European Exploration and
Settlement
Introduction









Half a world away from where Native Americans made their homes,
Europeans had no knowledge of these people or the land where they lived.
When Europeans looked west, they saw only a vast ocean.
Europeans were far more interested in the lands that lay to the east.
In the late 1200s, a young man named Marco Polo, traveled through Asia
where he spent 17 years in China.
When he returned in Venice, Italy, people flocked to hear his stories about
“the Indies”, as India and East Asia were known.
Eventually he wrote about his travels and the many wonders that he saw
in China including rich silks, rare spices, gold, jewels, and luxurious
palaces.
People in Europe were fascinated by his tales and the riches to the east.
Merchants and traders were eager to find the fastest route to get there.
The land route that Polo had taken was long and dangerous. Explorers
wanted to find a way by sea.
Spain Starts an Empire




One of the people who was inspired
by Marco Polo’s writings was an
Italian seaman named Christopher
Columbus.
After studying maps of the world,
Columbus became convinced that
the shortest route to the Indies lay
to the west, across the Atlantic
Ocean.
Columbus looked for someone who
could pay for the ships and men he
needed to test his idea.
Eventually, he was able to convince
King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
of Spain to sponsor a voyage.
Finding a New World





In August 1492, Columbus sailed west with three small ships:
– La Nina, La Pinta, La Santa Maria
After more than a month at sea, his sailors raised the cry of
“Land!”
The land turned out to be a small island in the Caribbean Sea.
Columbus was thrilled. In a letter, he wrote, “I write this to tell
you how in thirty-three days I sailed to the Indies with the fleet
that the illustrious King and Queen…gave me, where I discovered
a great many islands, inhabited by numberless people.”
Mistakenly believing that he had reached the Indies, Columbus
called these people Indians.
A Clash of Cultures
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j
OfEAbNiKFM
Columbus Log
Vocabulary Connection
 Reckoning
– a count of something,
accounting
 Appearance – how something looks
 Summoned – called someone or
something
 Adequate – enough of something
 Seaman – a man who works at sea
 Lay-to – to hold a ship still by
turning it into the wind
The Columbian Exchange







The voyages of Christopher Columbus triggered a great
transfer of people, plants, animals, and diseases back and
forth across the Atlantic Ocean. This is referred to as “The
Columbian Exchange.”
This exchange also brought about valuable new crops such
as corn and potatoes to Europe.
These foods greatly improved the diet of the average
European.
Many Europeans also found new opportunities by crossing
the Atlantic to settle in the Americas.
For Native Americans, however, the exchange went badly.
The Europeans who came to America brought with them
germs that caused smallpox and other diseases deadly to
the Native Americans.
Historians estimated that in some areas, 90% of the native
population was wiped out by European diseases.
Define Slavery
Create a concept map
Definition of Slavery
 The
treatment of people as property
for the purpose of forcing them to do
labor. People who are denied
freedom in this way are called slaves
and are said to be enslaved.
Slavery comes to America
Due to the high death rate in the
Americas, slavery was introduced.
 Some of the Spanish settlers in the
Caribbean had started gold mines.
 Others raised sugar, a crop of great value
in Europe.
 At first settlers used native people for
their labor but due to the high death rate,
they were forced to find a new labor force
in the form of enslaved Africans.

Slavery






Slavery had existed around the world since ancient times.
Often people who lost wars were enslaved or treated as the
property of the conquerors.
By the late 1400s, European explorers in West Africa were
trading guns and other goods for slaves captured by
Africans.
In the 1500s, European slave traders began shipping slaves
to the Caribbean for sale.
Over the next three centuries, millions of Africans would be
carried across the Atlantic in crowded, disease infested
ships where they were sold at auction to wealthy land
owners.
Many perished from disease and overwork. Those who
survived faced a lifetime of forced labor as slaves.
Cortes Conquers Mexico





After Columbus’s voyages , Spain
began sending soldiers called
conquistadors across the Atlantic.
Their mission was to conquer a vast
empire for Spain.
In 1519, Hernan Cortes arrived in
Mexico with horses and 500 soldiers.
His goal was to conquer the Aztecs.
When the Aztecs first saw Cortes, they
mistakenly believed that he was the
great Aztec GOD Quetzalcoatl and
welcomed him as a hero. They would
soon change their minds.
Cortes defeats the Aztecs
With the help of Indians who
hated their Aztec rulers, and
smallpox which killed large
numbers of Aztec warriors----Cortes conquered Tenochtitlan,
the Aztec capital.
 The Spaniards pulled the city
down and used its stones to
build Mexico City, the capital of
a new Spanish empire called
New Spain.

