Exploration 2

Chapter 6 Lessons 1 – 3United States Time and Place

Europeans Come to the Americas

In 1000 A.D. Leif Erickson settled in Canada (Vinland)

The 1400s was a time of human movement

Aztecs were conquering people in Central America and Mexico

European explorers were searching for a new route to Asia

Chinese sailors were exploring Africa’s east coast

African traders were bartering with people in Asia and Europe

In 1492 Poem

In fourteen hundred ninety-twoColumbus sailed the ocean blue.

He had three ships and left from Spain;He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.

He sailed by night; he sailed by day;He used the stars to find his way.

A compass also helped him knowHow to find the way to go.

Ninety sailors were on board;Some men worked while others snored.

Then the workers went to sleep;And others watched the ocean deep.

Day after day they looked for land;They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.

October 12 their dream came true,You never saw a happier crew!

"Indians!  Indians!"  Columbus cried;His heart was filled with joyful pride.

But "India" the land was not;It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.

The Arakawa natives were very nice;They gave the sailors food and spice.

Columbus sailed on to find some goldTo bring back home, as he'd been told.

He made the trip again and again,Trading gold to bring to Spain.

The first American?  No, not quite.But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.

The Taino

By studying Taino words and artifacts we can learn something about how the Taino lived. (artifacts are primary sources)

Canoes were their lifeline because they lived on an island. Boats were used to fish, barter, and make war.

Hammocks were simple beds made from woven cotton or other plant fibers. They were perfect for the tropical climate.

Christopher Columbus

Sponsored by Spain – King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella

Ships: Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria Born in Italy Sailor Motive: looking for a sea route

to the Indies (Asia) by sailing west instead of east

Mistakes: He thought the world was smaller and he didn’t know the Americas existed

Reaching the Americas

Week after week dragged by with no sight of land.

Columbus’s crew grumbled. They were worried.

Columbus kept two records (ship’s logs which are primary sources) to calm his crew.

Still the crew complained, so Columbus asked for two more days.

On October 12, 1492, a lookout spotted land.

Columbus thought he was in the Indies, so he called the natives Indians. BUT, he was in the Bahamas.

http://www.southeast-florida-real-estate.net/images/Bahamas%20Map.gif

The Columbian Exchange

Colonists brought horses, cattle, and sheep as well as seeds and cuttings for growing wheat, onions, sugar, and other crops. They also carried germs that caused smallpox, measles, and other diseases.

Colonists took slaves, turkeys, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, chili peppers, pumpkins, beans, peanuts, avocados, tobacco, and pineapple back with them.

This movement of people, plants, animals, and germs across the Atlantic Ocean was called the Columbian Exchange. http://www.indiana.edu/~pirt/

bioterrorism/Smallpox.jpg

Is Change Good?

Good – food from America improved the diets of people in the east and increased food supplies in Europe, Asia, and Africa (more food equals more people); horses helped the Indians of the Plains

Bad – Diseases brought by Europeans killed millions of natives who had not built up a strong resistance to them

The Seeds of Change

Five items included in the “Columbian Exchange” were especially important because they changed the lives of so many people.

From the west – Potatoes and corn (maize)

From the east – sugar, horses, and disease

Explorers and Conquerors

Soldiers who hoped to find gold and other riches, conquered new lands for Spain – conquistadors

In the 1500s, Spain was beginning to take the lead in exploring the Americas.

http://www.metaldetection.net/images/Cortes_Hernan.jpg

Ruling an Empire

In 1502 the great-grandson of Moctezuma I was chosen emperor.

In Aztec tradition the title of emperor was not passed on from father to son to grandson. Nobles chose from the royal families.

Moctezuma II faced challenges: people inside the empire were rebelling and people outside the empire bitterly hated the Aztecs.

Despite problems, Moctezuma was still firmly in control.

http://navybill.smugmug.com/photos/44943001-D.jpg

News of Strangers

Rumors of gold brought Cortes and his men to Mexico.

