III. Early Explorers

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Advance History Unit 1

• III. Early Explorers

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Who discovered America?

• Columbus sailed the ocean blue.
• Anyone else?

3
LAnse aux Meadows

• In about 1,000 AD, Scandanavian Vikings founded a
  settlement in present day Newfoundland and called
  it Vineland.
• Leif Erikson Son of Erik the Red
• Was forgotten except in song and oral history
  (ethnohistory)

4
Christopher Columbus

• One of the most successful failures ever?
• Explain?
• Told no by England, Venice, Portugal
• Kind Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile
  defeated the Moors of Granada
• Isabella took the risk

5
Other Explorers

• Balboa 1513 - Panama
• Ponce de Leon 1513 Florida and Fountain of Life
• Cortes 1519 Mexico took Mexico City
  (Tenochtitlan, 300,000 people)
• De Soto Mississippi brutal died and hid
  body
• Coronado 1540 New Mexico searched for 7
  cities of gold

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Why we speak English

• Queen Elizabeth becomes Queen of England in 1559.
• England was going through the Protestant
  Reformation a break up from the dominant
  Catholic Church.
• Spain was the leading supporter of Catholicism
  and the Inquisition the defense of the
  Protestant Reformation.
• Spain had grown so rich from the gold in the New
  World, amassed an armada to conquer England and
  bring Catholicism back.
• England had no navy so they privatized pirates
  called sea dogs Sir Walter Drake and Sir
  Walter Raleigh

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Sir Francis Drake

• Born poor
• Apprentice to a merchant ship at age 12
  inherited the ship
• Age 23 first sailings
• Two slave expeditions and one against Ireland.
• Hated Spanish stole tons of gold from them for
  England
• Very Daring Pirate and a Sea Dog
• Second person (Magellan) to circumnavigate the
  world 6 ships started one finished 4000
  profit. (two Spanish ships).
• Knighted by Elizabeth and made Vice Admiral
• Was bowling in 1588 when Spanish Armada was
  sighted said he had time to finish game and
  beat Spanish later.
• The Prayer of Sir Francis Drake

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Sir Walter Raleigh

• Elizabeth like him much
• He founded Virginia named after Elizabeth
• First Colony failed Roanoke Island in North
  Carolina
• Secretly married a lady-in-waiting of the Queen
  and when it was found out, had both arrested. He
  was released to help with the Spanish Armada
  victory.
• He led the fireship attack on the Armada that
  broke the Spanish.
• Later captured a Spanish ship full of gold and
  his wife was released.
• Helped bring tobacco and potates to Europe
• Protected by Elizabeth until she died.

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Spanish Armada

• King Phillip of Spain mad at England because of
  the Reformation and the Sea Dogs pirates taking
  his gold attempted to attack and conquer
  England in 1588.
• Several battles over months resulted in
  eventual Spanish defeat and a storm sunk over 2/3
  of the Spanish fleet. (Drake looted pay ship)
• Left England as the defacto Navy power until
  WWII.

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What happened to Drake and Raleigh

• Drake continued his raiding ways and off the cost
  of Panama at age 55 he died of dysentary.
• He was buried at sea in a lead coffin still
  looking for it.
• Raleigh was protected by the Queen until her
  death in 1603. Later implicated in a plot to
  replace the king and imprisoned for treason (12
  years) but not executed as really no evidence.
  Released and led a failed expedition against
  Spain in America. The Spanish argued and to
  appease them Raleigh was beheaded. Had chances
  to escape but said he was too old.

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Why important?

• Drake and Raleigh instrumental in breaking
  Spanish naval power and allowing England to be
  the country that settle North America.
• Settlements and tobacco first cash crop (John
  Rolfe)