An Era of Exploration

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An Era of Exploration
Early Voyages to the Americas

• In 1001 Viking sailors led by Leif Erickson
  reached the northern tip of North America.
• Vikings are believed to have settled in Vinland
  (current day Newfoundland)
• Asians continued to cross the Bering Sea into
  North America after the last ice age.

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An Era of Exploration
Columbus Reaches the Americas

• Portuguese and Spanish sailors wanted a share
  of the Asian spice trade.
• King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella agreed to
  finance a voyage of exploration by Christopher
  Columbus
• Columbus, an Italian sea captain, thought he
  could reach the East Indies by sailing west
  across the Atlantic.

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An Era of Exploration
Columbus Reaches the Americas

• In 1492 Columbus set out with 3 ships and a
  crew of about 90 sailors. Nina, Pinta, Santa
  Maria)
• Columbus commanded the largest ship, the Santa
  Maria.
• Columbus and his crew hit land on October 12th
  1492 at 2am.
• Columbus was sure he had reached the East
  Indies, when infact it was actually the Caribbean.

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An Era of Exploration
Columbus Reaches the Americas

• When Columbus returned to Spain he presented
  the Queen and King with gifts never seen before.
• Including ..pink pearls, parrots, tobacco,
  pineapple and hammocks.
• Columbus also described the Indians he
  encountered there.
• He explained that the Indians could easily be
  converted to Christianity.

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An Era of Exploration
Columbus Reaches the Americas

• Columbus made 3 more trips across the
  Atlantic.
• In 1493 he found the first Spanish colony in the
  Americas, on an island he called Hispaniola.
  (Present-Day Haiti and the Dominican Republic)
• A COLONY is a group of people who settle in a
  distant land but are still ruled by the
  government of their native land.
• The voyages of Columbus signaled a turning
  point for the Americas.
• A turning point is a moment in history that marks
  a decisive change.

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An Era of Exploration
The Spanish Cross the Pacific

• By 1511 the Spanish explored and conquered
  Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Cuba.
• They also looked for western route to Asia.
• In 1513, Vasco Nunez de Balboa plunged into the
  jungles of the Isthmus of Panama.
• Ferdinand Magellan led an exploration of 250 to
  sail across the Pacific.
• In 1522, 1 of 5 ships 18 sailors returned.

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An Era of Exploration
A Global Cultural Exchange

• The encounter between the peoples of the
  Eastern and Western hemispheres sparked a global
  exchange of goods and ideas known as the
  Columbian Exchange
• The Columbian Exchange covered a wide range of
  areas, including food, medicine, government,
  technology, the arts, and language.
• The exchange went in both directions.
• Europeans learned much from the Native
  Americans. At the same time Europeans
  contributed in many ways to the culture of the
  Americans.

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An Era of Exploration
European Influences

• Europeans introduced domestic animals such as
  chickens from Europe and Africa.
• European pigs, cattle, and horses often escaped
  into the wild and multiplied rapidly.
• As horses spread through North America, Indians
  learned to ride them and use them to carry heavy
  loads.
• The first bananas came from the Canary Islands.
• Oranges lemons, bluegrass, daisies, dandelions,
  and figs were also new to the Americas.

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An Era of Exploration
European Influences

• Tragically, Europeans also new diseases, such as
  smallpox and influenza.
• Native Americans had no resistance to these
  diseases.
• Historians estimate that within 75 years,
  diseases from Europe had killed almost 90 percent
  of the people in the Caribbean islands and in
  Mexico

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An Era of Exploration
Native American Influences

• Native Americans introduced Europeans to new
  customs and ideas.
• Native Americans introduced Europeans to
  valuable food crops such as corn, potatoes,
  beans, tomatoes, squash and peanuts.
• Skills were also exchanged How to use
  snowshoes, How to paddle canoes, How to trap
  beavers.

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