First Contact

Exploration1450 – 1600 was Europe’s age of exploration.Explorers would convince monarchs to give them money to explore the world and find new paths to the Asian market. In 1492 Christopher Columbus was able to get some money from the Queen of Spain and ventured to find a quick and easy path to Asia. Instead, he landed in San Salvador in Central America. This started the colonization of the America’s.

ExplorationSome definitions to know

Colonization – to settle and control new lands in the name of another country. Imperialism – the policy of extending control of a region or regions by one nation. Imperialsim involves both economic and political control.

ExplorationEven though Christopher Columbus did not find a new path to Asia, he and many others started to realize what they found was new territory. Everyone in Europe made a mad dash to collect more territory. Portugal, Britain and France all sent explorers westward to search out new land. They all avoided the south – territory that Spain had begun to take over – and headed north instead.

ExplorationSpain – controlled Central America and into South AmericaPortugal took over territory what we now know as Florida.Many British ships took over territory that we now know as USA and a good chunk of Canada. The French took over some parts of the USA (Louisiana for example) and Quebec. Upon taking over this territory, all original countries implemented the policy of imperialism. Little did they know the challenge of trying to take over a territory all ready occupied by others…

The VikingsLong before the French, British, Spanish and etc… colonized land in America, there were the Vikings. The Vikings were people from the Scandinavian countries – Sweden, Norway and Denmark. Many Vikings, around the year 1000, decided to leave their home land in search of new, or possible better, opportunities elsewhere. Most Vikings made their way to Iceland and Greenland where the established colonies.

The VikingsSome Vikings made their way into the North-Eastern parts of Canada – Newfoundland, Labrador and Northern Quebec.Many Vikings that came to North-Eastern Canada failed at establishing a settlement or permanent community. This was mostly due to the difficult climate and constantly being in battle with local Native people. The Vikings were often attacked and driven off the land. Oddly enough, after approximately a couple hundred of years, the Vikings mysteriously disappeared.

Be careful of what you find

Observe the image on page 218Romanticize – to make a story seem more happy and pleasant then it is in reality.

Early European ArrivalsBy the end of the 1400’s, European countries were trying to find a way to break down Portugal’s monopoly on trade with Asia. Monopoly – complete control of a market for a certain good or service. In 1847, King George VII of England gave Italian explorer John Cabot money to find a route to the Asian market.

Early European ArrivalsNow to be an explorer for a specific monarchy, you need to have a letters patent – a royal document that set out terms and permissions for the voyage. Cabot’s letters patent gave him the right to, “seek out, discover, and finde whatsoever isles, countreys, regions, or provinces of the heathen and infidel,” and “subdue, occupy and possesse all such townes, cities, castles and isles of them found.”Heathen - is a non-ChristianInfidel – non-believer, and in most cases, non-Christian.

Early European ArrivalsNotice some of the interesting spelling of words on these letters. Also, how many castles would you find in North America? This showed how little knowledge these monarchs and explorers had about territory they were to pass through. Most notable, these patents somehow gave a country the right to take over another territory.

Early European ArrivalsCabot, on his ship called “The Matthew” set sail to find Japan or China. As such he knew he had to sail in a more northerly direction than that of Columbus. As such, he ran smack dab into Northern Canada. He had no idea what this land was, and as per his patent he declared this “New Found Land” territory of the British Empire. Hence, we get Newfoundland.

Thinking ProcessTake a moment to think about what this must have been like for the native people of Eastern Canada – to see this bizarre object coming towards your land, and this odd man screaming that he declares this land as British territory – yet not understanding what he is saying because of the language barrier. Would you want to work with these people, list some pros and cons

The French ExplorationNot to be outdone by Britain and Spain, in 1534 France commissioned Jacques Cartier to find a Northwest passage to Asia.Cartier found his way across the Atlantic Ocean and made way for what we now know as PEI and New Brunswick. Upon reaching the Gaspe Peninsula (territory in between New Brunswick and Quebec) he claimed the territory for France.

The French ExplorationUpon claiming this land, he ran into Iroquois natives and ended up kidnapping two of them – Taignoagny and Domagaya, and returned back to France. In 1535 Cartier returned to explore a great river he saw on his first journey – the St. Lawrence River.For guidance, Cartier relied on Taignoagny and Domagaya to help make their way down the St. Lawrence River. Now the St. Lawrence river is very rocky, dangerous and at points could hardly fit a ship that sailed across the ocean.

The French ExplorationHe eventually arrived in Stadacona, near now-a-day Quebec City.Against all odds, he decided to make his way down the St. Lawrence to Hochelga, near Montreal. After Hochelga, he stopped as the St. Lawrence became very narrow and much more difficult to navigate through. Not only that, but he hit the winter weather and could not make their way back through the St. Lawrence and stayed in Stadacona.

The French ExplorationCartier started to lose sailors to scurvy – a lack of Vitamin C. Thanks to the help of Domagaya, who created vitamin –C rich tea from spruce bark and needles, many sailors were able to survive. When weather permitted, Cartier kidnapped more Iroquios Native people and head back to France. Most of these people died when they got to Europe as they had no immunity to the diseases that spread rampant around Europe. Suffice to say, relations between the Iroquois and the French were not so good.