Rutherford County Schools – Individual Learning ModulesMiddle Level Social Studies

Grade Course7th Grade World

HistoryUnit Focus

Age of ExplorationExploration and Worldwide Trade

Chapter 10, Lesson 3Week of April 27-May 1—5 days of Instruction

Standard(s)7.58 Analyze why European countries were motivated to explore the world, including: religion, political rivalry, and economic gain (WEEK 4)7.59 Identify the significance of the voyages and routes of discovery of the following explorers by their sponsoring country: • England: Henry Hudson • France: Jacques Cartier • Portugal: Vasco da Gama, Bartolomeu Dias • Spain: Christopher Columbus, Hernando de Soto, Ferdinand Magellan, Amerigo Vespucci (WEEK 4)7.61 Locate and identify French, Spanish, English, Portuguese, and Dutch colonies in the Americas, and explain how religion impacted the location of settlement by each country. (WEEK 4)7.64 Explain the impact of the Columbian Exchange on people, plants, animals, technology, culture, ideas, and diseases among Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries, and examine the major economic and social effects on each continent. (Week 5)7.65 Explain how Spanish colonization introduced Christianity, the mission system, and the encomienda system to the Americas as well as Bartolome de la Casa’s role in the transition to African slavery. (Week 5)

Resource(s)World History and Geography— The Middle Ages to the 1700’s textbook

Access textbook and Inquiry Journal through Clever Link for tutorial to access online student textbook

o Online Tutorial o Social Studies Grade 7 McGraw Hill o Go to Clever then the Thrivist icon

Britannica Article Link https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/colonization-of-the-Americas/272832

(main article) https://kids.britannica.com/students/article/colonization-of-the-Americas/

272832#196272-toc (Religions map, English Colonies)Henry Hudson Link

https://www.exploration-and-piracy.org/explorers/henry-hudson-explorer.htm Jacques Cartier Link

https://kids.kiddle.co/Jacques_Cartier

Portuguese Explorers Dias—http://www.famous-explorers-facts.com/Famous-Portuguese-Explorers-Facts/

Bartholomew-Diaz-Facts.html Da Gama—http://www.famous-explorers-facts.com/Famous-Portuguese-Explorers-

Facts/Explorer-Vasco-da-Gama-Facts.htmlSpanish Explorers

Columbus—https://mrnussbaum.com/christopher-columbus-biography De Soto—https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/hernando-de-soto Magellan—https://www.biography.com/explorer/ferdinand-magellan Vespucci—

https://www.softschools.com/facts/biography/amerigo_vespucci_facts/843/ENRICHMENT—The Lost Colony of Roanoke

https://history.howstuffworks.com/history-vs-myth/roanoke-colony1.htm https://www.history.com/news/archaeologists-find-new-clues-to-lost-colony-mystery https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2018/06/archaeologists-start-new-hunt-fabled-

lost-colony-new-world#Task(s)

Day 1: Objective: What motivated the European powers to explore the New World? Read the Introduction section of the Britannica article, and answer the questions that

follow.o What economic reasons did the European countries have to explore the New

World? (What did they find there that would make them rich and powerful?)o How would this lead to competition (rivalry) between different countries?o Which two European countries sent out explorers first? Where did they land,

and list some valuable things that they found?o Who was the first explorer to find the New World? Why did he not take the

time to name this discovery after himself?o Despite Columbus being the first European to find the New World, there were

already people living here. Describe some of the negative impacts that European exploring on these indigenous people.

Day 2: Objective: Why was Henry Hudson’s voyage so important for the English? Looking at the Britannica article link (scroll down to The English Colonies section, or

click the shortcut at the left), and the article about Henry Hudson (Fun Facts 2, 3, 4, 9, 11 and 12), answer the following questions.

o Why did the Puritans and other Protestants settle in the New World?o Scroll down to the sub-section titled “Administration”. Explain what a joint-

stock company is.o Looking at the map, explain how religious groups were spread throughout the

English colonies?o Looking at the Henry Hudson article, what was Henry Hudson being sent out to

find? How successful was he?o In Fun Fact #9, it explains how Hudson had been detained by English authorities

because they wanted to see his logbook. Why did they have to arrest him to try to access it? What does this tell you about the loyalty of explorers?

o Why would an all-water route to Asia be important to the first country that finds it?

Day 3: Objective: How were the French settlements different than those of the other Europeans?

Scroll down to The French Colonies section of the main Britannica article, and answer the following questions.

o Describe where you would find the colony of New France.o What was the most lucrative (valuable) part of the economy in New France?o By setting up only forts and trading posts, how would this help the French

become friendlier with the Native Americans than the English or Spanish settlers?

o Looking at the Jacques Cartier article, what was the goal of his first voyage? Explain whether you feel he was successful or not.

o Again looking at the Jacques Cartier article, explain why he sailed down the St. Lawrence River, and why he returned on his third trip to establish a settlement there.

Day 4: Objective: Describe the importance of the voyages of Portuguese explorers Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da Gama.

Read the two links for the Portuguese explorers and answer the questions below.o What was the major accomplishment of Bartolomeu Dias?o Why did King John II get upset with him?o Given the difficulties of sailing in the late 1400s, would you consider Dias a

success or a failure? Support your opinion with evidence.o How was Vasco da Gama more successful than Dias?o What difficulties did the Portuguese face in setting up a secure trade route to

India?

Day 5: Objective: Create a chart that summarizes the goals and achievements of the

Spanish explorers. Draw the chart below on a piece of notebook paper (hold it sideways to have more

space to write). Then use the link the Britannica article (scroll to or click on Spain’s American Empire) and explorer links to fill in your chart.Explain the three main goals of the Spanish explorers.God:

Glory:

Gold:

Explorers Achievements/Areas exploredChristopher ColumbusHernando de SotoFerdinand MagellanAmerigo Vespucci

Expected Outcomes These tasks reflect information from Chapter 10, Lesson 3.

STUDENTS WILL KNOW: where Europeans established colonies. (Week 4) how the Columbian Exchange affected Europe and the Americas. (Week 5) key features of the commercial revolution. (Week 5)

STUDENTS WILL BE ABLE TO: analyze Europe’s cultural dominance as exhibited through colonization. (Week 4) draw conclusions about the advancements in economics that occurred due to trade

and colonization. (Week 5)

Enrichment and Extended Activities

The Lost Colony of Roanoke

1. Read through the articles in the Resources section about the Lost Colony of Roanoke.2. Write a paragraph describing what you think is the most likely ending to this mystery.3. Spend some time investigating other mysteries from the Age of Exploration—the

Fountain of Youth, or the Lost City of Gold.

Day 1—Britannica Article (Introduction)

During the 15th century, the European countries of Spain and Portugal began sending ships on expeditions to find new trade routes to Asia. An accidental outcome of this search was the discovery by Christopher Columbus in 1492 of land in the Western Hemisphere. Although he and his immediate successors failed to recognize it, he had found another world: the Americas. This “New World” contained all the natural wealth for which Europeans longed—and far more. Here were great deposits of the gold which they sought so eagerly. Here also were vast reserves of other minerals. Mile upon mile of plains, valleys, and mountains held fertile farmlands and pastures. The Europeans soon began to explore, claim, and colonize, or build colonies in, the Americas.

Numerous European expeditions sailed across the Atlantic Ocean to explore this vast new land (see Americas, early exploration of the). Columbus had landed in the West Indies, islands in the Caribbean Sea that are part of North America. Other explorers began arriving at mainland North America, which also includes Central America, and South America.

The period of exploration and discovery soon became an international race to plant colonies around the world. The European countries of England, France, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands (Holland) vied with one another for nearly four centuries to gain economic advantages in overseas territories. They founded colonies in Africa, India, Southeast and East Asia, Oceania, and the Americas.

Europeans viewed the Americas as an enormous wilderness area with great economic potential. The Americas had already been settled, however, by many millions of people. These original occupants are now known collectively as American Indians or Native Americans. Their ancestors had peopled the Americas thousands of years earlier. At the time of European contact, the numerous Indian peoples spoke more than 800 different languages and lived throughout the Western Hemisphere. They ranged from nomadic hunter-gatherer cultures to agricultural societies with highly developed empires and sizable cities.

The Europeans who wanted to settle the Americas and gain control of their wealth did not consider the Indians to be owners of their lands. They looked on the Indians as primitives or savages who would benefit from the introduction of European civilization and religion. European colonization of the Americas brought ruinous changes to the Indians and their ways of life. The Europeans accidentally introduced diseases to the Americas that decimated Indian populations. Europeans also enslaved large numbers of Indians, seized Indian land, and tried to destroy native cultures and religions.

