World Studies

Bell RingerWhy did Europeans want to explore new lands during the late 1400s and early 1500s?

Motives and Means of Exploration

For the most part, Europeans remained in the same area of the world for over a thousand years (Europe, the near East, and Northern Africa)

Marco Polo wrote of his travels to China and his visits to the court of the great Mongol leader Kublai Khan

Polo’s writings fascinated many in Europe to explore and travel, especially the exotic east

Motives and Means of Exploration

1. GOLDEuropean officials wanted to expand trade for economic reasonsAsian spices were a hot commodity in Europe, and very expensive when purchased through Arab middlemenSpices were needed to preserve and flavor foodEuropeans also wanted to find precious metals (Gold)

Motives and Means of Exploration

2. GodReligious zeal was another reason for the boom in exploration by EuropeansThe goal of spreading the holy Catholic faith

3. GloryThe last motive for exploration was a spirit of adventure to achieve gloryDiscover something for the recognition

BELL RINGERWHAT DOES GOD,

GLORY, and GOLD mean?

5 minutes to turn in

God, Glory, and GoldWhen looking at exploration and expansion,

the main motives of the European explorers and European monarchs were “God, Glory, and Gold”

European monarchies saw this as an opportunity to expand their empires and also to achieve “God (religions expansion), Glory (individual fame), and Gold (riches)”

Explorers saw this as an opportunity to please their kings/queens and spread the Catholic faith (God), adventure and individual recognition (Glory), and individual riches (Gold)

Who were the explorers?Using your map, diagram and label the

routes taken by the following explorers. After diagraming the route, complete the chart.

Choose a color and line design (solid, dashed, dotted, etc…) to denote the route the different explorers took.

Ex. Red solid line represents Columbus’ route

Explorers1. PRINCE HENRY THE NAVIGATORPORTUGALArea of exploration:1420-1460 supported

exploration of the western coast of AfricaGoals of exploration:establish a Christian empire in western

Africa to aid Portuguese wars against the Moors of northern Africa

find new sources of goldcreate maps of the African coastImpact: The trips funded by Henry the

Navigator led to more exploration of western Africa:

BARTHOLOMEU DÍASPORTUGALArea of exploration: coast of

western AfricaMain expedition: 1488:

rounded the southernmost tip of Africa

Goal of exploration: find a water route to Asia

Impact: Días led the Portuguese closer to discovering a water route to Asia.

VASCO DA GAMAPORTUGALArea of exploration: coast of

western AfricaMain expedition: 1498: rounded

the southernmost tip of Africa and reached India

Goal of exploration: find a water route to Asia

Impact: Da Gama found a water route to Asia and brought back a small but impressive collection of jewels and spices, which encouraged further exploration.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUSSPAINArea of exploration: CaribbeanMain expeditions: Columbus made four main

expeditions to the area: in 1492, when he reached the present-day Bahamas and later Cuba and Hispaniola (modern-day Haiti), followed by three additional expeditions in 1493, 1498, and 1502.

Goal of exploration: find a western water route to Asia

Impact: Although Columbus believed that he had landed on the fringes of Asia, he had actually discovered the New World and opened up additional exploration of the Americas.

VASCO NÚÑEZ BALBOASPAINArea of exploration: CaribbeanMain expedition: 1513: discovered the

Pacific Ocean and the Isthmus of Panama

Goal of exploration: further exploration of the New World

Impact: Balboa discovered a new passage for exploration and the Pacific Ocean; he also claimed the Pacific Ocean for the Spanish empire.

FERDINAND MAGELLANSPAINArea of exploration: southern tip of South America

and into the Pacific OceanMain expedition: 1519–1522: Magellan started in

Spain with five ships and navigated to the southern tip of South America, discovering the strait that is named from him. After passing through the strait, he continued into the Pacific Ocean. Though Magellan himself was killed in the Philippines, his ships went on to complete the first known circumnavigation of the globe.

Goal of exploration: seeking access to Asia across the Pacific Ocean

Impact: Magellan discovered a new passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; his expedition was the first known to circumnavigate the globe.

JUAN PONCE DE LEONSPAINArea of exploration: modern-day FloridaMain expedition: 1513 and 1521: Ponce

de Leon likely initially thought that what is now Florida was an island when he explored the area.

Goal of exploration: seeking goldImpact: Ponce de Leon explored

mainland North America.Note: Many believe Ponce de Leon was

looking for the mythical Fountain of Youth

HERNÁN CORTÉSSPAINArea of exploration: Mexico (from modern-day

Cuba)Main expedition: 1519: Led by a Spanish castaway,

Cortés came into contact with the Aztec empire, which he conquered for Spain in 1521.

Goal of exploration: goldImpact: Due to a smallpox outbreak, the Aztec

population dwindled quickly, and Cortés played a major role in the conquest of the empire. The Aztec empire eventually spent 300 years under Spanish rule. Cortés also brought Spanish crops, animals, language, laws, customs, and religion. Intermarriage between the surviving Aztec and the Spanish led to the culture of mestizos.

FRANCISCO PIZARROSPAINArea of exploration: South America

(modern-day Peru)Main expedition: 1532–1538:

conquered Peru and the Incan empire for Spain

Goal of exploration: seeking gold and silver for Spain

Impact: Pizarro conquered the Incan empire for Spain and spread Spanish influence in South America.

