Exploring the Americas

Why do people trade?

Every country engages in international trade, because no nation produces all the goods and services it needs.

What advances in technology paved the way for European exploration?

Instruments were invented that helped sailors navigate, including the compass (points to magnetic north, made navigation easier and more efficient), the astrolabe (helps locate stars), and the quadrant (allows sailors to measure angles). New kinds of ships, the caravel and the carrack were faster and more seaworthy, (less likely to sink).

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, and disease between the other continents and the Americas. EX.: Europeans did not have chocolate until the Native Americans gave it to them, and the Native Americans did not have horses until the Europeans gave them to them.

circumnavigation

circling of the globe
Ex.:Magellan was the first to circumnavigate the globe.

Reformation

The religious movement that resulted in the founding of Protestantism

Northwest Passage

European explorers searched in vain for the Northwest Passage, a waterway that would allow them to sail through North America to Asia. This would be a shorter, more direct route to Asia.

strait

a narrow passage of water connecting two large bodies of water

1492

Columbus reaches the Americas for the first time. He first reached a Caribbean Island which he named San Salvador.

1502

Amerigo Vespucci sails along South American coast, realizes it is a continent. America is named for him.

1513

Balboa is first European to see the Americas. He explored Panama.

1520

Magellan reaches southern tip of South America. Magellan's crew is first to circumnavigate the globe in 1522.

Age of Exploration

The Age of Exploration was a major turning point in history.

Why did Queen Isabella pay for Columbus to explore?

She wanted to spread Christianity, increase wealth by increasing trade if he found a sea route to the Indies.

Name 3 reasons that Europeans wanted spices from the Indies.

1-flavoring for food, 2-medicine,3-a way to preserve food (since there was no refrigeration)

Outcomes of Spanish exploration

1-discovered North America, South America, and the Caribbean Islands
2-mapped these lands
3-named the Americas
4-discovered the Pacific Ocean
5-circumnavigated the globe
6-Columbian Exchange

How were the goals of the Spanish and Portuguese sailors the same in the 1400s? How were their routes different?

Both wanted to find a route to the Indies to get spices. The Portuguese sailed around Africa and then to Asia. The Spanish sailed West, across the Atlantic Ocean to try to reach the Indies.

Cortes

Lead an expedition to Mexico, and defeated the Aztec, because he wanted their gold.

The French are mostly credited with exploring

the Mississippi River.

French estates along the St. Lawrence River

made up New France

Pueblos

towns, areas of trade

presidios

forts, often located near missions

missions

self-sufficient farming communities with a church, and a priest at its head-
goal was to spread Christianity and the Spanish way of life to the Native Americans.

What happened when Spain lost its domination of the seas?

It made it possible for England to become a great sea power. It was important that they be able to travel unchallenged on the seas, so that they could send settlers to North America, and traders could go back and forth between North America and Great Britain.

Who traveled the Mississippi by canoe, and explored for France?

Joliet, a fur-trader, and Marquette, a priest, traveled by canoe on the Mississippi, until they realized that the river flowed south into the Gulf of Mexico, not west to Asia.

plantation

large farm

conquistador

spanish explorer

1513

Ponce de Leon claims Florida for Spain, gave it its name, was searching for the Fountain of Youth, which he did not find.

1519

Cortes, sailing for Spain, lands in Mexico. Later destroys Aztec Empire.

1533

Pizarro conquers Incas.

1540

Coronado searches for the 7 cities of gold.

1542

New laws passed to protect Native Americans.

1565

St. Augustine founded in Florida.

Why were the Spanish able to conquer the Aztec Empire and the Incan Empire?

1-Spanish had many weapons
2-Native Americans were weakened by European diseases
3-Many Native Americans helped the Spanish fight their Aztec rulers

Which Spanish conquistadors conquered the Aztecs and the Incas?

Cortes conquered the Aztecs (present-day Mexico).
Pizarro conquered the Incas (present-day Peru).

1528

Narvaez landed in Tampa Bay area, attacked by Apalachee Indians, escaped across the Gulf of Mexico.

What led DeSoto and Coronado to explore what is now the Southeastern and Southwestern US?

They heard about the 7 Cities of Gold from Vaca, and wanted to find them.

How were the explorations of DeSoto and Coronado alike, and how were they different?

They both hoped to find gold. DeSoto explored in the southeastern US, Coronado explored in Northern Mexico, and the southwestern US.

What are the classes of society in New Spain, from highest to lowest?

peninsulares
creole
mestizo
Native Americans
enslaved Americans

Bartolome de Las Casas

-helped to convince the Spanish gov't to pass the New Laws in 1542, which made it illegal to enslave Native Americans.

Compare the efforts of the French and Spanish to control Florida.

The French built Ft. Caroline, near what is now Jacksonville. The Spanish, who had established a fort at St. Augustine, defeated the French. The Spanish were more successful in their efforts to control Florida.

