European Exploration
& Conquest
Do Now
Why do some countries have an abundance of
wealth and riches while others have remained
poor for most of their history?
Guns, Germs, and Steel
• Humans able to domesticate
plants and animals are able to
develop more complex societies
• All humans are capable of doing
this, but geography can limit
plants and animals that are
available
• Domesticate = to tame wild
plants and animals so they can
benefit humans
• Watch this video and complete
review guide to the best of your
ability
Do Now
Recap yesterday’s lesson…
1. What separates the “haves” from the “have nots”?
2. What is so special about domesticating plants?
3. What is so special about domesticating animals?
Continue watching Episode #1: “Out of Eden”
Guns, Germs,
and Steel
“Broadest
Pattern of
History”
Applying the Theory
Using what you learned from Guns, Germs, and Steel so far…
What kinds of societies do you think would adapt writing?
Why do you think this is the case?
What kind of impact does writing have on a society?
Is there a connection between information and power?
The Printing Press
Actively read this “Background
Essay” on the printing press…
Respond to reading questions after
reading the essay.
Do Now
Take out your readings on the
printing press.
Apply what you learned from the
reading to the questions on the
worksheet.
You may do this with a neighbor.
The Printing Press
Watch this brief
video that discusses
the impact of the
printing press
Advancement in Europe
The printing press is an example of one
technological advancement in Europe
during the Renaissance.
Can you think of any others?
Exploration in the “Dark Ages”
• Europeans play minor role in world travel for a long time
• People from Asia saw Europeans as “barbaric”
• People from China and Persia were traveling, NOT
Europeans
European Exploration
•In the 1400s, the Ottomans (Turks) took over trade in
the Mediterranean Sea
•European states begin looking for other options
Renaissance Humanism
• Europeans reading ancient texts,
including Ptolemy’s Geography (150
AD)
• Ptolemy: ancient Greek scholar
• Considered to be the authority on
geography at the time
• His ideas were widely accepted
• believed the Earth was round (most people who could read knew
this thanks to Ptolemy)
• his maps showed the Earth as smaller than it actually was
• why do you think it was smaller? what do you think was missing?
Renaissance Technology
• Advancements in technology made long ocean
voyages possible
– more efficient ships
– more accurate instruments
– better methods of cartography and navigation
• Exploration supported by wealthy governments
and merchant companies
• Adventurous risk takers welcomed the challenge
to explore and maybe get rich
Portugal
Where is
Portugal?
Why do you
think they may
be the first to be
sailing in the
Atlantic?
Kingdom of Portugal
Early 1400s:
Prince “Henry the Navigator” establishes a court and brings
sailors, mapmakers,
astronomers, and others for
advice
Henry and some merchants
pay for expeditions to islands
in the Atlantic and to the
western coast of Africa
Hoping to find a water route to
India
Kingdom of Portugal
1488: Henry already dead, but Bartolomeu Dias sails
around southern tip of Africa (Cape of Good Hope)
Violent storms turn them back
Kingdom of Portugal
1497-1499: Vasco da Gama sails around bottom of
Africa and reaches India, center of the spice trade
Maps!
Compare and Contrast
On a separate piece of paper, draw a T-chart.
One column should be labeled “Difference”
The other column should be labeled “Reason
for Difference”
European World Map (1467)
based off Ptolemy’s map from 1300 years before
European World Map (1490)
Maps!
Compare and Contrast
Under “Difference,” write something you notice
that is different between the maps.
Under “Reason for Difference,” on the same line,
write why you think that difference appears on the
maps (think about what you just learned in class!)
Do this 3 times.
Maps!
Discuss…
How do these maps represent a different perspective for
Europeans in 23 years?
What invention allowed Europeans to learn this
information about geography?
What is still missing in 1490? Why?
Do Now
In your notes,
write anything
you know about
Columbus…
Share what you
have. Let’s make
a list as a class.
Spain
Where is
Spain?
Where do you
think the
Spanish may
be looking for
a trade route?
Christopher Columbus
• 1492: hired by King and Queen of Spain (competing
against Portugal)
• aimed to sail west to reach Asia for gold and spices
• did not understand Earth’s size
• Oct 1492: lands in the Caribbean, believes he is in the
“West Indies” and among “Indians”
Christopher Columbus
• Columbus returns home in 1493 with parrots, jewels, gold,
plants never seen before
• Also brought back some Native Americans, who were
baptized as Christians
• Columbus hailed a hero for nearly ten years - everyone
thought he found a western route to Asia
Christopher Columbus
• People soon realize he is on another continent that is NOT Asia
• People in Europe call it the “New World.” Why? Who is it new for?