The first European countries to begin colonizing the Americas were Spain and Portugal. Spain claimed and settled Mexico, most of Central and South America, several islands in the Caribbean, and what are now Florida, California, and the Southwest region of the United

States. Portugal gained control of Brazil. Today, the region encompassing Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean islands is known as Latin America. Because of its colonial history, most of its people speak Spanish or Portuguese.

In North America, France colonized Canada and the valleys of the St. Lawrence, Ohio, Mississippi, and Alabama rivers. France also took control of French Guiana, on the northeast coast of South America, and a few Caribbean islands. The Dutch settled in the Hudson River valley of North America and in some island territories in the Caribbean. They also colonized Dutch Guiana (now Suriname) and what later became British Guiana (now Guyana), in northern South America. Sweden laid claim to the Delaware River valley in North America. Russia founded colonies in Alaska. England eventually ruled 13 colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America, settled British Honduras (now Belize) in Central America, and took possession of British Guiana and several Caribbean islands.

Many of these colonies were financed by European-based trading companies. These companies sought riches in the crops, furs, and minerals of the New World. Trading groups were granted large areas of land by European governments, which expected in return some of the riches of the Americas and secure settlements to uphold their territorial claims. The managers of the colonies worked their lands with servants, Indian or African slaves, or tenant farmers.

Colonizing countries fought among themselves and against local Indians for control of the land and its trading possibilities. Wars in Europe had their counterparts in nationalistic rivalries among American colonists. Cutthroat pirates and buccaneers hid out in the Caribbean, threatening shipments of gold and other riches from the New World to the Old. It was not until the 19th century that most colonial disputes were ended either by treaty or by national independence movements. The Americas now consist largely of independent countries.

Day 2—Britannica Article (The English Colonies)

THE ENGLISH COLONIES

Although the English colonized areas throughout the New World, their most significant establishment proved to be the 13 colonies along North America’s Atlantic coastline. These communities, weak and struggling at first, grew and developed to become the 13 original states of the United States of America.

THE 13 COLONIES

An earlier British colony had been established at Roanoke Island, now part of North Carolina, in 1585 by an expedition sponsored by Sir Walter Raleigh. The first settlers abandoned the colony, but in 1587 another group of colonists arrived at the site. By August 1590 their colony

of about 100 people had mysteriously disappeared. This “Lost Colony” left behind only the word “Croatoan” (the name of a nearby island) carved on a tree.

The English founded nearly all of the 13 permanent colonies on the Atlantic coast, and they ultimately took control of the others. The first permanent English settlement was Jamestown, which was established in 1607 in what is now Virginia. The second English settlement was Plymouth, founded in 1620 in what is now Massachusetts. This colony was later absorbed by the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The English also settled New Hampshire (1623), Maryland (1634), Connecticut (1635), Rhode Island (1636), Carolina (1653), Pennsylvania (1681), and Georgia (1733). North Carolina and South Carolina became separate colonies in 1730. The region comprising the four most northerly English colonies—Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire—became known as New England. Today, New England also includes Maine and Vermont.

New York (1624) was originally colonized by the Dutch as New Netherland. This colony also included the first permanent settlement in New Jersey (1660). The Swedes founded the first permanent settlement in Delaware (1638), as part of their colony of New Sweden. In the 1650s the Dutch captured New Sweden and made it part of New Netherland. The enlarged Dutch colony in turn fell to the English in the 1660s. All of the 13 colonies thus became English in speech and customs within a couple of generations.

English reign over the colonies barely served to conceal the great ethnic diversity of the settlers. The 17th century saw the arrival of Germans, Bohemians, Irish, Poles, Scots, Jews, Dutch, French, Finns, Italians, Swedes, Danes, south Slavs, and other nationalities. Slave ships brought blacks from the west coast of Africa. Of the non-British colonists, the Germans who settled heavily in Pennsylvania and Georgia were probably the most numerous.

Some settlers came to the colonies seeking religious freedom. Many of the early English colonists were Puritans and other Protestants who wanted to reform or separate from the Church of England. Persecuted at home, they immigrated to North America, where they set up colonies in which their religion and way of life predominated. The Puritans were influential throughout the 13 colonies but especially in New England. The Pilgrims, a small group that had broken away from the Church of England, founded Plymouth. The Quakers settled Pennsylvania.

Economic opportunity drew great numbers of settlers from the Old World to the New. The sparsely populated colonies, not burdened with European traditions and class systems, were a wilderness waiting to be developed.

SLAVERY AND SERVITUDE

Throughout the whole colonial era there was a persistent labor shortage. The need for an adequate work force led to the development of the systems of indentured, redemptioner,

and slave labor. Indentured servants were immigrants too poor to come to America on their own. They sold themselves under contract into specific periods of servitude, usually from three to seven years. After the time was up, a servant was freed from his obligation, given whatever money was due to him, and invested with the rights of citizenship.

Redemptioners were also immigrants too poor to get to the colonies on their own, but they arrived without labor contracts. If no relative or friend paid for their passage, the ship’s captain sold them to the highest bidders for unspecified periods of service. If they managed to earn enough money, in a few years they could “redeem” themselves and be free. Otherwise they were likely to become and remain slaves.

The indenture and redemptioner systems were legally sanctioned arrangements that slowly disappeared because of disuse and public disapproval. The slave system was to persist in the Americas until the 19th century. The development of the slave trade from Africa and the exploration of the New World were almost simultaneous events. The Portuguese introduced slaves from Africa into Europe in the 15th century. After Europeans discovered the Americas and began settlements there, the Portuguese and the Spanish introduced slave labor into their American colonies.

Before long the great ship companies of Europe were competing for this very profitable trade. At first most of the slaves went to the Caribbean islands. After the economies of the English colonies of North America began to prosper, slaves were introduced there. The first slaves were brought to Virginia in 1619. In the 18th century the English became the chief suppliers of African slaves to the New World.

ADMINISTRATION

The earliest English colonies—Virginia, Plymouth, and Massachusetts Bay—were founded by “joint-stock” companies. These private companies raised the money for colonization by selling shares to investors, who became partners in the venture. The companies operated under charters issued by the king of England. The colonies of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New Hampshire were offshoots of Massachusetts Bay.

Maryland and Pennsylvania were founded as proprietary colonies: the king of England gave grants of land to individual entrepreneurs to start a colony. The entrepreneurs became the proprietors, or owners, of the colony. Maryland was founded by Cecilius Calvert (Lord Baltimore), and Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn. Settlers of these colonies were tenants of the proprietor, rather than landowners. Eventually all the other colonies except Rhode Island and Connecticut came under the jurisdiction of the English crown.

The Carolinas were founded as a proprietary colony but later came under the king’s control. Georgia was started as a philanthropic enterprise, a haven for debtors and other underprivileged English people. It too became part of the king’s domain.

Whether royal or proprietary, all of the 13 colonies eventually had their own representative assemblies and local institutions of government. Self-rule flourished in the Atlantic colonies for a variety of reasons. They were remote from England and communication was slow. England also did not value them as highly for their economic potential as it did its colonies in the Caribbean and India. The English Civil War and other troubles in Europe kept the mother country too occupied to bother with the distant colonies for long periods of time.

Theoretically, the only bond of union common to the colonies was their loyalty to the king. It was the king who appointed colonial governors, and these officials were expected to carry out royal policy. As the decades passed, however, the colonies found themselves drawn together by stronger ties than the monarchy. Their representative assemblies were quite similar in character. All the colonies had similar agricultural economies, and hence similar problems. Improved roads and shipping made communication easier. To the west, all the colonies faced the common enemy of New France and its Indian allies.

This variety of common interests eventually provided the basis of common action when English policies became oppressive. Until the end of the Seven Years’ War in 1763, England had not overly interfered in colonial life. After 1763 it began enforcing restrictions on manufacturing and trade. Parliament levied direct taxes on the colonies to help it pay its military budget. These new policies led to revolution in 1775 and to independence in 1776.

THE CARIBBEAN AND SOUTH AMERICA

Besides ruling the 13 colonies of North America, England settled other parts of the New World. In the Caribbean, the English colonized the Leeward Islands of Antigua, St. Kitts, Nevis, and Barbados between 1609 and 1632 and seized Jamaica from the Spanish in 1655. In Central America, British buccaneers and loggers began settling Belize the 1630s. Scattered settlements on the north coast of South America were united into the colony of British Guiana (now Guyana) in 1831.

Of all the English settlements in the Caribbean basin, Barbados was the most successful commercially. By 1651 it was a leading producer of sugar. This commodity, much in demand by Europeans, was introduced into the island about 1637. By 1676 the sugar trade had promoted Barbados to a first-rank colony in the eyes of England. Its population was larger than that of New England, and it was far more prosperous.

