Exploring the Americas 1400-1625
Chapter 2 Introduction:
What's the Big Idea?
The movement of people, goods, and ideas causes societies to change over time.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
1. How do new ideas change the way people live?
2. Why do people trade?
3. What are the consequences when cultures interact?
In the second half of the 15th century, European sailors began to plan voyages that would take them beyond the
limits of the world they knew. The new interest in the world came in part from the Renaissance, but the main reason was to set up new trading links with spice-producing lands in Asia.
Spices were an essential part of everyday life for the Europeans. Refrigeration had not yet been invented, so the only way to preserve meat was to salt it. Adding spices helped to hide the salty taste. The spices also concealed the taste of meat that had gone bad.
The Turks defeated the Byzantine Empire in 1453, cutting the land link between Europe and Asia. If spices were to reach Europe, a sea route to Asia had to be found. Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal set up a school for sailors and encouraged the exploration of the African coast. In 1486, Bartholomeu Dias and his crew became the first Portuguese sailors to reach the southern tip of Africa, but he turned back because his crew was unwilling to travel any further. Ten years later, Dias helped another Portuguese sailor, Vasco da Gama, plan a voyage around Africa to India.
Christopher Columbus hoped to reach India by sailing west. When the Portuguese king would not sponsor his voyage, he asked Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. After six years, they agreed. When Columbus reached a group of islands across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, he was certain he had reached his goal. Columbus called the native people Indians. This is why the Caribbean islands are known as the West Indies. Columbus made three more voyages to the Caribbean, but he never realized his mistake.
Note Questions
1. What caused Europeans to plan voyages of exploration?
2. Why were Asian spices so important to Europeans?
3. What was the goal of Christopher Columbus's voyage?
Reasons for European Exploration
1. The Growth of Trade:
In the Middle Ages, a merchant named Marco Polo (Yes, the game is named after him), returned from China and wrote about the marvelous things he witnessed there. His writing increased the desire of the Europeans to trade with the countries in Asia, especially for spices.
2. Advances in Technology:
As a result of increased contact with other cultures, Europeans gained new technologies that helped them explore the world by sailing. The magnetic compass (from China), the improvements in sails (from Arabia), the moveable rudder, and the use of the angle of the sun to guide navigation all allowed Europeans to sail farther that ever before. Additionally, Prince Henry the Navigator sponsored the exploration of the Atlantic coast of Africa by Portuguese sailors.
3. Powerful European Rulers:
In the quest for more power, many European countries like Spain, France, and Portugal hoped to extend their influence and power through exploration and conquest. These rulers built large armies and navies to in an attempt to expand their empires in other places around the world. This would eventually lead to colonization.
4. Desire for Profit:
Many people during this time, including rulers, were seeing new wealth from investment and trade. Some hoped to increase their profit through exploration.
5. Religion:
European missionaries, especially from Spain and Portugal, sought to spread Christianity throughout the world. Christian missionaries believed they not only had a superior religion, but also a superior culture.
Note Questions
1. What economic, social, and political factors motivated European exploration?
2. How did each of these help increase exploration? (Answer in one sentence for each)
Summary:
Summarize early European exploration using the language of a historian.
http://dmshistory8.weebly.com/early-european-exploration.html
limits of the world they knew. The new interest in the world came in part from the Renaissance, but the main reason was to set up new trading links with spice-producing lands in Asia.
Spices were an essential part of everyday life for the Europeans. Refrigeration had not yet been invented, so the only way to preserve meat was to salt it. Adding spices helped to hide the salty taste. The spices also concealed the taste of meat that had gone bad.
The Turks defeated the Byzantine Empire in 1453, cutting the land link between Europe and Asia. If spices were to reach Europe, a sea route to Asia had to be found. Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal set up a school for sailors and encouraged the exploration of the African coast. In 1486, Bartholomeu Dias and his crew became the first Portuguese sailors to reach the southern tip of Africa, but he turned back because his crew was unwilling to travel any further. Ten years later, Dias helped another Portuguese sailor, Vasco da Gama, plan a voyage around Africa to India.
Christopher Columbus hoped to reach India by sailing west. When the Portuguese king would not sponsor his voyage, he asked Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. After six years, they agreed. When Columbus reached a group of islands across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, he was certain he had reached his goal. Columbus called the native people Indians. This is why the Caribbean islands are known as the West Indies. Columbus made three more voyages to the Caribbean, but he never realized his mistake.
Note Questions
1. What caused Europeans to plan voyages of exploration?
2. Why were Asian spices so important to Europeans?
3. What was the goal of Christopher Columbus's voyage?
Reasons for European Exploration
1. The Growth of Trade:
In the Middle Ages, a merchant named Marco Polo (Yes, the game is named after him), returned from China and wrote about the marvelous things he witnessed there. His writing increased the desire of the Europeans to trade with the countries in Asia, especially for spices.
2. Advances in Technology:
As a result of increased contact with other cultures, Europeans gained new technologies that helped them explore the world by sailing. The magnetic compass (from China), the improvements in sails (from Arabia), the moveable rudder, and the use of the angle of the sun to guide navigation all allowed Europeans to sail farther that ever before. Additionally, Prince Henry the Navigator sponsored the exploration of the Atlantic coast of Africa by Portuguese sailors.
3. Powerful European Rulers:
In the quest for more power, many European countries like Spain, France, and Portugal hoped to extend their influence and power through exploration and conquest. These rulers built large armies and navies to in an attempt to expand their empires in other places around the world. This would eventually lead to colonization.
4. Desire for Profit:
Many people during this time, including rulers, were seeing new wealth from investment and trade. Some hoped to increase their profit through exploration.
5. Religion:
European missionaries, especially from Spain and Portugal, sought to spread Christianity throughout the world. Christian missionaries believed they not only had a superior religion, but also a superior culture.
Note Questions
1. What economic, social, and political factors motivated European exploration?
2. How did each of these help increase exploration? (Answer in one sentence for each)
Summary:
Summarize early European exploration using the language of a historian.
http://dmshistory8.weebly.com/early-european-exploration.html