JG
World History

Europeans had been looking for a better, faster
way to reach areas filled with riches in Asia.

A Route West



Italian navigator Christopher Columbus was a
skilled sailor and expedition organizer. He
wanted to discover new routes to the riches of
Asia.
Columbus thought he would reach Asia if he
sailed west across the Atlantic Ocean.
He convinced King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella of Spain to finance, or pay for, his
voyage.

The First Journey
Columbus's fleet set sail from Spain
on August 3, 1492.
 The fleet stopped in the Canary
Islands, off the northwest coast of
Africa, for repairs and fresh supplies
before setting off again on
September 6.
 Life on board ship was hard, and the
work seemed endless.


A. The First Journey
There were about 90 crew members altogether who
sailed on the expedition.
 Cooking was done on deck with portable woodburning stoves. water that washed into the ship had
to be pumped out.
 A few officers had bunks, but everyone else slept on
deck in good weather or below deck during storms.


Finding New Lands
On October 12, the crew spotted land in the
group of islands in the Caribbean Sea
presently called the West Indies.
 Columbus thought he landed in the East
Indies, a group of islnds near the mainland of
East Asia.
 Columbus named the island on which they
landed San Salvador. He described the
islanders, called the Taino, as gentle and
primitive.


Finding New Lands

Columbus took several captured islanders with him
back to Spain. A grand reception given by King
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella awaited Columbus
when he arrived in Spain with some gold trinkets
and the few Taino people who had survived the
voyage.

Impact Of Columbus's Voyage
Columbus search for a new sea route to Asia led to
contact between Europe and the Americas.
 This contact triggered many changes in the cultures
of both worlds. Explorers mapped parts of the
coastlines of North and South America and claimed
and colonized parts of the interiors of both
continents.


Impact Of Columbus's Voyage
The arrival of the Europeans was devastating to the
indigenous, or native, populations of the Americas.
 When Columbus first arrived in the Caribbean, more
than 40 million native Americans lived in the
Americas. About 80 years later, their numbers had
decreased to about 3 to 4 million.


Impact Of Columbus's Voyage


While many died from overwork and abuse,
illnesses, such as measles, smallpox, and tetanus,
killed most of the native population.
The illnesses had been brought over from Europe by
the crews of the ships. The indigenous populations
had no natural defenses against these illnesses.

Cabral Sails For Portugal


In 1500, Pedro Alvarez Cabral, representing
Portugal, sailed southwest across the
Atlantic Ocean. On April 22, he sighted
land, which he called Island of the True
Cross.
This newly claimed possession of Portugal
became a stopping-off point for later long
voyages from Europe to India. Ships would
sail southwest to the Island of the True
Cross, and then head Southeast to Africa’s
Cape of Good Hope.

America’s Namesake


Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian navigator, made at
least two voyages to the Americas between 1499
and 1502. During the first Spanish-financed
expedition, Vespucci reached the northern
coast of South America near what is now
Guyana.
Vespucci’s second expedition was financed by
Portugal. Vespucci reached the coast of Brazil
and continued southward, possibly as far as
Patagonia in present-day Argentina.

America’s Namesake

Vespucci’s second voyage was important because he
and others were convinced that the newly explored
lands were not Asia, but some sort of a “new world.”
In 1507, a German mapmaker who had read of
Vespucci’s expeditions called this new land America
in Vespucci’s honor.

Discovery of the Pacific


Vasco Nunez de Balboa joined a Spanish expedition
in 1501. He explored the northern coast of South
America, settled on the island of Hispaniola for a
time, and led expeditions into Panama.
In 1513, Balboa followed trails across the Isthmus of
Panama. After three weeks of walking, his native
guides told him that a great sea could be seen if he
climbed a nearby mountain.

C. Around the World


Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese navigator and
explorer who first sailed for Portugal and later for
Spain.
When he offered his services to King Charles I of
Spain, Magellan proposed to sail west across the
Atlantic. He hoped to find a strait-a narrow
waterway-through the landmass of the Americas to
the Pacific Ocean.

