Early Exploration
Notes
SS6H6: The student will analyze the impact of
European exploration and colonization on various
world regions
Essential Question:
- What factors, including the
contributions of Prince
Henry the Navigator, influenced
European nations to begin overseas
exploration?
• How did European exploration impact
European development?
Geographic Factors
What were the geographic factors that fed the rise
in exploration?
1. The Turks blocked the trade route from the
Mediterranean Sea to the land route to Asia.
2. Crusades—European countries tried to regain control
of holy sites that had been taken over by the Muslims
and were exposed to trade items.
3. Portugal—They didn’t have a Mediterranean port
location and needed an option.
4. Arabs’ prices were too high. (Middle Man)
Suppliers and Goods
What goods were traded?
Africa: (West)
• Ghana—salt and gold
– Imposed taxes on
goods, so traders
found new routes over
time
• Mali—gold
• Songhai—skins, ivory
China and India:
• Spices, sugar, silk,
cotton, porcelain
Technology
What were technology changes that
increased exploration?
• Better ships
– triangular sail, sturdy rudder
• Better tools
– Astrolabe, magnetic compass
• Better maps
– Cartographer—a person who makes/studies maps
Included ocean currents and latitude lines
Other Factors
What other factors encouraged exploration
of new trade routes?
1. Renaissance Period
•
•
Renaissance means “new birth”
Period of time when the wealthy studied classical
books or ancient Greece and Rome
2. Rise of monarchs
•
Countries were ruled by kings and queens and they
paid for the exploration trips
The Leader
• Prince Henry “The Navigator” of
Portugal
– Started a school of navigation in 1420
– Didn’t sail, but planned voyages and analyzed
their reports
– Astronomers, geographers, mathematicians
shared info with Portuguese sailors and
shipbuilders.
– Expert mapmakers updated maps/charts
Other Ways They Prepared
Many explorers read the Viking Sagas.
A Saga is a traditional story.
Christopher Columbus read the written
works of Ptolemy, an ancient Greek
Astronomer.
Portugal
• Bartholomeu Dias
– Sent by King John II
– Sailed to Cape of Good Hope, tip of Africa
• Vasco Da Gama
– Sailed around Africa to India
• Pedro Alvares Cabral
– Swung wide to Africa and reached Brazil first
– Established important forts for trade
Spain
Christopher Columbus
– Sailed to Bahamas/Caribbean
– Thought he had found India
Amerigo Vespucci
– South America
– The Americas are named after him
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
– Hiked over mountains to see the Pacific Ocean
Ferdinand Magellan
– Sailed through a strait (narrow waterway)
– Named the Pacific Ocean (pacifico-peaceful)
– circumnavigate—sail around the world
Who Sailed for Whom?
Portugal:
• 1487—
Bartholomeu Dias
• 1497—
Vasco da Gama
• 1497—
Pedro Alvares Cabral
*Columbus sailed for
both countries!
Spain:
• 1492—
Christopher Columbus
• 1502—
Amerigo Vespucci
• 1513—
Vasco Nunez de
Balboa
• 1520—
Ferdinand Magellan
Line of Demarcation
(Treaty of Tordesillas)
Pope Alexander drew an
imaginary line running
down the middle of
the Atlantic from the
North Pole to the
South Pole.
Spain got the West and
Portugal got the East.
Why wasn’t this line fair?
Spain got all of the new world, and Portugal
was left with mostly claimed land.
What Did I Do? (Portugal)
• Prince Henry -started a sailing school in
Portugal
• Dias-Explored Africa to its southern tip
• Da Gama-Rounded tip of Africa, sailed to
India
• Cabral-Swung wide, explored coast of
Brazil, set up trade forts in India
What Did I Do? (Spain)
• Columbus-Did not find Americas first, explored
•
•
•
islands in the Caribbean.
Vespucci-Explored South American coast,
Americas named after him
De Balboa-Hiked mountains and saw Pacific
Ocean first
Magellan-Circumnavigated the world by sailing
through a strait near the tip of S. America,
named the Pacific Ocean—pacifico (peaceful)
Exploration in South America
• Spanish explorers were known as
conquistadors
• They received grants, or special
permission, to explore and claim land.
• Cortez-(Mexico) Conquered the Aztecs in
the city of Tenochtitlan, put the Aztec
emperor, Montezuma in prison.
• Pizarro-(Peru) Conquered the Incas,
executed their leader, Atahualpa.
Why Did Spain Succeed So Easily?
• The natives thought they were gods…
– Weapons the Indians had never seen, guns
and cannons
– Horses the Indians had never seen
– Shiny armor/uniforms
• The natives didn’t like their Aztec rulers…
– Sided and fought with Spanish for “freedom”
Explorer Motivation in Americas
• Personally--Gold, Jewels, status
• For country—Land to claim, spread
religion
• Seven Cities of Cibola
(National Treasure Movie!)
– The natives told the story of cities of gold
Exploration in North America
• Ponce de Leon- (1513) Explored Florida,
•
•
•
searched for the “Fountain of Youth” (St.
Augustine)
De Vaca and Estevanico- (1528) Explored
Florida to the Southwest (Mexico), became
medicine men to survive
De Soto- (1541) Explored Western North
America, died and was dumped into the
Mississippi River.
Coronado- (1540) Explored Colorado River and
Kansas, wanted to find Cibola.
French Exploration
French explorers wanted to
find a direct water route
THROUGH North
America.:
The Northwest Passage
Jacques Cartier explored
the St. Lawrence River
near Canada
English Exploration
• England sent John Cabot
• He explored Newfoundland
• England used his voyage to claim parts of
the East coast of America
Netherlands (Dutch)
• Sent Henry Hudson
• He explored the Hudson River in present
day New York
• New York was the Dutch settlement of
New Amsterdam before the English took it
over