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Europeans Reach the Americas Unit Review
Quiz by Elizabeth Bruno
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To the Lakota, and other indigenous people on North America's Great Plains, the bison was an essential part of their culture ( expressed in the quote on the previous page). The bison provided meat for nutrition, a hide for clothing and shelter, bones for tools, and fat for soap. The bison was also central to their religious beliefs. So, when European settlers hunted the bison nearly to extinction, Lakota culture suffered. Culture is central to a society and the identity of its people, as well as its continued existence. Therefore, geographers study culture as a way to understand similarities and differences among societies across the world, and in some cases, to help preserve these societies. Analyzing Culture All of a group's learned behaviors, actions, beliefs, and objects are a part of culture. It is a visible force seen in a group's actions, possessions, and influence on the landscape. For example, in a large city you can see people working in offices, factories, and stores, and living in high-rise apartments or suburban homes. You might observe them attending movies, concerts, or sporting events. Culture is also an invisible force guiding people through shared belief systems, customs, and traditions. Culture is learned, in that it develops through experiences, and not merely transmitted through genetics. For example, many people in the United States have developed a strong sense of competitiveness in school and business, and believe that hard work is a key to success. These types of elements, visible and invisible, are cultural traits. A series of interrelated traits make up a cultural complex, such as the process of steps and acceptable behaviors related to greeting a person in different cultures. A single cultural artifact, such as an automobile, may represent many different values, beliefs, behaviors and traditions and be representative of a cultural complex. Since culture is learned there are many ways that one generation passes its culture to the next. Children and adults learn traits three ways: ⢠imitation, as when learning a language by repeating sounds or behaviors from a person or television ⢠informal instruction, as when a parent reminds a child to say "please" ⢠formal instruction, as when students learn history in school 132 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP" EDITION CULTURAL COMPLEX OF THE AUTOMOBILE The automobile provides much more than just transportation, as it reflects many values that are central to American culture. Origins of Culture The area in which a unique culture or a specific trait develops is a culture hearth. Classical Greece was a culture hearth for democracy more than 2,000 years ago. New York City was a culture hearth for rap music in the 1970s. Geographers study how cultures develop in hearths and diffuse-or spread-to other places. Geographers also study taboos, behaviors heavily discouraged by a culture. For example, many cultures have taboos against eating certain foods, such as pork or insects. What is considered taboo changes over time. In the United States, marriages between Protestants and Catholics were once taboo, but they are not widely opposed now. Traditional, Folk, and Indigenous Cultures With the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century, modern transportation and communication connected people as never before and led to extensive cultural mixing, especially as cities have grown. The world prior to this time was very different; however, remnants of the past are still evident in our modern cultures. Traditional, folk, and indigenous cultures share some important characteristics and are often grouped together, but they do have some subtle differences. Traditional Culture Recently, the meanings of traditional, folk, and indigenous culture have begun to merge, causing geographers to debate when each should be used. Increasingly, the term traditional culture is used to encompass all three cultural designations. All three types share the function of passing down long-held beliefs, values, and practices and are generally resistant to rapid changes in their culture. Folk Culture The beliefs and practices of small, homogenous groups of people, often living in rural areas that are relatively isolated and slow to change, are known as folk cultures. Like all cultures, they demonstrate the diverse ways that people have adapted to a physical environment. For example, people around the world learned to make shelters out of available resources, whether 3.1: INTRODUCTION TO CULTURE 133 it was snow or mud bricks or wood. However, people used similar resources such as wood differently. In Scandinavia, people used trees to build cabins. In the American Midwest, people processed trees into boards, built a frame, and attached the boards to it. Many traits of folk culture continue today. Corn was first grown in Mexico around 10,000 years ago, and it is still grown there today. While many elements of folk culture exist side by side with modern culture, there are people whose societies have changed little, if at all, from long ago. These people practice traditional cultures, those which have not been affected by modern technology or influences. They often live in remote regions, such as some small tribes in the Amazon rainforest, and have scant knowledge of the outside world. As the lines continue blurring between cultural designations, the Amish of Pennsylvania are often referenced as both folk and traditional culture. Indigenous Culture When members of an ethnic group reside in their ancestral lands, and typically possess unique cultural traits, such as speaking their own exclusive language, they are considered an indigenous culture. Some indigenous peoples have been displaced from their native lands, but still practice their indigenous culture. Native Americans in the United States, such as the Navajo, have kept indigenous cultural practices. First Nations of Canada, such as the Inuit, have also retained their indigenous culture. Globalization and Popular Culture As a result of the Industrial Revolution, improvements in transportation and communication have shortened the time required for movement, trade, or other forms of interaction between two places. This development, known as space-time compression (see Topics 1.4 and 3.6), has accelerated culture change around the world. In 1817, a freight shipment from Cincinnati needed 52 days to reach New York City. By 1850, because of canals and railroads, it took half that long. And by 1852, it took only 7 days. Today, an airplane flight takes only a few hours, and digital information takes seconds or less. Similar change has occurred on the global scale. People travel freely across the world in a matter of hours, and communication has advanced to a point where people share information instantaneously across the globe. The increased global interaction has had a profound impact on cultures, from spreading English across the world to instant sharing of news, events and music. Globalization specifically refers to the increased integration of the world economy since the 1970s. The process of intensified interaction among peoples, governments, and companies of different countries around the globe has had profound impacts on culture. The culture of the United States is intertwined with globalization. Through the influence of its corporations, Hollywood movies, and government, the United States exerts widespread influence in other countries. But other countries also shape American culture. For example, in 2019, the National Basketball Association included players from 38 countries or territories. When cultural traits- such as clothing, music, movies, and types of 134 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP. EDITION businesses-spread quickly over a large area and are adopted by various groups, they become part of popular culture. Elements of popular culture often begin in urban areas and diffuse quickly through globalization processes such as the media and Internet. These elements can quickly be adopted worldwide, making them part of global culture. People around the world follow European soccer, Indian Bollywood movies, and Japanese animation known as anime. With people in many nations wearing similar clothes, listening to similar music, and eating similar food, popular cultural traits often promote uniformity in beliefs, values, and the cultural landscape across many places The cultural landscape, also known as the built environment (see Topic 3.2), is the modification of the environment by a group and is a visible reflection of that group's cultural beliefs and values. Traditional Culture to Popular Culture Popular culture emphasizes trying what is new rather than preserving what is traditional. Many people, especially older generations or those who follow a folk culture, openly resist the adoption of popular cultural traits. They do this by preserving traditional languages, religions, values, and foods. While older generations often resist the adoption of popular culture, they seldom are successful in keeping their traditional cultures from changing, especially among the young people of their society. One clash between popular and traditional culture is occurring in Brazil. As the population expands to the interior of the rain forest, many indigenous cultures, like the Yanamamo tribe, have more contact with outside groups. Remaining isolated by the forest is becoming increasingly difficult as many young people from the indigenous cultures become exposed to popular culture and begin to integrate into the larger Brazilian society. As the young people leave their communities, they are more likely to accept popular culture at the expense of their indigenous cultural heritage, which threatens the very existence of their folk culture. Traditional culture typically exhibits horizontal diversity, meaning each traditional culture has its own customs and language that makes it distinct from other culture groups. Yet, people people within each group are usually homogeneous, or very similar to each other. By contrast, popular culture typically exhibits vertical diversity, meaning that modern urban societies are usually heterogeneous, or exhibiting differences, within the society and usually contain numerous multiethnic neighborhoods. However, on a global scale popular cultures are relatively similar with the same type of malls, shops, fast food, and clothing. Urban global culture centers are not identical, yet, global cities often do not have as much horizontal diversity across space as folk cultures. 