C. Around the World


Magellan had a practical reason for his proposal. He
wanted to prove that the Spice Islands, or the
Molucca Islands in present-day Indonesia, were
located west of the line established by the Treaty of
Tordesillas.
The Spice Islands were then controlled by the
Portuguese, and Portugal earned great wealth from
the sale of spices.

Magellan’s Journey


Magellan set off from Spain on September 20, 1519,
with 5 ships and a crew of about 250 men. Magellan
sailed south along the African coast. He crossed the
Atlantic at the ocean’s narrowest point, instead of
talking the usual route west from the Canary
Islands.
On October 21, 1520, the fleet entered the eastern
end of a dangerous 350-mile strait, located near the
southern tip of South America.

C. Around the World
When the fleet emerged on the western end of the
strait, they found themselves in a new body of water.
 Magellan named this body of water the Pacific
Ocean because of its relatively calm waters. This
body of water is the same one that Balboa had called
the South Sea. During the next four months,
Magellan and his fleet sailed westward across the
Pacific Ocean, hoping to find Asia.


The Growth of Mercantilism

As A pArt of MegellAn’s voyAge, sAilors
had for the first time circumnavigated, or
sailed around, the world. This achievement,
which started with the belief of
Christopher Columbus that a ship could sail
west across the Atlantic to reach Asia,
was accomplished when the last ship of
MAgellAn’s fleet liMped into port.

A. Spain's Vast Empire

During the 1500s, Spain acquired the world’s largest
overseas land overseas land holdings as Spanish
explorers colonized the Americas.

Cortes Invades Mexico


In February 1519, the Spanish conquistador Hernan
Cortes set out for the Yucatan coast, in present-day
Mexico, with 11 ships, 508 soldiers, 100 sailors, and
16 horses.
When he arrived, Cortes formed alliances with local
peoples, gathering information about a nearby
civilization-the Aztecs.

Cortes Invades Mexico

Over the next several months, Cortes worked his
way to the Mexican interior. Along the way, Cortes
made connections with various indigenous groups.
Cortes used to his advantage the bitter resentment
felt by many groups that were forced to pay tribute
to the Aztecs. More than 200,000 Native Americans
became his allies.

Moctezuma’s Fall

many Aztec people,
including their emperor
Moctezuma, believed in a
legend about a bearded god
called Quetzalcoatl, whom
they feared and expected
would return to rule
someday. Moctezuma,
thinking Cortes might be the
god Quetzalcoatl, tried
unsuccessfully to keep Cortes
away from the Aztec capital
of Tenochtitlan.

Pizarro and the Incas


In 1531, Francisco Pissarro set off with a small
expedition of 180 men and 37 horses to the Inca
Empire in present-day Peru. The Incan emperor,
Atahualpa, agreed to meet with Pizarro.
Atahualpa offered a huge ransom of pure gold
for his release, which Pizarro accepted before
having the emperor put to death. When Incan
heard of their larders death, they retreated.
Pizarro took the royal capital of Cuzco without a
struggle ion 1533.

Government and the Economy

In 1524, the Spanish monarchy created the council of
the indies, a lawmaking body for their new
possessions. Viceroys, representatives of the
monarch, were the principal governors of the
American colonies, which were divided into
providences. The viceroys were chosen from among
Spanish noble families and where required to report
to the council of the Indies in Spain.

The Columbian Exchange

Ferdinand and Isabella hoped to use the wealth of
this new land to their advantage. In addition,
Columbus had brought back plants and animals
from the Americans that were unknown In Europe.

The impact of the Columbian exchange
The Columbian exchange, tobacco and cocoa became
popular in Europe.
 People in the Americans were also exposed to
European foods, animals, and ideas. Cotton was
introduced in the America. Sugar cane, brought to
the West Indies, became the main cash crop of the
region.
 From Europe also came the horse, a new mode of
transportation, and cattle, a new protein source.


The Role of Missionaries


As Spain and the rest of Europe benefited from the
new products and ideas obtained through the
Columbian Exchange, Spain’s Christian missionaries
hoped to gain other things from the Americas.
Bartolone de las Casas was a Spanish missionary
who was granted an encomienda in 1513.

