Chapter 3

Columbus

  • In 1492, Spanish monarchs Ferdinand and Isabella finance Christopher Columbus’s voyage to find a shorter sea route to India.
  • Sails on the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria with 87 men who landed in what is today the Bahamas. Becomes the first European to discover the New World and conquer the people living there
  • Enslaved the native Taino Indians and killed millions more directly or indirectly through violence or disease.
  • Remember, the Spanish Monarchy employed Columbus, the crew were former soldiers and criminals, the Tainos did not fight back until after Columbus left and the System of the Empire created a situation where power came with rising through the class system, often with violence or putting others below yourself.
  • Columbus set the precedent of both the exploration of the New World and the treatment of the Native Americans who lived there.
  • Columbian Exchange- The exchange of goods and ideas between the Old and New World
  • Importance- created first truly global trading network
  • Pros: New crops and animals were introduced to both worlds
  • Cons: disease spread more rapidly and resulted in many Native American deaths

Cortez and the Aztecs

  • 3 Motivations for Exploration: God, Gold, Glory!
  • Hernando Cortez sailed for Spain to Mexico.
  • In his search for riches and spreading the Christian religion, he made alliances with local tribes and a temporary alliance with the Aztecs.
  • Cortez imprisoned the Aztec emperor Montezuma II within his home
  • Montezuma was ultimately killed by his own people, allowing the Spanish conquistador to take control of the city of Tenochtitlan.
  • Cortez was able to destroy the powerful Aztecs with his:
  • Advanced armor
  • Horses
  • Diseases which killed many Aztecs
  • Guns

European Powers

  • The Pope drew the Line of Demarcation, dividing the world in half: Spain was allowed to explore the Western Hemisphere (New World) and Portugal was allowed to explore the Eastern Hemisphere.
  • The Spanish, after destroying the Aztecs and Incas, settled in New Spain.
  • The Spanish settled in search of gold, spreading religion and land (glory)
  • The Spanish controlled New Spain using Peninsulares, Spanish-born leaders to keep the Native Americans under control for the Monarchy
  • The English, instead of allowing the monarch to rule their claim to the New World directly, gave charters to businesses.
  • The English primarily sailed to the New World to make money!
  • The French settled the New World in search of wealth and spreading Christianity
  • The French made their money in New France by hunting and trapping
  • Unlike Spain, France spread Christianity peacefully and made friendly relations with Native Americans
  • Looking for the mythical Northwest Passage, Marquette and Jolie travel the length of the Mississippi River
  • The Dutch, led by Peter Minuit settled in Northern New Jersey and along the Hudson River into New York. (New Netherland)
  • Minuit is responsible for purchasing the island of Manhattan from the local Lenape Indians in 1626
  • Once Minuit was fired by the Dutch, he helped establish New Sweden
  • Inventions that made this Age of Exploration possible: compass,

English Settlements

Roanoke

  • The first plannedpermanent settlement for the English
  • Charter given to Sir Walter Raleigh, settled by 1587.
  • Virginia Dare- First English baby born in the New World
  • In late 1587, leader John White went back to England to get supplies for the struggling/starving colony. He returned to find Roanoke abandoned.
  • Theories include: Indian attack, voluntary migration to nearby Native American-controlled island, drought or a French raid

Jamestown

  • Settled in 1607by the Virginia Company band became the first permanent English settlement.
  • Colonists went through a “starving time” during which time, John Smithbegan a “no work, no food policy”.
  • Settlers went through long periods of war and brief periods of peace with the powerful Powhatan Tribe.Overall, relations with the Native were negative.
  • In 1619, the colony established the House of Burgesses, which became the first representative government in the New World.

Plymouth

  • In the mid-1500s (16th century), England broke away from the Pope and the Catholic Church to form the Church of England, in which the king was in charge
  • A group of people called Separatists did not like that the king being the head of the Church so they decided to leave England to seek religious freedom in the New World.
  • These ‘pilgrims’ (people who travel for religious reasons), sailed on the Mayflower across the Atlantic, heading for Virginia in fall, 1620.
  • Harsh weather made conditions on the ship difficult and blew the ship off course to what is today Massachusetts.
  • The Pilgrims wrote the Mayflower Compact, which established a majority rules government in their new Plymouth Colony
  • Life was difficult during the winter and more than have of the settlers died from December to March due to starvation and the cold weather.
  • In March, 1621, two Native Americans from nearby tribes (Samoset and Squanto) appeared and, though hesitant at first, helped the settlers adapt to their new surroundings.
  • After creating a peace with the Natives and a successful harvest, the settlers and Native Americans joined together in a harvest festival which would become known as the first Thanksgiving.