Pre-Columbian America to Early US Literature: A Historical Journey
“Out of Africa” Theory and Pre-Columbian Empires
The most significant native empires arose in Central and South America, notably the Incas. Central America exhibited a more advanced level of development.
Pre-Columbian Cultural Areas
The most developed tribes, such as the Pueblo Indians, were located in the southwest and established settlements. (Hibas: religious spaces).
Viking Exploration
The Vikings were the first Europeans to settle in North America, 500 years before Columbus. Icelandic Sagas document this. Evidence of Viking structures remains. Around 1000 AD, Leif Erikson, son of Eric the Red, discovered Greenland, and his son explored Wineland on the North American coast.
Spanish Expeditions in North America
Expeditions focused on the southern regions of North America, with less interest in the north. By 1763, all territories west of the Mississippi belonged to the Spanish Empire. Notable explorers include:
- Ponce de León: Discovered Florida, named after la Pascua Florida (Easter). Also linked to the legend of the Fountain of Youth.
- Hernando de Soto: First European to see the Mississippi River.
- Cabeza de Vaca: Part of Pánfilo de Narváez’s expedition. After a shipwreck, he, along with three other Spaniards and Estevanico (the first African-born person in the US), spent eight years crossing the continent. He later wrote Naufragios.
- Francisco Coronado: Explored the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River.
- Fray Junípero Serra: Founded Santa Barbara, San Diego, and Los Angeles.
Early Settlements
St. Augustine, Florida, founded by the Spanish in 1565, is the oldest permanent European settlement in the US. Jamestown, Virginia, founded by John Smith in 1607, is the oldest English settlement. San Francisco was founded in 1776, the same year as the Declaration of Independence.
The Legend of Cibola
The legend of the Seven Cities of Gold emerged after the Arab invasion of Spain. It was said that seven bishops fled to America with treasures and founded seven marvelous cities. Cabeza de Vaca’s accounts reinforced this myth, leading to expeditions like Coronado’s in search of Cibola. While no gold was found, gold mines were later discovered in California around 1850, which then belonged to the US.
European Colonization
French Colonization
The French dominated large territories in North America, founding New Orleans and Louisiana, which were later sold to the US by Jefferson.
Dutch Colonization
The Dutch settled along the Hudson River but were eventually expelled by the English.
English Colonization
It began with Captain John Smith founding Jamestown in 1607. John Rolfe introduced tobacco to Virginia and married Pocahontas. The veracity of the Pocahontas story is debated, with John Smith’s account being the only evidence.
Pilgrim Fathers and Puritanism
The Pilgrim Fathers arrived in New England in 1620 on the Mayflower. New England (north) and Virginia (south) were the origins of the 19th-century Civil War. The Puritans, a Protestant group, rejected the Anglican Church’s corruption. Separatists, like those on the Mayflower, sought to reform the church from within and adhered to Calvinism. They moved to Holland for religious freedom but eventually settled in the New World. William Bradford led the Plymouth colony and wrote The Plymouth Plantation. Around 1630, another Puritan colony, led by John Winthrop, founded the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Calvinist Dogmas
Key Calvinist beliefs included the importance of the Bible and predestination, the idea that God determines who goes to heaven or hell before birth. The Mayflower settlers considered themselves the chosen ones.
The Enlightenment and the American Revolution
The French Revolution (1789) marked the end of the Ancient Regime and the beginning of the Republic, with ideas of democracy, elections, and division of powers. Influenced by thinkers like Montesquieu and John Locke, the Declaration of Independence incorporated ideas of natural rights, consent of the governed, and the right of rebellion. The declaration was a message to both the American people and European nations, justifying independence.
Benjamin Franklin, a self-made man, embodied the Enlightenment ideal. He sought moral perfection through a self-improvement plan.
Enlightenment Characteristics
Based on classical literature, the Enlightenment had political, social, and didactic purposes. Poetry was part of the neoclassical movement.
Poetry and Theatre
Poetry focused on politics, satire, and didactic themes. Alexander Pope was a key English poet. Joel Barlow wrote The Columbiad. Neoclassical poets used poetic diction. Freneau, the poet of the revolution, bridged the Enlightenment and Romanticism. Theatre emerged late in the US due to Puritan beliefs. The first play was The Prince of Parthia by Thomas Godfrey (1767). The Contrast (1787) introduced the first American character, the Yankee.
American Romanticism
The first real American literature was associated with Romanticism. Lyrical Ballads by Coleridge is considered the first English romantic book. Sentimental novels explored love and feelings. The first American novel was The Power of Sympathy by William Hill Brown (1789). Other notable works include The Coquette by Hanna Webster Foster and Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson. Hugh Henry Brackenridge wrote Modern Chivalry. Charles Brockden Brown’s Wieland is an example of Gothic literature. James Fenimore Cooper wrote The Last of the Mohicans. Washington Irving wrote Tales of Alhambra and The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Light and Dark Romanticism
American Romanticism is divided into Light Romanticism (Transcendentalism), with an optimistic view of human nature (Emerson, Thoreau), and Dark Romanticism (Edgar Allan Poe, Hawthorne, Melville).