• His voyage is very important
– Trans-Atlantic passage is possible
– Vast publicity --> others will want to travel to America and explore
and/or exploit
European World Map (1507)
Reading Columbus
• What is a primary source?
• What is a secondary source?
• What would we call this reading?
from The Journal of
Christopher Columbus
1. What are Columbus’s main
interests on the island? Why
is he interested in these
things? Cite evidence from
the text.
2. (#3) What do you think is
Columbus’s attitude toward
the Taino? Cite evidence
from the text.
Exploitation
Taking advantage of
someone or something for
your own benefit or profit
(ex: resources, people, etc.)
Exit Ticket
Read the list of things you knew about Columbus
at the beginning of class.
Have any of your thoughts changed on Columbus?
Have any of your thoughts stayed the same?
Which ones?
Explain.
Do Now
What were Columbus’s
- and other explorers’ main motives?
Use yesterday’s notes and reading to help you
answer this question.
European Motives
#1: GOODS
Mostly gold, but also spices, gems, etc.
European Motives
#2: CONQUEST
exploit the land and people of the “New World”
(enslave Native Americans)
European Motives
#3: RELIGION
spread Christianity and convert the Natives
Europeans in the “New World”
• Columbus’s contract: any land, people, or profits he makes are to be
shared with Spain’s king/queen
• 1493: Columbus’s second trip - they find no gold, but bring back
Native Americans as slaves (traded to them by the Arawak tribe)
• Columbus and Spain begin exporting slaves and sugar cane
regularly from the Caribbean
• Native Americans forced to work on sugar cane plantations (large
farms)
Europeans in the “New World”
• Spain wants to continue increasing its power, sending
officials and priests to the Americas
• 1499: Spain sends Amerigo Vespucci and name the
“New World” after him
Conquistadors
“Spanish military leaders who fought against the
native peoples of the Americas” and conquered
their land
Slavery
• some
wealthy people owned slaves in the Middle Ages
and Renaissance Europe
• people became slaves as a result of war, piracy, or
poverty (when parents sell their children into slavery)
• slaves were often Slavic, Turkish, African
Slave trade in Eastern
Europe - Middle Ages
(slaves depicted here are
of Slavic background)
Slavery
• warfare among nations in West Africa - victors here
kept prisoners of war as slaves
• Portuguese begin trading in Africa, sometimes for
slaves
• many people criticize slavery in Portugal, not too many
slaves get brought back home
• BUT the Portuguese also begin exploring the Americas many Africans will become part of the slave trade across
the Atlantic in the “New World”
Complete the
worksheet that
matches this
information
The Middle Passage
Actively read this description of “The Middle
Passage” for homework.
Do Now
What advantages did Europeans have over Native
Americans when arriving in the Americas?
What forms of technology did they have?
Side question…
If writing is one advantage Europeans had, why do
you think this was important?
Brief History of Writing
Writing independently emerges
in three different places in
ancient times…
• Sumeria (Fertile Crescent - later
evolves into all European
languages and many others)
• China (evolves into many
languages in Eastern Asia)
• Central America (the Maya,
does not get passed on due to
geography)
Writing as a Weapon
with a long history of writing in
Eurasia (and now the invention of the
printing press)…
• Europeans have access to historical,
cultural, and military knowledge from
previous eras
• ex: Pizarro reads about Cortes
conquering the Aztecs (1510) - a bestselling book written by the
conquistador!
Cultural Clash
• Spanish conquistadors offended when Inca Emperor
Atahualpa does not recognize the Bible or its significance
• but in fact, he has never seen any book before and does
not know what it is!
• Spanish use his treatment of the Bible as a reason to
capture him and massacre the Incas
Hemispheres Collide
Watch Episode #2 of Guns, Germs, and Steel
Complete the viewing guide.
Do Now
Talk to a neighbor.
Recap what you learned in
the video yesterday.
Do Now
Before the arrival of Columbus in 1492, there were millions of
Native Americans living in North and South America,
including where we are today in New Jersey.
Have you ever met a Native American? If so, where?
If not, why do you think you have not?
What happened to these peoples?