Barbados was typical of the colonized Caribbean because it was not settled entirely by Europeans; rather it was captured by them and settled mainly with slaves and servants to work the fields. Millions of slaves were forced into labor on the islands during the three centuries from 1500 to 1800. The first English slave-trading voyage was made by John Hawkins in 1562. After the British slave trade ended in 1807, plantation owners imported indentured servants from China, India, and Java.

Day 2—Map

Day 2—Henry Hudson Article

Henry Hudson - Explorer (c1565 - 1611)

Henry Hudson was an English explorer who made several attempts to find a northern passage from the Arctic Ocean to the Pacific, in order to get to Asia. During his expeditions, he explored the area around what was to become New York.

This page details facts about Henry Hudson's life and the events that shaped his history.

Henry Hudson the Explorer - Fun Facts for Kids

Henry Hudson Fact 1: There is little evidence of the early life of Henry Hudson, though it is thought he was born around 1565, and probably spent a good deal of time at sea. It’s speculated that he started out as a cabin boy and progressed to become a ship’s captain.

Henry Hudson Fact 2: In 1607, Henry Hudson was employed by the Muscovy Company (an English trading company) to find a northern route to Asia via the Arctic Ocean. He set sail with a small crew on a small ship, the ’Hopewell’, on 1st May.

Henry Hudson Fact 3: On 14th June 1607, Henry Hudson arrived at the east coast of Greenland before heading north and sailing into an area with numerous whales. It’s believed that following his reports this area became a new hunting ground. Shortly after, Henry Hudson came up against pack ice which prevented him going any further. Consequently, he returned to England, arriving at Tilbury on 15th September.

Henry Hudson Fact 4: In 1608, Henry Hudson was, once again, sent by the Muscovy Company to find passage to Asia in the ‘Hopewell’, this time by sailing east across the north of Russia. This expedition was also forced to return to England after encountering impenetrable ice. He arrived back in Gravesend in August 1608.

Henry Hudson Fact 5: In 1609 Henry Hudson was employed to find a north eastern route to Asia, this time by the Dutch East India Company. He sailed from Amsterdam aboard the Halve Maen (Half Moon) on 4th April. Henry Hudson had been instructed to sail north of Russia through the Arctic Ocean and into the Pacific, however his passage was again blocked by ice.

Henry Hudson Fact 6: Henry Hudson decided to disregard his instructions and headed west to attempt to find a passage to the Pacific in that direction. Henry Hudson had heard of a passage to the Pacific, via North America, from the English explorer John Smith. John Smith had gained this information from the Native Americans.

Henry Hudson Fact 7: By mid-July 1609, Henry Hudson had arrived in Nova Scotia. They stayed there while they repaired a mast and on 25th July a small party of men from the ship attacked a nearby village, driving the inhabitants away and stealing their property.

Henry Hudson Fact 8: By 3rd September, travelling via Cape Cod, Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay, Henry Hudson had reached the estuary of the river that would become known as the Hudson. Following the death of one of his crew, John Colman, by an Indian arrow in his neck on September 6th, Henry Hudson began to explore the river.

Henry Hudson Fact 9: On 23rd September, having reached the point where Albany, the capital of New York now stands, Henry Hudson decided to return to Europe. He sailed

into Dartmouth, England on 7th November and was promptly held by the authorities, who wanted access to his log. However, he'd managed to get the log to the Dutch Ambassador to England, who sent it on to Amsterdam.

Henry Hudson Fact 10: The expedition, that Henry Hudson had undertaken, led to Dutch claims over the region, and in 1614 a trading post was set up in Albany. In 1625 New Amsterdam, on Manhattan Island, became the capital of New Netherland.

Henry Hudson Fact 11:In 1610, Henry Hudson set off on another expedition, this time on the ‘Discovery’, funded by the British East India Company and the Virginia Company. He sailed, via Iceland and Greenland, to the strait now known as Hudson Strait, and on 2nd August entered Hudson Bay. He explored and mapped the coast for several months without finding a way through to the Pacific, and in November, the ship became trapped in ice in James Bay.

Henry Hudson Fact 12:In the spring of 1611 the ice cleared, and Henry Hudson planned to continue his expedition, however, the majority of the crew wanted to return home. This led to a mutiny in June and, as a consequence, Henry Hudson, his teenage son John and a few others were set adrift in a small open boat. Henry Hudson was never seen or heard from again.

Day 3—Britannica Article (The French Colonies)

THE FRENCH COLONIES

The French colonized vast areas of the New World. They tried and failed to settle Brazil, the Carolinas, and Florida. They had greater success in the Caribbean and Canada.

THE CARIBBEAN AND SOUTH AMERICA

By 1664 France controlled 14 islands in the Caribbean. The principal possessions were St-Domingue (now Haiti), Martinique, Guadeloupe, and Dominica. The economies were based largely on sugar. The labor system was African slavery. The island societies had a rigid class structure headed by white officials and planters (gros blancs) who governed the merchants, buccaneers, small farmers, white laborers (engagés), and slaves.

On the northeast coast of South America, the colony of French Guiana was founded about 1637. One hundred years later it was still a struggling, commercially unsuccessful colony, with a population of only about 600 whites. Not until the 19th century did the colony achieve any real prosperity. French Guiana was infamous for Devil’s Island, a French penal colony off the coast that operated until the 1950s. Today, French Guiana is an overseas département (administrative district) of France.

NEW FRANCE

The largest French colony in the New World was New France. This region comprised most of what are now eastern Canada and the portion of the United States from the Appalachians in the east to the Missouri River in the west and from the Great Lakes in the north to the Gulf of Mexico in the south. To the north of New France was the large territory controlled by the Hudson’s Bay Company, an English trading association.

Starting about 1540, French fishers annually fished off the Newfoundland coast and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The first colonization efforts were led by Samuel de Champlain, the “Father of New France.” He helped to found the colony that became Port-Royal (now Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia). This fur-trading post and fishing village was the first organized settlement in Acadia (the French possessions on the Atlantic seaboard) as well as the first permanent European colony in North America north of Florida. Champlain founded Quebec in 1608 and explored as far west as Lake Huron by 1615.

For all the vast area the French laid claim to in North America, New France was never effectively colonized. Many permanent communities were founded, but the main interest of the mother country was commercial exploitation. The fur trade, far more lucrative than farming or fishing, became the basis of the economy. This led the French to explore widely in the region, to forge strong alliances with the local Indians, and to set up forts and trading posts. But the population of New France never grew to the same extent as that of the English colonies. By 1754, on the eve of the French and Indian War, the population of New France was only about 55,000.

During the 17th century a vast number of Frenchmen—traders, missionaries, and soldiers—traversed the wilderness from eastern Canada to New Orleans. They ventured throughout the whole Great Lakes region and the Mississippi Valley, claiming the territory for the king of France. Some of the most notable explorers were Jacques Marquette, Jean Nicolet, Pierre Radisson, Louis Jolliet, Louis Hennepin, and Daniel Greysolon, sieur (lord) DuLhut. The most famous of all the explorers was René-Robert Cavelier, sieur de La Salle. In 1682 his expedition descended the Mississippi River from the Illinois Territory to the Gulf of Mexico.

Within this vast midsection of North America, many permanent settlements were founded, including Detroit, St. Louis, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans. Under French rule all these settlements remained frontier outposts. Only after 1800, when citizens of the United States began trekking westward in search of plentiful, inexpensive land, did they really grow.

In a vain attempt to encourage emigration to North America, France instituted a colonization policy based on seigneuries, grants of land that were to be parceled out to farmers or other inhabitants. In Canada there was some increase in immigration during the second half of the 17th century, but after 1700 most French Canadians were native-born. Since the seigneurial

estates could not compete with the allure of the fur trade, particularly for young men, agriculture was crippled in the French colony.

During the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries, France and England were frequently at war. The wars they fought in Europe generally had counterparts in the colonies—King William’s War (1689–97), Queen Anne’s War (1702–13), King George’s War (1744–48), and the French and Indian War (1754–63), a phase of Europe’s Seven Years’ War.

These wars were generally detrimental to France’s colonial holdings. After Queen Anne’s War, the British acquired French Acadia, renaming it Nova Scotia. The French and Indian War was the most costly for France. By 1760 the British had conquered all of Canada and the French settlements on the Great Lakes. The Treaty of Paris, which ended the conflict, ceded all of New France east of the Mississippi River, except for New Orleans, to England. New France ceased to exist in 1803 when the United States purchased the territories west of the Mississippi from France, in what is known as the Louisiana Purchase.