Cortes
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKlIp-uyOc
So what do you think?



Do you think that Cortes was justified in
his actions? Why?
Did he do the right thing?
If you could go back in time as Cortes,
what would you do differently? Why?
Reflect on these question and write your
thoughts in your interactive notebook.
Another Spanish
Conquistador




Smallpox also helped another Spaniard to conquer an
empire in South America, Francisco Pizarro.
In 1532, Pizzaro led an attack on the powerful Inca empire
in present day Peru.
The smallpox epidemic had already taken its toll on the
natives and left the empire heavily divided.
After capturing the Inca ruler, Athahualpa, he promised to
release him in exchange for gold. To save their ruler, the
Incas filled three rooms with gold and silver treasures but
Pizzaro killed the leader anyway and took over power of the
empire.
Francisco Pizzarro seizing the
Incan empire
Spanish in the New World
 Discovery
Education Clip
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/i
ndex.cfm?guidAssetId=ED1ABE851178-4033-8AC34C4C63E9022A&blnFromSearch=1&pr
oductcode=US
The Spanish Borderlands



In both Mexico and Peru, conquistadors found
gold and silver beyond their wildest dreams.
Hoping for more they pushed north into lands
that are now part of the United States.
Because these lands were located on the far
edges of Spain’s North American empire, they
were known as the Spanish borderlands.
Florida






One of the first Spanish expeditions into North America was
led by a man named Juan Ponce de Leon..
He had sailed with Columbus to the Caribbean and made
his fortune by discovering gold on the island of Puerto Rico.
Despite his wealth and success, he couldn’t stop thinking
about Indian rumors of a “fountain of youth”.
Ponce de Leon landed on a sunny peninsula of North
America in April 1513. Because he had sighted his lush
new land on Easter Sunday, he called it La Florida meaning
“flowery Easter.”
Eight years later, he returned to Florida with 200 men to
establish a Spanish settlement, or colony.
Instead of finding a fountain of youth, Ponce de Leon died
from a poisoned arrow in his stomach.
The Seven Cities of Cibola





Old European tale
These cities were said to be so fabulously rich
that the streets were decorated with gold and
jewels.
The Spanish were convinced that the Seven Cities
were somewhere in North America.
Explorers first looked for the cities in Florida and
present day Texas.
Later a Spanish priest named Marcos de Niza
claimed to have seen the cities in present day
New Mexico, but they were never actually found.
The Coronado Expedition




In 1540, a famed conquistador named Francisco
Vasquez de Coronado set out from Mexico City
with a large expedition and de Niza as his guide.
After traveling for 7000 miles , the expedition
found a Native American pueblo.
To de Niza, this pueblo looked like a golden city
but Vasquez was outraged and sent the priest
home.
The Coronado Expedition continued north onto
the Great Plains before giving up the search for
the golden cities.
Settling the Borderlands
As conquistadors explored new territories,
they claimed the areas for Spain.
 By 1600, the Spanish borderlands
extended west from Florida across present
day Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and
California.

St. Augustine




In 1565, a Spanish Naval officer named Pedro Menendez de Aviles was
sent to Florida to protect the borderlands area from French explorers.
He successfully drove the French out of their Florida base and built a fort
on the peninsula’s Atlantic coast.
Menendez named the fort Saint Augustine. Over the years, Spanish
soldiers successfully drove the French and English rivals out of the area.
Today, St. Augustine is the oldest permanent settlement founded by
Europeans in the United States.
Missions







Missions were established to convert Native Americans to
Christianity and increase Spanish control over the land.
They included a church and the farmland on which
missionaries produced almost all of what they needed to
survive.
Juan de Onate, who made a fortune mining silver in Mexico,
led the settlement of New Mexico.
In 1598, Onate brought 400 settlers and 7,000 animals
from Mexico to New Mexico.
At first the pueblo Indians welcomed the visitors but the
Spanish repaid them with cruelty.
Indians were made to work as slaves and whipped by
priests.
Eventually the Indians revolted and drove the Spanish out
of the land.
The Explorations of Don Juan
de Onate
 Discovery
Education
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/i
ndex.cfm?guidAssetId=ED1ABE851178-4033-8AC34C4C63E9022A&blnFromSearch=1&pr
oductcode=US
Impact on Native Americans