3.1: INTRODUCTION TO CULTURE 135 COMPARING TRADITIONAL AND POPULAR CULTURE Trait Traditional Culture Popular or Global Culture Society ⢠Rural and isolated location ⢠Urban and connected location ⢠Homogeneous and ⢠Diverse and multiethnic indigenous population population ⢠Most people speak an ⢠Many people speak a global indigenous or ethnic local language such as English or language Arabic ⢠Horizontal diversity ⢠Vertical diversity Social ⢠Emphasis on community and ⢠Emphasis on individualism and Structure conformity making choices ⢠Families live close to each ⢠Dispersed families other ⢠Weakly defined gender roles ⢠Well-defined gender roles Diffusion ⢠Relatively slow and limited ⢠Relatively rapid and extensive ⢠Primarily through relocation ⢠Often hierarchical ⢠Oral traditions and stories ⢠Social media and mass media Buildings and ⢠Materials produced locally, ⢠Materials produced in distant Housing such as stone or grass factories, such as steel or glass ⢠Built by community or owner ⢠Built by a business ⢠Similar style for community ⢠Variety of architectural styles ⢠Different between cultures ⢠Similar between cities ⢠Traditional architecture ⢠Postmodern / contemporary architecture Food ⢠Locally produced ⢠Often imported ⢠Choices limited by tradition ⢠Wide range of choice ⢠Prepared by the family or ⢠Purchased in restaurants community Spatial Focus ⢠Local and regional ⢠National and global Artifacts, Mentifacts, and Sociofacts Whether a cultural attribute is considered traditional, folk, indigenous, or popular in nature, it is valuable to differentiate between elements of culture that can be seen and those that can not. There are artifacts that comprise the material culture, which consists of tangible things, or those that can be experienced by the senses. Art, clothing, food, music, sports, and housing types are all tangible elements of culture. Another element of the study of artifacts is understanding the techniques to use or build a specific artifact. Artifacts can be unique to a particular culture, or can be shared. For example, people of all cultures need to communicate through language, yet there are many groups that possess languages unique to their culture. The ability to read, write and understand the English language is an artifact of importance for much of popular global culture. 136 HUMAN GEOGRAPHY: AP" EDITION Mentifacts comprise a group's nonmaterial culture and consist ofintangible concepts, or those not having a physical presence. Beliefs, values, practices, and aesthetics (pleasing in appearance) determine what a cultural group views as acceptable and desirable. Mentifacts can also be unique or shared. People of many cultures possess an belief in one or many deities, and often the deities are unique to that culture. The belief in a god is a mentifact-the religious building or symbols are artifacts. Cultural groups also possess sociofacts, which are the ways people organize their society and relate to one another. Taken altogether, people tend to see the whole of their culture as greater than the sum of its individual parts. Sociofacts are embodied through families, governments, sports teams, religious organizations, education systems, and other social constructs. As with artifacts and mentifacts, sociofacts may also be unique or similar to other societies. Families are the foundations of most societies, yet what constitutes the structure of a family may vary widely between cultural groups. For example, Western cultures tend to view the nuclear family, consisting of the parents and their children as the basic family unit. By contrast, in many Western African cultures the norm is the extended family, consisting of several generations and other family members such as cousins living under one roof.Contact with the Americas In 1001, Viking sailors led by Leif Erikson reached the eastern tip of North America. Archaeologists have found evidence of the Viking settlement of Vinland in present-day Newfoundland, Canada. The Vikings did not stay in Vinland long and no one is sure why they left. However, Viking stories describe fierce battles with Skraelings, the Viking name for the Inuit. Evidence suggests that Asians continued to cross the Bering Sea into North America after the last ice age ended. Some scholars believe that ancient seafarers from Polynesia may have traveled to the Americas using their knowledge of the stars and winds. Modern Polynesians have sailed canoes thousands of miles in this way. Still others think that fishing boats from China and Japan blew off course and landed on the western coast of North or South America. Perhaps such voyages occurred. If so, they were long forgotten. Before 1492, the peoples of Asia and Europe had no knowledge of the Americas and their remarkable civilizations. The Voyages of Columbus Portuguese sailors had pioneered new routes around Africa toward Asia in the late 1400s. Spain, too, wanted a share of the riches. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella hoped to keep their rival, Portugal, from controlling trade with India, China, and Japan. They agreed to finance a voyage of exploration by Christopher Columbus. Columbus, an Italian sea captain, planned to reach the East Indies by sailing west across the Atlantic. Finding a sea route straight to Asia would give the Spanish direct access to the silks, spices, and precious metals of Asia. The spice trade was a major cause for European exploration and a reason the Spanish rulers supported Columbusâs voyage. They also wanted wealth from any source. âGet gold,â King Ferdinand said to Columbus. âHumanely if possible, but at all hazardsâget gold.â Crossing the Atlantic In August 1492, Columbus set out with three ships and about 90 sailors. As captain, he commanded the largest vessel, the Santa MarĂa. The other ships were the NiĂąa and the Pinta. After a brief stop at the Canary Islands, the little fleet continued west into unknown seas. Fair winds sped them along, but a month passed without the sight of land. Some sailors began to grumble. They had never been away from land for so long and feared being lost at sea. Still, Columbus sailed on. On October 7, sailors saw flocks of birds flying southwest. Columbus changed course to follow the birds. A few days later, crew members spotted tree branches and flowers floating in the water. At 2 a.m. on October 12, the lookout on the Pinta spotted white cliffs shining in the moonlight. âTierra! Tierra!â he shouted. âLand! Land!â At dawn, Columbus rowed ashore and planted the banner of Spain. He was convinced that he had reached the East Indies in Asia. He called the people he found there âIndians.â In fact, he had reached islands off the coasts of North America and South America in the Caribbean Sea. These islands later became known as the West Indies. For three months, Columbus explored the West Indies. To his delight, he found signs of gold on the islands. Eager to report his success, he returned to Spain. Columbus Claims Lands for Spain In Spain, Columbus presented Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand with gifts of pink pearls and brilliantly colored parrots. Columbus brought with him many things that Europeans had never seen before: tobacco, pineapples, and hammocks used for sleeping. Columbus also described the âIndiansâ he had met, the Taino (ty noh). The Taino, he promised, could easily be converted to Christianity and could also be used as slaves. The Spanish monarchs were impressed. They gave Columbus the title Admiral of the Ocean Sea. They also agreed to finance future voyages. The promise of great wealth, and the chance to spread Christianity, gave them a reason to explore further. Columbus made three more voyages across the Atlantic. In 1493, he founded the first Spanish colony in the Americas, Santo Domingo, on an island he called Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic). A colony is an area settled and ruled by the government of a distant land. Columbus also explored present-day Cuba and Jamaica. He sailed along the coasts of Central America and northern South America. He claimed all of these lands for Queen Isabella of Spain. Columbus proved to be a better explorer than governor. During his third expedition, settlers on Hispaniola complained of his harsh rule. Queen Isabella appointed an investigator, who sent Columbus back to Spain in chains. In the end, the queen pardoned Columbus, but he never regained the honors he had won earlier. He died in 1506, still convinced that he had reached Asia. The Impact of Columbusâs Voyages Columbus has long been honored as the bold sea captain who âdiscovered America.