Transcript Early European Explorers

Early European
Explorers
• There were
many
reasons and
causes that
led to the
Europeans
quest for
new land
Viking Exploration
• Vikings from Norway
became the first
Europeans to establish a
passage across the
Atlantic to the land that
became North America.
They did it in stages,
setting up bases in
Iceland and Greenland
until they reached
Labrador in eastern
Canada (Vinland)
Silk Road - overland route
to the East
Spices
•
To find a sea route to the East for spices of Asia
• In the 1400s, there was no refrigeration. To prevent meat
from spoiling, people drowned their meat in salt to
preserve and dry it (like beef jerky). They also used a lot
of spices like pepper to cover up the taste of the salted or
spoiled meat
• There were no spices grown in Europe. They had to come
from the “Indies” – China, Japan, India.
• Spices had to be brought across thousands of miles of
dangerous mountains and deserts by spice traders, with
bandits waiting to rob the spice caravans.
• In 1453 the route was cut off by the Turkish empire.
• European rulers knew if they could find a different
route that they would become very rich.
Gold, Silver, Precious Stones
European rulers fought against each other and against the
Turkish Empire
War was expensive and the rulers needed the gold, silver, and
precious stones to finance them
Through their trading, they believed Asia was loaded with
gold, silver, and precious stones
They had to find a way to get to the Indies that wouldn’t be
as dangerous as going across Asia and through the Turkish
Empire
Trade route to the Indies
Caravans Along the Silk Road
Quest for Knowledge
In the 1400’s Europeans did not know much about
the world
Their maps only showed Europe, Asia, and the top of
Africa
They only new one ocean – the Ocean Sea
Educated people knew the earth was round, but not
how big
Larger Empires
Some European rules, primarily the King of
Spain and the King of Portugal wanted to claim
as much land as possible
The power of the Turkish Empire convinced
them that they could control the natural resources
and people of conquered territory
They began to finance exploration
Expand Christianity
There was only one religion in Europe at the
time – Christianity
The European’s were very religious and wanted
everyone to become Christian.
They would convert any conquered people to
Christianity.
Demand was high for these items, but it was a
long journey across land with many obstacles
• must hire MIDDLEMEN (traders who bought
goods and sold them to other traders or
consumers), which cut into the profit
• dangerous mountains and deserts
• bandits waiting to rob spice caravans
• cost to move the items from the East to
Europe was high and dangerous
Search for water route to Asia
Prince Henry the Navigator,
(1394-1460, Portugal),
established a school for the
study of navigation and ship
building. He sponsored
expeditions down the coast
of Africa. His goal was to
find a route to the spice
trade of the Indies and to
explore the coast of Africa.
Going west to the Far East
• Christopher Columbus
believed it was about
3000 miles to India with
no land obstacles. He
tried to get support for
his EXPEDITION from
the rulers of France,
Portugal, and England.
It was Spain that agreed
to finance his voyage.
Christopher Columbus(1451-1506
• Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria set sail in August, 1492
• October, 1492 Columbus reached land, which he called
San Salvador (the Bahamas)
• Columbus believed he was off the coast of India and
called the people living there INDIANS.
• Columbus made 4 voyages across the Atlantic. He
established the first Spanish settlement in the New
World on Hispaniola (Dominican Republic/Haiti).
• When Columbus died, he believed he had found the
route to the Far East.
•His efforts led to other European exploration
(French, English, Spain) and the continued search
for a shorter route to the Far East.
Other Early Explorers
Giovanni Caboto (English name JOHN CABOT) sailed under
the English flag and was the first European to actually reach the
North American mainland - Newfoundland in Canada
The ocean route from Europe to India was discovered by 20 year
old VASCO DE GAMA (Portugal) in 1498.
AMERIGO VESPUCCI (Italy) sailed along the coast of South
America in 1499 and was convinced it was a new continent.
In 1519, FERDINAND MAGELLAN (Spain) sailed around the
tip of South America, but died in the Philippines. One of his
ships did make it back to Spain, the first to circumnavigate
(circle) the globe.
Magellan’s Route
How America got its name
• Amerigo Vespucci wrote
letters with glowing
descriptions of what he
referred to as the New
World.
