Transcript Columbus Discovers the Americas

Columbus Discovers the Americas
1492 - 1607
Reasons for European Exploration
1.
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3.
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5.
The Crusades
Emergence of Strong Central States
The Renaissance
New Technology
Expanding Horizons
The Crusades (1095 – 1291)
Brought Europeans into
contact with the Middle East
Europeans wanted spices and
luxury items from China and
India
Emergence of Strong States
France, England, Spain,
Italy, Portugal
By 1300s feudalism was
declining
Kings were becoming more
powerful
Trade was booming
The Renaissance (1350 – 1600)
Rebirth of learning
Read Greek, Roman & Arab texts
New Technology
Compass
Astrolabe
Improved ships
(sails, masts, etc.)
Expanding Horizons
Portuguese explore
African coast
Reach India
Import gold, ivory, pepper
and palm oil
Christopher Columbus
Born in Genoa, Italy in 1451
Worked as a map maker
1470s – began looking for financial backing to find a
western route to India
Wanted:
Title of Admiral of the Oceans
10 % of all the loot
Governorship to his heirs
1492 – Queen Isabella of Spain gave him three ships
Died in 1506, at age 55 depressed & penniless
Tobacco
Columbus and other explorers brought back tobacco
seeds to Spain
Europeans believed it was a miracle herb which could:
Ward off the plague
Cure sword wounds
Clear congested lungs!!
Columbian Exchange
Welcome to the
Q.A.R.
70’s Dance Party!
Q.A.R.
70’s Dance Party!
We need 2 Big Groups and 2 small groups (The Movers & the Shakers) within
the big group.
Form 2 lines that face each other.
Movers share ONE question from their list and discuss the answer with their
partner across the isle. Repeat this process with the Shakers. (3.5 Mins)
When time is up, the movers slide down one position or (boogie down one
position). Shakers stay in place or Shake your groove thang!
The Mover at the end of the line should boogie down between the rows to the
other end.
Other European Explorers
 John Cabot (England)
 Vasco Nunez de Balboa (Spain)
 Ferdinand Magellan (Spain)
 Giovanni Verranzo (France)
 Jacques Cartier (France)
 Francisco Coronado (Spain)
 Sir Francis Drake (England)
 Sir Walter Raleigh (England)
 Juan de Onate (Spain)
 Samuel de Champlain (France)
Amerigo Vespucci
 Henry Hudson (Netherlands)
 Juan Ponce de Leon (Spain)
 Hernán Cortez (Spain)
 Francisco Pizarro (Spain)
 Hernando de Soto (Spain)
European Explorers
Spain and the Three G’s
God
Gold
Glory
What about the Natives?
Indian Slavery
Encomeinda – a land owner had the right to the labor of all
natives who lived on the land
Created by Columbus
Gold Tax
War
Native Population of Hispaniola
300,000
250,000
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
1492
1510
1550
Priests
Priests and missionaries regularly traveled with the explorers
Tried to convert the natives to Christianity
Most were good and honestly tried to help the natives
Others used the cross to justify bad treatment
1514, Pope Leo X declared, “not only the
Christian religion but Nature cries out against
the slavery and the slave trade.”
Bartolome de las Casas
Priest who tried protecting the rights of Native
Americans
Disease
Disease was the Europeans most formidable weapon
The Indians’ immune system had no defense against
diseases such as measles and smallpox
Spread via the trade routes of Indians
Disease killed thousand times more Indians than guns or
swords
African Slave Trade
Once Native populations had been decimated, the
Europeans began turning to Africa for their labor
Treaty of Tordesillas
Black Legend
French Territories
The French claimed the land around the Gulf of St.
Lawrence and the Great Lakes
Also claimed the land all along the Mississippi River
down to New Orleans
Fishing and trapping for fur were their main enterprises
English Territories
The English claimed the land along America’s Eastern
coast
They were most interested in settling the land
The Lost Colony
1587 – Sir Walter Raleigh sent a group of
colonists to what is now Virginia
89 men, 7 women, 11 children
Called their colony Roanoke
1590 – a relief expedition arrived to find
no remains of the colony
Jamestown