20 THE AMERICAS
The early 17th century was a time of significant transformation in the Americas. Indigenous populations had already developed complex societies, and Spanish and Portuguese colonies were established in various regions. As northern European powers, such as the English, French, and Dutch, began to establish their own permanent settlements, they entered into a complex web of relationships with existing populations.
The establishment of northern European colonies was facilitated by their access to resources, such as timber and naval expertise, as well as their use of innovative financial instruments like the chartered joint-stock company. The success of these colonies was also deeply tied to the labor, knowledge, and resources of Indigenous peoples and African slaves, who were forcibly brought to the Americas. The complex interactions and power dynamics between these diverse groups shaped the course of American history, leading to the creation of new societies and cultures.
CANADA AND THE FAR NORTH
By 1635, Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer and colonizer, had spent over two decades establishing a foothold in North America, navigating the complex web of Indigenous alliances and rivalries, and laying the groundwork for the fledgling colony of New France. Following his death in 1635, Canada became the property of the Hundred Associates, a French trading company. However, settlement progressed slowly, and by 1643, there were fewer than 300 Frenchmen in all of New France, excluding Nova Scotia. Even by 1665, Quebec had only 70 houses and 550 inhabitants. Despite this, French fur traders expanded their commerce 2,000 miles inland, establishing a vast network of trade relationships with Indigenous peoples.
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IN THEIR OWN WORDS |
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Excerpts from Champlain’s Chronicles: Champlain chronicled his explorations and observations of New France in several volumes. In the following passage, he describes a battle between the native peoples with whom he was allied and the Iroquois. Notice that he calls the Algonquian and Hurons “our Indians.” As soon as we landed, our Indians began to run some two hundred yards towards their enemies, who stood firm and had not yet noticed my white companions who went off into the woods with some Indians. Our Indians began to call to me with loud cries; and to make way for me they divided into two groups, and put me ahead some twenty yards, and I marched on until I was within some thirty yards of the enemy, who as soon as they caught sight of me halted and gazed at me and I at them. When I saw them make a move to draw their bows upon us, I took aim with my arquebus and shot straight at one of the three chiefs, and with this shot two fell to the ground and one of their companions was wounded who died thereof a little later. I had put four bullets into my arquebus. As soon as our people saw this shot so favorable for them, they began to shout so loudly that one could not have heard it thunder, and meanwhile the arrows flew thick on both sides. The Iroquois were much astonished that two men should have been killed so quickly, although they were provided with shields made of cotton thread woven together and wood, which were proof against their arrows. This frightened them greatly. As I was reloading my arquebus, one of my companions fired a shot from within the woods, which astonished them again so much that, seeing their chiefs dead, they lost courage and took to flight, abandoning the field and their fort, and fleeing into the depth of the forest, whither I pursued them and laid low still more of them. Our Indians also killed several and took ten or twelve prisoners. The remainder fled with the wounded. Of our Indians fifteen or six-teen were wounded with arrows, but these were quickly healed. Read the full account of the battle (from which these examples were taken). |
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By 1635, Samuel de Champlain, the French explorer and colonizer, had spent over two decades establishing a foothold in North America, navigating the complex web of Indigenous alliances and rivalries, and laying the groundwork for the fledgling colony of New France. Following his death in 1635, Canada became the property of the Hundred Associates, a French trading company. However, settlement progressed slowly, and by 1643, there were fewer than 300 Frenchmen in all of New France, excluding Nova Scotia. Even by 1665, Quebec had only 70 houses and 550 inhabitants. Despite this, French fur traders expanded their commerce 2,000 miles inland, establishing a vast network of trade relationships with Indigenous peoples.
