European Exploration
in
North America
Essential Quesion
• Why and how did European explore the
Americas and where did they build
their first colonies?
Who am I going to learn about?
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John Cabot
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
Juan Ponce de Leon
Christopher Columbus
Henry Hudson
Jacques Cartier
Let’s Get Started!!
What do you think the reasons
were for European exploration?
Why explore?
• The 1400s marked the Renaissance (meaning
rebirth) period.
• This was a time of new ideas.
• Johannes Gutenburg invented the printing press at
this time as well. Before the this, all books were
hand-written!! Talk about writer’s cramp!
• The Travels of Marco Polo was the most
popular book at this time.
• It was about Marco Polo’s voyage to Cathay,
which is now called China.
• Europeans were amazed to read about
Chinese inventions such as gunpowder and
the compass (what is a compass?)
• Merchants, or people who sold things, were
interested in the riches he spoke of. They
wanted to buy and then resell to Asian goods
such as silks and spices.
Traveling to Asia
• In effort to buy goods from the Asians, the
Europeans had to travel to Asia. Could they buy a
round trip ticket??
• NO!
• At this time, no one had ever traveled to Asia by
boat; they had no maps to show them the route.
• So they had to travel by foot over mountains and
desert! Find these two continents on your class
map.
• Not having a sea route or the technology was a
problem, so scientists started working to solve this.
Learning to sail
• Prince Henery of Portugal opened a school of
navigation.
• This school taught people how to sail.
• Mapmakers at the school worked hard to
create better maps. They did this by reading
early explorers’ journals where they would
read about bodies of water and land shapes.
• Expeditions began with the goal of finding a
sea route to Asia.
• Europeans knew about Asia because of
Marco Polo’s book and trade.
• Traders had been using the “Silk
Road”- an ancient route between
China and Italy .
• At this time Europeans knew all of Asia
as the Indies. (Find the Indies on your
map.)
The Silk Road
Christopher Columbus
• Wanted to sail to Asia
• Believed he could get to Asia by sailing
west across the Atlantic
• The Europeans had already found a
route around Africa, but Columbus
thought his would be faster.
• After receiving permission from the
King and Queen of Spain, he set sail.
“In 1492, Columbus sailed the
ocean blue”…
• He took a crew of 90 and three ships.
• Do you know what his ships were
named?
• The Nina
• The Pinta
• The Santa Maria
Columbus’s Discoveries
• On his expedition Columbus discovered a tiny
island and named it San Salvador.
• He thought he was in the Indies, but really
he was in the Americas.
• Because he thought he was in the Indies he
named the people there “Indians”.
• He claimed this land for Spain which made
the King and Queen happy.
This is where Columbus landed
Q&A
• Who invented the printing press?
• Johannes Gutenburg
• What was the route called that traders used to travel between China and
Italy?
• The Silk Road
• Why did Columbus want to go on an expedition? What was he looking for?
• A shorter sea route to Asia
• Where did Columbus land?
• San Salvador
• Where did he think he was?
• Indies in Asia
• Where was he really?
• The Americas
• What did he call the people living in San Salvador and why?
• Indians, because he thought he was in the Indies.
John Cabot
Who was John Cabot?
• Italian sailor From the country of England
• Sent on an expedition by King Henry VII to
find riches and land like the Europeans had.
• He sailed North of Columbus’ route
• He found land and claimed it for England.
• He, like Columbus thought he was in the
Indies, but today it is believed he was really
in Newfoundland and Labrador (in Canada).
Vasco Nunez de Balboa
Who was Vasco Nunez de
Balboa?
• Spanish explorer
• One of the first Europeans to settle in the Americas.
• Failed at becoming a farmer on the island of
Hispanola, and ended up owing a lot of people
money.
• Because there were so many people upset with him,
he ran away and hid on a ship bound for Colombia.
• After arriving in Colombia he found a settlement that
was falling apart. He helped them take land from the
Native Americans and started a settlement in what is
now called Panama.
Balboa con’t…
• While Balboa was in Panama he heard
of a huge ocean to the West.
• Over time, Balboa and his group
reached what is now the Pacific Ocean.
• He was 38 when he first saw it.
Balboa’s Route
Q&A
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Why did King Henry VII send Cabot on an expedition?
He wanted him to find riches and land for England.
What did Cabot discover?
Newfoundland and Labrador, but he thought it was the Indies
Who was the first European to settle in the Americas?
Balboa
Why did he flee from the island of Hispanola?
Because he owed people money.
When he reached Panama what did he do?
Helped a settlement become successful and went on an
expedition to the Pacific Ocean.
Juan Ponce de Leon
Who was Juan Ponce de Leon?
• Spanish explorer (or a conquistador)
• He led the first European expedition to Florida
while looking for the island of Bimini
• He named the land of FL La Florida, Spanish for
“flowery” and claimed it for Spain
• He is associated with the Fountain of Youth- it’s
water supposedly made old people young again
• He became the first Spanish explorer to set foot
on land that became part of the US
Ponce de Leon’s Route
Henry Hudson
Henry Hudson
• English explorer
• Made 4 trips to find Northwest Passage (Asia
is reached more easily by sailing through or
around N. America)
• An English company paid for his first 2 trips
• On 1st trip in 1608, he reached the island of
Greenland
• He failed to find the NW Passage
Henry Hudson
• Dutch East India Company (located in the
Netherlands) paid for Hudson’s 3rd trip
• 3rd trip= he spent a month exploring a river in
NY, the Hudson River and claimed this and the
land around it for the Dutch
• 4th trip was paid for by an English company
• He sailed along northern coast of N. America to
what is now the Hudson Bay
• He claimed the land for England and spent 3
months exploring there
Hudson cont’d.
• By Nov. his boat was frozen in the ice
• His crew became fed up from the cold
winter and rebelled against Hudson
• They sent Hudson and 8 others adrift in a
small boat
• They were never seen again
Henry Hudson’s Route
Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier
• French navigator
• In 1534, King Francis sent him to look for
the Northwest Passage and to look for gold
• Between 1534-1541 he made 3 trips to N.
America
• Reached mouth of St. Lawrence River on 1st
trip and claimed the land around it for
France
Cartier cont’d.
• On 2nd trip, he traveled up St. Lawrence
River
• He met river rapids and his boat could not
pass- he had to turn back
• In 1541 he visited the St. Lawrence River
again, but could not find the NW Passage or
gold
• He returned to France
Cartier’s Route