The series 1491 Continues with a look at the governance and trade of the First Nations. This episode might have been the fifth episode of the series, but for this blog, I will be doing it third. The run time for this episode is 47:29.
Each of the First Nations had its own systems of government and they communicated with each other through trade. They were divided into clans, then confederacies, and alliances. The First Nations even formed empires. The Haudenosaunee Confederacy has formed over 900 years ago and was the ancestor of the Iroquois Confederacy. It was one of the oldest representative democracies in the world. Before the confederacy, five nations were at war and these wars were violent on both sides. Human relations had broken down among the people. Everyone Chief engaged in retaliation and revenge. One particular chief was ruthless in getting revenge. He was known as a Serpent Chief. He would put live snakes in his hair. Legend had it he could control the wind and the waters. He was a very twisted individual both physically and mentally. A man known as the Peacemaker arrived at the Iroquois Lands. He traveled widely and talked about peace. He was a former warrior but had changed his way of thinking. However, the Serpent Chief saw this as a betrayal and had the Peacemaker’s daughters killed one by one. The Peacemaker left his community to isolate himself in the forest. The Peacemaker would meet up with another chief. Together they would promote peace among the five tribes. Women were important to the Iroquois so the pair went to a woman to try to promote peace. One tribe did not join up and this was the tribe led by the Serpent Chef. The woman they spoke to told them to gather four chiefs to come to him and to make him the keeper of the fire. The four chiefs met up with the Serpent Chief, but he continued to resist the offers of peace. The Serpent Chief did not want to lose all power. Would the Serpent Chief join the Iroquois Confederation? What would it take for him to join up with the four other Iroquois nations? The Inka Civilization was the next group talked about. They started off as farmers in the Andean Highlands and they established their empire 600 years ago. According to Oral History, the first Inka family left Lake Titicaca to look for the perfect location to establish a homeland. When the Inka people arrived in Cuzco, there were people living there. The Inka got rid of the original inhabitants and absorbed the rest. Cuzco would be the hub of political life for the Inka empire. It was home to twenty million people and was organized into four quadrants. Leaders from all over the empire were required to live in Cuzco for part of the year. The Inka Empire grew north and south. They recruited other leaders and those who resisted their alliance was punished. The next empire discussed was the Maya empire. The Mayans were made up of a series of city-states. These cities-states were dotted along the coastlines and were a trading empire. They traded basalt, turquoise, and other items. Everything was carried on their back. The Mayans now had access to Jade. Jade was moved through Mesoamerica. The trade happened by foot and by boat. One of the most important trade items was Maize. Maize was food and it fed the cities. At the same time, the Hopewell Exchange was transporting goods by boat and used the rivers to trade. Raw goods were transported and they were transformed to finish products. To continue to learn more about this Hopewell Exchange continue to watch this episode. What other forms of government were in place in the First Nations? Continue to learn more in this episode. The first little context episode talked about the Kingdoms of the Middle East and the city centers that had grown up. Then the last empire that was discussed was the Incan Empire. Another interruption dealt with the trading of food around the world. So far this has been an interesting series to watch and write about. This is another good episode to watch and there were quite a few government forms talked about. I would show this episode in a classroom as well.
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