Q3: Colonization of American lands by the Europeans.
Q2 – Physical geography of the USA, main mountain ranges and peaks, rivers and lakes, mineral resources.
From the geographical point of view the US can be divided into the following zones:
1) The atlantic coastal planes
2) The Appalachian highlands
3) The interior planes
4) The interior highlands
5) The Rocky Mountains
6) Intermountain platoes and basins
7) Pacific region
8) Alaska
9) Hawaii
There are two mountain systems in the US: The Appalachian mountain systems, the Cordillera mountain system. The Cordillera consists of the Rocky Mountains, that sharply divide the country into the east and west, Sierra-Nevada mountains, Cascade mountains, Maritime ranges. The highest peak of the USA in McKinley – 6.194 meters. The most famous desert is the Death Valley in California. The Great American Lakes: Michigan, Lake Superior, Huron, Ontario, Eire. 4 of them form the natural border between the US and Canada. The GAL are one of the largest fresh water collections in the world. Their total area is about 250.000 km2. By means of the Saint Lawrence River in Canada and the Hudson river in the US the GAL are connected with the Atlantic ocean. The GAL are the famous tourist attraction. Between the lakes Ontario and Eire there situates Niagara falls. Two more lakes must be mentioned – the famous Salty Lakes: The Great Salt Lake in the state of Utah and the Saltine Sea in California.
All the rivers in the USA can be divided into 2 groups: those, which into the Atlantic ocean, and those, which flow into the Pacific ocean. The longest river in the USA is the Mississippi river, which start in the Rocky Mountains and flows into the Gulf of Mexico (near the city of New Orleans). Its main branch is the Missouri river, it passes through a number of agricultural regions and washes up pieces of soil and dust (it’s too thick to drink and too thin to plough).
To the Atlantic Ocean:
· The Arkansas River
· The Ohio River
· The Red River
· New York stands on the Hudson River
· Washington – Paformack River
In the west:
· The Colorado River (dangerous river was, The Grand Canyon appeared as a result of the swift stream of Colorado – the most outstanding natural phenomenon)
· The Columbia River
· Yukon River
MINERAL RESOURCES
The main deposits of oil are in:
o The Gulf of Mexico, California, Alaska, Texas
Main Deposits of coal are in:
o Appalachian Mountains, Region of Pittsburgh.
Main deposits of iron:
o Lake Superior’s district.
The Rocky Mountains are rich in minerals: copper, zinc, led, nickel, and precious metals: gold, silver, platina.
Uranium in New Mexico.
Q3: Colonization of American lands by the Europeans.
The first people in America appeared 30.000 ago. They probably came from Asia by means of crossing the Bering Straits. The total number of Native Americans by the 15th century was about 2 million people. The first Europeans who saw the American continent were the Vikings from Scandinavia. In the 10th century a group of them headed by Ericson reached Newfoundland (today’s Canada). However, the Vikings are not considered to be the discoverers of America because their aim was not to explore the continent.
In 1492 Columbus – an explorer from Genève in search of India, reached Bahamas and this event meant the discovery of a new continent, although he hadn’t known about it.
America was named after Amerigo Vespucci, rich from Florence, who held Columbus to his second voyage in 1493 (Columbus never stepped in the territory of the natural USA).
By the 16th century the name America was recognized everywhere but Spain and Portural. Only in the 18th century they accepted it.
John Cabbot (Englishman) and Jack Cartier (Frenchman). Cabbot explored Newfoundland in the North of Canada; Cartier explored the valley of the St. Lawrence River in the south and he was considered to be the person who gave the name to Canada. The fact that the Englishman and Frenchman explored Canada gave the right to the governments of these countries to claim these teriitories.
Permanent:
European settlement in America was created by the Spaniards in 1565 in Florida.
The first permanent English settlement was established in 1609 in Janes Town in Virginia. Although there was an attempt to establish the colony earlier than that (Sir Walter Rally tried to do it but failed).
The year 1619 became an important date for the history of English colonies as it outlined a number of features in their development. Events: (1619)
1. An English ship with 19 girls on board arrived in James Town. A man who wanted to marry one of these girls had to pay 120 pounds of tobacco to the shipowner (improving of demography);
2. A Dutchship with first African slaves came to James Town which opened the most shameful page of America’s history (1619-1865);
3. In the cathedral of James Town there was held a meeting of the representatives of the colony which is considered to be the 1st attempt of the colonies to get selfgovernment.
In the 1620 event: a group of Puritans from England known as the Pilgrim Fathers landed in Massachusetts. The Puritans were against corrupted catholic churches and expressed the desire to purify the church. They were persecuted in England and many of them left for the new continent.
The Pilgrim Fathers arrived on board of the famous ship Mayflower. Their voyage lasted for several months. There were 102 of them. During that 1 person died but 1 girl was born. She was named Ocean. They established a colony based on the principles:
o Religious freedom
o Hard work
o Self-governance
They signed the famous Mayflower compact which is considered to be the 1st known document in America that deals with the matters of self-governance.
The first winter 1620-1621 was very harsh for the pilgrims and more than a half of them died of cold and hunger. They appeared in a desperate situation because they didn’t know how to plant the local crops, how to protect from cold, how to build homes. The rest of the pilgrims would surely have followed the example of their brothers but for the timely help of the native Americans. They taught the pilgrims how to produce the traditional crops such as potatoes, tomatoes, pumpkins, indian corn, cucumbers. They taught them how to use tools and weapon and means of transportation: dog sledges, tomahawks, canoes, hamocbs, how to build wigwams, how to wear mokasins and snow shoes, how to cure different diseases with coca.
The next year of 1621 to thank God for this miraculous solution the pilgrims established a holiday – Thanksgiving Day. Today it is celebrated every 4th Tuesday in November.
Dutch expedition headed by Henry Hudson established a colony on Manhattan Island and called it New Amsterdam 16.. Only in 1664 the English ceased this colony and renamed it into New York. The pilgrims were not quite tolerant to those of the other religion. Roger Williams in the Pilgrim’s Colony in Massachusetts who didn’t want to obey to some of the rule and was expelled from the colony and established his own colony on Rhode Island. In 1634 the colony of Maryland was established as a refuge for the Catholics from Europe. 1681 William Penn – a rich quacker from Europe established a colony of absolute religious freedom, which later turned into the state of Pennsylvania. In 1732 there was established the 13th English colony Georgia. France had its colonies in Canada and in Louisiana. Spain had Florida. In 1756 there broke out a war in Europe that lasted for 7 years between England against France and Spain. Reason was the domination in American Colonies. England won the war, as a result France lost Canada and a half of Louisiana. By the 1760s the remained only English colonies.
The Europeans began to expand their territories to the west, capturing Native American settlements, exterminating the local population. As a result of this extermination the population of Native Americans reduced from two million in the 16th century to 200 000 people in the middle of the 19th century. Certain measures were to be taken to save the authentic culture of Native Americans. In 1894 a special Bureau of Indian Affairs was established responsible for this measures. They wanted to isolated the native population, there were set aside special reservations, where the natives could live in security. Moreover the reservations were situated in the poorest lands.
The native population today is 2.5 million (0.8% of the total US population). 62% of the natives live in the big cities, the rest still live in the reservations. The main problem for the natives there is the integration with the rest of the society. The linguistic influence of the Indians in American English is obviously felt in hundreds and thousands of geographical names, more than a half of the US states have original native American names, as well as many cities, rivers, lakes. States: Ohio, Massachusetts, Wyoming, Idaho, Arizona, Mississippi, Michigan. Cities: Chicago.