SOCIAL STUDIES: Chapter 2

Imperialism – (policy to build an empire by dominating other lands & peoples):  Economic Factors: – disruption of overland trade routes  – supply & demand - economic competition – countries desired to gain wealth Social Factors:  – ethnocentrism (belief in their own superiority) - religion – wanted to convert people to Catholicism

Reasons for Exploration:  Disruption of overland trade routes to Asia (starting in the 1300s) High demand for silks/spices, low supply = ↑ cost Other countries controlled certain sea routes already Risky sea travel pushed them to improve ship design & create better navigational tools, could go further The desire for wealth and fame (personal and for the country) The discovery of lots of codfish off the coast of NL – to take back and sell in Europe Christianity – spread the knowledge of God to ‘uncivilized’ people

Early Explorers: 1488 – Bartolomeu Dias (Portugal) – discovered route to Asia around southern Africa 1492 – Christopher Columbus (Italian, exploring for Spain) – discovered Central & South America, ‘Indians’, gold, slaves 1497 – Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot, Italian, exploring for England) – claimed NL for Britain, codfish

Early Contact – Positive & Negative Interactions with FN:  Trade with the Mi’kmaq positive from both perspectives – why? - MI'kamq got pots and guns, and Europeans got furs that were expensive The tragedy of the Beothuk SHORT ANSWER - Negative – end of the tribe – due to economic factors (wealth – cod, took food supply), social factors (ethnocentrism), geography (island), disease (no immunity) Shawnadithit – last of the Beothuk, captured & released, drawings recorded

French Explorers:  1534 – Jacques Cartier – looking for a route to Asia through N. Am., raised cross on Gaspe Peninsula (deceived FN), captured Donnacona & sons from Stadacona as proof of riches in west  SHORT ANSWER! 1603 – Samuel de Champlain – established Port Royal, Quebec, made maps, assisted by FN, motivations (convert savages, a route to Asia, establish settlements), Father of New France Rene-Robert Cavelier de La Salle – claimed the huge area for New France Pierre Gaultier de La Verendrye – went west of Great Lakes, built forts for the fur trade

British Explorers:  Giovanni Caboto – see couple of slides ago! Martin Frobisher – looked for Asia through the Arctic, found ‘fools gold’ Henry Hudson – looking for a northwest passage to Asia, abandoned by crew Samuel Hearne – traveled with Matonabbee west of Hudson Bay Alexander Mackenzie – first to reach west coast by land Sir John Franklin – one of the last explorers (1800s) looking for a northwest passage, ships lost until just recently, lead poisoning

‘Big Picture’ Stuff –  SHORT ANSWER:  Historical Context – the circumstances, attitudes & values of a time period have a huge influence on the actions & interactions of groups of people – European ethnocentrism (social factors) & desire for wealth & fame (economic factors) determined how they viewed/interacted with FN and the assumptions they made about them, Imperialism was ‘normal’ You must understand historical events in the context of the time period to see why things happened the way they did It is important to include balanced perspectives on historical events in order to understand the truth of what happened God created each person unique and values us all equally – there is no one more important/superior to another in His eyes, we are to treat each other with that type of respect and value as we are all created in His image The desire to spread the knowledge of God was biblical, but the methods used were insensitive and based on ethnocentrism and ignorance of other cultures Should we judge the early explorers?  God calls us to examine our own lives and recognize the sin in our lives before pointing out the sin in others’ lives, but He also calls us to stand up for the oppressed in society and think of others’ needs ahead of our own.  We need to learn from the past so we don’t repeat mistakes in the future, and we should ‘call people out’ when they are treating others unjustly, recognizing that we often do the same.

Good Luck!!