Standard:European Exploration & Colonization of the
Americas
Chapter 2
Please as soon as the
bell rings start answering the warm-up questions individually and in complete sentences. Thanks!
Warm – up
What do you think led Europeans
to explore distant lands? What reasons would make you
want to join a voyage of exploration?
What reasons would keep you from joining such a voyage?
Warm - up
How did European ideas affected colonial America?
Essential Question
Many different European countries paid for explorations for many different reasons. Some of the reasons that they explored were:
Sea route - To find a sea route to the spices of Asia Wealth - To find gold, silver, and precious stones Learning - To expand their knowledge of the world Expansion - To control a larger empire Religion / Faith - To expand Christianity Business - To find animal furs
So why did Europeans explore the world during the Age of
Exploration?
Causes Effects
European desired for new trade routes
European Exploration New knowledge of Africa , Asia & the Americas
New spirit of adventure
Adventure Clash of Europeans & Native American cultures
Desired for Power & wealth of European nations
Curiosity about the world
Transportation and Enslavement of Africans
Competition among nations
Learning New plants & animals in Europe & the Americas
Spread of Christianity
Rivalry/ competition of European nations in the Americas
Age of Exploration
1400s - no refrigeration
Needed salt & spices to prevent meat from spoiling & to cover up the taste of the salted or spoiled meat.
Spices not grown in Europe only in Asia ( China, Japan, India) It was very difficult and dangerous to get the spices from Asia to Europe. Dangerous : Bandits, mountains, deserts, storms Very expensive
New Routes to Asia
In 1453 –land route from Asia to Europe was
cut-off by the Turkish Empire
Spices became even more expensive and difficult to find in Europe
European nations decided to try to find a route around the Turkish Empire. If a country could find a way to get these valuable spices to Europe, the rulers would be very rich.
New routes to Asia
While Portugal began the Age of Exploration, England, France and Spain dominated the New World.
Late 1400s, Europeans did not know much
about the world Most of them had never been outside of Europe. The European map of the world included only
Europe, Asia, and the top of Africa. They thought there was only one ocean, the
Ocean Sea. Most thought the world was flat, educated
Europeans knew that it was round. The problem was they had no idea how large the world was.
Expand Knowledge& Adventure
Some European rulers, especially the King of Spain and the King of Portugal, wanted to claim as much land as they could. They wanted to take all of the natural resources from this land and use the people that lived there as slaves to do their work. Treaty of Tordesillas – Line of Demarcation
Larger Empires
Christianity - In the late 1400s, only religion in
Europe.
Religious conflicts England/ Protestant Spain / Catholic
The European rulers were very religious. They wanted to convert everyone to Christianity.
Missionaries / missions Native Americans
Spread of Christianity
European nations fought many wars
against each other and against the Turkish Empire
Wars were very expensive so they needed to find lots of gold, silver, and
precious stones to pay for them. They believed that Asia was loaded with gold, silver, and precious stones, so they decided to find it and bring it back.
Looking for gold - wealth
By increasing their wealth, European countries could
gain power and security. European nations created colonies in the new discover
land Colony / Colonies – a region or people that is politically and
economically controlled by another country ( like in a landlord /tenant situation)
Plantations – Large cash crops farms (Spain/ Native Ameri) Cash crops – crops grown for profit $$$
Columbian Exchange Mercantilism
Economics
Columbian ExchangeTransfer of plants, animals, & diseases from European, Asia & Africa into the Americas.
Mercantilism: is an economic policy…Wealth is
power, key to wealth is export more than importEuropean countries competed for world power and
needed colonies to provide necessary raw materials.
Colonies’ role: provide raw materials (so mother country does not have to import from other
nations) and markets for exportsFavorable balance of trade for England
Mercantilism
Economic system in which a nation increases
its wealth by exporting more than it imports.
Mercantilism
For sell ( going out)To buy ( in)
Triangular Trade
Mercantilism & Triangular Trade
British mercantilism manifested itself in the form of the triangular trade. Trade routes linked the American colonies, West Indies, Africa and England.
Triangular Trade - goods
Triangular Trade & slavery
Trading people Africans had
traditions of slavery Europeans started
trading goods for slaves
European brought slaves to their colonies in America for labor
Middle Passage
Voyage across the Atlantic Ocean
From Africa to America
Slave Trade Took Months – harsh
conditions Slaves brought to
America
Summary
CAUSE / Why Effects / Results
National Competition
Desired for Wealth
Spread Cristianity
European Exploration of the Americas
Destruction of Aztecs & Incan
Columbian Exchange
European Colonies in
America
Slavery