â Today, we recognize that American Indians had discovered and settled these lands long before 1492. We also recognize that Columbus and the Europeans who followed him treated the ancient inhabitants of the Americas brutally. Still, Columbusâs voyages did change history. They marked the beginning of lasting contact among the peoples of Europe, Africa, and the Americas. For a great many American Indians, contact had tragic results. Columbus and those who followed were convinced that European culture was superior to that of the Indians. The Spanish claimed Taino lands and forced the Taino to work in gold mines, on ranches, or in Spanish households. Many Taino died from harsh conditions or European diseases. The Taino population was wiped out. Still, the voyages of Columbus signaled a turning point for the Americas. A turning point is a moment in history that marks a decisive change. Curious Europeans saw the new lands as a place where they could settle, trade, and grow rich. Spanish Exploration Continues After the voyages of Columbus, the Spanish explored and settled other Caribbean islands that Columbus had found. They sought gold, land for crops, people to enslave, and converts to Christianity for the Spanish crown. By 1511, they had conquered Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba. They also explored the eastern coasts of North America and South America in search of a western route to Asia. In 1513, Vasco Núùez de Balboa (bal boh uh) crossed the Isthmus of Panama. American Indians had told him that a large body of water lay to the west. With a party of Spanish soldiers and Indians, Balboa reached the Pacific Ocean and claimed the ocean for Spain. The Spanish had no idea how wide the Pacific was until a sea captain named Ferdinand Magellan (muh jel un) sailed across it. The expeditionâmade up of five ships and about 250 crew membersâleft Spain in 1519. Fifteen months later, it cut through the stormy southern tip of South America by way of what is now known as the Strait of Magellan and entered the Pacific Ocean. Crossing the vast Pacific, the sailors ran out of food: Primary Source âWe remained 3 months and 20 days without taking in provisions or other refreshments and ate only old biscuit reduced to powder, full of grubs and stinking from the dirt which rats had made on it. We drank water that was yellow and stinking.â âAntonio Pigafetta, The Diary of Antonio Pigafetta Magellan himself was killed in a battle with the local people of the Philippine Islands off the coast of Asia. In 1522, only one ship and 18 sailors returned to Spain. They were the first people to circumnavigate, or sail completely around, the world. In doing so, they had found an all-water western route to Asia. Europeans became aware of the true size of the Earth. How Did the Columbian Exchange Affect the Rest of the World? The encounter between the peoples of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres sparked a global exchange of goods and ideas. Because it started with the voyages of Columbus, this transfer is known as the Columbian Exchange. The Columbian Exchange refers to a biological and cultural exchange of animals, plants, human populations, diseases, food, government, technology, the arts, and languages. The exchange went in both directions. Europeans learned much from American Indians. At the same time, Europeans contributed in many ways to the culture of the Americas. This exchange also brought about many modifications, or changes, to the physical environment of the Americas, with both positive and negative results. Changing Environments Europeans introduced domestic animals such as chickens from Europe and Africa. European pigs, cattle, and horses often escaped into the wild and multiplied rapidly. Forests and grasslands were converted to pastures. As horses spread through what would become the United States, Indians learned to ride them and used them to carry heavy loads. Plants from Europe and Africa changed the way American Indians lived. The first bananas came from the Canary Islands. By 1520, one Spaniard reported that banana trees had spread âso greatly that it is marvelous to see the great abundance of them.â Oranges, lemons, and figs were also new to the Americas. In North America, explorers also brought such plants as bluegrass, the daisy, and the dandelion. These plants spread quickly in American soil and modified American grasslands. Tragically, Europeans also brought new diseases, such as smallpox and influenza. American Indians had no resistance to these diseases. Historians estimate that within 75 years, diseases from Europe had killed almost 90 percent of the people in the Caribbean Islands and in Mexico. American Indian Influences on Europe, Africa and Asia American Indians introduced Europeans to valuable food crops such as corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans, tomatoes, manioc, squash, peanuts, pineapples, and blueberries. Today, almost half the worldâs food crops come from plants that were first grown in the Americas. Europeans carried the new foods with them as they sailed around the world. Everywhere, peopleâs diets changed and populations increased. In South Asia, people used American hot peppers and chilies to spice stews. Chinese peasants began growing corn and sweet potatoes. Italians made sauces from tomatoes. People in West Africa grew manioc and corn. European settlers often adopted American Indian skills. In the North, Indians showed Europeans how to use snowshoes and trap beavers and other fur-bearing animals. European explorers learned how to paddle Indian canoes. Some leaders studied American Indian political structures. In the 1700s, Benjamin Franklin admired the Iroquois League and urged American colonists to unite in a similar way. Positive and Negative Consequences Through the Columbian Exchange, Europeans and American Indians modified their environments and gained new resources and skills. At the same time, warfare and disease killed many on both sides. Europeans viewed expansion positively. They gained great wealth, explored trade routes, and spread Christianity. Yet their farming, mining, and diseases took a toll on the physical environment and left many American Indians dead. Despite these negatives, the Columbian Exchange shaped the modern world, including what would become the United States.The Revolt of the Northern Earls (1569) Most people in the North remained loyal to the Catholic noble families who controlled the north and their Catholic faith. When Elizabeth came to power, she promoted ânew menâ (Protestants) from the gentry and the powerful Catholic nobles lost their power and influence. This led them to organise the most serious rebellion of Elizabethâs reign in 1569. Why did the Northern Earlâs revolt? The Earls had lost their power when Elizabeth became Queen (and wanted it back). They wanted Catholicism restored in England (and felt that ordinary Catholics would support it). Elizabeth was refusing to marry or to name an heir, causing uncertainty about Englandâs future. Mary Queen of Scots (if freed from prison) could replace Elizabeth and solve all these problems Who were the key players in the Revolt? Earl of Northumberland ⢠A Catholic who had held an important position under Mary I. ⢠He lost a lot of influence under Elizabeth (as she favoured Protestant gentry) ⢠Elizabeth also took the rights to a valuable copper mine found on his lands Earl of Westmorland ⢠From a rich Catholic family in the north Also the Duke of Norfolkâs brother in law Duke of Norfolk ⢠Englandâs most senior Protestant noble, but he had very close links to old northern Catholic families, & was sympathetic to them & greedy for power. ⢠He hated William Cecil & Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (Elizabethâs favourite) who were Protestant and from the gentry ⢠He planned to marry Mary QS, but later backed down and urged the earls to call off the rebellion. Mary also supported the plan to marry him What role did religion play? (7/10 â but only because it was linked to power) ⢠Most northerners held onto their Catholic beliefs & although Elizabeth didnât persecute them, they knew that she wanted their religion to gradually die out, so they supported the revolt. ⢠In 1561 Elizabeth hired a strict Protestant as archbishop of Durham to promote Protestantism in the north, but he was unpopular & turned many northerners against the Protestant religion. What role did politics/power play? (9/10 â this was the most important cause of the revolt) ⢠The Northern Earls lost a lot of their power/influence (even jobs/money under Elizabeth) ⢠Northumberland was jealous of new Protestant families being given top jobs in the North ⢠William Cecil & Robert Dudley were not from