Throughout the 17th century, New France engaged in a prolonged conflict with the Indigenous peoples of the region, including the powerful Iroquois Confederacy. In 1665, the Marquis Alexandre de Tracy arrived with 800 soldiers to wage a campaign against the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, comprising the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations, as well as other Indigenous groups. De Tracy’s forces employed brutal tactics, including killing, burning fields, and destroying villages, in an effort to assert French control over the region. However, the French also formed alliances with some Indigenous nations, such as the Algonquin and Huron, and established trade agreements that benefited both parties.
In 1668, Scottish entrepreneurs established Fort Charles in the Hudson Bay area (present-day northern Canada, including parts of Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, surrounding Hudson Bay), marking the first commercial venture into the region. Two years later, the British Hudson Bay Company was chartered, granting it a monopoly on the fur trade in the region and control over nearly one and a half million square miles of territory. This led to a century-long struggle between the French and British for control of the region’s land and fur resources.
The French reliance on the fur trade with Indigenous peoples played a significant role in global commerce. In the 17th century, furs became a major global commodity alongside silver, silk, and spices. While people in cold climates had always used furs for warmth, the discovery of the Americas and its integration into global trade increased their importance. Several factors led to the growing demand for furs from the Americas. Firstly, the Little Ice Age caused colder temperatures and longer winters, boosting the need for furs. Secondly, Europe’s population surge in the 16th century led to more land being converted to farmland, reducing the habitats of fur-bearing animals like beavers, rabbits, sables, martens, and deer. This habitat loss decreased their numbers. Lastly, 17th-century fashion, especially the popularity of beaver fur hats for men, made furs a symbol of wealth and status. These factors drove up fur prices, encouraging European traders to invest heavily in the fur trade.
The French were the first to tap into this market. But they were followed quickly by both the English and the Dutch. All three relied on native peoples to bring the furs and skins to them. European merchants paid for the furs and skins with a variety of items, including guns, blankets, metal tools and cookware, and alcohol. This exchange had dramatic consequences. The environmental price was high. By the beginning of the 19th century, the beaver had been trapped almost to extinction. Since beavers played a critical role in maintaining a balanced ecosystem, their growing absence resulted in the loss and/or degradation of many wetland habitats. Native Americans were impacted by the trade as well. As they adapted to the use of European metal instruments, many of the skills used in the production of stone tools and cookware were lost. Native peoples, who did not possess knowledge of how to make metal tools and weapons, thus became increasingly dependent on European goods. As the number of beavers fell, tribes which had lived in peace began to compete against each other for access to an increasingly scarce resource. Armed now with rifles, the competition frequently erupted into violent clashes. Native Americans also found themselves increasingly drawn into conflicts between Europeans who were competing with each other for control of the trade. Finally, and most significantly from the standpoint of native peoples, by being drawn into extensive trading relations with Europeans they were increasingly exposed to diseases for which they had no immunity. This pattern of European-Indigenous relations, marked by exploitation, dependency, and violence, would repeat itself throughout the 17th century, shaping the course of colonial history in the Americas.
INDIGENOUS AMERICA
At the beginning of the 17th century, Indigenous peoples across North America exhibited a rich diversity of cultures and ways of life, shaped by their unique environments and histories. In the Northeast, Indigenous nations such as the Mi’kmaq, Wabanaki, Innu, Abenaki, Massachusett, Penobscot, Wampanoag, and Lenape (Delaware) thrived with established trade networks, agricultural practices, and complex social structures. These nations had developed sophisticated systems of governance, with leaders chosen for their wisdom and spiritual power. They also had a deep understanding of the natural world, with a strong spiritual connection to the land and its resources. Their communities were organized into small villages, with homes made of wood and thatch.
In the Northeast, the Iroquois Confederacy was a powerful and influential alliance. The Confederacy’s democratic system of governance guided their political and social life, with decisions made through a council of clan mothers and representatives. The Iroquois were skilled in agriculture, cultivating crops such as corn, beans, and squash, and supplemented their diets with hunting and fishing. Their communities, organized into longhouses, were known for their rich oral traditions and complex diplomatic relationships with neighboring nations. The Iroquois also had a strong tradition of storytelling and oral history, with stories passed down through generations.
