European Exploration

1450-1750 CE

Objective

• Analyze the causes of European Expansion (1450-1750) (WHS 7A)

To clarify…• No one thought the earth was flat!• Almost every scholar believed the

Greek assumption of a round earth.• The Greeks even had the Earth’s

circumference down to almost 100% accuracy.

• Certain scholars and Columbus felt the Earth was smaller than it actually was thinking the world was just Africa, Europe, and Asia.

Why does Europe want to explore?

• Europe desires more trade with Asia due to writings of Marco Polo.

• Ottoman Turks conquer Constantinople and cut Europe off from trade with Asia.

• Spirit of Curiosity from the Renaissance.• Chinese compass and Arab triangular

lateen sails adapted for use.

Spain and Portugal: FIRST• Prince Henry of Portugal

develops a lighter ship and sponsors expeditions to Africa.

• Spain has completed the Reconquista of Spain’s Muslim areas and expels all the Jews in 1492.• Want to spread Christianity and

glorify Spain through exploration.

Christopher Columbus

• Columbus (1451-1506) of Genoa, Italy felt he could find Asia by sailing west.

• After years of looking for support he gets money and ships from Spain in 1492.

• After 2 months at sea and almost dying Columbus “discovers” the West Indies instead of Asia.

• He felt the world was smaller than it actually was and didn’t expect an unknown landmass.

Did he discover the New World?• You can’t really discover

something people already live in.• People had lived in the Americas

14,000 years before Columbus.

• Vikings like Leif Erikson had founded settlements in Newfoundland (Canada) about 500 years before Columbus.

• Theories of Chinese explorers interacting with the Americas in the early 1400s.

However…• Columbus did show Europeans

new sources of wealth and raw materials that fueled expeditions to the “New World.”

• In the case of monarchs and Columbus they wanted gold.

• We’ll talk about impacts later but the best idea summarizing European actions: The end justifies the means,

Spain and the New World• Spanish conquistadors create the

Spanish Empire.• Hernando Cortes conquers the Aztecs and

Mexico in 1521.• Francisco Pizzaro conquered the Inca and

Peru in 1533.

• Viceroys governed the colonies for Spain.

• Jesuits spread Christianity and built schools and hospitals.

• Spain transformed the region into Latin America.

Portugal’s Explorers• In 1497 Vasco Da Gama found an all

water route to India by sailing around Africa.• Ottoman land routes no longer needed.

• In 1519 Magellan lead the first expedition to circumnavigate (circle) the globe.• Magellan died on the voyage.

• Portugal builds trade forts on African coasts and trade settlements in the Indies.

Da Gama’s 1497 Voyage Magellan’s 1519 Voyage

Spain and Portugal are Rivals• With claims in the New World,

Africa, and Asia the two nations are at odds over who has dominion where.

• The Pope steps in with the Treaty of Tordesillas dividing the world into halves of Spanish/Portuguese influence.

• This is the cause of Brazil’s Portuguese relations.

What about the rest of Europe?• John Cabot of England claimed

territory that would become the 13 Colonies.

• Henry Hudson of the Netherlands explored Canada to find the Northwest Passage to Asia.

• France sent Jacques Carter, Samuel Chaplain, and Robert de la Salle to explore the Saint Lawrence River, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi River.

English Claims• First permanent English colony

founded at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607.• Tobacco becomes money maker.

• Protestant Pilgrims settle Plymouth Rock in 1620.

• Puritans landed in Massachusetts bay in 1630.

• Most initial colonist come for religious freedom.

Dutch Claims• The Dutch settled around what is

now New York.• Successful fur trades with the

Natives help drive settlement.• Set up Fort Orange in Albany in

1624.• A second fort settlement was built

on the island of Manhattan called New Amsterdam.

• Dutch expand solely for trade.

French Claims• New France covered Canada,

the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi River.

• Mainly trading outposts and small, scattered settlements.

• Missionaries arrived to convert the natives.

• French expansion continued to the desire for beaver furs.

R.A.F.T.S (2 Paragraphs)Role Spaniard Portuguese Dutchmen Frenchmen

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Topic The year is 1660 CE and you have saved up enough money to travel to the New World. Why are you going to the New World? What is drawing you to it? Who has explored this area before you? What do you expect to find in the New World? What do you want to do in the New World?

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