ancient noble families, but were very close to the Queen, so the northern Earls resented them getting top jobs in her Government ⢠Elizabeth also confiscated large areas of land & the profits from their copper mines ⢠It is possible, that had Elizabeth allowed the Catholic Northern Earls to keep their jobs, money and influence at court, they may have âtoleratedâ her as a Protestant Queen (greedy/selfish). What role did Mary Queen of Scots and the Succession play? ⢠Elizabeth was refusing to name an heir and it was becoming clear that she would not marry ⢠If Mary Queen of Scots married the Duke of Norfolk, England would have an heir and England would be Catholic again. The country would be stable without people competing for power. ⢠However, some of Elizabethâs courtiers got worried that it might not work and that it might lead to charges of treason (punishable by death) ⢠So by September 1569, Robert Dudley (Earl of Leicester) decided to tell Elizabeth about the plot. By this time it was much more serious than simply marrying Norfolk to Mary. ⢠Mary QS had secretly asked Spain to send troops to help the rebellion & overthrow Elizabeth Plan for the Revolt of the Northern Earls (1569) ⢠The Earls of Northumberland & Westmorland will raise rebel troops from their lands in the north and take control of Durham. ⢠The rebels will then march south towards London to join with the Duke of Norfolk ⢠1000s of Spanish troops will land in England to support the rebel forces ⢠The Duke of Norfolk & rebel forces will seize control of Government & overthrow Elizabeth ⢠Mary Queen of Scots is to be freed, ready to marry the Duke of Norfolk Key Events of the Revolt ⢠Once Elizabeth knew of the plot, Norfolk was arrested and sent to the Tower of London ⢠The Northern Earls were worried they would be executed for their involvement and in a desperate attempt to avoid punishment, pushed ahead with the revolt ⢠They raised an army of ordinary Catholics and took control of Durham cathedral ⢠Catholic mass was celebrated across the north for 2 weeks. ⢠They then headed south, to try and free Mary ⢠Mary QSs was moved south to Coventry on the orders of Elizabeth, so she couldnât escape ⢠The rebellion failed as Spanish troops never arrived ⢠Elizabethâs friend (Earl of Sussex) had raised an army of 7,000 men to defend her throne. Results: ⢠The rebellion was a serious threat to Elizabeth ⢠She executed 450 rebels in the north ⢠Northumberland was executed in 1572 & his head was put on a spike on the city gate ⢠The Privy Council called for the Duke of Norfolkâs execution too, but Elizabeth released him. ⢠Mary Queen of Scots was kept in prison for the next 14 years. ⢠The failed plot also led the Pope to take action against Elizabeth ⢠In 1570 he excommunicated Elizabeth from the Catholic Church ⢠He also issued a Papal Bull (order) calling on all loyal Catholics to overthrow her hoping it would encourage another rebellion. ⢠In 1571 Elizabeth called parliament to pass an Act making it treason to claim that she was not the rightful Queen and to bring in/print papal bulls in England. The Significance of the Revolt of the Northern Earls ⢠It was the first and most serious rebellion by English Catholics against Elizabeth ⢠Treason laws were made much harsher ⢠It ended the influence of the powerful Catholic Earls in the North ⢠It led to harsher treatment of Catholics, e.g. 1572 Elizabeth sent the Earl of Huntingdon (strict Protestant) to the north to carry out laws against Catholics (and suppress Catholicism). ⢠Although Elizabethâs brutal revenge on the rebels show how serious a threat it was, most Catholics in the north stayed loyal, but the Popeâs Papal Bull now put their loyalty in doubt There was little support for the revolt among the rest of the Catholic nobility and ordinary people. When faced with a choice between Elizabeth and their religion, most Catholics chose to support the Queen. 1569, was the last time English Catholics tried to remove Elizabeth by force. The future plots against her were always uncovered by Cecil & Walsingham, before they had a chance to get any public support. Despite this, the Northern Revolt & Papal Bull changed Elizabethâs attitude towards Catholics who were now seen as potential traitors. From 1570, Elizabeth became less tolerant of recusants (people refusing to attend her church) & took increasingly tough measures against Catholics. The Ridolfi, Throckmorton & Babington plots ⢠In the 1870s-80s, there were 3 Catholic plots to assassinate Elizabeth & replace her with Mary. ⢠The plots were supported by France, Spain, the Pope and some Catholic nobles. ⢠They reinforced the form Mary & from Catholics at home and abroad. Also the threat from Spain. The Ridolfi Plot (1571) ⢠Ridolfi was an Italian banker living in England and a spy for the Pope. ⢠He organised a plot to murder Eliz, marry Mary QS to the Duke of Norfolk & make her Queen. ⢠The Pope & King Philip supported the plot & Philip told the Duke of Alba in the Netherlands to prepare 10,000 troops (but to only invade AFTER the English had overthrown Elizabeth). ⢠The plot failed because Sir William Cecil intercepted coded letters & Norfolk was executed. ⢠Mary was kept under closer watch. ⢠Ridolfi was abroad when the plot was discovered and never returned to England. 1574: Catholic Priests and Priest Holes ⢠From 1574 Catholic priests were smuggled into England to keep the religion alive. ⢠They stayed with rich Catholic families, so Catholic families were kept under surveillance. ⢠Catholic homes were raided â to find âpriest holesâ where Catholic priests were hiding. ⢠Catholic priests who were found could be hung, drawn and quartered (although not all were) ⢠In 1581, Parliament also passed 2 new tougher laws against Catholics: ⢠Recusants would be fined ÂŁ20 (which would bankrupt most families) ⢠Trying to convert people to Catholicism was now treason (punishable by death) The Throckmorton Plot (1583) ⢠It aimed to assassinate Elizabeth and replace her with Mary. The French Duke of Guise (Maryâs cousin) would invade England with an army, funded by King Philip (Pope also supported it). ⢠An Englishman, Throckmorton carried messages between Mary & Catholic plotters abroad. ⢠Sir Walsingham (Secretary of State) uncovered the plot after his agents found the plans for the plot in Throckmortonâs house. Throckmorton confessed under torture and was executed. Significance: ⢠The plots showed that Maryâs presence in England posed a serious threat ⢠It also showed that France & Spain were a serious threat (& could invade) ⢠Throckmortonâs papers showed a list of Catholic supporters in England, so the threat from English Catholics was also real ⢠1,000s of Catholics were imprisoned or kept under surveillance/house arrest ⢠In 1585 another Act was passed to make helping Catholic priests punishable by death. ⢠The Bond of Association was signed by the English nobles & gentry & forced them to promise to execute anyone who tried to overthrow the Queen. Weaknesses of the Plots The plots lacked public support & were uncovered by informers & spies before they had the chance to work King Philip was reluctant to destroy his alliance with Elizabeth (France was still a bigger rival) so is support for the plots was half-hearted, he rarely followed through on his promises to help the plotters or send an army The Babington Plot (1586) In 1586, Walsingham used his spy network to PROVE that Mary supported the Babington plot. His evidence persuaded Elizabeth to put Mary on trial & execute her for treason. ⢠This was a plot to murder Elizabeth and put Mary on the throne ⢠France would invade England with 60,000 men and Spain would also send an army ⢠Babington was passing coded letters between Mary & her supporters in England & Europe. ⢠But all of her letters were being intercepted and read by Walsingham. ⢠Walsingham used his spies to follow every stage of the plot & had the letters decoded ⢠One of Maryâs letters approved plans to murder the Queen and free Mary from prison ⢠They also contained the names of 6 Catholics who planned to kill Elizabeth ⢠They were arrested, hung, drawn and quartered for treason. ⢠Mary had been implicated in plots before, but Elizabeth was always reluctant to execute her ⢠But the proof found by Walsingham finally persuaded her to put Mary on trial ⢠In October 1586, Mary was found guilty & was sentenced to death ⢠But Elizabeth still hesitated, and did not sign the death warrant until February 1587. Significance 1) This plot was very significant because by 1585 England was effectively at war with Spain since Elizabeth had sent her army to help the Dutch Protestants fight the Spanish 2) This meant that Elizabethâ situation was more dangerous than during previous plots. 3) Elizabethâs government also became more determined to crush Catholicism 4) 1000s of recusants were arrested & 31 priests were executed 5) Maryâs execution removed the Catholic threat at home 6) English Catholics had no one to rally around, & lost hope of overthrowing Elizabeth 7) But Maryâs death increased the threat of a foreign invasion as England was at war with Spain and King Philip had been preparing an attack on England since 1585 8) Maryâs death made Philip even more determined to invade, Mary had left her claim to the English throne to King Philip upon her death Why was Mary Queen of Scots finally executed? 