In the Southeast, the Creek, Cherokee, and Choctaw nations exhibited advanced social and agricultural systems. The Creek Nation thrived with their extensive farming practices and ceremonial grounds, which were central to their cultural and spiritual life. The Cherokee had a well-developed tradition of farming and hunting, and were organized into large towns with elaborate council houses. The Choctaw were skilled hunters and traders, and maintained a complex social structure with a strong emphasis on kinship and family ties. These nations also had a deep understanding of the natural world, with a strong spiritual connection to the land and its resources.
In the Southwest, the Pueblo peoples developed complex societies with sophisticated irrigation systems and multi-story dwellings. The Pueblos had a rich tradition of pottery and weaving, with intricate designs reflecting their spiritual beliefs and connection to the land. They also had a strong tradition of storytelling and oral history, with stories passed down through generations. The Pueblos were skilled farmers, growing crops such as corn, beans, and squash, and supplemented their diets with hunting and gathering. Their communities were organized into small villages, with homes made of stone and adobe.
In California, the Ohlone, Miwok, and Maidu nations thrived through their deep connection to the natural world. The Ohlone were skilled gatherers, utilizing the abundant acorns and berries in their environment. The Miwok were known for their basketry, and the Maidu were skilled hunters and traders. These nations had a strong tradition of storytelling and oral history, with stories passed down through generations. They also had a deep understanding of the natural world, with a strong spiritual connection to the land and its resources.
In the Pacific Northwest, the Tlingit, Haida, and Salish nations flourished with their complex trade networks and rich spiritual traditions. The Tlingit were renowned for their totem poles and art, while the Haida excelled in carving and woodworking. The Salish were known for their intricate beadwork and diplomatic skills. These nations had a strong tradition of storytelling and oral history, with stories passed down through generations. They also had a deep understanding of the natural world, with a strong spiritual connection to the land and its resources.
Indigenous peoples in Canada exhibited a diverse array of cultures and societies across their vast territories. In the Northeast, nations such as the Algonquin, Huron-Wendat, and the Iroquois Confederacy (which extended into what is now southern Ontario and Quebec) were prominent. These nations engaged in complex trade networks and had intricate social structures. The Algonquin, who lived along the Ottawa River, were known for their seasonal migrations and fur trade involvement. The Huron-Wendat, residing in the Georgian Bay area, developed a significant agricultural economy and were integral to the fur trade with European settlers. The Iroquois Confederacy, encompassing the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations, extended into parts of Canada, demonstrating their influence and strategic importance. To the north, the Cree and Dene peoples adapted to the harsher climates of the Canadian Shield and the boreal forests, with economies based on hunting, fishing, and trapping. The Inuit, residing in the Arctic regions, maintained their traditional ways of life centered around hunting marine mammals and building igloos. Throughout the century, these Indigenous groups navigated shifting alliances and conflicts, both among themselves and with European colonizers, while striving to maintain their cultural traditions and sovereignty amidst the expanding influence of European powers.
Mexico and Latin America were home to diverse Indigenous cultures, each with distinct practices and social structures. The Aztec traditions continued to influence the region through their remaining cultural and economic practices. In the Yucatán Peninsula, the Maya maintained their sophisticated systems of agriculture, astronomy, and ritual practices within their city-states. In the Andean highlands, the Quechua people preserved the agricultural techniques and social organization inherited from the Inca Empire, including terrace farming and communal labor. The Mapuche in southern Chile and Argentina were known for their strong resistance to external pressures and continued to uphold their traditions and governance structures. Meanwhile, in Brazil, Tupi-speaking tribes and other Indigenous groups sustained their cultural practices, including their complex social systems and traditional knowledge. Each of these groups demonstrated resilience and adaptation in their continued development and preservation of their unique cultural identities during the 17th century.
