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AMERICAN CIVILIZATION

GEOGRAPHY
The term "United States", when used in the
geographical sense, means the continental United
States,
Alaska,
Hawaii,
Puerto Rico,
Guam, and the
U.S. Virgin Islands.
The United States shares land borders with Canada
and Mexico and maritime (water) borders with Russia,
Cuba, and The Bahamas in addition to Canada and

RELIGION

religion is practiced in the United States, which


was founded on the basis of religious freedom.
More than 75 percent of Americans identify
themselves as Christians.
About half are Protestant, about one-quarter are
Catholic, and a small percentage are Mormon.
After Christianity, Judaism is the second mostidentified religious affiliation, at about 1.4 percent
of the population.
About 20 percent of the population has no
religious affiliation.

ARTS AND LITERATURE

Matoaka was the


beautiful and lively
daughter of
Powhatan, ruler of
the land that the
English named
Virginia.
"Pocahontas" was
her childhood
nickname, translated
as "little wanton,"
meaning she was
playful and hard to

When she was born,


Powhatan sent her
mother home to her own
village, to raise
Pocahontas.
That was his custom.
When she was about
school age, Pocahontas
left her mother to live in
her father's capital, with
her older brothers and
sisters.
As they grew up,
Powhatan appointed
some as chiefs of his
other tribes. Pocahontas
became her father's
favorite, "the apple of his

To start, Pocahontas was


just a nickname, meaning
"the naughty one" or
"spoiled child."
Pocahontas (born
Matoaka, known as
Amonute, and later known
as Rebecca Rolfe, c.
1595 March 1617) was
a Virginia Indian notable
for her association with
the colonial settlement at
Jamestown, Virginia.
Pocahontas was the
daughter of Powhatan,

Portrait by Simon de Passe, 1616.

she is said to have saved the life of an Indian


captive, Englishman John Smith, in 1607 by
placing her head upon his own when her father
raised
his war club to execute him.

John Smith

Chief Powhatan

During her captivity,


she converted to
Christianity and took
the name Rebecca.
When the opportunity
arose for her to return
to her people, she
chose to remain with
the English.

In April 1614, she married tobacco planter John


Rolfe, and in January 1615, bore him a son,
Thomas Rolfe.

In 1616, the Rolfes


traveled to London.
Pocahontas was
presented to English
society as an example of
the civilized "savage" in
hopes of stimulating
investment in the
Jamestown settlement.
She became something
of a celebrity, was
elegantly feted, and
attended a masque at

the true Pocahontas


story has a sad ending.
In 1612, at the age of
17, Pocahontas was
treacherously taken
prisoner by the English
while she was on a
social visit, and was held
hostage at Jamestown
for over a year.
During her captivity, a
28-year-old widower
named John Rolfe took
a "special interest" in the
attractive young
prisoner.

As a condition of her
release, she agreed to
marry Rolfe, who the
world can thank for
commercializing
tobacco.
Thus, in April 1614,
Matoaka, also known as
"Pocahontas", daughter
of Chief Powhatan,
became "Rebecca
Rolfe".
Shortly after, they had
a son, whom they
named Thomas Rolfe.
The descendants of
Pocahontas and John
Rolfe were known as
the "Red Rolfes."

Two years later on the spring of


1616, Rolfe took her to England
where the Virginia Company of
London used her in their
propaganda campaign to
support the colony.
She was wined and dined and
taken to theaters. It was
recorded that on one occasion
when she encountered John
Smith (who was also in London
at the time), she was so furious
with him that she turned her
back to him, hid her face, and
went off by herself for several
hours. Later, in a second
encounter, she called him a liar

Rolfe, his young wife, and


their son set off for Virginia
in March of 1617, but
"Rebecca" had to be taken
off the ship at Gravesend.
She died there on March
21, 1617, at the age of 21.
She was buried at
Gravesend, but the grave
was destroyed in a
reconstruction of the church.
It was only after her death
and her fame in London
society that Smith found it
convenient to invent the
yarn that she had rescued
him.

History tells the rest. Chief


Powhatan died the following
spring of 1618.

The people of Smith and


Rolfe turned upon the people
who had shared their
resources with them and had
shown them friendship.

During Pocahontas'
generation, Powhatan's
people were decimated and
dispersed and their lands
were taken over.

A clear pattern had been set


which would soon spread
across the American

Another version.

.Several years passed,


with no sign of Pocahontas.
Ralph Hamor heard that she
had married one of
Powhatan's chiefs, named
Kocoum.
Captain Argyle discovered
that Pocahontas was staying
with the Patowamekes, and
captured her on June 4,
1613, intending to trade her
for concessions from
Powhatan.

Powhatan only met enough of


the demands to keep
negotiations open. During her
captivity, leading colonists
worked to convert her to
Christianity.
One of those colonists, John
Rolfe, fell in love with her, and
she with him. Pocahontas
was baptised as a Christian,
and married John Rolfe in
1614.
Her new name was Lady
Rebecca Rolfe.
She gave birth to a son,
Thomas. This marriage
created the "Peace of
Pocahontas", six years of
peace between the

REVOLUTIONS IN LATIN
AMERICA

LATIN AMERICA

Latin American countries are those which are


situated to the south of the United States.
There are 20 Latin American countries.
Their culture was influenced by either Spain or
Portugal. Except Brazil, all others have
Spanish speaking population.
Roman Catholic is the primary religion.

Mexico, a large country in the north of Latin


America, is where the Mayan and Aztec
civilizations flourished
Hernando Cortes
- a Spanish conquistador, landed on
Mexican coast and swiftly conquered the
empire built by the Aztecs.
Spaniards ruled this country for about three
centuries

Francisco Pizarro
- a Spanish adventurer, invaded Peru. He
killed the Inca ruler and established the
tyranny of Spain.
The natives were heavily taxed and forced to
work on farms of rich Spanish settlers.
In the course of a few centuries, the Spanish
colonies spread all over what we now call
Latin America.