1 ⢠A new Act in 1585 stated that in the event of Elizabethâs assassination, Mary could be executed as long as she had been proved guilty & Walsingham had provided hard proof. 2 ⢠Another reason was that by 1587, it was clear that Philip was planning to invade England ⢠There were rumours that Spanish ships had landed in Wales & that Mary had escaped. This convinced Elizabeth that Mary had to be executed if she wanted to keep her throne. Walsinghamâs Spy Network: ⢠Walsingham (Secretary of State from 1573) had a network of spies all over England & abroad. He had spies in every English town, some were normal people paid to spy on neighbours. ⢠He also had agents and spies in Spain, France, Germany and Italy ⢠He hired mathematicians to crack written codes and people to open/seal letters secretly ⢠He also pressured captured Catholic priests to spy on others for him in return for a pardon. ⢠He used double agents to infiltrate Catholic networks - to help him discover traitors ⢠But he only used torture against Catholic priests caught in England in the most serious cases ⢠But 130 priests and 60 of their supporters were still executed during Elizabethâs reign. Why did Relations with Spain get worse (1569-1588) ⢠England had tried to stay on good terms with Spain, because Eliz wanted to avoid an expensive war that could lead to her being overthrown (English Catholics could support it) ⢠But by the 1570s, Elizabeth wanted to have an empire of her own. ⢠She also needed to make more money to defend her country and throne (by improving trade) ⢠This religious, political and economic rivalry led to growing tensions between England & Spain Political and Religious Rivalry 1) Land abroad, gave countries wealth/power. By the 1580s, Eliz wanted an empire to rival Spainâs (especially as Spain had supported the Catholic plots against Eliz â even if it was half-hearted) 2) Religion was another cause of conflict. Philip opposed Elizabethâs religious settlement 1559 3) Luckily for Elizabeth, in the 1550s Spain & France were competing to be the greatest European power and both wanted England as an ally against the other. 4) But from 1567, Spanish ships were sailing to the Netherlands with money for the Albaâs army 5) This alarmed English Protestants and Elizabethâs Privy Council who put more and more pressure on her to send an army to help the Dutch Protestant rebels (in the Netherlands). Economic (commercial) Rivalry: The New World, privateers and Sir Francis Drake ⢠Under Elizabeth, English merchants wanted to make big profits in the New World (Americas). ⢠However, trading in the New World was difficult because of Spainâs power 1) Spain controlled most of the New World where there were huge profits to be made and anyone who wanted to trade there needed a licence from Spain (which it would not give): 2) But the Americas had valuable crops like tobacco, sugar, and also silver and gold 3) Elizabeth secretly encouraged privateers to trade illegally & raid Spanish ports & ships 4) At first Elizabeth denied responsibility for their actions, which delaye war with Spain Sir Francis Drake: Elizabeth sends Drake to rob Spanish colonies and ships (which infuriates Spain) 1) Spainâs support for the Ridolfi plot (1571) made her more willing to support Drake ⢠In 1572 Eliz hired Drake to sail to the New World & steal ÂŁ40,000 of Spanish silver ⢠In 1577 she sent Drake back again with a secret mission to rob Spainâs colonies/ships ⢠Drake brought back ÂŁ400,000 of Spanish treasure & claimed an area of California in Elizabethâs name (New Albion). He gave a lot of this money to Elizabeth ⢠He boosted Englandâs finances at a time of growing concern over Spainâs threat ⢠He became famous as the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. ⢠Eliz knighted Drake as a reward, which infuriated Philip (as he saw Drake as a pirate) ⢠Drakeâs actions & his claim to California made it clear that England did not accept Spainâs domination of the New World. Elizabethâs Support for the Dutch Rebels led to War with Spain (1585-88) ⢠By the 1580s, tension between England & Spain had reached boiling point ⢠At first, Eliz refused to send her army to help the Dutch rebels, because she wanted to avoid a war with Spain. So she tried to get the Spanish to leave the Netherlands in other INDIRECT ways: 1) By allowing Drake (& other English privateers) to attack and rob Spanish ships and colonies 2) By encouraging others (the French heir/mercenaries) to fight the Spanish in the Netherlands ⢠In the 1570s, Elizabeth promised to marry the heir to the French throne (the Duke of Alencon) so that he would take an army to fight the Spanish in the Netherlands The Spanish Fury (1576) and the Pacification of Ghent (1576) ⢠By 1576, the Spanish Govt in the Netherlands was bankrupt (the war was expensive) ⢠After months without pay, Spainâs soldiers violently robbed Dutch towns in the âSpanish Furyâ Spanish troops rebelling and robbing cities in the Netherlands in 1576. This united the Dutch Protestants & Catholics against Spain. They drew up the âPacification of Ghentâ (demanding that): ⢠Spanish troops leave the Netherlands ⢠Spain allows the Dutch to rule themselves ⢠The persecution of Dutch Protestants stops What did Elizabeth do? ⢠Elizabeth sent ÂŁ100,000 to help the Dutch rebels ⢠In 1577 King Philipâs brother, Don Juan agreed to the rebels demands (but this was a trick) as just 6 months later Philip sent an even bigger army to attack the Dutch. ⢠Elizabeth then hired a mercenary army of 6000 English & Scottish volunteers to help the Dutch. ⢠But her plan backfired because the mercenaries destroyed Dutch Catholic churches, which caused the Catholics to make peace with Spain. ⢠In 1578, her Privy Council urged Eliz to send her official army to help the Dutch, but she refused. The Dutch were disappointed & turned to France for help. The French Duke of Alencon arrived with an army to fight the Spanish, but by 1579 Spain had taken control again. ⢠In 1580 Spain got even stronger after Philip won control of Portugal & its empire. ⢠So Elizabeth gave the Duke of Alencon ÂŁ70,000 to help him fight the Spanish ⢠In 1582, Alencon took his army the Netherlands but failed to defeat Spain. ⢠Elizabethâs foreign policy in the Netherlands had failed & she had only managed to annoy Spain 1585: Why did Eliz finally decide to send her army to the Netherlands? (she lost her 2 main allies) ⢠1584 the Duke of Alencon died (so he could no longer fight the Spanish in the Netherlands) ⢠1 month later, William of Orange, the leader of the Dutch Protestant rebels was assassinated. ⢠In 1585, Spain signed the Treaty of Joinville with France, agreeing to stamp out Protestantism in France/Europe meaning France & Spain were now allies against Protestantism ⢠Elizabeth now felt she had no choice but to send her official army to the Netherlands ⢠She signed the Treaty of Nonsuch with the Dutch rebels which promised them military help 1585: Robert Dudleyâs campaign in the Netherlands was unsuccessful She sent 7,400 man army to the Netherlands led by Dudley. But he accepted the title of âGovernor Generalâ. Eliz was angry as it suggested that she had deposed King Philip so she told Dudley to resign this position. His army was defeated by the bigger Spanish Army as Eliz had not provided him with enough money to win. In 1587 Dudley resigned and returned to England. At the same time, Eliz had sent Drake to raid Spanish colonies in the New World to disrupt King Philipâs flow of money. Philip was furious and told the Pope he planned to invade England at the end of 1585. Drake singes the King of Spainâs beard 1587 ⢠In 1587 Elizabeth ordered Drake to attack Spainâs most important port Cadiz ⢠He destroyed 30 ships in 3 days â known as the âSingeing of the King of Spainâs Beardâ ⢠He also stole lots of wood, meaning the Armada did not have quality barrels for food/water ⢠Drakeâs disruption delayed the Armada by a year (& meant that its food rotted in 1588). ⢠This bought England more time to prepare for war. The Spanish Armada (1588) The Plan ⢠By 1588, the Spanish Armada was ready to invade England ⢠It had 130 ships with 8000 sailors & 18,000 soldiers ⢠The Duke of Medina Sidonia would lead the Armada, but he had little experience at sea and didnât want the job ⢠The Armada would collect Parmaâs army from France & sail to England under the protection of the Armadaâs warships ⢠Parma would march to London to depose Elizabeth & impose a Catholic government in England. 1) The Armada reached the English Channel The Armada set out in May 1588, but was delayed for a few weeks by bad weather In July the Armada was near England & signal fires were lit to warn Elizabeth English ships set sail to meet the Armada The Armada sailed up the channel in a crescent (half moon) formation, to use the large armed galleons to protect the weaker supply and army ships The English navy carried out a few minor raids, but did not inflict much damage Only 2 Spanish ships were lost (by accident) 2) The English attack the Spanish at Calais (with fire ships) and at Gravelines The Armada sailed up the English channel & anchored at Calais to wait for Parmaâs army But Parmaâs men didn't reach the coast in time (news had reached them too late) At midnight, the English sent 8 fireships into the Spanish ships causing panic They cut their anchors, broke formation & headed for the open sea (without Parma) The Spanish ships sailed to Gravelines, but bad weather stopped them returning to Calais The English attacked and the battle lasted many hours (5 Spanish ships were sunk) The rest were forced to sail away from France towards Scotland The English ships followed them to make sure they didnât come back to collect Parmaâs army 3) The Armadaâs Journey back to Spain around Ireland was a disaster The Spanish called off the attack and returned to Spain around Scotland & Ireland Bad storms sank many ships and wrecked more on the Irish coast Many sailors died from starvation & disease â less than half the men made it back to Spain How did England defeat the Spanish Armada? !) Faster Ships ⢠Years before the battle, England had started building smaller, faster ships (galleons) that could fire canon balls quicker & further than Spanish ships ⢠Spanish ships were huge and slow to change direction. 