Unit One: Pre-Columbian America The Race for the New World

Race for the New World Spain was not the only country looking to expand its new nation/state into an empire by using the New World. Other countries like Portugal, France, and Britain (England) explored the coastlines of the Americas looking for suitable places to establish colonies. Even though these countries explored the Americas, Spain enjoyed almost a century (hundred years) of control of the New World.

Portugal Although Portugal had received the right to Africa and had a sea route to the East, it still wanted a foothold in the New World as well. In 1498 Joao Fernandes Lavrador explored the Northern Coast of North America discovering the Labrador Peninsula. In 1500 Pedro Alvares Cabral sailed to South America and claimed the land of Brazil for Portugal.

Portugal Portugal instead of focusing intensely on the New World chose to perfect their sea routes along Africa effectively creating a trade monopoly on spices. Portugal also developed the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade by purchasing slaves from African tribes in Western Africa (Slave Coast), using the Island of Vera Cruz as a way station, and then transporting the slaves to Brazil and places in the Spanish Maine to grow sugar, cacao, molasses, and rum and other cash crops. African slaves were also transported to different parts of Europe to be used as domestic (house ) servants.

France In France around 1515, the French kingdoms were united under Francis I making it into a Nation/State. To expand France’s new nation/state Francis looked to the New World for wealth, colonization, but also for a trade route to the East Indies known as the Northwest Passage ( a river or sea route above or through the Americas to the Pacific Ocean).

French Explorations In 1524 Francis funded an Italian Giovanni da Verrazano, who explored and mapped the Eastern Coastline of North America from Cape Fear to Newfoundland searching for the Northwest Passage. In 1534 Francis sent Jacques Carter to search for the Northwest passage, where he found and explored the St. Lawrence seaway and claimed all of Canada for France.

French Explorations The next major French expedition was not until 1604 when Samuel de Champlain founded the city of Quebec to start the colonization of New France (Canada), aided in the founding of the island Fort of Acadia, and explored the Great Lakes. The French did not colonize New France in great numbers but chose to setup small fur trading outposts for Coureurs de bois (runners of the woods) with the most hunted animal being the great American beaver.

French Explorations In 1673 Louis Joliet and Father Jacques Marquette were the first Europeans to navigate and map the Mississippi River to the mouth of the Arkansas River. In 1682 René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle finished the exploration and mapping of the entire Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico and claimed all of the territory for Louis XIV naming it Louisiana.

England In 1485 England was reunited after a bloody civil war known as the War of the Roses, where Henry Tudor (VII) became the unified leader. To discredit the Spanish, the English under Henry VII started the Black Legend (stating the Spanish awful treatment of the natives) and creating the idea of a Noble Savage (the idea of the perfect person not changed by civilization or the dogma’s of religion) against the idea of the brutal savage.

English Exploration In 1497 John Cabot an Italian explorer who sailed for Henry VII explored the Northern portion of North America looking for the Northwest Passage. The exploration of John Cabot was the only major early exploration of the New World due to conflict within England during the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VII, and Mary I (bloody Mary).

English Exploration In 1558 the daughter of Henry VIII Elizabeth I became queen of England. Instead of sending large expeditions to explore the New World, she hired privateers (a private person or private warship authorized by a country's government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping) to attack the Spanish Gallons (large cargo/military ships) to steal the Spanish gold coming from the New World.

British Seadogs The privateers also called seadogs were very effective at raising money for the British Crown. One of the most successful seadogs was Sir Francis Drake with his attacks on Spanish settlements and shipping including burning Saint Augustine to the ground. Sir Francis Drake in 1579 led an expedition around Cape Horn (tip of South America) creating the Drake Passage, instead of taking the Straits of Magellan to attack Spanish shipping and settlements along the Pacific.

British Seadogs In 1576 Martin Frobisher lead an expedition in the Northern part of Canada looking for the Northwest Passage. In 1587 John Davis tried to navigate the polar regions above North America looking for the Northwest Passage. Some of these seadogs were the first Pirates of the Caribbean. The attacks on the Spanish shipping angered Philip II of Spain, so he planned an invasion of England by the Spanish Armada (fleet of ships).

Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada was sent in 1588 to invade England, but due to weather conditions and the better maneuverability of the smaller English ships in the English Channel, the Armada was defeated. The defeat of the Spanish Armada led to the end of Spanish dominance over the New World. After this event many European countries moved in on the New World to found colonies of their own.