Day 3—Jacques Cartier Article

Jacques Cartier facts for kids

Jacques Cartier (December 31, 1491 – September 1 1557), baptised Jakez Karter, was an explorer popularly thought of as one of the major discoverers of Canada. Cartier was born in Saint-Malo, a small village of the duchy of Brittany, which would later become incorporated to France in 1532. Cartier was part of a respectable family of mariners, and improved his social status in 1520 by marrying Catherine des Granches, member of a leading ship-owning family.

First Voyage, 1534

In 1534, he set sail, hoping to discover some western passage to the wealthy markets of Asia. He explored parts of Newfoundland starting on May 10 of that year, and what are now the other Canadian Maritimes. He bartered for furs with the Micmac Indians, and learned of a river further west (the St. Lawrence), that he hoped might be the long-sought passage to Asia.

Yet, he did not sail the St. Lawrence river during his first voyage. Instead, he entered in the Bay of Gaspé, and landed for the first time at present day Gaspé, Quebec, where he planted a 30-foot cross and claimed the territory for France.

Second Voyage, 1535-1536

Cartier set sail for a second voyage on May 19 of the following year with 3 ships and 110 men. Reaching the St. Lawrence, he sailed up-river for the first time, and reached the Huron village of Stadacona (site of present-day Québec City).

Cartier used his smallest ship to continue up-river and visit Hochelaga (now Montreal) where he arrived October 2, 1535. The site of their arrival has been identified as the beginning of the Sainte-Marie Sault -- where the Jacques Cartier Bridge now stands.

Third Voyage 1541-1542

On May 23, 1541 Cartier departed Saint-Malo on his third voyage with five ships. This time, any thought of finding a passage to the Orient was forgotten. The goals were now to find the "Kingdom of Saguenay" and its riches, and to establish a permanent settlement along the St. Lawrence.

Sailing to a spot he had previously observed, he decided to settle on the site of present-day Cap-Rouge, Quebec. The convicts and other colonists were landed, the cattle that had survived three months aboard ship were turned loose, earth was broken for a kitchen garden, and seeds of cabbage, turnip and lettuce were planted. A fortified settlement was thus created and was named Charlesbourg-Royal. Another fort was also built overlooking the settlement, for added protection.

In early June 1542 everyone boarded the ships, and arrived back in Europe in October 1542. This was his last voyage. Cartier spent the rest of his life in Saint-Malo, and died aged 66 on September 1, 1557 from an epidemic. He died before any permanent European settlements were made in Canada; that had to wait for Samuel de Champlain in 1608.

Cartier's professional abilities can be easily ascertained. Considering that Cartier made three voyages of exploration in dangerous and unknown waters without losing a ship, and that he entered and departed some 50 undiscovered harbors without serious mishap, he may be considered one of the most conscientious explorers of the period.

Cartier was also one of the first to formally acknowledge that the New World was a separate land mass from Europe/Asia.

Day 4—Bartolomeu Dias Article

Explorer Bartholomew Diaz Facts

The famous Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Diaz (also spelled Bartolomeu Dias) was the first European to sail around the southern tip of Africa, which the Portuguese would name the Cape of Good Hope. On this page is a list of interesting facts about this great explorer including when he made his famous journey, why his voyage is considered so important, and how he accomplish this great journey. This information is written for both kids and adults.

Bartholomew Diaz Quick Facts

Bartholomew Diaz was a Portuguese explorer.

Very little is known about Bartholomew Diaz prior to his historic voyage around the southern tip of Africa in 1487 except for the facts that he was a superintendent of the royal warehouses in Portugal and served on a warship named the Sao Cristovao.

In 1488, he became the first European to sail around the southern tip of Africa; called the Cape of Good Hope.

The main purpose of Diaz's expedition was to find a sea trade route from Europe to India.

Bartholomew Diaz's expedition lasted approximately 15 months and sailed approximately 16,000 miles; he and his crew returned to Lisbon as heroes.

Diaz proved that the Indian Ocean could be reached by sailing around the southern tip of Africa. This opened a trade route with Asia via water; which was much less expensive than the land trade routes.

Facts about Diaz's Voyage Around the Southern Tip of Africa

In October of 1487 King John II of Portugal appointed Diaz to lead an expedition of the African coast and to discover a sea trade route to India.

The king also instructed Diaz to search for a man named Prester John (Presbyter Johannes) who according to legend was a Christian king ruling over a wealthy kingdom in Africa. There is no historical evidence of such an individual ever existing.

Diaz and his crew departed Lisbon, Portugal in August of 1487 with three ships.

Upon departing Portugal Diaz's expedition sailed along the coast of Africa following the route of the famous Portuguese explorer Diogo Cao who had sailed along the African coast twice earlier in the 1480s.

At several locations along the African coast the Portuguese released several Africans who had been brought to Portugal from previous voyages. The men were supplied with gold and silver which were to be given as gifts to African tribes as an expression of goodwill from the Portuguese King.

The Portuguese left one of their ships docked along the African coast to serve as a supply ship; this is generally believed to be near what is modern day Angola.

Near the southern tip of Africa Diaz's 3 ships sailed into a dangerous storm that pushed them away from the African coast. They sailed around the tip of Africa in January of 1488 without seeing land.

After reaching Algoa Bay in the modern-day Eastern Cape, South Africa, with supplies running low, the expedition turned back for Portugal before reaching India.

On the return trip, they spotted the tip of Africa; which they did not see when passing it the first time.

Upon reaching the supply ship they had left behind they discovered most of the men had been killed during numerous attacks from the natives.

Bartholomew Diaz named the southern tip of Africa the "Cape of Storms" due to the storm he encountered there. King John II of Portugal renamed it the "Cape of Good Hope" because he believed sailing around it would provide a sea route to India and prosperity for him and his country.

After 15 months at sea Diaz and his crew returned to a hero's welcome in Portugal.

Conclusion - Bartholomew Diaz

Despite Diaz's important voyage King John II of Portugal was displeased that the voyage had not made it all the way to India.

In 1500 Diaz was lost at sea attempting another journey around the Cape of Good Hope.

Despite not reaching India and falling out of favor with the King of Portugal, Bartholomew Diaz has earned his place as one of history's great explorers. His journey proved that India could be reached by sea from Europe and opened the door to a much cheaper trade route for the Europeans.

Day 4—Vasco Da Gama Article

Vasco da Gama Facts—Introduction - Vasco da Gama

Vasco da Gama was a Portuguese explorer who is famous for being the first European explorer to reach India by sea, which he did in 1498. This was an incredible navigational accomplishment for its time and enabled the Portuguese to reach India by sea as opposed to by land which was more difficult and dangerous. His voyage, one of the earliest in Europe's "Age of Discovery", would lead to Portugal establishing a colonial empire in Asia and becoming a major world power. Below is a list of interesting facts about this famous Portuguese explorer including information about how he made three voyages to India and who sent him on these voyages. Whether you are a kid writing a school paper or an adult interested in this explorer we hope you find this information helpful.

Vasco da Gama Interesting Facts

He was born around 1460 AD in the small seaport town of Sines located in the south-west of Portugal.

Not much is known about the early life of Vasco da Gama besides the fact that he was born into a noble family.

Around 1480 AD he joined the Order of Santiago, which was a Christian military order.

His wife was Catarina de Ataide, together they had one daughter and six sons.

In 1488, prior to da Gama's first voyage to India, Portuguese explore Bartholomew Diaz had sailed down the western coast of Africa and around the southern tip of Africa into the Indian Ocean. Vasco da Gama's voyage was a follow-up to Diaz's great voyage with the purpose to find out if Asia could be reached after rounding the Cape of Good Hope (the southern tip of Africa).

Vasco da Gama's First Voyage to India Facts

In 1497 King Manuel I of Portugal selected da Gama to lead a fleet to India for the purpose of finding a route from Europe to Asia. The king was interested in establishing trade routes with Asia and establishing a Portuguese empire.

In July of 1497 AD da Gama set sail for India with a fleet of four ships and headed south along the west coast of Africa.

In late November 1497 his four ships sailed around the Cape of Good Hope at the southern tip of Africa and headed north along Africa's east coast making numerous stops along the coast.

For the last leg of the voyage he crossed the Indian Ocean and arrived at Calicut (also known as Kozhikode) on the coast of India in May of 1498 AD.

Vasco da Gama and his crew spent three months in India and headed for home in August of 1498 AD.

The voyage home to Portugal was a difficult and long one; the explorers sailed through many storms and most of the crew died from various illnesses.

Vasco da Gama returned to Portugal from his first voyage to India in 1499 to a hero's welcome. He was also made an Admiral.

The total distance sailed by Vasco da Gama in his first voyage to India, including getting to India and back to Portugal, was the longest ocean voyage in world history up to that point.

Of the 170 crew members who had begun the voyage only 54 survived; most, including Vasco da Gama's brother, died from scurvy and other illnesses.

