Reasons for Exploration
Factors That led to Exploration
• Several factors during the 1400s set the stage for European
exploration of the Americas. These included the following:
– During this time small areas led by nobles had joined together
to form nations led by kings and queens. These included
England, Portugal, Spain, and France.
– There had been many improvements in science and technology
including improvements in navigation instruments and ships.
– There was an interest in exploration and gaining knowledge of
new places.
– New ways to print books had made The Travels of Marco Polo
available to more people. This was about an Italian who had
traveled to Asia in the late 1200s and found jewels, spices, gold,
silk and other “treasures” there.
– Europeans wanted the trade goods with Asia.
The World in 1507
The World in 1581
Comparing Primary Sources
• What are some differences between the map
from 1507 and 1581?
• Why do you think the map from 1581 is more
accurate?
Trade Routes Across Land
Problems With Land Routes
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Round Trip travel took months to complete
Bandits would rob and murder travelers
Many land routes were closed by local leaders
Travel led through mountains and deserts
Wars were frequent along the trade routes
Time to Think
• After reading about some of the problems
with trade routes across land, I want you to
think about the following questions:
– Should Europeans continue to trade with people
in Asia?
– If so, how could Europeans trade with Asians in
faster and safer ways?
The Need for New Routes
• Portugal sent Bartolomeu Dias and Vasco da
Gama to find a sea route to India and China
• Dias sailed around the southern tip of Africa in
1487
• Da Gama sailed all the way to India between
1497 and 1499
• Portugal became more wealthy and powerful
by using these trade routes
Early Sea Routes to India
How long did Vasco
da Gama’s round
trip voyage to India
take?
Do you think land or
sea routes were more
efficient at this time?
Spain
• On August 3, 1492 Columbus left Spain with three
ships and 90 sailors. On October 12, 1492 he
anchored off an island in the Caribbean that he
named San Salvador. He claimed the island for
Spain.
• He was convinced he had made it to the Indies of
Asia. Therefore, he called the Native Americans
living on the island “Indians.”
• Columbus made three more voyages to the
Americas, each time believing he was in Asia.
Time to Think
• How do you think the Native Americans on
San Salvador felt about Columbus and his
explorations?
• What effect do you think the voyages of
Columbus had on other European countries?
England
• The voyage of Columbus caused many European kings
and queens to consider sending ships across the
Atlantic to Asia.
• In 1497 the King of England paid an Italian sailor,
Giovanni Caboto, to head a voyage across the Atlantic.
• Caboto sailed far north of Columbus’s route and
probably reached present-day Newfoundland.
• He returned to England claiming he had found China.
• He became a hero in England and was given the English
name John Cabot.
Spain
• The explorations of Spain led to this country
making claims to the Americas.
• Spanish explorers known as “conquistadors,” or
conquerors, pushed deeper and deeper into
North and South America.
• The Spanish were obsessed with finding gold in
the Americas.
• These conquerors claimed all the land they
explored for Spain.
• How do you think Native Americans reacted to
these encounters?
Spain
• In the 1500s, Spain had become the richest
nation in Europe having taken loads of gold
and silver from the Americas.
• Spain appeared to control the southern
sections of these new continents so other
European countries began to look for new
trade routes to Asia hoping they could get rich
by trading for the valuable goods there.
The Magellan Route
The Magellan Route
• One option was to take the Magellan route
around South America.
• What would be some problems with this route?
• This led some countries to come up with another
plan. They hoped to find a water passage across
the continent of North America, which they
assumed was not very wide. They called this
passage the “Northwest Passage.”
France and the Search for the
Northwest Passage
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Giovanni da Verrazano
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Jacques Cartier
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In 1524 this Italian explorer was sent by France to locate the Northwest Passage.
He reached what is now the North Carolina coast and headed north.
He sailed into what is now New York Bay and landed on present day Staten Island.
He sailed north again to present day Nova Scotia, but did not find the water route west he was
looking for.
In 1534 this French navigator sailed for his home country in search of gold and the Northwest
Passage.
He sailed near the mouth of the St. Lawrence River.
On his second voyage he sailed up the St. Lawrence River looking again for the Northwest Passage.
He hit rapids near what is now Montreal.
In 1541 on his third voyage he sailed still further up the St. Lawrence River to what is now Quebec.
As a result of these voyages, a fur trading business developed between the French and Native
Americans.
Samuel de Champlain
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In 1603 this French explorer was sent to map places where beaver could be found.
He sailed along the St. Lawrence River for five years and eventually traveled into the Great Lakes
region.
Early Explorers Routes and Land Claims
European Land Claims in the Americas
Time to Think
• What led to increased exploration of the
world in the 1500’s?
• How did exploration lead to colonies being
formed in the Americas?
• In your opinion, what problems might arise
from the exploration of the Americas?