European Exploration
Motivating Forces for Exploration
• Economic—Gold, natural
resources, wanted
slaves and trade
• Religious—Spread of
Christianity
• Competitions for empire
and belief in superiority
of own culture
Obstacles to Exploration
• Poor maps and navigational tools
Obstacles
• Disease and starvation
• Fear of unknown
• Lack of adequate supplies
Accomplishments of Exploration
• Exchanged goods and
ideas; began trading
• Improved maps and
developed better
navigational tools and
ships
• Territories were claimed for Spain,
France, England, Portugal
•Gold
Motivation
•Lack of adequate supplies
Obstacle
•Spread Christianity
Motivation
• Exchanged goods and ideas
Accomplishment
• Fear of the unknown
Obstacle
• Wanted trade
Motivation
• Claimed territories for Spain,
France, England, Portugal
Accomplishment
• Competition for empire and belief
in superiority of own culture
Motivation
Established trade
Accomplishment
• Poor maps and navigational
tools
Obstacle
• Improved navigational tools and
ships
Accomplishment
• Disease and starvation
Obstacle
• Why did European countries compete
for power in North America?
• What were the obstacles faced by the
explorers?
• What were the accomplishments of
the explorations?
England
• John Cabot explored eastern Canada
John Cabot set sail in 1497
under the flag of England.
John Cabot
Spain
•Motivations?
•Obstacles?
•Accomplishments?
Spain
• Francisco Coronado claimed
southwest United States for
Spain.
• Where did Coronado explore?
Southwest—states of Arizona and New Mexico
• What was Coronado looking for?
Seven Cities of Gold
• Who did Coronado claim land for?
Spain
What did the Spanish establish?
Catholic Missions
• What group of American Indians did Coronado come in
contact with?
Pueblo
• What Geographic Regions or Bodies of Water did Coronado
cross?
Basin and Range, Great Plains,
Colorado River, Rio Grande River
Spanish Cultural Interaction
• Conquered and enslaved American
Indians(First Americans)
• Brought Christianity to the New World
• Brought European diseases
• Brought horses and other animals to
Americas
France
• Samuel de Champlain established the
French settlement of Quebec on the St.
Lawrence River
• Robert La Salle claimed the Mississippi
River Valley
French Cultural Interaction
• Established trading posts, often trading
metal items for furs
• Spread Christian religion
Cultural Interaction of the English
• Established settlements and claimed
ownership of land
• Learned farming techniques from
American Indians (First Americans)
Portugal
• The Portuguese made voyages of
discovery along West Africa beginning in
the early 1400’s.
West Africa
• Ghana, Mali, and Songhai became powerful
by controlling trade in West Africa, especially
the vast trade in salt, necessary for survival
• Ancient Ghana rose to power by controlling
the trade of salt and gold in West Africa
• In the 1200’s the new empire Mali came to
power; Timbuktu, its largest city was known
for its libraries and universites.
• After the fall of Mali, the empire of Songhai
grew. Portugeese sailors first traded in
Songhai in the early 1400’s.
Portugal’s Trade
• The Portuguese carried goods from
Europe to West African empires, trading
metals, cloth, and other manufactured
goods for gold
• As trade with Africa grew another tragic
trade also began: enslaved people were
kidnapped and taken from Africa to labor
for others.
• By the 1470’s (before Columbus ever
came to North America) Lisbon, Portugal’s
capital was a busy slave-trading port.
Columbian Exchange
• The Columbian exchange is the name given
to the huge exchange of plants, animals,
foods, humans, diseases, languages and
ideas that happened between Native
Americans and Europeans after 1492.
• The Columbian exchange led to sweeping
changes in both hemispheres.
• For some the exchange brought devastating
diseases, for others the exchange brought
new crops and new prosperity.
The Great Exchange
From the Americas to
Europe, Africa and Asia
• Potato
• Tomato
• Corn
• Chocolate
• Peanuts
• Beans
• Turkey
• Squash
• Chili peppers
• Avocado
• Llamas
• Pineapple
From Europe, Asia and
Africa to the Americas
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Bananas
Oranges
Coffee
Cattle
Horses
Pigs
Sheep
Oats
Rice
Barley
Wheat
Chicken
There was both cooperation and
conflict between Native Americans
and European explorers and settlers.
Areas of Conflict between European
Explorers and Native Americans
• Land ownership
• Competition for trade
• Differences in culture
• Disease
• Language difference
Areas of Cooperation
between European Explorers and
Native Americans
• Technologies (transportation of weapons
and farm tools)
• Trade
• Crops
European Explorers and Settlers
in North America
• When the Europeans came from Spain,
France, and England they had better
weapons, swifter horses and also
unknowingly spread terrible diseases that
killed millions of Native Americans. This
made it possible for them to take over and
settle areas that had been American Indian
land for centuries. These events affected
and changed life in America forever.