European Explorers

Many things motivated European Exploration

• Religion – Spanish spread Catholicism in the South– French spread Catholicism in the Northeast– Dutch and English spread Protestant Christianity along the east

coast• Economic Rivalry – Europeans wanted to acquire colonies

in the Americas so they could get the resources like gold or other resources and so they could sell their own goods.

• Finding a Northwest Passage – Europeans still wanted to find an easier way to get to Asia and they hoped to find a water route through North America

Spain

• Amerigo Vespucci - Italian born, he sailed for Spain began mapping the South American coastline and was the first to describe it as its own continent. In a later voyage he sailed for Portugal

• Ferdinand Magellan sailed for Spain, but was from Portugal. He found the Pacific Ocean and was the first to circumnavigate (travel all the way around) the world.

Spanish Conquistadors • They received land grants from Spanish rulers in exchange for one-fifth

of their gold or treasure taken from the Americas. • They conquered Native American Empires like the Aztecs and Incas in

South America- they had better weapons like guns and cannons and had horses- they convinced other Native Americans to stand up and help them - European diseases killed many- Conquistadors explored the Southeastern part of the US

Famous Spanish Conquistadors Ponce de Leon – explored FL and hoped to find a fountain of youth Hernando de Soto – explored southeastern US and crossed the Mississippi Vasquez de Coronado traveled through Mexico, Arizona, and New Mexico

England

• John Cabot landed in Newfoundland in 1497 which helped England establish land claims in North America

France

• France hired Italian born Giovani da Verrazano to look for a northern sea route. He explored the East Coast all the way from Nova Scotia to the Carolinas

• Jacques Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence River and established Montreal, Canada

Netherlands

• The Dutch hired Henry Hudson who discovered the Hudson River in 1609. When he got to the Hudson Bay, he thought he had reached the Pacific