Explain the context for European encounters in the Americas from 1491 to 1607.
a. As native populations migrated and settled across the vast expanse of North America over time, they developed distinct and increasingly complex societies by adapting to and transforming their diverse environments.
b. Different native societies adapted to and transformed their environments through innovations in agriculture, resource use, and social structure.
c. Contact among Europeans, Natives, and Africans resulted in the Columbian Exchange and significant social, cultural, and political changes on both sides of the Atlantic.
d. European expansion into the Western Hemisphere generated intense social, religious, political, and economic competition and changed w/in European societies.
e. The Columbian Exchange and development of the Spanish empire in the Western Hemisphere resulted in extensive demographic, economic, and social changes.
f. In their interactions, Europeans and Natives asserted divergent worldviews regarding issues such as religion, gender roles, family, land use, and power.