Indigenous peoples in Mexico and Central America maintained vibrant and diverse cultures. In central Mexico, the Nahua people, including groups such as the Mexica (Aztecs), continued to uphold their traditions and social structures under Spanish colonial rule. In the Oaxaca region, the Zapotecs and Mixtecs preserved their distinct cultural practices and political organization. The Maya, despite significant disruptions earlier, had active communities in the Yucatán Peninsula and parts of Guatemala, continuing their traditional ways of life. Throughout these regions, Indigenous peoples adapted to new challenges while sustaining their cultural heritage and social structures.
South America’s Indigenous peoples lived in diverse and complex societies across the continent. In the Andean region, the Quechua and Aymara thrived in highland areas, maintaining their advanced agricultural techniques and community organization. In the Amazon Basin, the Yanomami and Tupi adapted to their lush environment with sophisticated methods for agriculture, hunting, and trade. The Guarani in the southeastern region practiced a semi-nomadic lifestyle with a strong emphasis on communal living and rich spiritual traditions. In the southern parts of the continent, the Mapuche continued to resist outside pressures while preserving their traditional ways of life. Despite challenges, Indigenous societies across South America upheld their cultural practices and adapted to their changing environments.
The events of the 17th century brought significant challenges to many Indigenous nations, with European colonization leading to profound disruptions. While some nations, like the Iroquois Confederacy, the Creek, and the Pueblo, experienced varying degrees of interaction with Europeans, others, such as the Plains Indians and some groups in California and the Pacific Northwest, had limited or no direct contact during this period. The introduction of new diseases, changes in trade dynamics, and shifting power balances altered the landscape for many Indigenous peoples, reshaping their traditional ways of life and challenging their resilience.
ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS IN NEW ENGLAND
The area called “New England” included the colonies of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. By 1700, there were 130,000 English settlers in this geographical area, with 7,000 in Boston and 2,600 in Newport. The first Englishman to explore the New England area was Bartholomew Gosnold, who sailed from the Azores in 1602 along the coast from Maine to Cape Cod. He built a house on Cuttyhunk, traded with native peoples, and introduced smallpox to the continent. By 1617, an epidemic of this disease reduced the indigenous population by as many as ten thousand.
Some Puritan separatists, who had first fled to the Netherlands to escape persecution, came to the Americas under the leadership of William Brewster and accompanied by William Bradford. They founded a colony in Plymouth in 1620. They set up their own self-government under the Mayflower Compact. In their first winter, over fifty percent of the settlers died of scurvy or general debility. After the first few seasons, William Bradford became their governor.
More English Puritans followed in the 1630s. The group was led by John Winthrop. They first sailed in March 1630 with 500 men, women, and children. After arriving, they raised cattle, Indian corn, and vegetables and soon developed both a fur trade and cod fishing. This colony was at once a theocracy and an oligarchy, yet it adopted trial by jury, freedom from self-incrimination, and levied no taxes on those who could not vote. However, there was no religious tolerance for those who practiced a form of religion different than that followed by the Puritans. Baptists and Quakers were considered to be the Devil’s agents. By the penal law of the colony, any Catholic priest, who reappeared there after having once been driven out, was subject to death. The Puritan migrations continued until 1637 when the English Puritans decided to stay and contest their fate in England, itself, as its Civil War started.
In 1634, Massachusetts joined with her neighboring Puritan colonies to form the New England Confederation. This was a loose union formed to settle boundary disputes and give mutual protection from Indians and both French and Dutch settlers. Free public education was soon established, a printing press appeared in Cambridge in 1639, and Harvard University was established in the same city in 1650.
In 1675, conflict between English settlers and native peoples erupted in the so-called King Philip’s War. Metacom, chief of the Wampanoag who was called King Philip by the English, was one of the original friends of the early settlers. As, however, the relationship between native peoples and the Puritans soured, war broke out with Philip’s Wampanoag and their allies, the Nipmuck, opposing the English settlers. The Indians were not organized and had only hit and run tactics. The Narragansett tribe on the Bay sheltered some of the Indian refugees, giving Winslow the excuse to attack them with 1,000 men and finally winning in the most violent battle ever fought on New England soil. Philip was killed in August 1676 and most of his tribe were captured. The women and children were used as house servants and the men were shipped to the West Indies as enslaved people.