Vasco da Gama's Later Voyages to India and His Death

In 1502 AD da Gama once again set sail for India at the bequest of King Manuel of Portugal; this time with 20 armed ships.

The purpose of his second voyage was to establish Portugal's authority over the trade route to India.

On his second voyage to India he was responsible for killing hundreds of people as he attacked numerous Muslim trading post and ships.

On his second voyage he also established trading post on the southeast coast of Africa in what is now Mozambiquey.

In 1524 Vasco da Gama set out for a third voyage to India.

The third voyage was at the request of King John III of Portugal for the purpose of dealing with corruption of the Portuguese officials stationed in India.

After arriving in Kochi (Cochin), on the south west coast of India, he became sick and died from an unknown illness on December 24th of 1524 AD.

Day 5—Britannica Article—Spain’s American Empire

SPAIN’S AMERICAN EMPIRE

In land area, Spain’s was the largest of the colonial empires in the New World. It comprised several islands in the West Indies, all of Mexico, most of Central America; most of South America except for Brazil, and what are now Florida, California, and the U.S. Southwest.

Spain was the first of the European countries to colonize the New World. People from France, England, Holland, and Sweden did not settle in the Americas until after 1600. Spain had the advantage of nearly a full century to stake its claims.

LATIN AMERICA

By 1512 the Spanish had occupied the larger Caribbean islands. The first Spanish towns were established on the island of Hispaniola (now divided politically into Haiti and the Dominican Republic). Chief among these towns was Santo Domingo, which was established in 1496 and became the first capital of Spain’s New World possessions. Other Spanish settlements arose in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Jamaica. From island harbors Spanish expeditions sailed to explore the coasts and penetrate the continents. They found gold, silver, and precious stones and enslaved the Indians. Ambitious men became governors of conquered lands. Christian missionaries brought a new religion to the Indians.

The Spanish dream of finding great riches in the Americas was first realized when Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico in 1519–21. A few years later Francisco

Pizarro with a small force vanquished the Inca Empire and seized the treasure of Peru in South America. Gold and silver from these lands poured into the Spanish king’s treasury, rousing the envy of other rulers. The treasure ships attracted bloodthirsty pirates and privateers.

The rich finds of gold and silver in Mexico and Peru prompted Spain to organize expeditions to the surrounding areas. Spanish conquerors (called in Spanish conquistadores) began taking control of Central America and many parts of South America. Other conquistadores ventured north into the southern parts of what is now the United States. The great majority of the conquistadores ruthlessly pursued gold, power, and status.

At the same time, Spanish Roman Catholic priests, including Jesuits, Franciscans, and others, worked to convert the Indians to Christianity. They often led the movement into frontier areas. There they established educational institutions and religious missions. They also brought the culture of European Spain to outposts in the New World, including to what are now the U.S. Southwest, California, and Florida.

SPANISH SETTLEMENT TO THE NORTH

The explorer Juan Ponce de León claimed Florida for Spain in 1513, but the first Spanish attempts to colonize the area failed. In 1562 a group of French Protestants (Huguenots) settled in northern Florida. This seeming threat to Spanish interests prompted an expedition led by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés in 1565. He and his men killed most of the French colonists. They also built a fort on the site of what is now St. Augustine, which became the first permanent European settlement in what is now the United States.

Colonization of the region north of Mexico did not begin until very late in the 16th century. In 1598 a group of Spanish settlers arrived in the New Mexico–Arizona area. Most of them, finding the climate and Indians inhospitable, returned to Mexico by 1605, but a small start had been made in the colonization of New Mexico. The city of Santa Fe was founded in 1610.

Spain’s other outposts in North America—Texas and California—were not colonized until the 1700s. By 1800 Texas was little more than a collection of small missions and the towns of San Antonio and Nacogdoches. The settlement of California was more successful: 18 missions were founded between 1769 and 1800, augmented by a number of presidios, or army posts. By 1823 California had 21 missions.

ADMINISTRATION

To regulate its American empire, Spain created two organizations, the House of Trade to deal with commerce and the Council of the Indies to make laws. The system of colonization was called the viceroyalty. It was begun in 1535 when Antonio de Mendoza was sent to govern Mexico as the first viceroy. The viceroys, responsible to the king, were the chief colonial

officials. Under them were the proprietors, charged with the direct administration of the colonies.

There were ultimately four major viceroyalties. New Spain—including Mexico, Central America (except for what is now Panama), and the Caribbean islands—was set up in 1535. The Viceroyalty of Peru was established in 1543. It initially included Panama and all of South America under Spanish control except for the Venezuelan coast. New Granada, organized in 1717 and reestablished in 1739, assumed control of what are now Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, and Panama. The last viceroyalty, Río de la Plata, was not organized until 1776. It took charge of what are now Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia.

A controversial aspect of Spanish colonialism was the encomienda system, an arrangement under which the government “commended” (or entrusted) the care of the Indians in a particular area to a conquistador, official, or other Spaniard. It was in fact a system for enslaving the Indians and forcing them to work in the mines, farms, and ranches. Theoretically at least, the Spaniards cared for the Indians’ physical and spiritual needs in return for the right to their labor. In practice, Indians were often abused and exploited. While some Spanish friars and priests condemned such slavery as early as 1515, landowners resisted the movement to abolish the encomienda.

Indians living in areas controlled by the Spanish died in great numbers from the violence of conquest, exploitation, and especially diseases, such as smallpox, from which they had no immunity. The Indians of the Caribbean virtually disappeared. The estimated 50 million Indians living in the mainland areas at the time of their colonization had dwindled by the 17th century to only 4 million. As the numbers of Indians available for forced labor dropped, the Spaniards shipped increasing numbers of African slaves to their American colonies, especially in the Caribbean.

INDEPENDENCE

Spain’s colonies north of the Rio Grande were lost to the United States in the 19th century. Florida was given up in 1819, and war with Mexico brought the Southwest territories into the hands of the United States government in 1848.

Spain’s holdings in Mexico, Central America, and South America were lost between 1810 and 1825 through a series of revolutionary movements. Only the islands of Puerto Rico and Cuba remained as colonies, and these were lost in the Spanish-American War in 1898.

The end of colonialism in Spanish America was prompted by a variety of factors. The American and French revolutions in the late 18th century inspired other peoples to strive for self-determination. The immediate impetus to decolonization came in the Napoleonic Wars in Europe between 1803 and 1814. French occupation of Spain and Portugal in 1807 served to isolate the American colonies from the mother countries. This isolation, coupled with long-

smoldering discontent in Latin America, led to the formation of nationalist and revolutionary movements. Spain and Portugal, on the other hand, were too weakened by war at home to respond forcefully to troubles in the Americas. They could not count on help from England in retaining their colonies. English merchants were eager to trade with the newly independent countries of Latin America, which would not have colonial trade restrictions.

In 1823, during the presidency of James Monroe, the United States proclaimed the Monroe Doctrine declaring against any further colonization or interference by Europe in the affairs of the Americas. With the help of the British navy, this doctrine forestalled any new colonial enterprises for several decades.

Day 5—Christopher Columbus Article

Heading West to Reach the East

Christopher Columbus was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1451. His career in exploration started when he was very young. As a teenager he traveled the seas and eventually made Portugal his base. Columbus came to believe that the East Indies (present-day Indonesia and surrounding islands) could be reached by sailing west through the Atlantic Ocean. He appealed to the kings of Portugal, France, and England to finance a westward trip to the Indies, but all denied his request. After ten years of monumental efforts but fruitless results, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain agreed to finance Columbus in the hopes of acquiring great wealth. On August 3, 1492, Columbus, crew, and three ships, the Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria, left Palos, Spain, and headed westward.

Land Sighted!After stopping in the Canary Islands off the coast of Africa, Columbus’s ships hit the open seas. Covering about 150 miles a day, the trip was long and arduous. The crew was afraid of sea monsters and grew more restless every day that land was not sighted. Columbus offered a reward for the first person to sight land. On October 12, a crew member aboard the Pinta sighted one of the Bahama Islands. Columbus set foot on what he believed was one of the Spice Islands, a group of islands in Asia (now known as Indonesia), where valuable spices and riches came from. He named the land San Salvador. Columbus failed to find the riches he expected and continued to search for China. He next visited Cuba and Hispaniola (Dominican Republic). He encountered native peoples who he named “Indians” because he believed they were inhabitants of the Indies. Columbus enslaved many of these people and forced them to mine for riches. Countless native peoples died as a result of Columbus's actions; many others died of disease.

I Did Find a Shortcut to the Indies!Columbus returned to Spain a hero. He was named Viceroy of the Indies. He soon returned to

the New World but never found the riches he expected. Some began to believe that Columbus had found “a new world” rather than a shortcut to the Indies.

