NCERT Summary: The Early Societies (Theme 10: Displacing Indigenous Peoples) | NCERT Video Summary: Class 6 to Class 12 (English) - UPSC PDF Download

Displacing Indigenous Peoples

• The American empires of Spain and Portugal did not expand after the 17th century.
• The countries like Holland, France and England began to expand their trading activities and to establish colonies in America, Africa and Asia after 17th century.
• The word ‘Settler’ is used for the Dutch in South Africa, the British in Ireland. New Zealand and Australia and the Europeans in America.
• The native people led a simple life. They did not claim their rights over land.
• The continent of North America extends from Arctic Circle to the Tropic of Cancer and from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.
• The inhabitants of North America used to live in groups before the advent of the Europeans.
• The original inhabitants of North America came from Asia about 30,000 years ago.
• The inhabitants of North America grew vegetables and maize. They ate fish and meat also.
• The people of North America believed in subsistence economy.
• People spoke numerous languages, but none of them is available to us in written form.
• Accounts of historical antecedents were recorded by each tribe.
• They used to transfer their historical knowledge orally to the next generation.
• Technique of clothes weaving was also known to the inhabitants.
• In 1492, Christopher Columbus discovered the continent of America.
• News of discovery of gold and silver mines in America spread throughout the world.
• The Hopis were a native tribe who lived near California.
• Wampum belts are made of colored shells, sewn together.
• At the end of 18th century Canada came into existence.
• England had 13 colonies on the eastern coast of America.
• In the 1840’s, traces of gold were found in the USA, in California. It led to the ‘Gold Rush’, when thousands of Europeans hurried to America in the hope of making a quick fortune. It also led to the building of railway lines across the continent.
• British colonies in America declared a war against England in 1776 to gain independence.
• The War of Independence of the colonies continued till 1783.
• In 1860, the USA had an undeveloped economy. In 1890, it was the leading industrial power in the world.
• Invention of barbed wire in 1873 brought out revolution in American agriculture.
• The American President Abraham Lincoln played a key role in the abolition of the slavery.
• Explorer William Jansz of Dutch reached Australia in 1606.
• A.J. Tasman followed the route of William Jansz and named Tasmania after his name.
• A.J. Tasman discovered New Zealand.
• Another British explorer, James Cook reached the island of Botany Bay in 1770 and named it New South Wales.
• In Australia, economic prosperity of the mining industry played a crucial role.
• Canberra was declared the capital of Australia in 1911.
• The process of economic development enhanced with rearing of Marino sheep.

Important terms

• Colonial: Belonging to a country that controls another country.
• Oral History: To write history or to dictate others so that it could have been recorded.
• Native: Citizens of the colonized countries. ‘The Hopis’ are California’s native tribes.
• Subsistence Economy: It means to produce as much as required for the fulfillment of their basic necessities.
• Settler: People who settle at a place of which they are not inhabitants.
• Wampum Belt: A belt made of colored shells.
• Indigenous people: People belonging naturally to a place.
• Multiculturalism: A policy that implies a treatment of equality for the cultures of native Europeans and Asian emigrants.
• Terra Nullius: A policy that implies recognizing no one’s right over a given piece of land.

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