[文學(xué)]Discovery and colonization of the new world

1、discovery and colonization of the new world american indians they were the earliest inhabitants in the continent. more than 20,000 years ago, migrate from eastern siberia and might belong to the mongoloid peoples. for thousands of years they lived and labored in the americas. later when the european

2、s arrived in great numbers in the 16th and 17th, american indian culture began to change as they came into contact with western culture and technology. discovery of the new world the process of discovery condition: 1. marco polos traveling book described that india rich in gold and jewelry 2. the in

3、vention of compass 3. the theory of round earth 4. turkey blocked the way to the east between 1488 and 1534, europeans made several important voyages to explore the world. christopher columbus an italian sailor helped by spanish king - 1492 august 3rd 87 sailors 3 ships crossed dark sea（atlantic oce

4、an）- bahamas cuba mistook the people there as indians, 1506 died, not realizing it was a new continent. in 1905, colorado became the first state to observe a columbus day. over the next few decades other states followed. in 1937, then president franklin roosevelt proclaimed every october 12 as colum

5、bus day. since 1971, it has been celebrated on the second monday in october. columbus day vespucci amerigo in 1499, vespucci amerigo an italian sailor also under the spanish flag, sailed west and discovered the continent of south america. it was he who showed that the land they arrived was a whole n

6、ew continent lay between europe and asia. before long it was named after him, america, the name of the southern continent, later being extended to the northern too. helped by spanish king, 1499 confirmed it was a new continent described it in detail in his letters sent to home 1507 a german draw a n

7、ew map about the new world based on amerigos letters, america is then named after him. the route of vespucci amerigo ferdinand magellan portuguese navigator, sent by spain in 1519 with five ships to sail around the world for the first time. magellan and his expedition were blown by storms into the s

8、trait that now bears his name (magellan strait). he named and sailed across the pacific ocean (peaceful ocean), reaching the philippines, where he was killed fighting for a friendly native king. but one of his ships returned to spain in 1522, thus the historic voyage completed. magellan a portuguese

9、 helped by spanish king, 1519 crossed the atlantic ocean- south america - strait of magellan - pacific ocean( peaceful ocean) philippines （killed by the natives）- cape of good hope- spain. significance: “it opened up fresh ground for the rising bourgeoisie the manifesto of the communist party” the r

10、oute of magellan cape of good hope strait of magellan later in 1534 the french also succeeded in planting their flags in the new world by the voyages of jacques cartie to canada. in less than 50 years from 1492 to 1534, europeans had discovered two new continents of north and south americas and had

11、broadened their horizons to include the whole globe. the new world was a great and rich land. north and south americas together made up an area almost as large as africa and europe combined. in the new world there were all those resources necessary for agricultural and industrial development: fertil

12、e land, seas full of fish, great forests, all the essential metals, and minerals, huge coal and oil supplies, and rivers rich in water power. the ruling class of europe fell upon this rich land greedily, only fifty years after columbus first voyage, the spanish and portuguese had overrun the vast la

13、nd of what is now called latin america (south america). the settling of present-day united states and canada (north america) by the english and french went more slowly, though quite cruelly. colonization in america portugal set up colonies in brazil; spain colonized south america and mexico france:

14、st. lawrence rive- great lakes- mississippi- new orleans the great britain: 1558 elizabeth i crowned 1588 defeated the spanish armada- being the most powerful country in controlling the sea- 1603 died -1607 james i agreed to set up two companies （virginia company of plymouth, virginia company of lon

15、don）- start to colonize what is now known america -1607 the first permanent colony jamestown founded in virginia , so virginia is called the mother state; in april 1607 three ships with 104 english settlers, financed by the virginia company, arrived off the virginia coast. they built the first succe

16、ssful settlement called jamestown (in honor of their king). the location of jamestown itself led to much hardship and disease, and within the first 6 months, about half of 104 settlers died. but the first settlement, however, survived. -1620 puritans representing the rising bourgeoisie wanted to pur

17、ify the church of england mayflower (73 males and 29 females)- plymouth . 1620 a tiny ship called the “may flower” sailed from england for the new world to set a colony of plymouth. crowded together in the small ship were 102 passengers. about half of them were puritan pilgrims. new england ( mayflo

18、wer compact obey the rule and law) they landed in what is now massachusetts. being far from virginia the pilgrims decided to set up their own government. they wrote a now famous agreement called the “mayflower compact”. in this compact they agreed to stick together, to abide by majority rule, and to

19、 have a right to choose their own leader. this was the beginning of the us democracy. poor food, hard work, cold weather- half died- indians came to help them- in autumn 1621 harvested -1621 celebrated the harvest the last thursday in nov. a fixed date thanksgiving day. during the first icy winter i