LegacyChristopher Columbus is credited with discovering the continent of North America, although he probably wasn’t the first explorer to see the continent, and he believed until his death that the islands he encountered were in the Asian continent. His discoveries were instrumental in the establishment of Spanish colonies in North America. Today, we celebrate Columbus Day in October to commemorate his discoveries.

Day 5—Hernando De Soto Article

The 16th-century Spanish explorer and conquistador Hernando de Soto (c. 1496-1542) arrived in the West Indies as a young man and went on to make a fortune in the Central American slave trade. He supplied ships for Francisco Pizarro’s southward expedition and ended up accompanying Pizarro in his conquest of Peru in 1532. Seeking greater glory and riches, de Soto embarked on a major expedition in 1538 to conquer Florida for the Spanish crown. He and his men traveled nearly 4,000 miles throughout the region that would become the southeastern United States in search of riches, fighting off Native American attacks along the way. In 1541, de Soto and his men became the first Europeans to encounter the great Mississippi River and cross it; de Soto died early the next year.

Hernando de Soto’s Early Life and Career

Like many of the era’s conquistadors, Hernando de Soto was a native of the impoverished Extremadura region of southwestern Spain. He was born in 1496 in Jerez de los Caballeros, Bajadoz province. De Soto’s family was of minor nobility and modest means, and at a very young age he developed dreams of making his fortune in the New World. Around the age of 14, de Soto left for Seville, where he got himself included on an expedition to the West Indies led by Pedro Arias Dávila in 1514.

Did you know? Hernando de Soto and his fellow Spaniards initially referred to the Mississippi River as the Rio Grande for its immense size. That habit was gradually replaced with the use of the river's Indian name, Meaot Massipi (or "Father of the Waters").

De Soto earned a fortune from Dávila’s conquest of Panama and Nicaragua, and by 1530 he was the leading slave trader and one of the richest men in Nicaragua. In 1531, he joined Francisco Pizarro on an expedition in pursuit of rumors of gold located in the region that is now northwestern Colombia, on the Pacific coast.

De Soto’s Role in Conquest of Peru & Return to Spain

In 1532, De Soto acted as Pizarro’s chief lieutenant in the former’s conquest of Peru. Before Spanish forces defeated the Incas at Cajamarca that November, de Soto became the first

European to make contact with the Inca emperor Atahualpa. When Pizarro’s men subsequently captured Atahualpa, de Soto was among the emperor’s closest contacts among the Spaniards. Pizarro’s men executed Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, in 1533, though the Incas had assembled a huge ransom in gold for his release; de Soto gained a fortune when the ransom was divided. He was later named lieutenant governor of the city of Cuzco and participated in Pizarro’s founding of the new capital at Lima in 1535.

In 1536, de Soto returned to Spain as one of the wealthiest conquistadors of the era. During a brief stay in his home country, he married Dávila’s daughter, Isabel de Bobadilla, and obtained a royal commission to conquer and settle the region known as La Florida (now the southeastern United States), which had been the site of earlier explorations by Juan Ponce de León and others. He also received the governorship of Cuba.

De Soto’s Expedition to North America (THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT!)

De Soto set out from Spain in April 1538, set with 10 ships and 700 men. After a stop in Cuba, the expedition landed at Tampa Bay in May 1539. They moved inland and eventually set up camp for the winter at a small Indian village near present-day Tallahassee. In the spring, De Soto led his men north, through Georgia, and west, through the Carolinas and Tennessee, guided by Indians whom they took captive along the way. With no success finding the gold they sought, the Spaniards headed back south into Alabama towards Mobile Bay, seeking to rendezvous with their ships, when they were attacked by an Indian contingent near present-day Mobile in October 1540. In the bloody battle that followed, the Spaniards killed hundreds of Indians and suffered severe casualties themselves.

After a month’s rest, the ever-ambitious De Soto made the fateful decision to turn northward again and head inland in search of more treasure. In mid-1541, the Spaniards sighted the Mississippi River. They crossed it and headed into Arkansas and Louisiana, but early in 1542 turned back to the Mississippi. Soon after, De Soto took ill with a fever. After his death on May 21, 1542 his comrades buried his body in the great river. His successor, Luis de Moscoso, led the remnants of the expedition (which was eventually decimated by half) on rafts down the Mississippi, finally reaching Mexico in 1543.

Day 5—Ferdinand Magellan Article

While in the service of Spain, the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan led the first European voyage of discovery to circumnavigate the globe.

Synopsis

Ferdinand Magellan was born in Portugal, circa 1480. As a boy, he studied mapmaking and navigation. By his mid-20s, he was sailing in large fleets and was engaged in combat. In 1519, with the support of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Magellan set out to find a better route to

the Spice Islands. He assembled a fleet of ships which, despite huge setbacks and Magellan’s death, circumnavigated the world in a single voyage.

Early Life

Ferdinand Magellan was born in Portugal, either in the city of Porto or in Sabrosa, circa 1480. His parents were members of the Portuguese nobility and after their deaths, Magellan became a page for the queen, at age 10. He studied at Queen Leonora's School of Pages in Lisbon and spent his days poring over texts on cartography, astronomy, and celestial navigation—subjects that would serve him well in his later pursuits.

Navigator and Explorer

In 1505, when Ferdinand Magellan was in his mid-20s, he joined a Portuguese fleet that was sailing to East Africa. By 1509, he found himself at the Battle of Diu, in which the Portuguese destroyed Egyptian ships in the Arabian Sea. Two years later, he explored Malacca, located in present-day Malaysia, and participated in the conquest of Malacca's port. It was there that he acquired a native servant he named Enrique. It is possible that Magellan sailed as far as the Moluccas, islands in Indonesia, then called the Spice Islands. The Moluccas were the original source of some of the world's most valuable spices, including cloves and nutmeg. The conquest of spice-rich countries was, as a result, a source of much European competition.

While serving in Morocco, in 1513, Magellan was wounded, and walked the remainder of his life with a limp. After his injury, he was falsely accused of trading illegally with the Moors, and despite all of his service to Portugal, and his many pleas to the king, any further offers of employment were withheld him.

In 1517, Magellan moved to Seville, Spain, to offer his skills to the Spanish court. His departure from Portugal came at an opportune time. The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) declared all newly discovered and yet to be discovered territories east of the demarcation line (46°30 W) were ′given to Portugal and all territories west of the line were given to Spain. In the three years following his departure from Portugal, Magellan had religiously studied all of the most recent navigation charts. Like all navigators of the time, he understood from Greek texts that the world was round. He believed that he could find a shorter route to the Spice Islands by sailing west, across the Atlantic Ocean, around South America and across the Pacific. This was not a new idea, Christopher Columbus and Vasco Núñez de Balboa had paved the way, but such a voyage would give the Spanish open access to the Spice Islands without having to travel across areas controlled by the Portuguese. .

Final Years

Ferdinand Magellan presented his plan to King Charles I of Spain (soon to become Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire), who gave his blessing. On September 20, 1519, he set out with a

fleet of five fully supplied ships, but hardly adequate to sail the distances he proposed. The fleet sailed first to Brazil and then down the coast of South America to Patagonia. There an attempted mutiny took place and one of the ships was wrecked. Despite the setback, the crew continued on with the four remaining vessels.

By October 1520, Magellan and his men had entered what is now called the Strait of Magellan. It took them over a month to pass through the strait, during which time the master of one of the ships deserted and sailed back home. The remaining ships sailed across the Pacific Ocean. In March 1521, the fleet anchored in Guam.

Later in March, 1521, Magellan’ fleet reached Homonhom Island on the edge of the Philippines with less than 150 of the 270 men who started the expedition. Magellan traded with Rajah Humabon, the island king, and a bond was quickly formed. The Spanish crew soon became involved in a war between Humabon and another rival leader and Magellan was killed in battle on April 27, 1521.

The remaining crew escaped the Philippines and continued on towards the Spice Islands, arriving in November, 1521. The Spanish commander of the last ship, the Victoria, set sail December and reached Spain on September 8, 1522.

The Controversy over Who was First

There has been considerable debate around who were the first persons to circumnavigate the globe. The easy answer is Juan Sabastian Elcano and the remaining crew of Magellan’s fleet starting from Spain on September 20, 1519, and returning in September 1522. But there is another candidate who might have gone around the world before them—Magellan’ servant Enrique. In 1511, Magellan was on a voyage for Portugal to the Spice Islands and participated in the conquest of Malacca where he acquired his servant Enrique. Fast forward ten years later, Enrique is with Magellan in the Philippines. After Magellan’s death, it is reported that Enrique was grief stricken and when he found out he was not going to be freed, contrary to Magellan’s will, he ran away. At this point the record gets murky. Some accounts state Enrique fled into the forest. Official Spanish records list Enrique as one of the men massacred in the attack, but some historians question the records’ credibility or accuracy, citing a bias against native people.