HERNANDO DE SOTOSPAINArea of exploration: North AmericaMain expedition: 1539–1542:

through Florida west into the continent

Goal of exploration: gold, silver, jewels

Impact: De Soto was the first known European to cross the Mississippi River.

FRANCISCO CORONADOSPAINArea of exploration: North AmericaMain expedition: 1540–1542: Mexico through

modern-day Arizona and New Mexico and into modern-day Kansas

Goal of exploration: fabled “golden cities,” which were actually adobe pueblos

Impact: Coronado furthered the spread of Spanish influence on the continent, opening up the Southwest of the modern-day US to Spanish settlement.

JOHN CABOTENGLANDArea of exploration: North AmericaMain expedition: 1497–1498:

northeastern coast of North AmericaGoal of exploration: a northwest

passage through the New World to the Orient (Asia)

Impact: Cabot established an English presence in North America, though England did not make any serious attempts to settle there for nearly 100 years.

GIOVANNI VERRAZANOFRANCEArea of exploration: North AmericaMain expedition: 1524: from France

up the northeastern coast of North America from the Carolinas to Nova Scotia

Goal of exploration: establish a presence in the New World for France

Impact: Verrazano helped to establish a French claim in North America.

JACQUES CARTIERFRANCEArea of exploration: North AmericaMain expedition: 1534: the St.

Lawrence River as far inland as modern-day Montreal

Goal of exploration: establish a presence in the New World for France

Impact: Cartier established a presence for the French in modern-day Canada.

SIR FRANCIS DRAKEENGLANDArea of exploration: North AmericaMain expedition: 1577–1580: circumnavigated the

globe, passing through the Strait of Magellan; captured a Spanish ship (which was carrying silver from Peru) off the coast of South America; explored the coast of California, claiming it for England; and returned to Europe through the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic Oceans

Goal of exploration: establish English presence in the New World, assert English dominance over Spain

Impact: Drake’s expeditions led to an increase of tensions between Spain and England.

Amerigo Vespucci

PortugalAlthough not one of the main explorers,

Amerigo Vespucci was responsible for overseeing several expeditions of the new world for Portugal. It is because of his presence and role in gaining information about the new world, the cartographer (map maker) named the new continents after him, America

The Atlantic Slave TradeBell Ringer – What impact did European

Exploration and Expansion have on the rest of the world?

European Exploration and Expansion might have had the biggest impact of any other thing,on the world, as a whole.It led to the destruction of native cultures and

civilizations (Aztecs and Incas)They forcibly introduced their culture and

beliefs on others (Africa, Asia, and Americas)They rob a continent (Africa) of its most precious

resource – PEOPLE

MercantilismThe European countries were creating a world-

wide trading empire in the Americas and in the East

These trading “outpost”, or colonies, were distant settlements away from the “mother” country

These colonies were created to increase the amount of gold and silver bullion the European countries had

The amount of bullion a country controls is linked to their success. This is mercantilism.

This quest for wealth led to the Slave Trade.

The Slave TradeTrading slaves wasn’t anything new.Slavery in Africa had existed since ancient times

(usually this form of slavery was through prisoners of war).

During the 1400s, African slavery was primarily used in Southwest Asia, where most served as domestic servants.

With the discovery of the Americas, the demand for African slavery changed dramatically.

The new settlers in the Americas needed a labor force to work the sugarcane fields

The Slave TradeSugarcane was introduced in Europe and was

in high demand.New plantations, large agricultural estates,

were established in the New World where sugarcane was grown.

Sugarcane was very labor intensive and a large labor force was needed.

Most of the Native Americans died from the European diseases.

The Slave TradeTo meet the need of labor, Africans were

taken from their homeland and shipped to the Americas to work on the sugarcane plantations.

The first Africans arrived as slaves in the Americas in 1518 as part of the Triangle Trade.

The Triangle Trade

From the Americas to Europe

From Africa to the

Americas

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The Slave TradeHow many Africans were taken and sent to the Americas?1500s – about 275,0001600s – over 1 million1700s – 6 million

Total – over 10 million (this number is disputed)

The Middle PassageThe reason for the large number of slaves

was the high death rate of the slavesThe journey between Africa and the Americas

was known as the Middle PassageMany slaves died on this journey due to the

horrible conditionsOthers committed suicideThose that arrived in America often died from

disease in the Americas

Slavery in the AmericasAs more and more slaves were born in the

Americas, the death rate slowly declines due to the acquisition of immunity to the previously deadly disease

Unfortunately, slavery was a business and it was cheaper to buy a slave as an adult then it was to raise a child to adulthood

Effects of the slave trade1. Tremendous impact on the individual slave

and their family2. Led to a decline in population in many

African communities3. Many of these communities lost their

strongest and youngest men and women4. Increased warfare in Africa in the pursuit of

slaves5. Africans were viewed as inferior by

Europeans

End of the Slave TradeSociety of Friends (Quakers) begin to

condemn slavery in the 1770sFrance abolishes slavery after the French

Revolution (1790s)British ended the slave trade in 1807 and

abolished owning slaves in 1833The United States ended slavery with the

Civil War in the 1860s