• These letters were read in
later years by a German
cartographer (map maker)
Apparently unaware of Columbus’s discoveries and
impressed by the descriptions of the New World,
he labeled the new land AMERICA
Words of Mathias Ringmann, editor
“There is a fourth quarter of the world
which Amerigo Vespucci has discovered and for
this reason we can call ‘America’ or the land of
Amerigo.”
“We do not see why the name of the man of
genius, Amerigo, who discovered them, should not
be given to these lands…”
These words were published in 1507 and marked
the first time the word AMERICA appeared in
print.
SPAIN IN THE NEW WORLD
• Europeans wanted a shorter route than that of
Magellan.
• Ponce de Leon landed in what’s now is Florida
in 1513.
• Vasco de Balboa crossed the isthmus (narrow
strip of land connecting 2 larges land areas) of
Panama to reach the Pacific Ocean
Europe in the New World
Treasure lures the Spanish
•Hernando Cortes, conquistador (Spanish
conqueror), landed in Mexico in 1519. By
1521 he had conquered the Aztecs and claimed
a treasure of gold and silver.
• Francisco Pizarro defeated the Inca’s in Peru
in 1535 and captured the richest silver mines in
the world at that time.
• Other Spanish
“Seven Cities of Cibola”
• legendary golden cities in the southwest
• de Niza, Spanish missionary discovered the Zuni people living
in 7 villages in today’s Arizona and N. Mexico
• he thought the villages were full of treasures, creating a legend
that motivated other Spanish to explore the area.
• de Coronado led an expedition from northwestern Mexico with
300 troops and Native American slaves to search for the treasures.
• although he found no gold and his expedition was considered a
failure by his superiors, he explored a great deal of the
southwest
Coronado’s
expeditions
through the
southwest,
including what
is now
Oklahoma
European – Indian contact
Indian economy – barter system
• Indians traded among themselves and with
other Indians they came in contact with
• beads, shells, spears, arrowheads
When the Spanish and French arrived, their
economy changed
• demand for furs and hides
• the Indians exchanged these items for guns
and ammunition
Beaver felt hats were
very fashionable
Busy trade in beaver pelts was
fundamental in the exploration
and settlement of Canada
Demand for beaver hides
almost led to their extinction
Introduction of Horses to the
Indians
Most significant impact on Indian life was the horse.
Spaniards had the advantage over the Indians who
had to travel on foot
Horses changed Indian life drastically
• transportation (carrying items)
• hunting
• mobility – more contact with other tribes
• led to skirmishes over territory
By 1700 almost every tribe had horses
Plants
Plants native to North America:
• maize (corn), beans, potatoes, squash, pumpkin,
tomatoes, peppers, peanuts, sunflowers, 50+ kinds of
berries
Europeans introduced:
• rye, radishes, beets, sugar cane, rice, peaches, oats,
coffee, wheat
Indians grew, chewed, and smoked tobacco
• Europeans fascinated by smoking “sticks” (pipes)
• smoking a calumet (long ceremonial pipe) was a
Native American ritual
Animals
Europeans brought with them domesticated
animals
• pigs, chickens, sheep, goats
• the Indians used them for food and clothing
The North American turkey was taken back to
Europe where it became very popular with the
wealthy aristocracy.
Turkey Facts
• Groups of turkeys are called “rafters” or “gobbles”
• Big Bird’s original suit was made of over 4000 white
turkey feathers dyed yellow
• the flap under the turkey’s chin is called a “wattle” and
turns bright red during mating season
• Benjamin Franklin wanted
the wild turkey to be
the national bird of the
United States
Our national bird????
"For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been
chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of
bad moral Character. He does not get his Living
honestly.... For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a
much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original
Native of America... He is besides, though a little vain &
silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack
a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to
invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.”
excerpt from letter to Franklin’s daughter, 1784
Disease
The Europeans also introduced disease.
When the Europeans first arrived in the New World
there were perhaps 10 millions Native people. A century
later there were perhaps 1 million.
In the north (Canada area) Indians died from chicken
pox, in the south, smallpox.
Lacking immunity from these diseases, the Indians died
by the thousands. Whole villages “died on heapes, as
they lay in their houses.” The Aztec were defeated
by Cortez only after they were weakened by
smallpox.