So, it is possible that if Enrique had survived after his escape, he might have made his way back to Malacca where he was originally enslaved by Magellan back in 1511. If true, it would mean Enrique—not Elcano and the surviving members of the crew—was the first person to circumnavigate the globe, albeit not in a single voyage.

Day 5—Amerigo Vespucci Article

Amerigo Vespucci Facts

Amerigo Vespucci was born in Florence, Italy on March 9th, 1454. He was born to Ser Nastagio and Lisabetta Mini, friends of the Medici family who ruled Italy at the time. When in his early 20s Amerigo was sent on a diplomatic mission to Paris, and later had a banking business in Seville, Spain. He also later became a citizen of Spain (in 1505). While in his 40s Amerigo decided to become an explorer and left on his first voyage. Some believe he discovered the Americas before Christopher Columbus, due to a letter that is dated 1497. Historians are at odds as to who reached the Americas first. Despite the controversy, North and South America are named after Amerigo Vespucci.

Interesting Amerigo Vespucci Facts:

In 1492 Amerigo Vespucci helped to prepare Christopher Columbus' ships to sail to the New World.

According to the controversial letter dated May 10th, 1497, Amerigo Vespucci set sail on his first expedition with a fleet of Spanish ships.

Amerigo Vespucci's fleet reached South America in five weeks, and arrived back in Spain in October of 1498.

During his second expedition to South America (many believe was really his first), which began in May 1499, he discovered Cape St. Augustine and the Amazon River.

On May 14th, 1501 Amerigo Vespucci left on his third voyage to the Americas and it was on this trip that he discovered Rio de Janeiro and Rio de la Plata.

On his third trip Amerigo Vespucci took a route through the Sierra Leone and the Azores, and mistakenly believed that South America was a new continent and he called it the New World.

On June 10th, 1503 Amerigo Vespucci set sail again, this time with the Portuguese flag. No new discoveries were made and he returned to Portugal in 1504.

Some people believe that Amerigo Vespucci's fourth trip was his last but some believe that he made a fifth voyage in 1505 and sixth voyage in 1507, with Juan de la Cosa.

America is the feminine version of the word Amerigas. In 1507, a German cartographer named Martin Waldseemuler proposed the name

America as a gesture to honor Amerigo Vespucci's contribution to discovering Brazil. In 1538 another mapmaker named Mercator expanded the name America to include

both northern and southern portions of the continent. Amerigo Vespucci became ill with malaria in Seville, Spain, in 1512. He died on February

22nd, 1512 at the age of 58. Amerigo Vespucci was the first person to determine that the New World was a new

continent and not the West Indies.

Amerigo Vespucci named a few constellations on a voyage back from the New World in 1502. He named the Southern Cross, among others.

In 1931 Italy built a ship in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. It was named Amerigo Vespucci. Italy also built and named a ship after Christopher Columbus.

A coin was minted in Amerigo Vespucci's memory in 2012. Very little evidence exists that Amerigo Vespucci made the voyage in question over the

letter in 1497. However, he was the first to suggest the world was much larger than thought, and the first to determine that the Americas were not the West Indies. He played an important part in America's history, as its namesake.

ENRICHMENT ARTICLES—Roanoke

Article 1

What Happened to the Lost Colony at Roanoke?

Roanoke Mystery: Evidence and Theories of the Lost Colony

So, what happened to the Roanoke colonists? Ultimately, no one knows for sure. When it comes to the lost colony, historians are long on theories but short on hard evidence. Gov. John White, the first person to discover the colonists' disappearance, reported everything he saw in a letter. There were no bones, like those that had been left behind from the 1585 colony. The houses had been "taken downe," not destroyed or burned. The "CROATOAN" carving didn't indicate distress with a Maltese cross. Everything pointed to the settlers simply having picked up and left.

According to White's letter, the colonists were prepared to move "50 miles to the maine." This could mean that they moved to the mainland, into the forests of North Carolina.

Another explanation is that the Roanoke settlers fell victim to the Spanish, whose settlement was just down the coast in Florida. It's certain that the Spanish in the West Indies were aware of the English colonists' presence. One Roanoke settler named Darby Glande left the 1587 expedition once it set ashore in Puerto Rico to take on supplies. He later reported that he told Spanish officials the location of the Roanoke settlement.

In the opinion of Johns Hopkins University anthropologist Lee Miller, the colonists were deliberately left at Roanoke by Sir Francis Walsingham, secretary of state to Queen Elizabeth I, in hopes that the colony would not survive, to bring down Sir Walter Raleigh, a favorite of the queen. Raleigh, who had funded the expeditions to Roanoke, had received a patent to all the land in the New World he could settle, but he had wanted the last group to settle in the Chesapeake Bay area instead. The colonists inadvertently wandered into a violent shift in

the balance of power among inland tribes. Indians with whom the colonists were friendly lost their hold over the area, and Native Americans hostile to the settlers took control. If the Roanoke colonists made the trip inland when this happened, the men would've likely been killed and the women and children captured as slaves. The colonists would have then been traded along a route that spanned the U.S. coast from present-day Georgia to Virginia.

It's also conceivable that the colonists met a less violent fate and went to Croatoan Island which was 50 miles south of the settlement. The Jamestown colonists sent out several search parties to find members of the lost colony and made a habit of questioning any Native Americans with whom the Jamestown members made contact. Some of these natives told tales of white settlements further down the coast, with two-story, thatched-roof houses, a style unique to the English. Others told of nearby tribes who could read English and dressed similarly to Europeans. Perhaps the most dramatic report from Jamestown was the sighting of a boy dressed as a native. He had blond hair and was fair-skinned.

These reports corroborate the most widely held theory of what became of the Roanoke colonists: They assimilated into some friendly Native American tribe. Over the course of generations, intermarriage between the natives and the English would produce a third, distinct group. This group may be the Lumbee tribe.

The Lumbee tribe is native to North Carolina, yet no certain lineage can be pinned down. The tribe's oral history links them to the Roanoke settlers, and this tradition is supported by some of their surnames and the tribe's ability to read and write English. Family names of some of the Roanoke colonists, like Dial, Hyatt and Taylor, were shared by Lumbee tribe members as early as 1719. The settlers who met them were astonished to find Native Americans that had gray eyes and spoke English. Even within the Lumbee tribe, the veracity of the group's link to the Roanoke colonists is in dispute. The Lumbee Connection, as it's come to be called, is intriguing.

Recent excavations in Bertie County, North Carolina continue to pick away at the mystery. There, at a location called Site X (as in "X marks the spot"), archaeologists have found dozens of English-style artifacts dating to the 1500s. The site, which is situated near the mouth of Salmon Creek, was notably near a major Native American community named Mettaquem. New finds from excavations included lead seals from bales of cloth, firearms components, and tenterhooks meant for stretching animal hides. At an adjacent site (aptly named "Site Y") searchers discovered eight different types of ceramics.

It's possible that a severe drought and subsequent inability to grow crops drove the colony from its original location to Sites X and Y. Historians believe that Sites X and Y might've been a fallback community of sorts, featuring small numbers of the English settlers – not the entire colony. This fragmented group may have been quickly integrated into the local native tribes, diluting their English blood and erasing a record of what happened to the original colony.

For now, the research continues. In 2019, historians and archaeologists alike were buoyed by the N.C. Coastal Land Trust, which bought the lands around Site X and Y to save them from being turned into a housing development. That land is now under state control and will be turned into a natural preserve, one where researchers can continue their work without fear that their sites will be bulldozed and converted into housing.

So, the painstaking excavations will continue for the foreseeable future. Perhaps one day soon, they'll unearth the clues that finally bring closure to the mystery of Roanoke's long-lost colony.

Article 2

Archaeologists Find New Clues to “Lost Colony” Mystery

Ongoing excavations at two sites in North Carolina have yielded new clues about what may have happened to the English settlers who vanished from Roanoke Island around 1590.

When John White, appointed by Sir Walter Raleigh as governor of Roanoke Colony, returned to England for more supplies in late 1587, he left behind his wife, his daughter and his infant granddaughter—Virginia Dare, the first child born in the New World to English parents—among the other settlers. Upon White’s return in 1590, he found no trace of his family or the other inhabitants of the abandoned colony. Over the centuries to come, archaeologists, historians and explorers would delve into the mystery of the “Lost Colony” of Roanoke, all failing to find definitive answers.

