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

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 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 MythTruth  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…  Actually, Europeans were pretty sure the Earth was round  Eratosthenes of Alexandria had figured it out in the 3 rd 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 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???