The arrival of Spanish settlers had a great impact
on the native people of the borderlands.
– The Pueblo people learned how to use new tools, grow
new foods, and raise sheep for wool.
– From Florida to California some Natives converted to the
Catholic faith.
– Unfortunately, wherever the Spanish settled, they
brought with them disease to which Native peoples had
no resistance. Smallpox, measles, and influenza often
wiped out entire villages.

In turn, the Native Americans introduced the
Spanish to new techniques for growing crops,
specifically in the desert soil.
New World Riches
As Spanish colonies sent ships loaded with
gold and silver home to Spain, all of
Europe watched with envy.
 Other nations wanted their share of
riches from the New World. But none was
strong enough to challenge Spain’s
American empire.
 Instead they would seek their fortunes in
areas not yet claimed by Spain.

New France




In 1534, France sent Jacques Cartier to
explore the Atlantic coastline of North
America. His goal was to find a Northwest
Passage, an all-water route through North
America to the Pacific Ocean.
Cartier failed to find such a passage, but
he did claim for France the lad we know
call Canada.
He also found something that was almost
as valuable as the Spanish gold, beaver
fur.
Beaver hats were a hot fashion item in
Europe, and French hat makers were
willing to pay high prices for beaver pelts.
Settling New France







The first settlement in New France was founded by Samuel de Champlain.
In 1608, Champlain sailed up the St. Lawrence River and built a trading post he
called Quebec.
For the next 150 years, Quebec would be a base for French explorers, soldiers,
missionaries, traders, and fur trappers.
Fur trappers called themselves coureurs de bois which means “wood rangers” in
French.
Catholic missionaries followed the trappers seeking converts among the native
peoples.
New France failed to attract large numbers of settlers not unlike the Spanish
Borderlands.
The harsh climate of the area made it difficult for farming. Also the land policies of
granting only the best river land to French nobles discouraged other citizens from
venturing to the new world.
The French in the New World
 Discovery
Education
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/i
ndex.cfm?guidAssetId=ED1ABE851178-4033-8AC34C4C63E9022A&blnFromSearch=1&pr
oductcode=US
Native American Business
Partners





Since the French were more interested in fur than
farming, they did not try to conquer the Indians.
Instead they made them business partners.
Champlain made friends with the nearby tribes
especially the Huron
Not only did they become friendly but also began to
live among the native people, marry Huron women,
and learn their language. Unfortunately the Native
people met the same fate as the southern brothers
and many died of European diseases.
Champlain even joined the Huron in an attack on
neighboring tribes such as the Iroquois. From that
day forward the Iroquois would be bitter enemies of
the French.
Claiming Louisiana







The search for furs led the French far inland from Quebec.
In 1673, two explorers, Father Marquette and Louis Joliet, explored the
great Mississippi River.
They hoped that this waterway would be the long sought Northwest
passage.
Instead they discovered that the river flowed toward the Gulf of Mexico
and not the Pacific Ocean.
Nine years later Robert de La Salle explored the entire length of the
Mississippi River .
On April 19, 1682, he planted a French flag at the mouth of the river and
claimed everything west of the Mississippi River for France.
La Salle named this vast area Louisiana for the French monarch, King
Louis XIV
Joliet, Marquette, and La Salle
Claim New Land for France
 Discovery
Education
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/i
ndex.cfm?guidAssetId=ED1ABE851178-4033-8AC34C4C63E9022A&blnFromSearch=1&pr
oductcode=US
John Cabot




Columbus’s voyage inspired John Cabot, an Italian living in
England, to seek his own western route to Asia.
In 1497, Cabot sailed west across the Atlantic. He landed
in Newfoundland, an island off the coast of Canada.
Like Columbus, he mistakenly thought that he had landed
in Asia.
Later, England would claim all of North America because of
the flag planted by Cabot in 1497.
The Lost Colony of Roanoke