Based on the scant clues left behind, some speculated that Native Americans attacked and killed the English colonists. “Croatoan” was the name of an island south of Roanoke, now Hatteras Island, which at the time was home to a Native American tribe of the same name. Alternatively, they might have tried to sail back to England on their own and been lost at sea, or been killed by hostile Spaniards who came north from their own settlements in Florida. One enduring theory was that the settlers might have been absorbed into friendly Native American tribes, perhaps after moving further inland into what is now North Carolina.

Two independent teams found archaeological remains suggesting that at least some of the Roanoke colonists might have survived and split into two groups, each of which assimilated itself into a different Native American community. One team is excavating a site near Cape Creek on Hatteras Island, around 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of the Roanoke Island settlement, while the other is based on the mainland about 50 miles to the northwest of the Roanoke site.

Cape Creek, located in a live oak forest near Pamlico Sound, was the site of a major Croatoan town center and trading hub. In 1998, archaeologists from East Carolina University stumbled

upon a unique find from early British America: a 10-carat gold signet ring engraved with a lion or horse, believed to date to the 16th century. The ring’s discovery prompted later excavations at the site led by Mark Horton, an archaeologist at Britain’s Bristol University, who has been directing volunteers with the Croatoan Archaeological Society in annual digs since 2009. Recently, Horton’s team found a small piece of slate that seems to have been used as a writing tablet and part of the hilt of an iron rapier, a light sword similar to those used in England in the late 16th century, along with other artifacts of European and Native American origin. The slate, a smaller version of a similar one found at Jamestown, bears a small letter “M” still barely visible in one corner; it was found alongside a lead pencil.

In addition to these intriguing objects, the Cape Creek site yielded an iron bar and a large copper ingot (or block), both found buried in layers of earth that appear to date to the late 1500s. Native Americans lacked such metallurgical technology, so they are believed to be European in origin. Horton told National Geographic that some of the artifacts his team found are trade items, but it appears that others may well have belonged to the Roanoke colonists themselves: “The evidence is that they assimilated with the Native Americans but kept their goods.”

The Trustees of the British Museum

A watercolor map drawn by none other than John White inspired the search at Site X (as it’s known), located on Albemarle Sound near Edenton, North Carolina, some 50 miles inland. Known as La Virginea Pars, the map shows the East Coast of North America from Chesapeake Bay to Cape Lookout; it is housed at the British Museum as part of its permanent collection. White began drawing the map in 1585, two years before he became governor. In 2012, researchers using X-ray spectroscopy and other imaging techniques spotted a tiny four-pointed star, colored red and blue, concealed under a patch of paper that White used to make corrections to his map. It was thought to mark the location of a site some 50 miles inland, which White alluded to in testimony given after his attempted return to the colony. If such a site did exist, the theory went, it would have been a reasonable destination for the displaced Roanoke settlers.

According to archaeologist Nicholas Luccketti of the First Colony Foundation, which is conducting the excavations at Site X, the group has found shards of pottery that they claim may have been used by Roanoke settlers after they left the colony. Located nearby is a site that archaeologists believe might have been a small Native American town, Mettaquem. After the Roanoke colony met its end, English settlers eventually came south from Virginia into North Carolina, but the first recorded settler in the area did not arrive until about 1655. But the recently uncovered pottery is in a style called Border Ware, which is typical of the pottery dug up on Roanoke Island, as well as at Jamestown, but was no longer imported to the New World after the early 17th century, when the Virginia Company dissolved.

In addition to the Border Ware pottery, archaeologists at Site X discovered various other items, including a food-storage jar known as a baluster, pieces of early gun flintlocks, a metal hook of the sort used to stretch animal hides or tents and an aglet, a small copper tube used to secure wool fibers before the advent of the hook and eye in the 17th century. Based on his team’s findings, Luccketti thinks the Roanoke colonists may have moved inland to live with Native American allies sometime after White left, and these artifacts might have been among their belongings. As reported in the New York Times, the First Colony Foundation will reveal more about its findings and theory this week in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Though the newly announced discoveries don’t solve this lingering historical mystery, they do point away from Roanoke Island itself, where researchers have failed to come up with evidence pointing to the Lost Colony’s fate. Archaeologists on both teams are hoping that a detailed study of their new finds will yield more clues, and—of course—that more evidence remains, waiting to be discovered, in the endless layers of dirt that surround them.

Article 3

Archaeologists start a new hunt for the fabled Lost Colony of the New World

ROANOKE ISLAND IN NORTH CAROLINA—In 1587, more than 100 men, women, and children settled on Roanoke Island in what is now North Carolina. War with Spain prevented speedy resupply of the colony—the first English settlement in the New World, backed by Elizabethan courtier Sir Walter Raleigh. When a rescue mission arrived 3 years later, the town was abandoned and the colonists had vanished.

What is commonly called the Lost Colony has captured the imagination of generations of professional and amateur sleuths, but the colonists' fate is not the only mystery. Despite more than a century of digging, no trace has been found of the colonists' town—only the remains of a small workshop and an earthen fort that may have been built later, according to a study to be published this year. Now, after a long hiatus, archaeologists plan to resume digging this fall. "I firmly believe that our program of re-excavation will provide answers to the vexing questions that past fieldwork has left us," says archaeologist Eric Klingelhofer, vice president for research at the nonprofit First Colony Foundation in Durham, North Carolina.

The first colonists arrived in 1585, when a voyage from England landed more than 100 men here, among them a science team including Joachim Gans, a metallurgist from Prague and the first known practicing Jew in the Americas. According to eyewitness accounts, the colonists built a substantial town on the island's north end. Gans built a small lab where he worked with scientist Thomas Harriot. After the English assassinated a local Native American leader, however, they faced hostility. After less than a year, they abandoned Roanoke and returned to England.

A second wave of colonists, including women and children, arrived in 1587 and rebuilt the decaying settlement. Their governor, artist John White, returned to England for supplies and more settlers, but war with Spain delayed him in England for 3 years. When he returned here in 1590, he found the town deserted.

By the time President James Monroe paid a visit in 1819, all that remained was the outline of an earthen fort, presumed to have been built by the 1585 all-male colony. Digs near the earthwork in the 1890s and 1940s yielded little. The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) subsequently reconstructed the earthen mound, forming the centerpiece of today's Fort Raleigh National Historic Site.

Then in the 1990s, archaeologists led by Ivor Noël Hume of The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in Virginia uncovered remains of what archaeologists agree was the workshop where Gans tested rocks for precious metals and Harriot studied plants with medicinal properties, such as tobacco. Crucibles and pharmaceutical jars littered the floor, along with bits of brick from a special furnace. The layout closely resembled those in 16th century woodcuts of German alchemical workshops.

The 16th century colonists mapped North Carolina’s coastline but didn’t mark exactly where their town was located, leaving a 400-year-old mystery behind.

In later digs Noël Hume determined that the ditch alongside the earthwork cuts across the workshop—suggesting the fort was built after the lab and possibly wasn't even Elizabethan. NPS refused to publish these controversial results, and Noël Hume died in 2017. But the foundation intends to publish his paper in coming months.

The foundation is also gearing up for a series of new digs. In September, archaeologists will re-excavate parts of the workshop, seeking clues to its size and precise design. In October, foundation and NPS archaeologists will excavate along nearby bluffs that are rapidly eroding. They are applying new dating methods to sand around a post hole near the shoreline. And after a century of work, they know which areas to rule out, such as by the fort, Klingelhofer says. He's confident the extensive new excavations will be more successful, and is eyeing more sites for 2019 digs.

But geologists think the settlement has vanished. Recent studies suggest that shifting currents and rising waters inundated the site in the past couple of centuries, says geologist J. P. Walsh of the University of North Carolina in nearby Wanchese. On a recent research trip into Albemarle Sound off Roanoke to collect cores, he pointed to a depth finder that revealed perilously shallow water. "This was all land back then," he shouted over the engine. He estimates the island's north end has lost about 750 meters in the past 4 centuries, and that strong currents and hurricanes buried any artifacts.

Klingelhofer rejects that idea, saying the loss of land "is more likely to have come since the last ice age" rather than after 1585. Guy Prentice, an archaeologist from NPS's Southeast Archeological Center in Tallahassee, agrees. "If you look at the maps from the 1700s, the island's geography has not changed much. … I just don't buy that a couple of thousand yards are gone." They both note that the Jamestown settlement in Virginia, founded a couple of decades after Roanoke, was long thought to have eroded away. But archaeologists discovered it in the 1990s and have gathered a wealth of artifacts.

All the scientists, however, concur that today's rising seas are swiftly wearing away Roanoke's northern end. Klingelhofer feels urgency to locate the town "before coastal erosion removes all traces." But if history has anything to teach, it is that Roanoke will not readily reveal its secrets.