CHAPTER 1 New World Encounters, Preconquest–1608 Learning Objectives 1.1 What explains cultural differences among Native American groups before European conquest? 1.2 How did Europeans interact with West Africans and Native Americans during the fifteenth through seventeenth centuries? 1.3 What factors explain Spain’s central role in New World exploration and colonization? 1.4 How did Spanish conquest of Central and South America transform Native American cultures? 1.5 What was the character of the French empire in Canada? 1.6 Why did England not participate in the early competition for New World colonies? Chapter Outline I. Diverse Cultures: Cabeza de Vaca’s Journey Through Native America II. Native Americans Before the Conquest A. The Environmental Challenge: Food, Climate, and Culture • Read the Document: Thomas Harriot, The Algonquian Peoples of the Atlantic Coast (1588) B. Aztec Dominance C. Eastern Woodland Cultures III. Conditions of Conquest A. West Africa: Ancient and Complex Societies B. Cultural Negotiations in the Americas C. Threats to Survival: Columbian Exchange IV. Europe on the Eve of Conquest A Spanish Expansion B. The Strange Career of Christoph