A line engraving of King Philip (Metacom), hand colored, by Paul Revere. (Source: Wikimedia)
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Read more about the history of King Philip’s War at the Pilgrim Hall Museum website. To learn more about the grievances of the native peoples against the English, read Metacom (King Philip’s) explanation at the History Matters website.
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ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS IN THE MIDDLE COLONIES
This region included present-day New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, along with the small area of Delaware. By 1700, there were approximately 65,000 English settlers living in these colonies. By 1629, the Dutch had settled New Amsterdam. In 1644, as a byproduct of a Dutch-English War, the Duke of York claimed the area and renamed it New York. The Duke of York originally gave New Jersey as a gift to two friends, George Carteret and Lord John Berkeley. Philip Carteret, cousin of Sir George, emigrated from England to take possession in 1665. William Penn received a charter for Pennsylvania from King Charles II in 1681 and brought over Quaker dissidents from England, Wales, the Netherlands, and France. Penn established the city of Philadelphia in 1682, where some Swedes and Finns were already settled. Germans of the Mennonite sect soon also arrived and settled, so that by 1700, Philadelphia had outstripped New York City and soon rivalled Boston as an important English cultural center.
The Birth of Pennsylvania was painted by Jean Ferris in the 19th century. William Penn, holding the charter for Pennsylvania, stands and faces King Charles II, in the King’s breakfast chamber. (Source: Wikimedia)
ENGLISH SETTLEMENTS IN VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND
The first English settlement in the United States was established at Jamestown (Virginia) in 1607. Of the initial group, consisting of 104 men and boys, 51 died of disease and starvation within 6 months. Help from Indians and the arrival of a supply ship saved the rest. That ship also brought two women and five Poles, who had been recruited to begin the production of pitch, tar, and turpentine. Between the years 1616 and 1624, Virginia evolved from a trading post to a more financially prosperous permanent community. The planting and harvesting of tobacco was the key reason. As early as 1618, Virginia was exporting fifty-thousand pounds and more. In 1624, Virginia was designated a crown colony with a royal governor and operating council appointed by the king.
The first enslaved people from Africa were brought to Virginia in 1619 by the Portuguese. Although initially they worked side by side with white indentured servants, by the end of the 17th century, enslaved Africans had become the dominant labor force in Virginia. By 1700, it is estimated that there were over 16,000 enslaved people working on Virginia plantations.
In this 1670 painting, an unknown artist shows enslaved people working on a tobacco plantation. (Source: Wikimedia)
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Learn more about the transition from Indentured Servitude to Slavery in 17th century Virginia at the PBS website, Africans in America.
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Maryland was a part of Virginia until 1632 when King Charles I gave a slice of that original colony to his friend, Lord Baltimore. It was basically a Catholic colony and, although named Maryland ostensibly after Queen Henrietta Marie, it was in reality named in honor of the Virgin Mary. Tobacco was the one great cash crop. Servants might be of any class, from poor gentlemen working off the cost of transport, to convicted felons. Many of the English sovereigns transported Scottish and Irish prisoners from the civil wars to Virginia and Maryland, as well as to the West Indies. Africans were also imported, and, in 1664, the Maryland assembly passed a “black code” which declared Africans to be enslaved people for life.
SPANISH SETTLEMENTS IN THE SOUTHEAST
Spain began establishing her second great mission system in the province of Apalachee (the Panhandle area of present-day Florida) around 1630. By the 1670s, 20 smaller missions radiated from the principal one at San Luis (present day Tallahassee, Florida) and a road connected that province with the Spanish city of St. Augustine. Still Spain’s grasp on the area was weak and the garrisons averaged only 300 to 400 men. Because of the fear of the French in Louisiana, Spain established a mission on the Neches River in 1690 and later a garrison at Pensacola, Florida. Even so, Florida remained sparsely populated.