Moctezuma sent the Spaniards two disks of solid gold and silver to persuade them to leave.

The gifts just encouraged the Spanish to continue on with their quest.

Tenochtitlan (Now Known as Mexico City)

Cortes came upon several Indian cities along his way inland. The people of these cities hated the Aztecs, so they agreed to join the Spanish.

Moctezuma welcomed Cortes to Tenochtitlan. He believed Cortes might be a god who was foretold to return at that time.

Cortes took Moctezuma prisoner and gained control of the city.

The Aztecs fought back. In this attack Moctezuma was killed and the Spanish were driven out of the city.

Some Spanish drowned in the surrounding lake because they stuffed their pockets full of gold before they left.

Tenochtitlan Falls

Cortes returns with more soldiers

He was helped by the Aztec enemies

They blocked all the entrances so no food or water could be brought in

After 75 days Tenochtitlan fell to Cortes.

Spaniards destroyed temples and statues. They also burned sacred books.

They named the new colony “New Spain.”

How the Spanish Won

Thousands of Indian supporters fought with the Spanish

The Spanish had deadlier weapons. The Aztecs had wooden spears and arrows. The Spanish had steel and gunpowder.

Spanish Explorers and Conquistadors

Some came in search of routes to Asia. Others came to seek gold or to achieve glory for God.

Coronado – seven cities of gold Cortes – conquered Moctezuma and the Aztecs Vasco Nunez de Balboa – led an expedition to the Pacific

Ocean Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca – first Spaniard to explore Texas Pizarro – conquered the Inca empire Hernando de Soto – first European to see the Mississippi River Juan Ponce de Leon – Fountain of Youth Columbus – Bahamas Magellan – his crew completed the first known voyage around

the world

The Spanish Build an Empire

New Spain covered the Caribbean Islands, Central America, Mexico, southwestern US, and Florida

Spain began granting encomiendas to some Spanish colonists.

An encomienda was a very large piece of land that often included several Indian villages. The encomienda system helped Spain to grow and its colonists to prosper.

http://www.casaimperial.org/pics/Modern%20Mexico%20Map.jpg

Spain Conquers the Maya

Determined fighters and thick forests helped the Maya defend parts of their land for 20 yrs.

But, by 1546 they fell to the Spanish.

The Spanish burned their valuable books.

Francisco Coronado

Led a group of Spaniards, Africans, and Indians on a search for gold in what is now the southwestern US.

Looked for the “Seven Cities of Gold” for 2 years

Did see the Grand Canyon

http://socialstudies.cayennepaper.com/coronado.jpg

Building New Spain

Life was harsh for natives in “New Spain.”

In exchange for the Indian’s work the colonists agreed to care for them and teach them about Christianity.

Indians worked from dawn to dusk, were whipped, and often went hungry. They worked the mines.

Spain became one of the most powerful countries in Europe.

“Protector of the Indians”

A defender of Indian rights A Catholic missionary named

Bartolome de Las Casas A missionary is a person who teaches

his or her religion to others. He saw how cruelly other encomienda

owners acted. Las Casas gave up his encomienda. He wrote books and devoted himself

to ending the encomiendas. Thanks to Las Casas, in 1542 a law

was passed that said Indians could no longer be made to work without pay.

Slavery in New Spain

By 1568 the population of Indians had dropped because of disease and overwork.

Enslaving Africans became the cruel solution to the desire for workers.

African captives have been a part of Spain’s empire for a long time.

Most were brought to grow sugarcane.

Some worked in the mines. Others loaded ships bound to Spain

with silver and other goods. Slaves in their free time could make

money to buy their freedom. Sometimes slaves escaped.

Mexico City

Indians were forced to build their new capital where Tenochtitlan used to be.

It had a cathedral, government buildings, a central plaza, a market, fine houses, wide streets, mansions, parks, schools, a university, a theater, a post office, and a printing press.

It also had a covenant with lemon, orange, and apple orchards.