NORSEMEN DISCOVER NEW WORLD?

• Norsemen from Denmark discover Greenland around 1000 AD and establish colony there

• Leif Ericson, son of ruler of Greenland, lands at Newfoundland in 1001– Spends winter there

and then returns to Greenland

NORSEMEN TRY AGAIN

• Around 1010-1015, another group of Norsemen from Iceland returned to Newfoundland

– Named in Vinland

– Tried to establish permanent colony there

• Lasted two years

• Forced to leave because of Indian raids

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS• Born in Genoa, Italy in

1451

• Began career as sailor at age of 20

• Moved to Portugal at age 27– One of the most

progressive kingdoms in Europe at the time

INTERNATIONAL TRADE• Europe was undergoing a cultural

and commercial revival, mainly based on expansion of international trade with Middle and Far East

• Trade was monopolized by Arab middlemen– Send caravans to India and

China to obtain spices, drugs, and jewels

– Then sold then at tremendously marked up prices to European merchants

• European merchants still made big profits but realized that they could make far more if they could deal with sources of supply directly

PORTUGAL TAKES THE LEAD I

• Financed and supported by men such as Prince Henry the Navigator, Portuguese explorers began to look for an all sea route to the “Indies”– And thereby bypass

Arab merchants who monopolized land routes to Asia

PORTUGAL TAKES THE LEAD II

• By the time Columbus moved to Portugal, Portuguese explorers had traveled far along the coast of Africa– Established trading

posts along the way– But had not yet made

it to India

A DIFFERENT PLAN• Columbus came up with his own

plan to reach Asia– Instead of sailing around

Africa– Sail directly west, around the

world, until he hit China• Logical plan but based on

faulty mathematical calculations

– Figured distance would be only 2000 miles

– Did not figure on Western Hemisphere being in the way

QUEEN ISABELLA GAMBLES• Had trouble getting financing

– Not because people thought world was flat

– But because of his bad math– Searched for money for 8

years• Queen Isabella of Spain finally

took a chance on him– Figured he wasn’t asking for

much money, so if he failed it would be no great loss

– But if he succeeded, Spain would have an exclusive route to the Indies

COLUMBUS SETS OFF

• Columbus left Spain on August 3, 1492 with three ships manned by 90 Spanish sailors– Plan was to sail to

the Canary Islands, rest up a little, and then sail west to Asia

• And hit either Japan or China

COLUMBUS HITS LANDHit land on

October 12, 1492

Island of San Salvador in

Bahama Island chain

Would make later trips and

discover islands of Hispaniola, Puerto Rico,

Martinique, Cuba, and others

Never realized to his dying day (1506) that he had discovered

an entirely new land

Thought he had reached Asia

RICHES OF THE NEW WORLD

• Although Columbus did not realize what he had discovered, Spanish explorers who followed him quickly figured out that this was a brand new continent– At first they tried to find

a way through or around it to Asia

– But they soon realized that this “New World” offered riches of its own as well as native people who could be forced to extract these resources

COLUBUS AND THE ARAWAKS• Columbus had originally been greeted

warmly by native people of San Salvador– Called them “Indians”– Arawak tribe

• Exchanged presents with them but had no intention of trading with them on a peaceful and fair basis– Was there to conquer and rule over

them– Expected Indians to work for him in

exchange for receiving the blessings of Christianity

• To be accomplished by violence, if need be

DISEASE

• Spanish put Arawaks to work as slaves on sugar and tobacco plantations

• But Indians proved highly vulnerable to new European diseases– 90% of Arawak

population died within 75 years of Columbus’ first landing

– Within 20 more years, the Arawak people were extinct

INDIAN EMPIRES

• Spanish would encounter Indians elsewhere who were not as defenseless as the Arawaks– Aztecs in Mexico– Incas in Peru

• both ruled large empires and had powerful armies

• But they also possessed an abundance of gold and silver

CONQUISTADORS• Hernando Cortez

– Conquered Aztec Empire in 1519 with army of 600 men

• Francisco Pizarro– Conquered Inca Empire in

1629 with army smaller than the one Cortez had

• Both men were from humble origins but had risen high in military due to their ruthlessness and bravery– Also ambitious, greedy,

and religious fanatics

Cortez

Pizarro

WHY SO EASY?• Had superior military technology

– But not all that superior

• Real decisive factor was biological– Arrival of conquistadors

triggered epidemics of European diseases among Indians

• Depleted their fighting strength

• Demoralized the Indians– Felt betrayed by their gods

and even believed the Spanish were gods themselves

EMPIRE

• Disease reduced entire Indian population of Mexico and Peru by at least 33%

• By the time remaining Indians had built up immunity, the Spanish had organized its New World territory into administrative units– Vice-royalties of New

Spain, New Granada, New Castille, and La Plata

MISSIONS

• Outside of vice-royalties, population was too small and economic development too low to make official colonial administration worthwhile– Spanish Catholic

Church did build missions throughout this undeveloped region, thereby spreading Spanish influence into Florida, Texas, and California

CENTRALIZED ADMINISTRATION

• Spanish king created “Council of the Indies” in 1524 and gain it total control of colonial policy– Appointed governors,

supervised their activities, licensed merchants, taxed imports and exports, took 20% of all gold and silver mined in New World, and developed elaborate bureaucracy to administer the empire

• In short, all important decisions regarding Spanish colonies were made in Spain– Colonists had no assemblies to

defend their interests

NEW WORLD GOLD AND SILVER

• Gold and silver from New World made Spain the richest country in the world– Pushed Spain to forefront of

international scene

• In the end, however, the flood of precious metals caused problems for Spain– Provoked inflation– Caused decline of domestic

industries– Encouraged fantastic ambition of

Spanish kings to conquer northern Europe

CONCLUSION

• The tremendous wealth of the Spanish New World colonies attracted the attention of France, England, and the Netherlands– Wanted to set up colonies of their own

• But as long as Spain was strong, they were blocked from this goal

• But once Spain began to decline, it no longer had the power to keep other European powers out of the New World– By the end of the 1500s, the way was open for the

establishments of English settlements in the Western Hemisphere