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Explorers and Early Colonies Study Guide
Reasons for Exploration:
• Water trade route to China and India
• Gold and wealth
• More land
• Spread Christianity
• Glory
Be able to explain why each of these was important in Europe in the 1400 and 1500s
Explorer
Birth
Country
Patron
Country
Year(s) of
Exploration
Destination
Location of
Discovery
Major contributions
Leif
Eriksson
Prince
Henry the
Navigator
Bartholomeau Dias
Vasco da
Gama
Christopher
Columbus
Juan Ponce
de Leon
Norway
Norway
999
Canada
Portugal
Portugal
1415+
Newfoundland
Africa
Portugal
Portugal
1487-88
India
Portugal
Portugal
1497-99
India
Cape of
Good Hope
India
Italy
Spain
1492-1503
India
Spain
Spain
1493
Puerto Rico
“Found” North
America
Caravel ships
Sponsored other
explorers
Found bottom of
Africa
First to travel
around Africa
“Found” North
America for Spain
Conquistador
Italy
England
1497
Canada
Spain
Spain
1501+
Northwest
Passage
Panama
Spain
Spain
1504
Hispanola
Spain
Spain
1509
Columbia
Portugal
Spain
1519-1520
France
France
1534+
England
England
1577-1580
Circumnavigate the
world
Northwest
Passage
Circumnavigate the
world
Aztec
Empire in
Mexico
Inca
Empire in
Peru
Circumnavigate
the world
Canada
John Cabot
Vasco
Nunez de
Balboa
Hernan
Cortes
Francisco
Pizarro
Ferdinand
Magellan
Jacques
Cartier
Sir Francis
Drake


Africa
The
Bahamas
Florida
Pacific
Ocean
Circumnavigate
the world
Claimed Canada
for England
Conquistador,
“found” Pacific
Ocean
Conquered the
Aztecs
Conquered the
Inca
First voyage to
make it around the
world
Claimed Canada
for France
Highly successful
pirate
Early explorers were looking for an eastern route around Africa to China
Late explorers were looking for the Northwest passage – a route around North America
to China
Be able to fill in any part of this chart and explain what explorers were looking for
Roanoke Colony
In order to start a colony, a person had to receive a charter from the king or queen
Charter: gives the owner permission to establish a colony in the king’s (or queen’s) name
and allows the owner the right to govern the colony in the name of the king
On March 25, 1584, Queen Elizabeth I granted Raleigh a charter to begin a colony in North
America
Raleigh and Elizabeth were hoping for gold and a base from which to send pirate raids
Raleigh sent on expedition that landed in Roanoke, in what is now Virginia in April, 1585
The colonists brought tobacco, maize (corn) and potatoes back to Europe
In 1587, Raleigh sent 115 new colonists to Roanoke, led by John White
One colonist, George Howe, was killed crabbing on the beach
The colonists feared more attacks and sent White back to England for troops/
reinforcements; he left his wife, daughter and newborn granddaughter behind
He was unable to return until 1590
He found not trace of the colonists when he returned, no sign of struggle either
The only sign was the word CROATOAN carved in a fencepost
They did not search the area, returning to England the next day
Be able to explain what the mystery of Roanoake was
Jamestown Colony
1606, King James granted a charter to the Virginia Company to start a colony in Virginia
On May 14, 1607, they landed on the banks of the James River
They were led by John Smith and Christopher Newport
In summer, Newport took 40 men and 2 ships back to England for supplies – the remaining
colonists suffered disease, hunger and attack from Chief Powhatan
John Smith reached an agreement with Chief Powhatan and the settlers were able to
trade with the tribe in early 1608
Smith returned to England and the colonists suffered through another winter
They were ready to abandon the colony when ships arrived with supplies and 150 new
settlers in spring, 1610
In April 1614, John Rolfe married Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief Powhatan, who had
been captured by the settlers and converted to Christianity
Rolfe introduced tobacco seeds to Virginia and this became a successful, productive crop for
the settlers
In 1619, the settlement created the first General Assembly, men elected to represent the
colony
Be able to explain the Jamestown was successful because it received help when it was most
needed and tobacco turned out to be highly successful
Plymouth Colony
In Columbus’s time, all of Europe was Catholic
By the time King James became king of England in 1603, the English people had been
forced to change from Catholic to Protestant depending on who ruled them
Some people became angry and wanted to separate from being under the king’s church
they became known as Separatists
Separatists are Christians who wanted to follow traditional ways of worshipping
In 1607, this group, felt pressured to leave England and went to Leiden, Netherlands
The Netherlands were very tolerant, everyone got along and let people worship how they
wanted to
The Separatists decided to leave because their children stopped acting English, becoming
more Dutch
The Separatists received a land patent to settle on the Hudson River
A land patent is permission to use land
The Mayflower departed with about 132 people on September 6, 1620 and landed on Cape
Cod November 9, 1620
The Separatists wanted to prove that they were still loyal to King James even though they
were not on the Hudson River like their land grant said they should be
Before they left the Mayflower, they wrote The Mayflower Compact
The Compact stated that the settlers agreed to abide by English laws and remained
loyal to King James
Captain Miles Standish went ashore to scout the region and ultimately found the spot to
make the new settlement – Plymouth
Despite the advertising, there is little evidence to support the idea that the group ever
set foot on Plymouth Rock
The group ended up spending the rest of the winter on the Mayflower, which was difficult –
45 out of 102 people died
Miles Standish was elected commander and interacted with the native Wampanoag
In particular, Samoset and Squanto were two natives who had learned English who
helped the Separatists learn to live in the region
Be able to explain the Separatists (also known as Pilgrims) were successful because the
Wampanoag helped them
Be able to explain that the Mayflower Compact was a unique document because it was the
first time a group of settlers made an agreement amongst themselves to follow each other’s’
rules and remain loyal to the king and to each other