2) Bad Planning & Communication (Spanish) ⢠Philipâs plan to join with the Duke of Parmaâs army in France was risky. ⢠Parma had lots of small ships which took 48 hours to load, man and set sail. ⢠It took too long (a week) for word to reach Parma that Medina was in the English Channel, by which time Medina had set sail to Calais. ⢠Parma was not ready to set sail & the English were already ready to attack (leaving Medina with very little back up when anchored in France). 2) English Tactics were more effective ⢠Spanish ships aimed to come alongside the English ones, jump on board & fight the enemy. But the English ships were faster & kept a safe distance. ⢠They chased the Armada down the Channel, with heavy cannon fire, which forced the Spanish to arrive in France before Parmaâs army was ready ⢠As the Armada was waiting, the English sent fireships into the Spanish fleet. ⢠This caused the Armada to panic, cut their anchors & sail away to the north ⢠When the Spanish ships regrouped, the English attacked them in the Battle of Gravelines & the Armada was forced to sail north, chased by faster ships. 5) Bad Weather ⢠Strong winds made it impossible for the Armada to return & pick up Parmaâs army and storms wrecked or sunk Spanish ships as they tried to return home along the Scottish-Irish coasts. 2) Spanish Supplies ⢠The Armada was not well supplied with food/weapons. Drakeâs attack on Cadiz port in 1587 had destroyed food barrels. Delays in setting sail meant that by the time the English attacked the Armada it had been at sea for 10 weeks and had rotting food. 1000s died from starvation/disease. The consequences of the English victory? ⢠Victory over the Spanish Armada gave Elizabeth a great propaganda victory ⢠A new portrait was made, and a medal was made to commemorate her victory, it said âGod blew and they were scatteredâ. ⢠Elizabeth claimed that God was on the side of Protestantism ⢠This led to a feeling of English pride and encouraged the Dutch rebels to renew their fight against the Spanish ⢠The defeat of the Armada showed the strength of the English navy and gave England the confidence to trade and explore more widely at sea ⢠Although Philip did not give up and continued the war for the rest of Elizabethâs reign, the defeat had cost Spain dearly, both financially and in terms of its power ⢠The Armada marked the start of a long decline in Spainâs power and fortunes. ⢠English ships were sent on voyages of discovery and set up valuable new trade routes ⢠By the end of Elizabethâs reign, the navy was also trying to set up a new colony in Virginia ⢠The English victory boosted Elizabethâs popularity & strengthened the Protestant cause Need for resources Find gold More land Find faster route to India & China Spread Christianity Sailors & warriors from Scandinavia 1st Europeans in North America Reached Newfoundland, Canada, 932 C.E. Found grapes, timber, furs Quit coming around 1010 Italian sent by Spain Tried to reach Asia Landed in the Caribbean islands in 1492 Made 4 total voyages Claimed land for Spain Italian sent by England Looked for route to Asia Explored the coast of New Foundland, Canada in 1497 Claimed land for England Made 3 voyages across the Atlantic Italian navigator on Spanish ship Wrote a popular book about travels North & South America were named for him Spanish explorer Crossed the Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific Ocean in 1513 1st European to reach the Pacific through the New World French explorer Sailed up St. Lawrence River looking for a NW Passage Named & claimed Canada for France Made 3 voyages to explore Canada Spanish explorer & governor of Puerto Rico Searched for a mythical âFountain of Youthâ Claimed Florida for Spain in 1513 Spanish conquistador Conquered the Aztecs in 1519-1521 Claimed Mexico for Spain Spanish explorer & conquistador Searched for the mythical â7 Cities of Goldâ 1st European to see the Grand Canyon & American southwest Claimed land north of Mexico for Spain Englishman who sailed for the English and Dutch, 1609-1611 Claimed Hudson River and modern NY for Dutch Claimed Hudson Bay area for England French explorer Explored & established forts from the Great Lakes down the Mississippi River Claimed Louisiana for FranceMYTH The British helped the Jews displace the native Arab population of Palestine. FACT Herbert Samuel, a British Jew who served as the first High Commissioner of Palestine, placed restrictions on Jewish immigration âin the âinterests of the present populationâ and the âabsorptive capacityâ of the country.â1 The influx of Jewish settlers was said to force the Arab fellahin (native peasants) from their land. This was when less than a million people lived in an area that now supports more than nine million. The British limited the absorptive capacity of Palestine when, in 1921, Colonial Secretary Winston Churchill severed nearly four-fifths of Palestineâsome thirty-five thousand square milesâto create a new Arab entity, Transjordan. As a consolation prize for the Hejaz and Arabia (which are both now Saudi Arabia) going to the Saud family, Churchill rewarded Sharif Husseinâs son Abdullah for his contribution to the war against Turkey by installing him as Transjordanâs emir. The British went further and placed restrictions on Jewish land purchases in what remained of Palestine. By 1949, the British had allotted 87,500 acres of the 187,500 acres of cultivable land to Arabs and only 4,250 acres to Jews. This contradicted Article 6 of the Mandate which stated that âthe Administration of PalestineâŚshall encourage, in cooperation with the Jewish AgencyâŚclose settlement by Jews on the land, including State lands and waste lands not acquired for public purposes.â2 Ultimately, the British admitted that the argument about the countryâs absorptive capacity was specious. The Peel Commission said, âThe heavy immigration in the years 1933â36 would seem to show that the Jews have been able to enlarge the absorptive capacity of the country for Jews.â3 MYTH The British allowed Jews to flood Palestine while Arab immigration was tightly controlled. FACT The British response to Jewish immigration set a precedent of appeasing the Arabs, which was followed for the duration of the Mandate. The British restricted Jewish immigration while allowing Arabs to enter the country freely. Apparently, London did not feel that a flood of Arab immigrants would affect the countryâs âabsorptive capacity.â During World War I, the Jewish population in Palestine declined because of the war, famine, disease, and expulsion by the Turks. In 1915, approximately 83,000 Jews lived in Palestine among 590,000 Muslim and Christian Arabs. According to the 1922 census, the Jewish population was 83,000, while the Arabs numbered 643,000.4 Thus, the Arab population grew exponentially while that of the Jews stagnated. In the mid-1920s, Jewish immigration to Palestine increased primarily because of anti-Jewish economic legislation in Poland and Washingtonâs imposition of restrictive quotas.5 The record number of immigrants in 1935 (see table) was a response to the growing persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany. The British administration considered this number too large, however, so the Jewish Agency was informed that less than one-third of the quota it asked for would be approved in 1936.6 The British gave in further to Arab demands by announcing in the 1939 White Paper that an independent Arab state would be created within ten years and that Jewish immigration was to be limited to 75,000 for the next five years, after which it was to cease altogether. It also forbade land sales to Jews in 95% of the territory of Palestine. The Arabs, nevertheless, rejected the proposal. Jewish Immigration to Palestine7 1919 1,806 1931 4,075 1920 8,223 1932 12,533 1921 8,294 1933 37,337 1922 8,685 1934 45,267 1923 8,175 1935 66,472 1924 13,892 1936 29,595 1925 34,386 1937 10,629 1926 13,855 1938 14,675 1927 3,034 1939 31,195 1928 2,178 1940 10,643 1929 5,249 1941 4,592 1930 4,944 By contrast, throughout the Mandatory period, Arab immigration was unrestricted. In 1930, the Hope Simpson Commission, sent from London to investigate the 1929 Arab riots, said the British practice of ignoring the uncontrolled illegal Arab immigration from Egypt, Transjordan, and Syria had the effect of displacing the prospective Jewish immigrants.8 The British governor of the Sinai from 1922 to 1936 observed, âThis illegal immigration was not only going on from the Sinai, but also from Transjordan and Syria, and it is very difficult to make a case out for the misery of the Arabs if at the same time their compatriots from adjoining states could not be kept from going in to share that misery.