ExplorationNew Beginnings

Chapter 1

Who discovered America? Indians crossed the Bering Straits -

successive waves forced settlement south - 14,000-28,000 BC

Vikings explored around 1000 AD1. Leif Ericson - Greenland and

Vinland2. fake finds - Kenningston Rune

Stone - Newport buildingswhat was its effect on change over time?discovery was not publicized

MAP 1.1 Migration Routes from Asia to America During the Ice Age, Asia and North America were joined where the Bering Straits are today, forming a migration route for hunting peoples. Either by boat along the coast, or through a narrow corridor between the huge northern glaciers, these migrants began making their way to the heartland of the continent as much as 30,000 years ago.

European preconditions necessary for exploration and discovery The Age of Discovery (15th and 16th Centuries)

Crusades - 10th-14th centuries1.rediscovery of Eastern products needed to meet demands of an increasing population2. weakening of the spirit of feudal isolation

Marco Polo1. tales of fabulous wealth of Eastern civilizations2.accessibility - no swamp surrounded the continent3.tales of adventure popularized and spread

throughout Europe

economic motives1.Italian city states monopolized trade with Moslems which led to high prices2.thus the need for an all-water route to Asia to circumvent this middle man

European preconditions Cont. the rise of nation states1. centralization of power2.strong rulers could survive by glory and conquest3.consolidated taxing power of the nation-state greatly expanded the resources available to leaders - costs of exploration could be borne by the state4.the rising spirit of nationalism led to an increasingly competitive environment - competition among nations spurred discovery the rise of the middle class1. as the merchant class emerged taxing potential increased2.economic outlook of those involved in commerce was more expansive and outward looking than feudal society3.continued expansion required the discovery of new markets and raw materials4.investment capital became available from the merchant class who sought to maximize earnings - rise of joint stock companies

European preconditions Cont. technological advances

1.compass, astrolobe, caraval, lateen sail - all made sailing more predictable2.the printing press -1454 - John Gutenberg a. greater accessibility to maps and

knowledge b. thus fewer things had to be rediscovered

Renaissance spirit1.intellectual unrest - challenge existing notions2.spirit of adventure and self-fulfillment

missionary zeal1.Reformation 1517 led to religious competition2. this combines with nationalism to foster

discovery

A central figure in this development was the king’s son, Prince Henry, known to later generations as “the Navigator.” In the spirit of Renaissance learning, the prince established an academy of eminent geographers, instrument makers, shipbuilders, and seamen at his institute at The astrolabe, an instrument used for determining the precise position of heavenly bodies, direction, latitude, and local time using the position of the sun was introduced into early modern Europe by the Arabs. This is one of the earliest examples, an intricately-engraved brass astrolabe produced by a master craftsman in Syria in the thirteenth century. SOURCE:Smithsonian Museum,DC

This ship, thought to be similar to Columbus’s Niña, is a caravel, a type of vessel developed by the naval experts at Henry the Navigator’s institute at Sagres Point in Portugal. To the traditional square-rigged Mediterranean ship, they added the “lateen” sail of the Arabs, which permitted much greater maneuverability. Other Asian improvements, such as the stern-post rudder and multiple masting, allowed caravels to travel farther and faster than any earlier ships, and made possible the invasion of America. SOURCE:Drawing by Bjorn Landstrom from The Ship .Dell Publishing.

Portuguese – First Great Explorers geographic location Prince Henry the Navigator 1394-1460)

1.established school of navigation2.explored the coast of Africa - encountered

advanced civilizations3. trade for gold, slaves

Diaz(s) - 1488 - explored the coast of Africa1. rounded Cape of Good Hope2. sailors threaten mutiny

Vasco da Gama - 14981. first all-water voyage to India2.profits encouraged further exploration

Columbus Italian background - shipwrecked in Portugal idea of sailing West to get East

◦ underestimated the size of the earth◦ he made excessive demands◦ waited seven years for final approval