20、n plymouth, the pilgrims suffered much hardship and about half of them died. when spring came, the indians began to help them, showing them how to hunt, fish, and plant. the pilgrims had a fine harvest of corn in fall. they were thankful. they made a feast and invited the native americans who had he

21、lped them. this was the first thanksgiving. the first english-american 13 colonies new england colonies: massachusetts, rhode island, connecticut, and new hampshire. after the establishment of plymouth colony, more puritans arrived in the nearby areas of massachusetts. by 1679 they set up the above

22、four new england colonies. middle colonies: the colonies of new york, new jersey, maryland, pennsylvania, and delaware some of these colonies were not started by the english colonists. new york and new jersey were first founded by the dutch, and delaware was first settled by the swedish. these three

23、 colonies were taken by the english in 1664 the southern colonies: virginia, north and south carolinas and georgia north and south carolinas were settled by pioneers from other colonies, and the georgia, the last colony, was founded in 1733, which was named after the english king george . 3. the ear

24、ly immigrants 3.1 the white anglo-saxon protestants (wasp) the early settlers in all these 13 colonies were from different european countries. but most of them came from england and became generally known as the white anglo-saxon protestants. religious dispute in england was one of the reasons for t

25、hese people to flee to america. they also want to become rich quick in the new world which was full of promises with its virgin soil and all kinds of treasures. 3.2 poor men - indentured servants(契約）契約） countless poor men also poured into american colonies. they were either suffering from cold and h

26、unger or were deep in debt. taking advantage of these poor men, the colonial companies and big merchants spread the belief that america was a land of promise where everyone could make money and enjoy freedom. most of the poor went to america as indentured servants. after they worked for the company

27、for 5-7 years, they became citizens with their own farms. 3.3 convicts the colonial companies and big merchants persuaded the english government to transport convicts to america. this took a burden off the english government and gave cheap labor to the colonies. after serving their term, these convi

28、cts would become free men. 4. life in the colonies 4.1 hard conditions met by the first colonists there was nothing but thick forests stretching far and wide before the colonists when they first arrived in america. the initial struggle for them was to tame the land and solve the problem of food and

29、shelter. it was not easy to fell so many big trees and to farm among big stumps. a communal society hard conditions forced them to live in a communal society in which people worked together and shared their products among themselves. later forests were cut back and large fields were cultivated, thei

30、r life developed into a normal state. 4.2 the early settlers in new england developed trade and ship building. the early settlers took advantage of the many deep-water harbors there to develop trade and ship-building. wealth was rapidly accumulated in new england and huge cities were developed near

31、the shore around harbors. 4.3 the south- two distinct features: 1)the plantation owners in the south were devoted to agriculture. climate and soil were more favorable in the south, so the settlers in south were mainly devoted to agriculture and lived far apart along rivers and streams. the plantatio

32、n owners not only produced grain but also grew cotton and tobacco. 2) there was the infamous slave labor in the south. negro slaves, indentured servants. 4.4 the colonies adopted a tolerant policy in religion. england remained the main source of immigrants, but it was not the only one. large number

33、of immigrants from germany, switzerland, france and many other countries also poured in. it is impossible to make the settlers from different nations all accept an established pattern of worship. 5. the war of independence background of the war: enlightenment in europe influenced americans(18th cent

34、ury) 1.john locke（advocated free trade, free speech, and free thought. ） 2. benjamin franklin （exemplifying the enlightenment to his countrymen.） enlightenment provided the colonist with a theoretical and philosophical weapons against british rule. 5. the war of independence background of the war: i

35、n the 17th and 18th centuries england fought a series of wars with france. the colonies seized the chance to develop their own industries, trade and political right. when the english finally won the french and indian war in 1763, they determined to find a means to extract more money from the colonie

36、s to pay britains debts. -1765 quartering act required colonist to provide food and house for royal troops; - 1765 the stamp act required that a stamp, purchased from british government , be placed on all legal documents, newspaper and other printed materials -1767 townshend act : all the goods impo

37、rted should be taxed all the above measures deeply affected the american colonies in their agriculture, industries, commerce, and investment opportunities. 5.2 the boston tea party 5.2.1 the event itself -1773 tea act permitted the british east india company to sell tea directly to its agents in col

38、onies. the aim of this act was to relieve the duties of the company on its tea exported to america. by this way the company would sell tea at lower prices. actually it gave the company a monopoly of tea business in america. for fear that britain would set up monopolies for the control of other ameri

39、can foreign and domestic trade, the colonists decide to revolt. -dec.16, 1773, evening, boston tea party dumped three ships of tea from the english company into the harbor. december 16, 50 boston citizens led by samuel adams disguised themselves as indians , boarded 3 british ships and tossed a carg

