The Age of Discovery: God, Gold, and Glory

The Adventures of Marco Polo Marco Polo spent 24 years exploring Asia from 1271-1295 He wrote about the Empire of Kublai Khan, China, Japan, and the Spice Islands He returned with fabulous tales of wealth and riches

Marco???

The Silk Road Ever since Marco Polo, European nations would trade with Asia by way of an overland route called “The Silk Road” The Silk Road passed through Muslim, Byzantine, and Italian lands and each city would add a little bit onto the price Spices (for preserving meat) and goods were VERY expensive by the time they got to France, Spain, Portugal and England

Food in the 1400’s Spices were VERY valuable for preserving food and meat: cinnamon, cloves, pepper, salt…as well as gold and silver Whoever could find a direct route from Europe to the Spice Islands would become very rich and powerful

We’re on a Mission from God An old story told of a Christian king of Ethiopia named Prester John Europe saw an opportunity to spread Christianity and gain an ally against the Muslims The motives for the Age of Discovery: God, Gold and Glory

Cape of Good Hope 1419: Prince Henry the Navigator of Portugal begins sending ships to find the southern tip of Africa 1487: Bartholomew Diaz rounds the Cape of Good Hope Vasco da Gama reaches India by sailing around Africa

A Magnificent Failure Christopher Columbus…he’s Italian not Spanish Columbus proposes going west across the Atlantic to reach the Spice Islands Portugal refused to listen, and France flatly said no The Atlantic Ocean is called the Ocean of Darkness

The Ocean of Darkness Myth Truth Sea serpents and monsters (They don’t call it the Ocean of Darkness for nothing) To sail west is downhill, to come back home is uphill! You’d fall off the edge of the world and land in…you know… Europeans were pretty sure the Earth was round Eratosthenes of Alexandria (The Librarian!) had figured it out in the 3rd Century BC They were convinced that Columbus had grossly (hilariously) underestimated how far he had to go They were right!

La Reconquista Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand complete La Reconquista of Spain by defeating the Muslims at Grenada in 1492 Spain is once again a Catholic Country With the Muslims gone, Spain agrees to finance Columbus’ trip

Voyage to the New World October 12, 1492: Columbus lands at San Salvador claiming it for Spain For 3 months Columbus explored the Bahamas, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba He thought he was in China and Japan

Columbus Triumphant Columbus returns to Spain in January, 1493 Treated as a hero who returns with gold and spices Ferdinand and Isabella send him back in 1493 Columbus probably should have quit while he was ahead…

Columbus…The Fool??? Second Voyage: Discovers Dominica, St. Kitts, St. Croix, and the Virgin Islands His original colony failed, his second colony was set up in a malaria infested swamp Columbus disobeyed orders and enslaved the Native Americans Third Voyage, 1498: Discovers Trinidad Slaughters Native Americans, hangs his own men Arrested for cruelty and violence and thrown in jail Fourth Voyage, 1502: Discovers Jamaica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Costa Rica Gets stranded in Jamaica

Columbus…Hero? Or Villain? Columbus was the first European to have recorded contact with the New World He DID NOT discover America…can’t discover something if people are already there! Introduced slavery to the New World Died never knowing he had crashed into North America He went to his grave CONVINCED he was near Asia

The Spanish Empire Columbus’ adventure does give Spain a foothold on the New World But who will get the rest???

Summarize In your interactive notebook, at the bottom of your notes page, write a short paragraph about today’s lesson. Write about: What the main idea of the lesson was AND what you learned today. Your summary should be able to explain today’s lesson to someone who was not in class today.