FRENCH SETTLEMENTS IN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER REGION AND LOUISIANA
The French explorer Jean Nicolet, who had lived among the Hurons since Champlain’s expedition of 1618, explored the Lake Michigan and Wisconsin regions in 1634. In 1675, Jacques Marquette explored the region around Chicago and a few years later, with Father Louis Jolliet, went down the Mississippi to the Arkansas tributary. Rene-Robert La Salle left Fort Frontenac (Kingston, Ontario) in the fall of 1678 and arrived at the Miamis River in November 1681. He and his party reached the Mississippi in February 1682. They reached the Gulf of Mexico on April 7, 1682, and formally took possession in the name of the French king, Louis XIV.
SPANISH SETTLEMENTS IN THE SOUTHWEST
Governor Don Juan de Onate set up the first Spanish government in the southwest at Santa Fe, ten years before the Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts. For the next 200 years, Spanish outposts in present day Arizona, Texas, California, and New Mexico slowly developed an economy. The Spanish introduced both the horse and the cow to the southwest. By 1630, there were 1,000 Spaniards in Santa Fe and the immediate area, including 250 garrisoned soldiers. There were fifty priests distributed in ninety villages, each with their own church. By 1680, the population in the area had increased to 2,800 and there were towns at Pecos, Taos, Santa Cruz, and San Marco, but all were evacuated when the Zuni, Hopi, Taino, and Keres peoples, under the leadership of El Pope, revolted. Pope’ made himself governor, but a long drought led to political disarray, allowing the Spaniards to recapture the area of present-day New Mexico and western Texas in 1692.
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IN THEIR OWN WORDS |
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A Indigenous perspective on the Pueblo Revolt in 1680: The New Mexico Pueblo people resisted Spanish conversion efforts and forced labor demands. Their sporadic resistance became a concerted rebellion in 1680 under the leadership of the charismatic El Pope. The revolt was the most successful of Native American efforts to turn back European colonists, and for over a decade the Pueblos were free from intrusion. But in 1690 the Pueblos were weakened by drought and Apache and Comanche raiders from the north. Spain retook territory and interrogated and punished the rebels in their “reconquest” of the Pueblo. A Keresan Pueblo man called Pedro Naranjo offered his view of the rebellion and its causes when interviewed by Spanish authorities. What follows is an excerpt of the official report: Asked for what reason they so blindly burned the images, temples, crosses, and other things of divine worship, he stated that the said Indian, Popé, came down in person, and with him El Saca and El Chato from the pueblo of Los Taos, and other captains and leaders and many people who were in his train, and he ordered in all the pueblos through which he passed that they instantly break up and burn the images of the holy Christ, the Virgin Mary and the other saints, the crosses, and everything pertaining to Christianity, and that they burn the temples, break up the bells, and separate from the wives whom God had given them in marriage and take those whom they desired. In order to take away their baptismal names, the water, and the holy oils, they were to plunge into the rivers and wash themselves with amole, which is a root native to the country, washing even their clothing, with the understanding that there would thus be taken from them the character of the holy sacraments. They did this, and also many other things which he does not recall, given to understand that this mandate had come from the Caydi and the other two who emitted fire from their extremities in the said estufa of Taos, and that they thereby returned to the state of their antiquity, as when they came from the lake of Copala; that this was the better life and the one they desired, because the God of the Spaniards was worth nothing and theirs was very strong, the Spaniard’s God being rotten wood. Read the complete account of Pedro’s report (from which these examples were taken). |
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MEXICO, CENTRAL AMERICA, AND THE CARIBBEAN
In New Spain, which encompassed present-day Mexico and Central America, a rigid social hierarchy existed, primarily based on race and skin color. Native peoples, whose populations had significantly declined due to disease, occupied the lower rungs of society. Above them were the Mestizos, a mixed-race group resulting from unions between Spanish men and Indigenous women. By the 17th century, wealthy landowners exploited Native workers and lower-class individuals on their vast estates, known as haciendas, paying them meager wages and burdening them with substantial debts. The highest echelon of society comprised male Spanish settlers, who wielded significant political and economic power.