Sir Walter Raleigh tried to start a colony on Roanoke Island off the coast of North
Carolina.
Indians on the island welcomed the settlers and gave them traps for catching fish.
The settlers were more interested in finding gold than fishing. Once their supplies
were low, they quickly became discouraged and returned home to England.
In 1587, Raleigh sent a second group of colonists to the island. Their leader was
John White.
They arrived to late in the season to plant crops so White returned to England for
supplies.
However, his trip was delayed due to fighting between England and Spain.
As a result, he did not return for nearly 3 years.
When he did reach the island, all of the colonists had disappeared.
Carved on the doorposts was the word “CROATOAN.”
To this day, no one knows the meaning of the word or what happened to the lost
colonists of Roanoke.
Jamestown: The First English
Colony




In 1607, a group of merchants formed the London
Company to start a money-making colony in Virginia.
The company crammed 144 settlers into three tiny ships
and sent them across the Atlantic.
When they reached Virginia, the colonists settled on a
swampy peninsula they believed could be easily defended
against Native Americans or Spanish ships.
They called their new home Jamestown after King James I.
The Jamestown Settlement
 Discovery
Education
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/
?guidAssetId=021a6a8e-9235-4f2dafd5-65824530137a
Pocahontas







The people of Jamestown lived in constant danger of Indian attacks.
To end the threat, the English kidnapped Pocahontas and held her hostage for a year.
During that time, she learned English, adopted the Christian faith, and met her future
husband John Rolfe.
He had already helped the English colony survive by finding a crop that could be
raised in Virginia and sold for a good price in England-----Tobacco. Now he proposed
another solution to their problem of constant Indian attacks.
He proposed marriage to Chief Powhatan and the Governor of Jamestown between
himself and Pocahontas.
This union did bring peace .
In 1616, John Rolfe wrote “Our people yearly plant and reap quietly, and travel in the
woods…..as freely and securely……as in England.”
New Netherland: The ShortLived Dutch Settlement







While John Smith was struggling to save the colony of Jamestown, an English sailor
named Henry Hudson was exploring the coastline farther north for the Netherlands.
Henry Hudson’s voyage was sponsored by Dutch merchants who hoped to find the
Northwest passage.
In 1609, Hudson discovered a deep river full of fish, and thought it might just take
him all the way across the continent.
It didn’t but he claimed the land along its banks for the Netherlands.
The river was later named the Hudson in his honor, and the territory he claimed
became known as New Netherland.
In 1621, Dutch merchants formed the Dutch West India Company to start a colony in
America.
The first colonist built Fort Orange near present day Albany, NY.
Relations with Native Americans






In 1626, the Dutch West India Company sent Peter Minuit to New
Netherland as the colony’s Governor.
Wanting peaceful relations with the Indians, the company told Minuit that
any native peoples on Manhattan Island “must not be expelled with
violence or threats but be persuaded with kind words….or should be given
something.”
Minuit offered the island’s Indians iron pots, beads, and blankets worth
about $24 in exchange for their land.
The Native Americans didn’t believe that anyone could own land, as such,
they laughed at the white men for their foolishness and made the trade.
The Iroquois Indians were happy to trade with the Dutch. Since the
French had made them an enemy due their alliance with the Huron, it
made perfect since to partner with the Dutch.
This alliance restricted French access to the fur rich territory of the Ohio
Valley.
Open Response Question
How does the relations between Dutch
settlers differ from that of other
European explorers and colonists?
(Explain in detail with examples)
New Amsterdam






Eventually the Dutch settlement in Manhattan swelled to over 1,000
people.
In 1647, the Dutch West India Company hired Peter Stuyvesant as the
colony’s new Governor. He held the position for 17 years.
When he arrived, he declared that the settlement would be called New
Amsterdam, after the capital city of the Netherlands.
During his leadership, he captured a nearby Swedish colony and invited
its settlers to live in New Amsterdam.
By 1660, the colony had nearly 8,000 people, including Europeans from
many nations as well as enslaved Africans.
New Amsterdam also provided refuge for Jews trying to seek freedom to
follow their religion in peace.
New Netherlands becomes New
York
 Discovery
Education
http://player.discoveryeducation.com/i
ndex.cfm?guidAssetId=CB65ABA6117E-46AF-91E70001CD3F1E62&blnFromSearch=1&pr
oductcode=US
The Land Grab
 Let’s
play the land
grab game and see
how your expedition
would fair with other
competing interests.
 Break
into groups and
wait for further
instructions.