INTRODUCTION:

TWO WORLDS

I.   Background and Questions for this Lecture

1.         What were the life experiences and cultural differences and similarities between the inhabitants of these hemispheres?

2.         How did Europeans become leaders in world trade and extend their influence across the Atlantic?

II.  The Native American's World

A.  In the beginnin
B.  The First Americans
C.  Mesoamerican Civilizations
        1.  The Maya and the Aztecs
D.  The Indians North of the Rio Grande

III.  European Society, 1450-1550

A.  Peasants
B.  Hierarchy and Authority
C.  The Power of the Church
D.  The Crusades
E.  The Renaissance

IV.   Conclusion:  European Exploration, 1450-1492

A.  A Passage to Asia
B.  Christopher Columbus
        1.  Balboa and Magellan