Portugal became a serious rival to Spain in


due course of time. A Portuguese ship sailing
under skipper Cabral was blown off its course
from the African coast and reached the coast
of Brazil.
In the course of time, Brazil became the only
Portuguese colony in Latin America.
A few colonies were also set up in South
America by the British, French, and the Dutch.
A few islands in the Caribbean also was
occupied by the European civilization.

REVOLTS IN LATIN AMERICA

The Spanish and Portuguese brought their armies


to Latin America to quell the revolts of the natives.
Most of the natives were either American-Indians
or negroes (brought from Africa as slaves), or
creoles or Mestizos.
The natives were made to sell all their goods to
their conquerors at cheap price and buy goods
brought to them by their masters at high cost.
Mineral resources like gold, silver, tin, copper, and
oil were exported to enable their masters to
become rich.

Finally, the American War of Independence,


the French Revolution of 1789, and the
Napoleonic wars inspired the natives of the
Spanish and Portuguese colonies to raise the
banner of their independence.
When Napoleon appointed his brother,
Joseph, the king of Spain, the Spanish
colonies in America refused to recognize him
as such.
Mexico, Venezuela, Peru, Argentina, and Chile
declared their independence one after another.

Fortunately, they enjoyed a profitable trade


with Britain and the latter offered them her
naval protection. However, with the restoration
of King Ferdinand VII to the Spanish throne by
the Congress of Vienna, the independence of
the Spanish colonies was in danger. King
Ferdinand VII could be described as one of the
most reactionary rulers of Europe at that time.

COURSE OF REVOLUTIONS

A series of rebellions broke out from Mexico


down to Argentina and the Spanish king sent
his troops to the colonies to quell these revolts.
The liberation movements were strong and so
the Spanish troops failed in their mission. The
native revolutionaries drove them out of their
colonies.
Despite his initial setback, the Spanish king
continued to send his troops to the colonies
year after year with the hope of eventually
recovering them.

Francisco De Miranda
- a Venezuelan patriot played a most
prominent role in the liberation movement of
his country. In the end, he was caught by the
Spaniards who made him suffer by imprisoning
him in a dark cell.
- died a martyr to the cause of
independence of his country in 1816

Simon Bolivar
- carried out Francisco De Mirandas
unfinished task; fought the Spanish forces for
nearly 15 years and finally achieved the
independence of Venezuela
Along with Venezuela, Columbia, Ecquador,
and Panama also became free

Jose De San Martin


- led a revolutionary movement against the
Spanish government and he was joined by
Simon Bolivar.
- liberated Chile and his homeland
Argentina
- In a short time the other Spanish
colonies, Peru, and Bolivia were set free by
Martin and Bolivar.

Father Hidalgo
- a priest who led a national movement for the
independence of Mexico. Most of his followers
were simple peasants. Although his struggles
failed and he was executed by Spanish
authorities, his inspiring leadership was
unforgettable.
A couple of years later, the national movement
gained speed and the Spanish governor was
expelled. The Mexicans declared their state as a
republic.
With the exception of a few islands in the
Caribbean sea, Spain lost all her colonies in

With the extension of Napoleonic control over


Portugal, the royal family fled the country and
settled in Brazil. So Brazil became the
headquarters of the Portuguese authority, and
for quite some time, the Brazilians enjoyed
many privileges.
However, after the Napoleonic defeat, the
royal family left for Portugal and Brazil came to
be treated as a colony. It was this reversion to
the old status that the Brazilians disliked
because they lost all the privileges. Therefore,
they rebelled.

Dom Pedro
- eldest son of the Portuguese king who
became the leader of the revolutionary
struggle.
The Brazilians declared their independence
and chose Dom Pedro as their emperor in
1822. This empire continued until 1889, and in
that year, the Brazilians established a
Republic.

MONROE DOCTRINE

The Monroe Doctrine of 1823 discouraged the


European powers from political interference in
the affairs of the independent countries of
South America.
Spain and Portugal lost all hopes of recovering
their colonies.
Many of the newly independent countries in
South America were unfortunate in losing their
democratic set up and frequently came under
the spell of ruthless dictators.

Changes in government became the normal


feature in their political system. A typical
example was Mexico where within fifty years
time, there had been fifty seven changes of
government.

The First Continental Congress


(1774)

British retaliation roused the anger of the


colonists. The British assembly of Virginia took
the first step in issuing a call for a continental
Congress to deal with the intolerable act of the
British government which endangered the
liberties of every colony.
September 1774- First Continental Congress,
included delegates from all the colonies except
Georgia. George Washington, John and
Samuel Adams, and John Jay took part in the
Congress.

Skirmishes at Lexington and Concord lead to


war:
The first Continental Congress had approved
steps to be taken to prepare for war.
The people of Massachusetts gathered arms
and ammunition and trained minutemen to
fight.
In Boston, British General Thomas Gage sent
troops to capture ammunition stored by
minutemen at Concord.

When the troops arrived at Lexington, conflict


ensued resulting in the death of minutemen.
British troops advanced towards Concord and
destroyed the ammunition dump. On its way
back the British troops suffered 250 casualties
as they were fired upon by the colonists. Tales
and British atrocities spread and soon the war
broke out.

Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776)


A few weeks after the battles of Lexington and
Concord, the Second Continental Congress
met in Philadelphia.
The Congress, representing the delegates
coming from all colonies except Georgia,
decided to support the war.
They sent an olive branch petition and also
adopted a declaration of the Cause and
Necessity of Taking Up Arms.

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