Chapter 2- Europe Looks
Outward (1000-1720)
Mr. Bennett 7th Grade US History 2015-2016
Section Focus Question
 How did the search for a water route to Asia affect
both Europe and the Americas?
Wait, I thought Columbus
discovered America, not ASIA???
 A brief story…
 European countries wanted to get to Asia so they could
trade with people in India and Southeast Asia
 They had no idea North America, the Caribbean, or
South America even existed.
 So, looking on a map, why didn’t the Europeans just go
across Europe, by land into Asia?
Eurasian Plain
The Problem
 Christian Europeans had just lost a series of battles
known as the Crusades.
 They lost to the Muslims and were forced to give up
their lands in the Middle East.
 Because they lost, they were no longer allowed to use
the Mediterranean Sea or land in the Middle East to
trade.
 So, they had to find a water route that avoided the
Middle East in order to get to Asia.
Portuguese Explorers
 Henry the Navigator of Portugal started a navigation
school that taught aspiring sailors how to use new
technology like magnetic compasses and astrolabes.
 Future Portuguese explorers would use this technology
to find a sea route to Asia by sailing down the west
coast of Africa, into the Indian Ocean to get to India and
Southeast Asia.
How to get from Europe to Asia by avoiding the
Muslims in the Middle East
Europeans could now trade in
Asia but…
 But it took FOREVER to get there.
 Many wanted to find a shorter route.
 One man had an idea…
 Maybe, just maybe, if we sailed west instead of south and
around the bottom of Africa we could get there faster.
 This man’s name…
Christopher Columbus
 Originally from Genoa, Italy
 Sailed for Portugal in the
1470s.
 Had a plan to sail west to get
to India (spices).
 Portugal’s king rejected his
plan.
 Didn’t give up, moved to
Spain where he convinced
King Ferdinand and Isabella to
fund his voyage west.
Setting Sail
 August, 1492
 90 men aboard the Nina, the Pinta, the Santa Maria
 Predicted they would reach Asia in 21 days.
 21 days came and went, no land was in sight.
 Crew became restless and tried to overthrow the ship’s
officers.
 Thought he was in Asia and close to Japan. In reality, he
was in the Caribbean and had landed on Cuba.
Columbus claims land for Spain
 Spain sponsored several more voyages.
 Columbus discovers Puerto Rico and the island of
Hispaniola.
 When he returned to Spain he was convinced until his
dying day that he had landed in Asia.