Meanwhile, in the Caribbean, the “sugar islands” attracted intense interest from major European powers, leading to frequent territorial exchanges and possessions among Spain, France, England, and the Netherlands. The Dutch introduced sugar cane to the Caribbean from Brazil in 1654, and it swiftly spread to various islands. Following 1685, sugar production surged as planters increasingly relied on enslaved labor, facilitated by the massive importation of enslaved Africans. Over 340,000 enslaved individuals were brought to the Caribbean in the 17th century. England established a Jamaican colony in 1655, and by 1690, over 40,000 enslaved Africans were forced to toil on the island’s sugar estates under brutal conditions, yet their unyielding desire for freedom fueled persistent revolts and desertions, defying the shackles of slavery. The Indigenous Caribbean Taino population was completely decimated by European-introduced diseases by the 17th century. By 1700, the West Indies had a more extensive European settlement than the American mainland, with 121,000 Europeans residing in the region.
NORTHERN AND WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA
As the 17th century began, the Spanish continued their quest for wealth, driven by desires for gold and new trade routes. At the same time, they sought to expand their empire and spread Christianity to new lands. Their explorations of the west coast laid the groundwork for future republics. By 1620, the Spanish had expanded their territory at an unprecedented rate, acquiring vast swaths of land. By 1650, the city of Potosí in present-day Bolivia had grown into the largest metropolis in South America, with a population of 160,000 inhabitants, comprising indigenous people, Africans, and Spanish colonizers. However, this growth came at a steep cost, as Native peoples were coerced into laboring in the treacherous silver mines under brutal conditions.
The exploitation of Native workers was further exacerbated by the transatlantic slave trade, which forcibly brought hundreds of thousands of Africans to various regions, including Peru, during the 17th century. This influx of enslaved individuals was funneled into the mines, plantations, and households of the Spanish colonizers, perpetuating a system of oppression and servitude. Despite this, there were instances of resistance, rebellion, and cultural exchange throughout this period. The confluence of these factors shaped the complex historical landscape of Northern and Western South America during the 17th century, sowing the seeds of future struggles against colonial rule.
EASTERN AND CENTRAL SOUTH AMERICA
In 17th century Portuguese Brazil, a small elite of wealthy plantation owners wielded significant economic and political power. By 1623, their vast estates included over 350 sugar plantations, cementing the region’s status as a major producer of this highly sought-after commodity. However, the discovery of gold in 1690 in the central region of Minas Gerais (a southeastern region in the Brazilian Highlands) marked a significant turning point, as it drew thousands of prospectors to the area and spurred rapid growth. The gold rush, which began in earnest in the 1690s, transformed the local economy and led to the emergence of new social and cultural dynamics. Diamonds were discovered in the same region in the early 18th century, further enriching the local economy.
In central South America, east of the Andes, and in the more temperate southern zone, vast open lands beckoned to sheep and cattle breeders. European colonizers introduced horses and cattle to what is now Argentina, filling the void left by the absence of native domesticated animals. As European colonizers arrived, they displaced indigenous peoples and transformed the existing landscape, capitalizing on the fertile grasslands and favorable climate to establish a thriving hub of livestock production. This, in turn, gave rise to a distinct cultural landscape, shaped by the interactions of European, African, and Native peoples. The gaucho culture, which emerged in the 18th century, was a key part of this landscape, characterized by its unique blend of traditions and practices.
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Learn more about the history of cows and horses at the PBS site: “Guns, Germs, and Steel.”
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