Protestantism

a form of Christianity in opposition to Catholic Church

armada

a war fleet

tenant farmer

a settler who worked for a landlord and paid him rent

1517

Martin Luther breaks away from Catholic church.

1533

King Henry of England leaves Catholic Church.

1558

Elizabeth I becomes Queen of England.

1588

England defeats the Spanish Armada.

1609

Henry Hudson explores Hudson River.

1621

Dutch West India Company is established.

1663

New France declared.

What started the Protestant Reformation? What was the result of that action?

Martin Luther broke away from the Catholic Church in 1517. That break caused the Protestant Reformation and the Protestant religion.

What was a major cause of conflict between England and Spain in the 1500s?

They disagreed over religion.

What happened right before the British began to set up colonies in North America?

The English defeated the much larger Spanish Armada. Spain was no longer the Master of the Seas.

1497

John Cabot sailed for England, probably found Newfoundland instead.

1524

Verrazano sailed for France, explored coast of North America from Nova Scotia to the Carolinas.

1535

Cartier sailed for France, sailed up St. Lawrence River, named the mountain that is the present day city of Montreal.

1609

Henry Hudson sailed for the Netherlands, discovered the Hudson River, sailed as far north as Albany, on next voyage he discovered the Hudson Bay.

What were France's main interests in North America?

Fishing and fur-trading.

How did the French turn the search for a Northwest Passage into a large land-holding in North America?

They explored the Mississippi River, Rocky Mountains, and southwest to the Rio Grande. Then they claimed this large area for France.

How were the efforts of France and the Netherlands similar and different?

Both countries were interested in North America's vast natural resources. France explored and settled more of North America than the Netherlands.

De LaSalle 1669-1687

Traveled the Mississippi south to the Gulf of Mexico, then claimed all of that land for France. He called it Louisiana, after France's King Louis XIV.

1718 New Orleans established

by the French governor at the point where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf of Mexico.

What were the major North American settlements and the explorers?

-England-Colonies on Atlantic Coast-Cabot
-Spain-Southeastern North America, Florida, Southwestern North America-Columbu, de Leon, de Las Casas, deSoto, de Coronado, de Vaca, de Menendez
-France-Northeastern North America, Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains-Cartier, LaSalle,Joliet,de Verrazano
-Netherlands-Altantic Coast New Amsterdam-Henry Hudson

How did the Spanish feel about the Native Americans?

The Spanish did not consider the Native Americans to be worthy of respect or good treatment, but as a source of labor, and as uncivilized people from whom land, wealth, and labor could be taken.

What are some of the reasons for the exploration of the oceans?

-curiosity
-finding resources and wealth
-claiming land for the explorer's country
-colonization

Why did European countries compete to find a sea route to the Indies?

To obtain spices, which were used for flavoring, medicine, and preserving food

What were the differences between carracks and caravels?

Carracks-large, sturdy, carried supplies
Caravels-smaller, could sail closer to shore

How did the astrolabe and the quadrant help navigation?

They measured the position of the sun and the stars, which helped sailors locate themselves on the open seas.

Why did the Vikings sail close to the shore?

They did not have a compass, since it hadn't been invented yet. Compasses allowed sailors to sail away from land, and then find their way back again.

What did Columbus expect to find on the other side of the Atlantic?

Asia, India, spices, riches, Indies

How did the goals of Columbus and Isabella differ?

Columbus was after fame and personal wealth. Isabella wished to spread Christianity and increase Spain's wealth.

How many voyages for Spain did Columbus make?

Four-1492, 1493, 1498, 1502

Which Europeans were the first to reach the Americas?

Vikings.

What happened when a conquistador failed?

He lost his own fortune.

How did the discovery of gold lead to more exploration in the Americas?

After Cortez and Pizarro shipped back large amounts of Aztec and Inca gold, Europeans decided to explore southeastern and southwestern North America.

What did conquistadors have in common?

They all took land for their home country.

How had the Americas changed by the end of the Age of Exploration?

-Aztec and Inca empires permanently wiped out
-Europeans were in America to stay
-Native Americans were dominated by Europeans
-After the explorations and discoveries of de Leon, Cortes, and Pizarro, many more people came to colonize and explore the Americas.

Why did Spanish colonists set up plantations?

To raise sugarcane and tobacco.

List 3 main reasons for voyages of exploration in the late 1400s and early 1500s.

-to trade
-to gain riches for their countries
-to spread Christianity

What were the religious motives behind the Age of Exploration?

England broke with the Roman Catholic church, and became a Protestant nation. This caused a conflict with Spain, which was a Catholic country. They wanted to overthrow the English queen, so they sent their armada, but were defeated. Martin Luther was a German priest, dissatisfied with the Catholic church, who nailed his complaints to the church door. This caused thousands of people to leave the church.