THE EXPLORATION OF NORTH AMERICA

EXPLORATION: To travel to a region previously unknown to learn about its features and inhabitants.

HOW THE UNITED STATES BEGAN…

Arm-Buddy

Why would you explore? Think about reasons you might leave everything behind to explore a new world. List your reasons to your “arm buddy.” Are yours and theirs the same? You have 1

minute

Early World ExplorationsEarly World Explorations

• Leif Erickson, 1000 AD – New Found land

• Moors & the Spice Trade – Asia

• Chinese Admiral Zheng He & the Ming “Treasure Fleet” – California

• Nicolo, Maffeo, & Marco Polo, 1271 - China

Expansion becomes a state enterprise monarchs had the authority & the resources.

Better seaworthy ships.

15th Century: The Setting15th Century: The Setting

Crusades by-pass middle men to get to Asia.

Renaissance curiosity about other lands and peoples.

Reformation refugees & missionaries.

Spanish Reconquista (Conquistadors)

Rise of the Nation-State: Monarchs seeking new sources of revenue.

Technological advances. (ships and printing press)

New Maritime TechnologiesNew Maritime Technologies

Hartman Astrolabe

(1532)

Better Maps [Portulan]

Sextant

Mariner’s Compass

Because of advances in TECHNOLOGY and map-making, Europeans began successfully navigating the Atlantic Ocean.

MERCANTILISM

A countries power depends on wealth.

More money equals more power!

Balance of Trade- Exports vs. Imports

Exports Imports

CAPITALISM

Economic system based on private ownership and investment of resources to make more money

Landed in October 1492 at Caribbean Island he named San Salvador & thought that he had landed in Indies!

For centuries Europeans had seen the ocean as a barrier -Columbus changed that.

Christopher Columbus

Western Hemisphere (New World)

Eastern Hemisphere(Old World)

Because this global interaction began with Columbus, it is called the

Columbian Exchange.

Exploration led to an enormous exchange of people, plants, animals, technology

and ideas that would change the lives of people in Asia, Europe, the Americas and

Africa.

Imagine Italian food without tomatoes, Mexican food with no rice and bean dish, the Irish without potatoes, chocolate without sugar. How would your diet be different without the exchange of food across the continents?

Think about the effects of the Columbian Exchange. What was positive? What was negative?

Economic Revolution!

Spurred growth of towns

Many merchants became very wealthy

Most people still lived in rural areas

Mainly only traders and merchants gained social mobility

Mercantilism started to create national identity

Effects of Globalization?!

What does this painting tell you about the effects of the Columbian Exchange on the European diet?

What effect did the Columbian Exchange have on the Native American population?

Pieter Aertsen, MARKET WOMAN AT VEGETABLE STAND (1567). Courtesy of WorldArt Kiosk/Kathleen Cohen.

Why is the Columbian Exchange considered one of the largest turning points in history?

Amerigo Vespucci

Sailed from Italy in 1497 and called America a “New World”

A German mapmaker in 1507 named New World “America”.

SPANISH MOTIVATION 3 G’s

GOLD – Natural Resource, Economic Wealth

GOD – Christianity to Native Americans

GLORY – Make Spain more powerful than others

Treaty of Tordesillas 1494- Pope Alexander VI

Spain and Portugal

All un-Christian lands West of Brazil to Spain and East to Portugal

That is why Brazil is a Portuguese speaking country NOT Spanish

Why would Spain and Portugal ask the Pope to resolve the conflict?

The Spanish

Spanish colonizers enslaved the Native Americans they conquered and used their labor to farm, mine and build cities.

Spain ruled its colonies with a tight fist, allowing no representative govt., no free trade, no freedom of religion.

They explored and eventually settled land in present-day Florida, Southwest United States, Mexico, and the islands in the Caribbean.

Spain was the most powerful nation on earth in the early 1500’s. Because of the Spanish Armada (Spain’s fleet of armed ships), no other European nations could cross the Atlantic Ocean to explore the New World.

UNTIL….

In 1588, England defeated the Spanish Armada. This meant that other European nations could now explore and claim land in the New World.