40、o of tea worth 17,000 pounds overboard. this was the famous “boston tea party” 5.2.2 it was the direct cause to force england to resort to arms against her american colonies. 5.3 the first continental congress colonial delegates from 12 colonies ( except georgia) met in philadelphia on september 5,

41、1774. declaration of rights and grievances(申訴) the declaration requested their king, george, to protect the rights of the colonies and to correct their unfair treatment. declaration rejected-peaceful resort to the conflict failed the declaration was sent to london only to be rejected by the english

42、parliament. the refusal meant that there was no hope for a satisfactory reconciliation and it was no longer possible to settle the dispute by peaceful means. 5.4 the first armed clash “ the shot of lexington” april 19, 1775, american revolutionaries met some british troops when they were removing mu

43、nitions from the small town of lexington and concord, boston area. shots soon broke out from both sides. the british “redcoats” lost the battle and retreated to boston with a heavy loss of lives. 5.5 the second continental congress 5.5.1 the second continental congress met in philadelphia on may 10,

44、 1775. 5.5.2 this congress organized and equipped an american army and appointed george washington commander in chief of the american forces. the congress also provide for asking help from other countries, especially france, which was a rival of britain. 5.6 the declaration of independence 5.6.1 a c

45、ommittee was appointed to draw up the declaration of independence. the committee was composed of thomas jefferson, benjamin franklin, john adams and some other members. 5.6.2 it was formally adopted on july 4, 1776. the independence day or national day 5.6.3 the significance of the declaration of in

46、dependence it approached the problem of american independence from the angle of human rights. “ we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights: that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happi

47、ness. that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it, and to institute new government,” “we mu

48、st all hang together, or assuredly we shall hang separately.” 5.7 military struggle and final victory 5.7.1 militarily the colonies were not in a very favorable position. 3 million-10 million advanced manufacture (munitions, weapons) strong navy, battle ships- no experience of sea battle at all 5.7.

49、2 american revolutionary fighters suffered repeated setbacks during the first months. three reasons: -the loyalists, big merchants and bankers not everyone supported the revolution whole- heartedly. the above mentioned three kinds of colonists were either sided with the english government or have tr

50、ade and business connections with britain. - the loose confederation of the 13 colonies the confederation of the 13 colonies was rather loose and there was no strong central government to provide for the war. - hard to raise money it was very difficult to raise enough money to finance the war. the c

51、olonies were more concerned with defending their own territories than sending their men to join the army under washington. 5.7.3 after 1777, the war began to go against the british troops. three reasons: the large ocean, the large territory, franklins successful diplomatic activities 5.7.4 the decis

52、ive battle at yorktown in 1781 in 1781, washington, with the help of the french army, penned the british troops at yorktown on the virginia coast and on oct. 19, the same year, the british general cornwallis surrendered. 5.7.5 the peace treaty in 1783 the treaty acknowledged the independence, freedo

53、m and sovereignty of the 13 states. the large expansion of land to the west of the colonies, with the mississippi as the western limit, was also given to the 13 states. 6. appearance of the american constitution 6.1 america after independence 6.1.1 the 13 states were not very closely united. differe

54、nt backgrounds and economic conditions made them suspicious of each other. they consider the peace treaty was for 13 separate states, not for a united country. 6.1.2 new difficulties compelled americans to give up ideas about “independent sovereign states”. 1) britain reduced its importation from am

55、erica. 2) the domestic market was flooded with foreign goods. 3) debt problems aggravated the situation. 6.1.3 the government increased taxes to solve the financial problems. many began to see the importance of a strong central government. 6.2 the constitutional convention 6.2.1 it was held in phila

56、delphia on may 25, 1787. 65 delegates from all the states except rhode island attended the convention. 6.2.2 the work of the convention was to draw up a constitution and frame a central government. they had to seek common ground between the states. september 17, 1787 is constitution day 6.2.3 the fe

57、deralists and the anti-federalists the constitution was faced with disagreement. it was supported by some people called the federalists in american history, and was strongly opposed by others who were known as the anti-federalists. 6.2.4 the bill of rights declares that the constitution guarantees t

58、he constitution won its final pass with ten important amendments which were known as the bill of rights. its mainly concerned about the state power and individuals right. freedom of religion, speech and the press, the right to keep and bear arms, the right against unreasonable searches and seizures,

59、 the right against self- incrimination, the right for everyone to refuse to give witness against himself in any criminal case. 6.3 the american constitution 1) the first distinct feature of the american constitution was its division of power. power divided between central government and state govern

60、ment the power of the central government includes the power to deal with problems of general concern. such as the power to coin money, to regulate commerce, to raise an army and declare war, to make peace and treaties, and to levy taxes and try cases concerning two states or more. all the powers not