Lesson 2.1

Lesson 1

Lesson 1—First Contacts

What led to contact between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples?

In this lesson you will examine the factors that fostered contact between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the Americas. Geographically, you will examine the variables of location, distance, and resources of the Americas that led Western European voyageurs to travel across the Atlantic Ocean. You will look at how population growth and religious values and beliefs in Western Europe also influenced the drive to make contact with the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. As well, you will examine the economic factors that led countries such as Spain, Portugal, France, and England to approve of voyages of exploration and discovery to achieve economic wealth and power. The information you gather will support your inquiry into these questions:

What factors made contact possible?
Contact between the groups: what, where, why, when, and how?
In what ways did contact shape how each group interacted with each other?

sailing ship

Americas: the land of the Western Hemisphere: North America, Central America, and South America; also referred to as the New World in fifteenth-century European perspective

This will help you respond to the section question: What were the historical reasons and legacies?

The development of relationships can succeed or fail depending on first impressions. Consider your first impressions when you attended your first class. How did the impressions of your teacher and fellow classmates influence whether or not you looked forward to being in the course?

More than just the fact that these were strangers to each other guided how the historical relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in the Americas would develop. In the twenty-first century, much thought and effort is devoted to educating diplomats, businesspeople, and travellers about cultural etiquette, protocol, and body language. Taking the wrong step or making the wrong move could lead to failed diplomacy or business deals—even to an unsuccessful job interview.

Cirque du Soleil Artists Prepare for Performances in Macau

In August 2008, the famous acrobatic troupe Cirque du Soleil began a year-long schedule of performances in Macau.

Macau is a former Portuguese colony of Chinese–Portuguese heritage whose sovereignty was returned to the People’s Republic of China in 1999.

Acrobat