrated to commemorate first Europeans who reached the New World – Columbus Day and Leif Ericsson Day. Columbus Day has a long history – it has been celebrated in America since October 12,1792, when the Tammany Society, known as the Colombian Order, marked the 300^th anniversary of Columbus' landing in the Bahamas.

The first official state celebration of Columbus Day was in Colorado in 1905, and in 1937, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt set aside Columbus Day as a holiday in the United States. Since 1971, the holiday has been commemorated in the USA on the second Monday in October.

Leif Ericsson Day is celebrated close to Columbus Day on October 9. It honors Leif Ericsson, who led the Nordic Vikings to set foot on North American soil. In 1964, Congress authorized and requested the President to create the observance through an annual proclamation. Lyndon B. Johnson and each President since have done so. Presidents have used the proclamation to pay tribute to the contributions of Americans of Nordic descent generally and the spirit of discovery.

However, the last years brought hot debates on the issue of the New World discovery. The controversy started in 1992, the 500^lh anniversary of the voyage. Many people, particularly Native Americans, named the holiday offensive, because they see Columbus' voyage as opening the door to European colonization, the exploitation of the native people and slave trade. In response to this some communities, such as Berkeley, California have renamed the holiday to "Indigenous Peoples Day". In Hawaii the holiday was also renamed into "Discoverer's Day" in honor of James Cooks, the first European to reach Hawaii.

Till today Columbus Day remains one of the most controversial in the USA – people continue view it as the celebration of "discovery or contest" of America depending on individual perspective.

Task 4. Discussion

1. List all positive and negative features of European encountering into North America. Who, to your opinion, profiteered from the "discovery" of the New World? Do you think it was possible to preserve Indian style of riving intact?

2. In the 20^th century, the phrase "America was discovered" was much criticized and replaced by the phrases "America was settled" or "America was conquered". Why? What phrase is the most accurate? Prove your choice.

3. What do you think of Columbus Day celebration? What does this day commemorate? What other days for this holiday could be offered? How can this holiday be made less offensive for both sides?

Task 5. Answer the following questions.

1. Who were the Paleo-Indians?

2. What groups of Indians lived in North America?

3. By whom was the "mother culture" of America created?

4. What were the other advanced early civilizations in America?

5. Why was Leif Ericsson officially declared the discoverer of the New World?

6. What were the factors that caused the great geographical discoveries in the 15^th century?

7. Why was the continent named by Amerigo Vespucci?

8. What model of colonization was established by Spaniards in the New World?

9. Why didn't the French establish permanent settlements in the New World?

10. How did the Dutch attract new settlers to the colonies?

11. What was the climatic difference between England and North American east coast?

12. How did contacts with Europeans change life in the New World?

13. How did the Old World benefit from the contacts with the New World?

Task 6. Vocabulary development. State the meaning of the following derivatives and fill in the gaps.

1) nomads, nomadic

a) are people who move from one place to another rather than

living in one place all of the time.

b) tribes travel these regions with their camel herds.

2) polytheism, polytheistic, monotheism, monotheistic

a) The three religions with the most followers are Christianity,

Judaism and Islam.

b) is a belief that there is only one god.

c) is a specialized belief in many different gods.

Most Native American religions were .

3) sacrifice (v, n), sacrificial

1. The ancient Aztecs people to their gods.

2. Native Americans had no tradition to give a for their sins.

3. The priest held up the head of the goat.

4) tribe, tribal, tribalism, tribes people

a) is a state of existing as a tribe, or a very strong feeling of

loyalty to your .

2. In Pueblo cultures there was no government at the level.

2. The Iroquois united into tribes and tribes – into Confederation.

5) conquer, conquest, conqueror

1. The Spanish the New World in the 16^th century.

2. Spanish of the New World were called conquistadors.

c) Geographic discoveries of the 15^th–16^th centuries led to the Spanish of Mexico and Peru.

6) explore, exploration, exploratory, explorer

a) In 1492, Columbus set out on the voyage of which led to the

discovery of the New World.

b) After Columbus many Europeans went on expeditions to the

New World.

3. Magellan was a famous 16^lh century .

4. After Europeans North America a little, they established per manent trading post there.

7) population, populate, depopulate, populous

a) When the first Europeans arrived, the New World was a place,

but soon European deseases it.

2. In the New World Europeans saw rivers and woods with fa miliar and unknown species.

3. After the first European settlements started, Native American

was constantly decreasing.

Task 7. Historical consequences. Match two statements from columns A and B into a compound sentence with a conjunction "so".

A	B
1. Cultural revival increased technological development and political changes in Europe in the 15th century	a) thousands of them died in the epidemics of smallpox, influenza and measles
2. Native Americans had no immunity to European diseases	b) the new land was given his name
3. Amerigo Vespucci was the first explorer of the New World, whose notes on voyage were widely disseminated	c) Catholicism became the first European religion to be imposed on Native Americans
4. The Spanish established colonies in Central America	d) local Indian tribes abandoned traditional modes of life
5. Europeans established permanent trading posts ki North America	e) Europeans began to explore the world

Task 8. Study the diagram representing causes and motives for establishing English colonies in the New World using the scheme. What were three main causes for establishing English colonies?

In the 15th century, powerful centralized states of England, France and Spain were established		New powerful monarchs tried to expand their territories and wealth through conquest
In the 15lh century, Europe witnessed significant technological change		New navigational instruments were invented to enable seamen to cross oceans
The printing press was invented in Germany in the 1450s		Newly printed books and accounts of voyages stimulated Europeans' curiosity about overseas countries