â9 The Peel Commission reported in 1937 that the âshortfall of land isâŚdue less to the amount of land acquired by Jews than to the increase in the Arab population.â10 MYTH The British changed their policy to allow Holocaust survivors to settle in Palestine. FACT The gates of Palestine remained closed for the duration of the war, stranding hundreds of thousands of Jews in Europe, many of whom became victims of Hitlerâs âFinal Solution.â After the war, the British refused to allow the survivors of the Nazi nightmare to find sanctuary in Palestine. On June 6, 1946, President Truman urged the British government to relieve the suffering of the Jews confined to displaced persons camps in Europe by immediately accepting 100,000 Jewish immigrants. Britainâs foreign minister Ernest Bevin replied sarcastically that the United States wanted displaced Jews to immigrate to Palestine âbecause they did not want too many of them in New York.â11 Some Jews reached Palestine, many smuggled in on dilapidated ships organized by the Haganah. Between August 1945 and the establishment of the State of Israel in May 1948, sixty-five âillegalâ immigrant ships, carrying 69,878 people, arrived from European shores. In August 1946, however, the British began to intern those they caught in camps on Cyprus. Approximately 50,000 people were detained in the camps, and 28,000 remained imprisoned when Israel declared independence.12 MYTH As the Jewish population grew, the plight of the Palestinian Arabs worsened. FACT In July 1921, Hasan Shukri, the mayor of Haifa and president of the Muslim National Associations, sent a telegram to the British government in reaction to a delegation of Palestinians that went to London to try to stop the implementation of the Balfour Declaration. Shukri wrote: We are certain that without Jewish immigration and financial assistance there will be no future development of our country as may be judged from the fact that the towns inhabited in part by Jews such as Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa, and Tiberias are making steady progress while Nablus, Acre, and Nazareth where no Jews reside are steadily declining.13 The Jewish population increased by 470,000 between World War I and World War II, while the non-Jewish population rose by 588,000.14 The permanent Arab population increased by 120% between 1922 and 1947.15 This rapid growth of the Arab population was a result of several factors. One was immigration from neighboring statesâconstituting 37% of the total immigration to pre-state Israelâby Arabs who wanted to take advantage of the higher standard of living the Jews had made possible.16 The Arab population also grew because of the improved living conditions created by the Jews as they drained malarial swamps and brought improved sanitation and health care to the region. Thus, for example, the Muslim infant mortality rate fell from 201 per thousand in 1925 to 94 per thousand in 1945, and life expectancy rose from 37 years in 1926 to 49 in 1943.17 The Arab population increased the most in cities where large Jewish populations had created new economic opportunities. From 1922â1947, the non-Jewish population increased by 290% in Haifa, 131% in Jerusalem, and 158% in Jaffa. The growth in Arab towns was more modest: 42% in Nablus, 78% in Jenin, and 37% in Bethlehem.18 MYTH Jews stole Arab land. FACT Despite the growth in their population, the Arabs continued to assert they were being displaced. From the beginning of World War I, however, part of Palestineâs land was owned by absentee landlords who lived in Cairo, Damascus, and Beirut. About 80% of the Palestinian Arabs were debt-ridden peasants, semi-nomads, and Bedouins.19 Jews went out of their way to avoid purchasing land in areas where Arabs might be displaced. They sought land that was largely uncultivated, swampy, cheap, andâmost importantâwithout tenants. In 1920, Labor Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion expressed his concern about the Arab fellahin, whom he viewed as âthe most important asset of the native population.â He insisted that âunder no circumstances must we touch land belonging to fellahs or worked by them.â Instead, he advocated helping liberate them from their oppressors. âOnly if a fellah leaves his place of settlement,â Ben-Gurion added, âshould we offer to buy his land, at an appropriate price.â20 Jews only began to purchase cultivated land after buying all the uncultivated territory. Many Arabs were willing to sell because of the migration to coastal towns and because they needed money to invest in the citrus industry.21 When John Hope Simpson arrived in Palestine in May 1930, he observed, âThey [the Jews] paid high prices for the land and, in addition, they paid to certain of the occupants of those lands a considerable amount of money which they were not legally bound to pay.â22 In 1931, Lewis French conducted a survey of landlessness for the British government and offered new plots to any Arabs who had been âdispossessed.â British officials received more than 3,000 applications, of which 80% were ruled invalid by the governmentâs legal adviser because the applicants were not landless Arabs. This left only about 600 landless Arabs, 100 of whom accepted the government land offer.23 In April 1936, a new outbreak of Arab attacks on Jews was instigated by local Palestinian leaders who were later joined by Arab volunteers led by a Syrian guerrilla named Fawzi al-Qawuqji, the commander of the Arab Liberation Army. By November, when the British finally sent a new commission headed by Lord Peel to investigate, 89 Jews had been killed and more than 300 wounded.24 The Peel Commissionâs report found that Arab complaints about Jewish land acquisition were baseless. It pointed out that âmuch of the land now carrying orange groves was sand dunes or swamp and uncultivated when it was purchasedâŚThere was at the time of the earlier sales little evidence that the owners possessed either the resources or training needed to develop the land.â25 Moreover, the Commission found the shortage was âdue less to the amount of land acquired by Jews than to the increase in the Arab population.â The report concluded that the presence of Jews in Palestine, along with the work of the British administration, had resulted in higher wages, an improved standard of living, and ample employment opportunities.26 It is made quite clear to all, both by the map drawn up by the Simpson Commission and by another compiled by the Peel Commission, that the Arabs are as prodigal in selling their land as they are in useless wailing and weeping (emphasis in the original). âTransjordanâs king Abdullah27 Even at the height of the Arab revolt in 1938 (which began in April 1936 with the murder of two Jews by Arabs and the subsequent murder of two Arab workers by members of the Jewish underground28), the British high commissioner to Palestine believed the Arab landowners were complaining about sales to Jews to drive up prices for lands they wished to sell. Many Arab landowners had been so terrorized by Arab rebels they decided to leave Palestine and sell their property to the Jews.29 The Jews paid exorbitant prices to wealthy landowners for small tracts of arid land. âIn 1944, Jews paid between $1,000 and $1,100 per acre in Palestine, mostly for arid or semiarid land; in the same year, rich black soil in Iowa was selling for about $110 per acre.â30 By 1947, Jewish holdings in Palestine amounted to about 463,000 acres. Approximately 45,000 were acquired from the mandatory government, 30,000 were bought from various churches, and 387,500 were purchased from Arabs. Analyses of land purchases from 1880 to 1948 show that 73% of Jewish plots were purchased from large landowners, not poor fellahin.31 Many leaders of the Arab nationalist movement, including members of the Muslim Supreme Council, and the mayors of Gaza, Jerusalem, and s sold land to the Jews. Asâad el-Shuqeiri, a Muslim religious scholar and father of Palestine Liberation Organization chairman Ahmed Shuqeiri, took Jewish money for his land. Even King Abdullah leased land to the Jews.32 MYTH The British helped the Palestinians to live peacefully with the Jews. FACT In 1921, Haj Amin el-Husseini first began to organize fedayeen (âone who sacrifices himselfâ) to terrorize Jews. El-Husseini hoped to duplicate the success of Kemal AtatĂźrk in Turkey by driving the Jews out of Palestine just as Kemal had driven the invading Greeks from his country.33 Arab radicals gained influence because the British administration was unwilling to take effective action against them until they began a revolt against British rule. Colonel Richard Meinertzhagen, former head of British military intelligence in Cairo, and later chief political officer for Palestine and Syria, wrote in his diary that British officials âincline towards the exclusion of Zionism in Palestine.â The British encouraged the Palestinians to attack the Jews. According to Meinertzhagen, Col. Bertie Harry Waters-Taylor (financial adviser to the military administration in Palestine 1919â23) met with el-Husseini in 1920, a few days before Easter, and told him that âhe had a great opportunity at Easter to show the worldâŚthat Zionism was unpopular not only with the Palestine administration but in Whitehall.