Pre-Columbian Natives Thought Bubble – Crash Course US History

Ch. 1 – Exploration & Contact European Motives for Exploration in the Age of Discovery 1) Emerging nation-states sought power and hoped to out-compete rivals 2)  New military technology enabled Europeans to dominate from c. 1500 on 3)  Economics Need for new markets (especially from East - e.x.: spices) Mercantilism required new sources of precious metals & furs  

European Motives for Exploration in the Age of Discovery (cont.) 4) Competition between Catholics and Protestants became conflict of national purposes 5) Navigational technology allowed for extended exploration: Compass, Astrolab, Portuguese caravels (ships)                6) Renaissance (late 14th c. -16th c.) Atmosphere of rebirth, optimism, exploration

Christopher Columbus Spain eager to compete with Portugal. Queen Isabella & King Ferdinand financed voyage.  Set sail in 1492 to find a short trade route to Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. Instead, landed on Caribbean islands Oct.12, 1492. Believed he had reached “Indies”. Credited with discovery of the “New World”.

Effects of Voyage 1) Columbian Exchange – global transfer of living things (plants, animals, diseases). 2) Europeans a. Began to colonize Americas, global empires for first time in human history b. Explosion of capitalism c. Improved diet, higher population 3) Native Americans a. Forced to work on plantations b. Many died from European diseases (smallpox) c. Horses, cattle, firearms changed Indian culture 4) Africans a. Slave trade increased need for more labor on plantations.

Columbian Exchange Thought Bubble – Crash Course US History

Summary of relations between European Colonial Powers & Indians: Spanish - sought to Catholicize, control, use Indians for forced labor (mission system, encomienda, hacienda) French - sought trade relations with Indians; Jesuits sought to convert them to Catholicism English - sought to remove Indians from land or exterminate them