Exploration and Colonization of the New World

United States History

Early Exploration to the New World

Leif Erickson - Viking Explorer- 1000 A.D.- First European to land in

the New World- Vinland – Newfoundland

The Atlantic World

• Italian explore who convinced Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain to sponsor a trip to the East Indies

• Instead of going East he planned on sailing to the West

Christopher Columbus

The Expedition

• Columbus set sail in August 1492 with three ships: Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria.

• He sailed to the West for Gold, God and Glory.

• Reach the Bahamas and San Salvador on October 12, 1492.

• He capture several “Indians” that he “discovered” and other items from his trip and returned to Europe in March 1493.

Early Explorations

• When he returned Columbus he announced that he had found a route to the East Indies.

• As word spread countries and Europe began to send their own explorers to the West.

• Word of his discovery also started tensions between Spain and Portugal. To end the tension and to prevent war the Pope established a the Line of Demarcation that divided settlement in the New World.

Line of Demarcation 1493

America and the New World

• Columbus made four trips to the New World.• He had promised that he would find gold and

spices that would make money for Spain, but he failed.

• He was always convinced that he had found the East Indies.

• He died penniless.

America and the New World

• In 1501, Amerigo Vespucci sailed to the West and discovered the Amazon River and other features in South America.

• When he returned he said that he discovered a New World.

• A German map maker Martin Waldseemuller proposed that the new world be named America in his honor.

The Columbian Exchange

• However, Columbus would not be forgotten because his name is used to describe the transfer of food, animals and disease between the New World and Europe, Asia and Africa.

Food, Plants and Animals from the New World

• maize (corn)• potato• sweet potato • beans• peanuts• pumpkin• squash

• tomato• Chile pepper• cocoa• turkey• vanilla• tobacco• avocado

Food, Animals, Plants and Disease from Europe, Asia, and Africa

Foods• coffee bean• bananas• sugar cane• olives• grapes• onions• peach and pear

Grains• wheat• rice• barley• oats

Food, Animals, Plants and Disease from Europe, Asia, and Africa

Animals• cattle • sheep• pig• horses

Diseases• small pox• influenza• typhus• measles• malaria• diphtheria• whooping cough

Interactions between Europeans and American Indians

• The explorations and settlements of the English in the American colonies and Spanish in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America, often led to violent conflicts with the American Indians (First Americans).

• The Indians lost their traditional territories and millions fell victim to diseases carried from Europe.