Chapter 2
Europe Looks Onward
Section 1: The Age of
Exploration
I can understand why the
search for a water route
to Asia affected both
Europe and the Americas.
Tree Map Information
• Bullet #1: The Vikings set up a colony
in Newfoundland.
• Bullet #2: Christopher Columbus,
seeking a sea route to Asia, reached
the West Indies in 1492 instead.
• Bullet #3: European explorers
continued to explore and colonize the
Americas.
First Explorers From Europe
• Many theories about people who came
before Columbus
• Vikings, seafaring people from
Scandinavia, had a settlement in
Newfoundland
Voyages of Columbus
• Christopher Columbus: explorer who
believed he could reach Asia by going
West
• Moved to Portugal from Italy to study
sailing
• Talked to the King of Portugal, he didn’t
believe in Columbus, so Columbus went
to Spain for help
King of Portugal believed in Bartholomew’s plan instead of
Columbus’
Setting Sail
• 1492 Columbus and 90 set sail
• 3 ships: Santa Clara(Nina), Pinta, Santa
Maria
• 2 month journey
• Believed he was in the East Indies
More Voyages
• 2nd trip: West Indies, plan to colonize and
take over land
• 3rd trip: Northern coast of South America,
thought he was in Asia again
• 4th trip: Tried to prove he had reached
Asia again
Search for Asia Continues
• Amerigo Verspucci, followed Columbus’
routes, knew he had not reached Asia
• Vasco Nunez de Balboa; spanish colonist,
and first European to see the Pacific
Ocean
• Ferdinand Magellan; Portuguese explorer;
wanted to find an Atlantic-Pacific passage
• Was looking for a strait( a narrow passage
that connects two bodies of water)
• Circumnavigate( to travel around)
Columbian Exchange
• Transfer of people, products and ideas
• Positives: new animals and food
• Negatives: diseases
Section 2: Spain’s Empire in the
Americas
I can understand how
Spain established an
empire in the Americas.
Tree Map Information
• Bullet #1: Spanish conquistadors
conquered Native American
civilizations in the Americas.
• Bullet #2: As the Spanish Empire grew,
Native American workers were harshly
treated.
• Bullet #3: A strict class system
developed in Spain’s American
colonies.
Spanish Conquistadors
• Conquistador: soldier-adventurers,
wanted money and glory
• Hernando Cortes: conquistador, went
from Cuba to Mexico
• Montezuma: Aztec leader who tried
offering Cortes gold to leave them alone
• Gold starts problems for natives
Spanish Explorers in North
America
• Juan Ponce de Leon: found Florida
• Searched Florida for gold, found Native
Americans
• Fought with Native Americans
• “7 cities of gold”(myth), brought more
explorers into North America
Harsh Life for Native
Americans
• Land given to settlers
• Plantations formed (large farms worked
by laborers who lived on the property)
• Spanish government granted encomiendas
(land grants that included the right to
demand labor or taxes from Native
Americans)
• Bartolome de Las Casas: priest sent to
reform encomiendas system
• Spanish wanted the natives to become
Christians
• Set up missions(religious settlements)
The Trade in Humans
• Natives dying
• Look for new source of labor
Society in the Spanish Colonies
• Strict social system
• Top: Peninsulares(Spanish colonists who
had be born in Spain
• Creoles: colonists born in America of two
Spanish parents
• Mestizos: people of Spanish and Indian
heritage
• Mulattos: people of Spanish and African
heritage
• Bottom: Native Americans and African
Americans
Section 3: Europeans Compete
in North America
I can understand how the
conflicts in Europe
spurred exploration in
North America.
Tree Map Information
• Bullet #1: During the reformation, the
authority of the Roman Catholic
Church was challenged.
• Bullet #2: The defeat of the Spanish
Armada undermined Spanish control
of the seas.
• Bullet #3: European Explorers
continued to seek a northwest
passage to Asia.
Religious Conflicts
• Reformation: split of Catholic Church
• Protestant churches growing
• Church of England started
Economic Conflicts
• Wars cost $, wars occur often
• Countries wanted colonies to make
money
• Mercantilism: colonies existed to make
their home country wealthy and powerful
Spanish Armada
• England was Protestant, Queen Elizabeth
I, rivals with Spain
• Spain wanted England to be Catholic
• King Phillip II, Spain sent ships to England
• Wanted Elizabeth off the throne
• Spain fails
Northern Voyages
• John Cabot: Italian explorer, wants a
northern route to Asia, supported by
English
• Reached Newfoundland
• Northwest passage: sea route from the
Atlantic to the Pacific that passed through
or around North America
• Henry Hudson: English explorer, makes 4
trips to try and find the passage
Section 4: France and the
Netherlands in North America
I can understand the
impact of the
establishment of French
and Dutch colonies in
North America on Native
Americans.
Tree Map Information
• Bullet #1: Colonists in New France
established a fur trade with Native
Americans.
• Bullet #2: The Dutch established
permanent settlements in what is
now the northeastern United States.
• Bullet #3: The French and the Dutch
settlements had a negative impact on
Native American life.
New France
• 1600s French settle colonies
• Samuel de Champlain: explorer,
establishes settlements in North America
and Canada
Life in New France
• Made $ from fish and furs
• Traded with Native Americans
• Beavers=$$
• Didn’t farm until late 1600s
Exploring the Mississippi
• Expansion of New France
• Jacques Marquette: French missionary,
founded 2 missions
• Traveled with Louis Joliet and found a
water route to the Mississippi
• La Salle explored the river to the end and
named the region Louisiana
New Netherland
• 1610, Dutch came to Hudson River valley
and begin trade with Natives
• Start a permanent colony
• Buy land from Indians and called it New
Amsterdam
• New Netherland was taken over by the
English and renamed New York
The Impact on Native
Americans
• French and Dutch made alliances(an
agreement between parties that benefits
them both) with Indians
• Often with Indians who were enemies
• Led to fighting
• Disease killed natives
• Animals started to disappear