Chapter Two: Exploring the Americas

A Changing WorldMarco Polo’s stories from 1296 inspired

people 200 years laterTrade makes countries wealthy, people

desired Asian spices, silk, teaFocus on classical works: Ancient Greek and

RomanRise in intellectual and artistic creativity:

Renaissance (French for “rebirth”)This encouraged people to pursue new ideas/

goals

Impact of TechnologyTechnology: use of scientific knowledge for

practical purposesMore accurate maps

Astrolabe measured the position of the starsBetter ships

Stern rudder, triangular sail from ArabsCaravel from Portugal: 3 masted ship, sailed

faster, carried more cargo, could float in shallow water

http://www.kuriositas.com/2011/04/astrolabe-magnificent-computer-of.html

Seeking New Trade RoutesFirst maps showed three continents: Europe,

Asia, Africa bordered by oceansThey also thought it was only one ocean called

the Ocean SeaPortugal takes the lead- they don’t have a

Mediterranean port to go between Asia and Europe

1420 Prince Henry “The Navigator” of Portugal set up a center for exploration on the southwest tip of Portugal

He brought astronomers, mathematicians, and geographers together

Began to trade down the west coast of Africa: Gold Coast : gold, ivory, slaves

Bartholomeu Dias1487 sent by king of Portugal to explore

southernmost tip of AfricaTerrible storm blew him off course and he

sailed around it by accidentDias called it “Cape of Storms,” but the king

renamed it “Cape of Good Hope”Vasco da Gama

1497 set off with four ships around Cape of Good Hope and visited east Africa

Met an Arab sailor who helped him navigate to India, and arrived in Calcutta 1498

Crossing the AtlanticVikings crossed the Atlantic in the 800s and

900sMade it to Iceland and Greenland and

established settlementsLeif Eriksson landed in what he called

“Vinland” in 1000, maybe it was North America?

Didn’t establish a permanent settlementhttp://www.history.com/topics/exploration/leif-

eriksson

Christopher Columbus born in Italy 1451Became a sailor for Portugal on a

merchant ship1470 French privateers attacked his

ship, he floated to shore on a scrap of wood

Studied math, astronomy, cartography in Lisbon

Thought he could sail around the world in 2 months, 2760 miles (more like 24,859)…but he couldn’t prove it because he couldn’t afford his own ship and crew

For most of 1400s Spain was consumed with getting rid of Muslims and Jews

Last Muslim kingdom in Spain fell in 1492King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella

were already jealous of Portugal’s advances in sailing and trade

Meanwhile Columbus is looking for a sponsor to sail around the world

Spain promised to support him if heBrought Christianity (Catholicism) to

any foreign landsBring wealth to Spain if he found a

route to Asia (but they promised to give him a cut)

Set sail on August 3, 1492Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria, with a total of

90 menAfter a month the crew started to worry

and doubt his idea, even threatened mutiny

Spotted land on October 12, the Bahamas, went ashore and claimed it for Spain

he was convinced that he had reached the Indies, and even though he searched for pearls and gold for months in the islands he found nothing

But, he returned to Spain in triumph, leaving 40 men to make a settlement

September 1493, Columbus returned to the Americas

found the settlement destroyed (to this day, no one knows what happened there)

left his brothers Bartolomeo and Diego behind to rebuild

headed west, with native slaves, to continue his mostly fruitless search for gold and other goods.

Instead of riches he had promised Spain, he sent 500 slaves to Queen Isabella.

The queen was horrified–she believed that any people Columbus “discovered” were Spanish subjects who could not be enslaved–and returned the explorer’s gift.

Spain and Portugal were now in competition with each other

The Pope had to draw a line from the North Pole to the South Pole to divide the land they had exploredThe line of demarcation: Portugal

gets lands to the east and Spain gets lands to the west, and the two countries signed an agreement in 1494 to settle the matter

Amerigo Vespucci1499 Made maps of South America

coastlineBy early 1500s, Europeans were using

his maps and calling the land “America”Vasco Nunez de Balboa

Governor of a Spanish town in PanamaHad heard stories of “great waters” on

the other side of the mountains1513 Traveled over land for days, and

was the first European to see the Pacific (and claimed it for Spain)

Ferdinand Magellan1519 was hired by the Spanish to travel

around/ through South America to AsiaNovember 1520 found a passage

through the tip of South America

His voyage across the Pacific lasted four months

They ran out of food, ate sawdust, rats, and leather

Three years later, Magellan was killed in the Philippines

Only 1 crew member made it to India, and circumnavigated the world

Spain in AmericaStories of gold, silver, and wealthy kingdoms

sent the Spanish running to the AmericasConquistadors were explorers who received

grants from the government to explore and establish settlements in the Americas But…they had to give the crown 1/5 of what

they foundIf they failed they faced losing their own

fortune

Hernan CortesLanded in Mexico 1519 looking for gold and

gloryHe had 500 soldiers, horses, and cannonsMarched into Tenochtitlan (Aztec empire)

and they welcomed himBut Cortez took advantage of them and took

King Montezuma hostageSpring 1520 Aztecs revolted, Montezuma was

killed, Spanish eventually driven outBut Cortes waited for more troops to arrive,

and attacked and destroyed the Aztec for good in 1521

Francisco Pizarro1532 sailed down Pacific Coast with 180

Spanish soldiers looking for legendary wealthy Incas

Captured the ruler and destroyed the armyIn order to get rid of the king, Atahualpa,

the Spanish falsely accused him of crimes and executed him

How did Spain succeed?1) strange weapons and fearsome animals

Guns and cannonsHorses and dogs

2) many Native Americans hated their overlords and actually helped the Spanish

3) diseases that the Spanish unintentionally brought with them wiped out the Natives

Spain in North AmericaJuan Ponce de Leon landed in Florida 1513

Looking for gold and the legendary “fountain of youth”

His exploration led to the first Spanish settlement in 1565 at St. Augustine

Alvar Nunez Cabeza de VacaLanded in Florida 1528; had some trouble,

sailed to Mexico, but in November 5 boats were lost in a storm

2 survived and landed in Texas, but many men had died

De Vaca and an enslaved African became medicine men

1533 headed west 1000 miles searching for “seven cities with walls of emerald and streets of gold”

Hernando de SotoInspired by de Vaca to explore Florida and the

SWWandered around for 3 years looking for gold;

would enter a village, take the chief hostage, and demand supplies

Crossed the Mississippi River in 1541, made it as far west as OK, but dies of fever and men buried him in the river

Fransisco Vasquez de Coronado1540 traveled through Mexico, AZ, NM, and

met the Zuni peopleRealized there was no gold, kept going west to

CO, then east to KS, but found nothing but “windswept plains” and “shaggy cows” (buffalo)

Spanish RuleSpanish law established three types of

settlementsPueblos were towns established as centers for

tradeMissions were religious communities that

usually had a small town, farmland, and a church

Presidios were forts, usually built near a mission

Social ClassesUpper class was Spanish natives: they owned the

land and ran the local governmentCreoles were American born with Spanish parentsMestizos were Spanish/ Native mixedNative AmericansLastly the slaves (Africans)Spain gave the conquistadors the right to demand

taxes or labor from Native Americans, basically enslaving them

Bartolome de Las Casas, a priest, tried to protect them, and some basic laws were passed in 1542, but not always followed

Plantation system developedExported crops and raw materials back to

SpainTobacco and sugarcaneNative Americans worked the landLas Casas thought Africans were better suited

to the work and encouraged the Spanish to use them instead

Slave trade developedSpanish brought them from West Africa to

North AmericaPortuguese brought them to BrazilLas Casas would regret his suggestion