America Before Columbus

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Now, Let’s set up our papers IN Page 13: Set-up your page like this Title: America Before Columbus Record the Essential Question (EQ): What were the causes and effects of the Age of Exploration? America Before Columbus 13 Essential Question: What were the causes and effects of the Age of Exploration? Q U E S T I O N Notes go here! Summary

America In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue… Who was already in America when Europeans arrived?

Did Columbus Really discover America? Some historians believe Leif Eriksson was the first European to reach America, centuries before Columbus Leif Eriksson

Stop & Think If Eriksson made it to America before Columbus, why does Columbus get all of the credit? “He opened up America to Europe, which was the expansionist power at the time. He was the one who made it possible for them to conquer the Western Hemisphere — and to bring with them the diseases that apparently wiped out 90 percent of the population. He wasn't the first (and neither were the Vikings) — that is a very Euro-centric view. There were millions of people here already, and so their ancestors must have been the first.” -Russell Freedman

Exploration of North America 1492-1700 Spain (green) England (blue) France (red) Holland (purple)

Europe during the Crusades During the Crusades, Italian (Roman) Catholics wanted to take the holy land of Jerusalem from the Muslims that had conquered the area Once in Asia, they discovered many desirable goods (silk, tea, spices) and brought them back to Europe This sparked European interest in Asia as a trade market Italy dominated all land routes into Asia and therefore had access to Asian goods

What would you do?

What would you do?

A Whole New World

(The Indies) Columbus believed he had reached the East Indies so he, naturally, called the Taino people he encountered Indians.

I proved that Columbus had reached unmapped continents, not Asia, as he claimed.

America Before Columbus Before Columbus stumbled upon America, Native American tribes populated the land Although we categorize all tribes as “Native Americans,” each was unique in terms of their language, traditions and way of life Once Columbus bridged the gap between America & Europe, the Columbian Exchange occurred

England, France, Spain and the Netherlands Columbus’ “discovery” sparked interest in North and South America England, France, Spain and the Netherlands sent explorers to claim land in America Explorers brought plants and animals with them to the Americas and brought American plants and animals back to Europe They also exchanged diseases across hemispheres

New World Old World “...all the trees were as different from ours as day from night, and so the fruits, the herbage, the rocks, and all things.” -- Christopher Columbus

According to historian Alfred Crosby, the exchange of plants, animals and pathogens between the two hemispheres was biologically “the most spectacular thing that has ever happened to humans," and he coined the phenomenon the Columbian Exchange.

The Columbian Exchange