Colonial Cities
Most Spanish settlers in the Americas preferred to
live in cities. Cities were established throughout the
colonies and grew quickly.
 To the Spaniards, colonial cities were centers of
government, religious life, culture, and trade.
 Spanish cities had the same design—a central square
bordered by a church, a government building, and a
house for the viceroy, or governor.


Colonial Culture



Colonial culture was a mixture of Spanish, Native
American, and African traditions. Although Spanish
culture was dominant in all of Spain’s colonies, its
mixture with different traditions led to the formation
of a unique blended culture in Spanish America.
As in most societies, different classes provided a
framework for colonial social structure.
Creoles, American-born descendants of
Peninsulares, occupied the next highest level of
society.

Portugal’s Expansion in Brazil


As more and more Portuguese people were
encouraged to move to Brazil to establish permanent
cities and farms in the 1500s, the colony slowly but
steadily grew.
By 1600, some farming regions had twice as many
enslaved Africans and Native Americans—most of
whom worked as field laborers—as colonist’s.
Chapter 16: Europe Expands
Overseas
Section 3: Dutch, French, and English
Colonies

Portuguese Society and Culture


As in Spanish America, Portuguese culture in Brazil
was a mix of European, Native American, and
African traditions.
European culture dominated class and race divisions
in Brazilian society as it did in Spain’s colonies.

Dutch Interest


In the early 1600s, the Dutch—people who lived in
the Netherlands—became Europe’s strongest naval
power. They held this position until the late 1600s.
They acquired much of Portugal’s eastern trading
empire and seized part of Brazil after an invasion
beginning in 1624.

The Dutch in North America

In 1609, Henry Hudson, an English explorer hired by
the Dutch to find a water route through North
America to Asia, sailed up a river in present-day
New York State. Today this river is know

The Dutch in North America


In 1609, Henry Hudson, an English explorer hired by
the Dutch to find a water route through North
America to Asia, sailed up a river in present-day
new York State.
By 1624, the Dutch had established a colony and had
named the area New Netherlands.

Colonizing New France


New France became a province in 1663. French
troops arrived two years later to protect settlers
against the Iroquois—the Native Americans of that
region.
The French government had trouble attracting
settlers to New France. The long winters and attacks
by the Native Americans in the area discourage
many farmers.

French West Indies


Settlements in the Caribbean began in 1625. Four
decade later, France possessed 14 Caribbean islands .
Guadeloupe and Martinique were its main holdings.
Slaves were imported from Africa as early as 1642 to
work the large plantations, where sugar was the
main crop.

Early English Colonies

Founded in 1607, Jamestown, Virginia, was the site
of the first successful English colony in North
America. England's King James I issued a character,
or official document, to the Virginia company
allowing it to send settlers to the Atlantic coast of
North America.

Thirteen Colonies


Thirteen English Colonies were established in North
America during the 1600s and 1700s. All thirteen
colonies were agricultural, but geographic
conditions fostered different ways of life.
In the New England colonies, those farthest north,
farming was difficult due to poor soil and harsh
winters. In the Middle of the eastern coaster region,
farms were larger and more diversified because of a
milder climate and more fertile soil.

Sharing Land



The European nation followed different policies
toward native North Americans, according to each
country’s aims.
The main interest of the Dutch was to establish trade
markets and networks. They were very tolerant of
others, and they did not have a strong interest in
converting Native Americans to their religion—
Protestantism.
After its defeat at New Netherland in 1664, the
Dutch colony became English.

King Philip’s War
With time more colonists
arrived, the demand for land
grew. The colonies spread
west, taking more and more
land from Native Americans.
 When Massasoit died, his son
Met comet, known as King
Philip, became chief of the
Wampanoag's. Met comet
wanted to stop the colonists
from expanding into new
areas.
 In 1675, Native Americans
raided frontier settlements
along the Connecticut River
and in the Massachusetts
Colony.


Rising Prices


Higher prices led Spaniards to buy cheaper goods from
other countries. The silver and gold left Spain when
Spaniards purchased these cheaper foreign goods.
As increased amounts of Spanish gold and silver
arrived in other countries, prices for goods rose quickly
in those countries as well.

Overseas Investments

The overseas trades well expansion of European
empires in the Americas led to the growth of
capitalism, the investment of money for profit.