Name: __________________________ Date: _______________________
Social Studies 7
Mrs. Anci
EUROPEANS EXPLORE THE AMERICAS
Why did Europeans become explorers in the 1400’s?
For hundreds of years, European mapmakers believed that there were only three
continents on the Earth – Europe, Asia, and Africa. Thanks to the Italian explorer Marco Polo,
who returned to Europe from Asia in the late 1200’s with beautiful silks and jewels, Europeans
now wanted more opportunities to trade with Asia. People in Europe also wanted to trade with
Asia to get spices for their food. Since the journey over land from Europe to Asia was so long and
dangerous, Europeans wanted to find an easier water route to Asia.
There were three reasons why Europeans were ready to start exploring for new ways to
reach Asia. First, by the 1400’s, technology had improved ocean travel and made it easier to
explore than ever before. Ships now had better sails, sailors had learned to use a compass (an
instrument which showed sailors which direction was north), and another
instrument, the astrolabe, helped sailors know how far they were from the
equator. Second, thanks to the invention of the printing press by Johannes
Gutenberg in 1455, there was an increased number of books in print. Through
books, people could spread ideas and information about travel and exploration.
The third and most important reason was that England, Spain, France, and
Portugal had become very strong nations that were ruled by powerful monarchs,
also known as kings and queens. Each of these nations wanted to become more
powerful than the others and by controlling trade with Asia, a nation could become rich and
powerful.
The Portuguese Become Explorers First
Prince Henry of Portugal believed it was possible to reach Asia by sailing around Africa. He
started a school where men could learn to be sailors and learn how to build better ships. Finally,
in 1487, almost twenty years after Prince Henry “the Navigator” had died, a Portuguese explorer
named Bartolomeu Dias sailed past the southern tip of Africa. Ten years later, another Portuguese
explorer named Vasco de Gama sailed around Africa and through the Indian Ocean to Asia. Now
that Portugal had found a water route to Asia for all of Europe to follow, Portugal became the
leader in trade with Asia.
Christopher Columbus Sails West
Christopher Columbus was born in Italy and became a sailor. He believed that sailing west
across the Atlantic Ocean would be a shorter, faster way to reach Asia than sailing around Africa.
Like other people at that time, he did not know that the continents of North
and South America were between Europe and Asia, nor did he know about the
huge Pacific Ocean.
Columbus needed sailors and ships in order to sail west across the Atlantic
Ocean. The king of Portugal thought Columbus’ ideas were wrong, so he would
not give him the money, ships, or sailors. However, Queen Isabella of Spain
agreed to help Columbus, hoping that he would find gold in Asia. The more
gold Columbus found, the wealthier Spain would become. Queen Isabella gave
Columbus three ships – the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria – and ninety
sailors and he began the long trip across the Atlantic in August of 1492.
After months at sea, on October 12, 1492, they reached land. Columbus believed he had
reached an island near India, but in fact, Columbus had reached the island of San Salvador in the
Caribbean Sea. The people on this island were friendly
people called Tainos. To welcome Columbus, the Tainos
gave him presents that included small pieces of gold.
When Columbus returned to Spain, Queen Isabella
believed Columbus had reached Asia. She wanted him to
return there and find more gold. Columbus made three more
trips to America. As he explored more islands in the
Caribbean, he forced Indians to work as slaves to search for
gold. Many Indians died from the cruel treatment they
received. To make matters worse, Columbus never even
found much gold.
Columbus always believed that the islands he was exploring were close to Asia’s mainland,
or the land on the actual continent of Asia. Until he died, Columbus always believed he had
actually found a new way to reach Asia.
Since Spain and Portugal were both sending explorers to find new routes to Asia, the
countries began to argue about who would rule the new lands that were found. The leader of the
Roman Catholic Church, Pope Alexander VI, drew a line on a map from north to south that
divided the Atlantic Ocean into two parts. The Pope said that Spain would rule all new land that
was found to the west of the line and that Portugal would rule all new land found to the east of
the line. The Pope’s decision was called the Treaty of Tordesillas and it was signed by Spain and
Portugal in 1494.