The Power of Germs
• some scholars estimate that of approx. 50 million Native
Americans, as much as 95% of the population died shortly after the
arrival of Europeans
• it is estimated that over 90% of these deaths were due to disease
Aztec smallpox victims
The Power of Germs
Smallpox - the most deadly disease in the Americas
Before Pizarro even arrives in South America, the Inca Empire had
been devastated by smallpox brought over in 1520, and spread
rapidly across the Americas
European conquest is helped largely by germs!
The Power of Germs
Watch this clip from Guns, Germs, and Steel on
the development of disease and the impact its
spread from Europe had on the Americas.
Indigenous Americans Today
• have dealt with oppression while living under many European or
post-European governments (colonial England, colonial Spain, Brazil,
United States, Costa Rica, etc.)
• currently struggle with problems related to poverty and isolation
Citing a Source
Read this article on Native Americans
and climate change
Follow the instructions and guidelines to
complete the worksheet.
Do Now
Colony
Colonize
Talk with a neighbor
Try to define these terms in your own words.
A colony is…
1.
2.
a region controlled by a distant country
A group of people who emigrate to a distant
country but remain closely associate with parent
country
Colonizer / Colonized
Oppressor / oppressed
Exploiter / exploited
European colonization in
Africa during the 19th
century…
Spanish America
• Spanish religion, culture, and people fuse with Native
Americans
• Impose a race-based hierarchy to try and keep Spanish
culture in the Americas
–
–
–
–
Spanish
Mestizo/a (mixed)
African
Native
Spanish America
• Charles V (king of Spain, and
Holy Roman Emperor during
1500s) needs more gold
• Spain has an empire to
maintain
• Spain also fighting wars
against Muslims and
Protestants, defending the
Catholic Church
Encomienda
• a system in which a piece of land is given to a
Spanish colonist to farm.
• The land includes a number of Native American
workers.
• In return, Spanish colonist should be teaching the
native workers about Christianity
• disastrous for Native Americans (overwork,
mistreatment)
Bartolome de las Casas
• a Spanish priest living in the New World
• believes the conquistadors and encomienda have
been a nightmare for the native Americans
• 1541 - travels back to Spain to report what he sees
Actively read this primary source on Spanish
colonies in the Americas
Respond to reading questions
Do Now
Take out the de las Casas reading.
Discuss with a neighbor what you read.
de las Casas
Let’s review the text and reading questions.
How does reading an account like this make
you feel about contact between Europe
and the Americas?
The Vision of Columbus,
Joel Barlow (1787)
This extraordinary man, who was now about twenty-seven years of age, appears to
have united in his character every trait, and to have possessed every talent, requisite
to form and execute the greatest enterprises. He was early educated in all the useful
sciences that were taught in that day. He had made great proficiency in geography,
astronomy and drawing, as they were necessary to his favourite pursuit of
navigation. He had now been a number of years in the service of the Portuguese,
and had acquired all the experience that their voyages and discoveries could afford.
His courage and perseverance had been put to the severest test, and the exercise of
every amiable and heroic virtue rendered him universally known and respected.
Such was the situation of Columbus, when he formed and thoroughly digested a plan,
which, in its operation and consequences, unfolded to the view of mankind one half
of the globe, diffused wealth and dignity over the other, and extended commerce
and civilization through the whole.
Histories
How does reading an account like this make you feel about
contact between Europe and the Americas?
“When an account was written influences what is written.”
What do you think this phrase means?
Columbus Day Timeline
•
1792 a ceremony organized by the Society of St. Tammany, or Colombian Order was
held in New York City honoring Columbus and the 300th anniversary of the landing.
•
Oct. 12 1866 out of the pride for their native son, the Italian population of New York
organized the first celebration of the discovery of America.
•
1869 when Italians in San Francisco celebrated Oct. 12 they called it Columbus Day.
•
1892 President Benjamin Harrison proclaimed the 400th anniversary of the event.
•
1905 Colorado became the first state to observe a Columbus Day.
•
Since 1920 the day has been celebrated annually.
•
1937 President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed every Oct. 12 as Columbus Day.
•
1968 President Johnson declared it a federal public holiday on the 2nd Mon. in Oct.
Histories
Why do you think people’s attitudes toward Columbus
have changed in the U.S. over time?
Are there specific groups of people that may feel
differently during these times?
Is it possible for there to be more than one “history”? Use
the word wall to help you think about this.
What does it mean to be a hero?
What does it mean to be a villain?
Is it possible to be both?
“One person’s freedom fighter is
another person’s terrorist” Gerald Seymour, British writer
(1975)
Discuss
Should Columbus Day be a
national holiday?
For tonight…
Look over review sheet
Organize notebooks