â He added that âif disturbances of sufficient violence occurred in Jerusalem at Easter, both General [Louis] Bols [chief administrator in Palestine, 1919â20] and General [Edmund] Allenby [commander of the Egyptian force, 1917â19, then high commissioner of Egypt] would advocate the abandonment of the Jewish Home. Waters-Taylor explained that freedom could only be attained through violence.â34 El-Husseini took the colonelâs advice and instigated a riot. The British withdrew their troops and the Jewish police from Jerusalem, allowing the Arab mob to attack Jews and loot their shops. Because of el-Husseiniâs overt role in instigating the pogrom, the British decided to arrest him. He escaped, however, and was sentenced to ten years in absentia. A year later, some British Arabists convinced High Commissioner Herbert Samuel to pardon el-Husseini and to appoint him Mufti (a cleric in charge of Jerusalemâs Islamic holy places). By contrast, Vladimir Jabotinsky and several followers, who had formed a Jewish defense organization during the unrest, were sentenced to 15 years. They were released a few months later.35 Samuel met with el-Husseini on April 11, 1921, and was assured âthat the influences of his family and himself would be devoted to tranquility.â Three weeks later, riots in Jaffa and elsewhere left forty-three Jews dead.36 El-Husseini consolidated his power and took control of all Muslim religious funds in Palestine. He used his authority to gain control over the mosques, the schools, and the courts. No Arab could reach an influential position without being loyal to the Mufti. His power was so absolute that âno Muslim in Palestine could be born or die without being beholden to Haj Amin.â37 The Muftiâs henchmen also ensured he would have no opposition by systematically killing Palestinians who discussed cooperation with the Jews from rival clans. As the spokesman for Palestinian Arabs, el-Husseini did not ask that Britain grant them independence. On the contrary, in a letter to Churchill in 1921, he demanded that Palestine be reunited with Syria and Transjordan.38 The Arabs found rioting an effective political tool because of the lax British response toward violence against Jews. In handling each riot, the British prevented Jews from protecting themselves but made little effort to prevent the Arabs from attacking them. After each outbreak, a British commission of inquiry would try to establish the cause of the violence. The conclusion was always the same: The Arabs feared being displaced by the Jews. To stop the rioting, the commissions would recommend that restrictions be placed on Jewish immigration. Thus, the Arabs learned they could always stop the influx of Jews by staging riots. This cycle began after a series of riots in May 1921. After failing to protect the Jewish community from Arab mobs, the British appointed the Haycraft Commission to investigate the cause of the violence. Although the panel concluded the Arabs had been the aggressors, it rationalized the cause of the attack: âThe fundamental cause of the riots was a feeling among the Arabs of discontent with, and hostility to, the Jews, due to political and economic causes, and connected with Jewish immigration, and with their conception of Zionist policy.â39 One consequence of the violence was the institution of a temporary ban on Jewish immigration. The Arab fear of being âdisplacedâ or âdominatedâ was an excuse for their attacks on Jewish settlers. Note, too, that these riots were not inspired by nationalistic fervorânationalists would have rebelled against their British overlordsâthey were motivated by economics, the radical Islamic views of the Mufti, and misunderstanding. In 1929, Arab provocateurs convinced the masses that the Jews had designs on the Temple Mount (a tactic still used today to incite violence). A Jewish religious observance at the Western Wall, which forms a part of the Temple Mount, served as a pretext for rioting by Arabs against Jews, which spilled out of Jerusalem into other villages and towns, including Safed and Hebron. Again, the British administration made no effort to prevent the violence, and, after it began, the British did nothing to protect the Jewish population. After six days of mayhem, the British finally brought troops in to quell the disturbance. By this time, most of Hebronâs Jews had fled or been killed. In all, 133 Jews were killed and 399 wounded in the pogroms.40 After the riots, the British ordered an investigation, resulting in the Passfield White Paper. It said the âimmigration, land purchase and settlement policies of the Zionist Organization were already or were likely to become, prejudicial to Arab interests. It understood the mandatory governmentâs obligation to the non-Jewish community to mean that Palestineâs resources must be primarily reserved for the growing Arab economy.â41 This meant it was necessary to restrict Jewish immigration and land purchases. MYTH The Mufti was not a Nazi collaborator. FACT In 1941, Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Mufti of Jerusalem, fled to Germany and met with Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, Joachim Von Ribbentrop, and other Nazi leaders. He wanted to persuade them to extend the Nazisâ anti-Jewish program to the Arab world. The Mufti sent Hitler fifteen drafts of declarations he wanted Germany and Italy to make concerning the Middle East. One called on the two countries to declare the illegality of the Jewish home in Palestine. He also asked the Axis powers to âaccord to Palestine and to other Arab countries the right to solve the problem of the Jewish elements in Palestine and other Arab countries in accordance with the interest of the Arabs, and by the same method that the question is now being settled in the Axis countries.â42 In November 1941, the Mufti met with Hitler, who told him the Jews were his foremost enemy. The Nazi dictator rebuffed the Muftiâs requests for a declaration in support of the Arabs, however, telling him the time was not right. The Mufti offered Hitler his âthanks for the sympathy which he had always shown for the Arab and especially Palestinian cause, and to which he had given clear expression in his public speeches.â He added, âThe Arabs were Germanyâs natural friends because they had the same enemies as had Germany, namelyâŚthe Jews.â Hitler told the Mufti he opposed the creation of a Jewish state and that Germanyâs objective was destroying the Jewish element in the Arab sphere.43 In 1945, Yugoslavia sought to indict the Mufti as a war criminal for his role in recruiting twenty thousand Muslim volunteers for the SS, who participated in the killing of Jews in Croatia and Hungary. He escaped French detention in 1946, however, and continued his fight against the Jews from Cairo and later Beirut where he died in 1974. MYTH The bombing of the King David Hotel was part of a deliberate terror campaign against civilians. FACT British troops seized the Jewish Agency compound on June 29, 1946, and confiscated large quantities of documents. At about the same time, more than 2,500 Jews from all over Palestine were arrested. A week later, news of a massacre of 40 Jews in a pogrom in Poland reminded the Jews of Palestine how Britainâs restrictive immigration policy had condemned thousands to death. In response to the British provocations, and a desire to demonstrate that the Jewsâ spirit could not be broken, the United Resistance Movement planned to bomb the King David Hotel, which housed the British military command and the Criminal Investigation Division in addition to hotel guests. The Haganah pulled out of the plot and left it up to the Irgun. Irgun leader Menachem Begin stressed his desire to avoid civilian casualties and the plan was to warn the British so they would evacuate the building before it was blown up. Three telephone calls were placed on July 22, 1946, one to the hotel, another to the French Consulate, and a third to the Palestine Post warning that explosives in the King David Hotel would soon be detonated. The call to the hotel was received and ignored. Begin quotes one British official who supposedly refused to evacuate the building, saying, âWe donât take orders from the Jews.â44 As a result, when the bombs exploded, the casualty toll was high: 91 killed and 45 injured. Among the casualties were 15 Jews. Few people in the main part of the hotel were injured.45 For decades, the British denied they had been warned. In 1979, however, a member of the British Parliament provided the testimony of a British officer who heard other officers in the King David Hotel bar joking about a Zionist threat to the headquarters. The officer who overheard the conversation immediately left the hotel and survived.46 In contrast to Arab attacks against Jews, which Arab leaders hailed as heroic actions, the Jewish National Council denounced the bombing of the King David.47 1 Aharon Cohen, Israel and the Arab World, (NY: Funk and Wagnalls, 1970), p. 172React to The Birchbark House by completing the activity on your TWR - Sentence Types tool. Develop two statements and two questions about the given topic. Topic: European arrival in the New WorldEuropeans arrive in the Americas (3-3)Europeans go to America (chapter 5)