August 3, 1492 –departure landfall October 12, 1492 his finding encourage a larger expedition in 1493 returns to Navidad to find it wiped out 1498 - Columbus makes a third voyage 1502 - fourth voyage - explores Central America returns to Spain in 1504 - Isabel’s death dooms further

ventures - dies in 1506 - Admiral of the Mosquitoes Columbus’ importance lies in the fact that his

discoveries were publicized

This image accompanied Columbus’s account of his voyage, which was published in Latin and reissued in many other languages and editions that circulated throughout Europe before 1500. The Spanish King Ferdinand is shown directing the voyage to a tropical island, where the natives flee in terror. Columbus’s impression of Native Americans as a people vulnerable to conquest shows clearly in this image. SOURCE:The Granger Collection.

Bull of Demarcation 1493Treaty of Tordesillas 1494papal inputdivides spheres of influence

Types of coloniestrading postFringesettlement

Later Spanish Exploration Balboa -1513

1.first European to cross isthmus

2.named the Pacific the “South Sea” - why? Magellan - 1519-1522

1. first European to circumnavigate the world

2. 38-day passage through the straits

3. names Pacific

4. 99-day voyage misses every island

a. men reduced to eating rats and roaches

b. chewing on leather strapping for nourishment

5. killed in the Philippines

6. 1 of 5 ships and 18 of 266 men make it back to Spain three years later

7. why is the voyage significant?

a. proves that the world is round

b. shows the extent of the Pacific/true location of the Western Hemisphere

MAP 2.2 The Invasion of America In the sixteenth century, the Spanish first invaded the Caribbean and used it to stage their successive wars of conquest in North and South America. In the seventeenth century, the French, English, and Dutch invaded the Atlantic coast. The Russians, sailing across the northern Pacific, mounted the last of the colonial invasions in the eighteenth century.

Later Spanish Exploration Cont. Cortes - 1519-15221. conquers the Aztecs with only 600 men2. burned ships to prevent desertion3. Montezuma attempted buyout - didn’t work4. three factors in easy conquest a. myth - white Gods with horses b. technology c. discontent among subject tribes d. important because of wealth of Aztec civilization Pizarro - 1531-15351. conquers Incas of Peru with only 180 men2. 17 x 12 room 7’ high filled with ransom - removal of it3. executed leader - strangled rather than burned at the stake These Spanish conquests were easy because all that had to

be done was to replace the leadership at the top.

This map of Tenochititlan, published in 1524 and attributed to the celebrated engraver Albrecht Dürer, shows the city before its destruction, with the principal Aztec temples in the main square, cause-ways connecting the city to the mainland, and an acqueduct supplying fresh water. The information on this map must have come from Aztec sources, as did much of the intelligence Cortés relied on for the Spanish conquest.

The Cruelties Used by the Spaniards on the Indians, from a 1599 English edition of The Destruction of the Indies by Bartolomé de las Casas. These scenes were copied from a series of engravings produced by Theodore de Bry that accompanied an earlier edition. SOURCE:British Library.

This drawing of victims of the smallpox epidemic that struck the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán in 1520 is taken from the Florentine Codex, a postconquest history written and illustrated by Aztec scribes. “There came amongst us a great sickness, a general plague,” reads the account, “killing vast numbers of people. It covered many all over with sores: on the face, on the head, on the chest, everywhere. . . . The sores were so terrible that the victims could not lie face down, nor on their backs, nor move from one side to the other. And when they tried to move even a little, they cried out in agony.” SOURCE:The Granger Collection.

Spanish attempts in the North Ponce de Leon - 1513 - Fountain of Youth Navarez - Cabeza de Vaca – 1527 Hernando de Soto - 1539 - 15431. 600 men explore the American South2. led on by stories of golden cities3. discovers Mississippi River - dies and is thrown in Coronado - 1540 - 15411. explores the American Southwest why do we discuss these unsuccessful Spanish explorations?1. the effect of these failures coupled with the successes in Mexico and Peru caused Spain to lose interest in North America2. directed their attention South opening up the possibility of English exploration