Age of Exploration

Early Exploration

• The prelude to the Age of Exploration was a series of European expeditions crossing Eurasia by land in the late Middle Ages.

• The first great wave of expeditions was launched by Portugal Portugal’s Prince Henry supported a school for navigation and the explorers themselves.

Exploration RoutesThis map doesnot include Spanish Explorers.

Some Early Explorations A.D. 1000-1500

• 1000- Vikings reach North America• 1095- Crusades Begin• 1271-75 - Marco Polo visits China• 1419- Prince Henry establishes school of

navigation• 1492-Columbus crosses Atlantic Ocean• 1498- Vasco da Gama finds trade route to

India• 1517- Spaniards take 4000 enslaved Western

Africans to the Caribbean

Settling Virginia and New England

• The English looked at Spanish settlements in the New World with envy. The English wish to increase their wealth by colonizing lands in North America. To pay for the expeditions, England organized joint -stock companies in which people invested money sharing both the risks and the profits.

• English Settle Virginia1606- King James the 1st gave a group of English merchants a charter that granted them the ability to establish a joint-stock company in North America. In May of 1607 the three ships landed in Virginia. In honor of King James they named the town Jamestown.

Captain John Smith

His leadership helped save the colonists from certain deathHe was a soldier and had strong leadership skills.He visited native tribes and established good relationships between the colonists and natives.He is quoted as saying “he will not work will not eat.”

A New Cash Crop

The future of the new settlement was uncertain until settlers began growing tobacco. By 1619 tobacco was the colonies largest cash crop. Tobacco was called “green gold” The growing of tobacco fueled the colonies economy and lead to the physical expansion of Jamestown.

Jamestown today

Jamestown 1606Powhatan houses

What was it like to be a colonist?

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/colonialhouse/history/index.html

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/colonialhouse/php/voyage.php

Jamestown

From the beginning Jamestown had problems-land was swampy-few settlers had skills, such as carpentry or farming-while settlers searched for gold, their strength and supplies diminished.Nearly 2/3rds of the original 108 within the first 8 months. The colonists barely survived the cold, illness, and famine.