The French 3 F’s

The French explored North America for these reasons:

1. Fish – natural resources 2. Fur – to sell in Europe for MONEY 3. Friendship with the Natives to

encourage trade

Problems: New France failed to attract large numbers of settlers from Europe. The poor climate discouraged farming. Land grants were only given to the nobles who then rented out the land to farmers.

Success: The French were more interested in fur trapping and trading, so they did not truly conquer and take land from the Native Americans. Instead they made them trading partners!

In 1682 Robert de La Salle claimed the entire length of the St. Louis river and all lands to the west for France, naming it for King Louis XIV while looking for the Northwest Passage – a quicker and easier water route to the Pacific Ocean or Asia

(all three European countries were in search of a faster, cheaper trade route to Asia)

Why did Europe want to find a Northwest Passage to Asia?

France claimed the

Mississippi River Valley.

THE ENGLISH – 3 E’s

ECONOMIC WEALTH – Natural Resources from North America that could be traded in Europe

ESCAPE RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION – If you didn’t believe in the Church of England, you were harassed, discriminated against, and even killed.

EXPAND LAND – England is small island, population growing and food shortages.

England claimed the east coast

of North America.

EUROPEAN TERRITORIAL CLAIMS IN NORTH AMERICA

PUSH--WHY LEAVE EUROPE?

HUNGER

HOMELESSNESS

POVERTY

LACK OF OPPORTUNITY

RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE

PULL--WHY GO TO AMERICA?

LAND OF ABUNDANCE- Opportunity to own your own land

RESOURCES OF ABUNDANCE- FORESTS and RICH SOIL, FISH & GAME

PROMISE OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM

PROMISES OF WEALTH

COLONIZATION

Groups of people settle in a distant land but remain under the control of their native land (mother country).

Colonies exported raw materials, such as wood and furs

European nations were able to make goods out of raw materials

Colonies then bought finished goods from Europe

THINK BACK-

Why was England now able to send explorers and settlers to the New World?

The English Colonization In 1587 Queen Victoria sent 187 people to colonize

Roanoke Island, Virginia. By 1591 all 187 settlers had disappeared, leaving only the name of a local Native American Indian tribe carved on a post: Croatoan

JAMESTOWN

In 1606, several groups of merchants applied for CHARTERS from King James I to organize settlements in North America.

The VIRGINIA COMPANY, received a charter and sent 3 ships of settlers.

The ships entered Chesapeake Bay in 1607. They sailed up the James River and named their settlement JAMESTOWN after the beloved King James I

Jamestown was built on a peninsula so it could be defended against attack, but because of its location it lacked good farmland.

The main goal of the Virginia Company was to make a profit for investors. Most of the settlers were gold-seekers and noblemen who were not accustomed to hard work.

They spent their time searching for gold and silver instead of planting food.

Many died from disease and starvation. The colony survived only because of the leadership of JOHN SMITH.

A period of hardship followed Smith’s departure from Jamestown.

TOBACCO SAVES THE COLONY!

The Virginia colonists finally found a way to make money—John Rolfe discovered that the soil in Virginia was good for growing tobacco, a cash crop which would bring great wealth to the colony.

It was an instant success in Europe $ $ $

Another economic improvement occurred when settlers were allowed to own their own land.

Private ownership of land meant that colonists could grow their own food for a profit, so they began working harder, which made the colony more successful.

Anyone who paid their own passage to America received 100 hundred acres of land. This encouraged thousands of people to move to Virginia.

In 1619, the Virginia Company sent 90 women to Jamestown so that the number of families would grow, making Virginia more stable.

You could still come to Virginia even if you could not afford the passage…BUT you would become an indentured servant for at least 5-7 years.

In 1619, the Virginia Company agreed to let colonists have a say in their government.

Ten towns sent 2 representatives called BURGESSES to an assembly called THE HOUSE OF BURGESSES that had the right to make laws for the colony.

THIS WAS THE FIRST FORM OF REPRESENTATIVE GOVERNMENT IN THE ENGLISH COLONIES.

As the Virginia colony grew and prospered, a new group of settlers sailed for English America in search of religious freedom… Who do you think the next set of settlers will be????