What students should know:
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Europeans valued the silk, spices, and gold that merchants brought from China and
other Asian countries. Travel along the land route, however, was difficult, and a water
route to Asia began to emerge as an alternative to overland travel. Students should
understand what trade is and what benefits trade can bring to traders.
Advances in navigational tools such as the astrolabe and compass, improved maps, and
improved ship designs made sailors and merchants more willing to search for water
routes to Asia.
Columbus was an Italian sailor who sought and gained support from the Spanish rulers,
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Obstacles to Columbus’s voyage included delays in
securing financial support before the trip and skepticism of his crew during the trip.
They believed Columbus would return to Spain with gold for the treasury and spices,
which could be traded. They also sought to spread their Roman Catholic religion.
Spanish exploration negatively impacted the lifestyles of indigenous peoples is
illustrated in the cutting of rainforests in the North and South America to create
plantations and the spread of European-born diseases unknown in the new lands.
The Spanish caused the exchange of people, animals, and plants between the Eastern
and Western Hemispheres, benefitting both groups of peoples.
Vasco Nunez de Balboa was a Spanish explorer who, in 1513, sailed to present-day
Panama, crossing the jungles overland and reaching the Pacific Ocean, which helped
confirm the existence of North and South America. Balboa’s exploration, coupled with
that of Magellan and Vespucci, led to a change in the way Europeans thought the bodies
of land on the earth were arranged.
Juan Ponce de Leon was a Spanish conquistador who, in 1513, explored present-day
Florida in a search for gold. Ponce de Leon was also in search of a legendary “Fountain
of Youth
Spanish colonies in North America were established where Spanish explorers found
valuable minerals, such as gold or silver. In these areas, the Spanish rulers and the
Roman Catholic Church also sent priests to start settlements called missions. In these
religious communities priests taught Christianity.
Spanish colonists in North American often overworked American Indians. To replace
the workers, enslaved Africans were brought to North America. Not all colonists,
however, were unfair to the American Indians. Some colonists asked the Spanish
rulers to make laws to end mistreatment of the natives.
John Cabot was the assumed name of Giovanni Caboto, an Italian explorer who moved
to England to seek funding and support for his expedition to cross the Atlantic in search
of Asia. He sailed for England in 1497, arriving in North America at present-day
Canada. His discoveries led to the development of a fishing industry in the waters off
North America.
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Jacques Cartier, in 1534, sailed into the St. Lawrence River, in present-day
Canada. His voyage was part of France’s push to find a water route to Asia that went
North of North America.
Henry Hudson, an Englishman, pursued the discovery of the “Northwest Passage” for
the Netherlands (Dutch). Later, in 1610 Hudson made a voyage for England, finding the
bay now known as Hudson Bay in present-day Canada.
King Philip II of Spain and Queen Elizabeth I of England had to make important
decisions about providing financial and military support for exploration.
Roanoke Colony is an example of the failure of colonists to adapt to the physical
systems in the North America and, perhaps, to the cultural differences with American
Indians
Jamestown shows how colonists were able to adapt to physical systems in North
America. The welfare of the Jamestown colony depended on the environment.
The pilgrims came to North America for religious freedom, which was different from
earlier European explorers and settlers.
Later British settlements in North America came about for economic reasons.
The pilgrims were assisted by American Indians as they established their settlements.
French settlers pursued fishing, hunting, and trapping rather than farming due to
the climate of the area in which they settled (Canada). Also, trappers used the
Mississippi River system and Ohio River Valley for transportation. These Europeans
adapted their lifestyles to take advantage of the physical systems.
French trappers traded with American Indians in the areas in which the French
claimed.
Longitude and latitude are used to determine location.
Interpreting timelines supports understanding of the sequence of events. Creating
timelines organizes events in chronological order.