Chapter 2- Europe Looks Outward (1000-

1720)

Mr. Bennett 7th Grade US History 2015-2016

Section Focus Question

How did the search for a water route to Asia affect both Europe and the Americas?

Wait, I thought Columbus discovered America, not ASIA???

A brief story…

European countries wanted to get to Asia so they could trade with people in India and Southeast Asia

They had no idea North America, the Caribbean, or South America even existed.

So, looking on a map, why didn’t the Europeans just go across Europe, by land into Asia?

Eurasian Plain

The Problem

Christian Europeans had just lost a series of battles known as the Crusades.

They lost to the Muslims and were forced to give up their lands in the Middle East.

Because they lost, they were no longer allowed to use the Mediterranean Sea or land in the Middle East to trade.

So, they had to find a water route that avoided the Middle East in order to get to Asia.

Portuguese Explorers

Henry the Navigator of Portugal started a navigation school that taught aspiring sailors how to use new technology like magnetic compasses and astrolabes.

Future Portuguese explorers would use this technology to find a sea route to Asia by sailing down the west coast of Africa, into the Indian Ocean to get to India and Southeast Asia.

How to get from Europe to Asia by avoiding the Muslims in the Middle East

Europeans could now trade in Asia but…

But it took FOREVER to get there.

Many wanted to find a shorter route.

One man had an idea…Maybe, just maybe, if we sailed west instead of

south and around the bottom of Africa we could get there faster.

This man’s name…

Christopher ColumbusOriginally from Genoa, Italy

Sailed for Portugal in the 1470s.

Had a plan to sail west to get to India (spices).

Portugal’s king rejected his plan.

Didn’t give up, moved to Spain where he convinced King Ferdinand and Isabella to fund his voyage west.

Setting Sail

August, 1492

90 men aboard the Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria

Predicted they would reach Asia in 21 days.

21 days came and went, no land was in sight.

Crew became restless and tried to overthrow the ship’s officers.

Thought he was in Asia and close to Japan. In reality, he was in the Caribbean and had landed on Cuba.

Columbus claims land for Spain

Spain sponsored several more voyages.

Columbus discovers Puerto Rico and the island of Hispaniola.

When he returned to Spain he was convinced until his dying day that he had landed in Asia.