The Exploration of the Americas and the World

 Many different European countries paid for explorations for many different reasons. Some of the reasons that they explored were:  To find a sea route to the spices of Asia To find gold, silver, and precious stones  To expand their knowledge of the world  To control a larger empire  To expand Christianity  To find animal furs

 Portugal wanted to get everything they could get their hands on, except maybe furs. They left those to the French. The Portuguese were the first Europeans to explore the unknown world, and they were the first to sail around the southern tip of Africa.

 Portugal was the first country to find a route to the Indies around the southern tip of Africa  They only explored what is now Brazil in the New World.  They played an important role in the exploration of the New World in a different way.

 Born: 1394  Died: 1460  Goal: Find a quicker route to the Indies  Sponsored explorations of the Atlantic and down the African Coast  Developed a new and lighter ship to make the longer voyages—called a Caravel

 He had a great deal of difficulty persuading his captains to sail beyond Cape Bojodor off the west coast of Africa.

 According to legend, beyond this point in an area known as the "Green Sea of Darkness," the sun was so close to the Earth that a person’s skin would burn black, the sea boiled, ships caught on fire, and monsters hid waiting to smash the ships and eat the sailors.

 It took fourteen voyages over a period of 12 years until a ship finally reached the equator.  Although he never sailed on the expeditions, the voyages that he paid for in the mid-1400s helped launch Portugal into the front of the race to find a sea route to the Indies.

 Spain wanted a lot of things. It wanted to expand its knowledge of the world that they had never seen.  They wanted to have a larger empire  find spices and other riches  expand Christianity  The big thing they wanted was gold and silver to pay for their wars with the Turkish Empire.

 Born: 1510  Died: 1554  He discovered the southwestern part of the United States, including the Grand Canyon  Primarily searched for the Seven Cities of Gold  He returned empty handed, but was made governor of New Spain

 Born: 1475  Died: 1541  He conquered the Inca Empire  Left in 1503 for Hispaniola, the main Spanish port in the New World  Also explored with Balboa in 1513—crossed Panama to discover the Pacific Ocean

 Born: 1475  Died: 1519  He was the first European to see the Pacific Ocean from its eastern shore  Stowed away with his dog to the Americas  Led by Native Americans, he fought their enemies along the way  Climbed the mountains with his men, and saw the Pacific and claimed it for Spain

 Born: 1485  Died: 1547  He was a Spanish Conquistador who defeated and conquered the Aztec Empire in 1521  Cortez fought not only the Aztecs, but also his own countrymen

 Born: 1480  Died: 1521  He was the first explorer to lead an expedition around the world.  Out of the five ships that began the voyage, only one made it back to Spain and only 18 of the 250 men survived ~ Magellan was not one of them

 Born: 1451  Died: 1506  He was the first European since the Vikings to "discover" the New World.  Born in Italy, but sailed for Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain  Thought he found the West Indies, but really discovered Cuba, and surrounding islands

 Born: 1500  Died: 1541  He led the first expedition across the southeastern United States.  Searched for the Seven Cities  Aided Pizarro in conquest of Inca  Appointed Governor of Cuba in 1533  Sailed to Florida and went as far as the Ozark Mountains before dying on the return journey

 Born: 1454  Died: 1512  North America and South America were named after him.  Reached S.A. in 1499  Explored the Caribbean Sea  Sailed again for Portugal in 1501 going as far south as Argentina  Estimated the circumference of the Earth to within 50 miles of its actual size

 Born: 1460  Died: 1521  He was the first European to explore Florida, searching for the Fountain of Youth.  Left in search of Bimini and the fountain of youth in 1513, but he landed near St. Augustine, FL  On his second voyage they landed on the west coast of Florida and Ponce de Leon was shot by an arrow from the Native Americans who were waiting for them—he died in Cuba from his wounds

 England wanted the same things Spain wanted, especially gold and silver, but the Spanish had a much more powerful navy than England had.  So when England tried to explore the New World, they ran into a lot of trouble if the Spanish navy caught them.  Since they couldn't really explore the New World, the English ships would attack the Spanish ships as they sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and steal their goods.

 Born: 1540  Died: 1596  He helped defeat the Spanish Armada, and he was the first Englishman to sail around the world.  Plundered Panama and Veracruz in 1570’s  1577 took 5 ships and sailed to the Pacific following the coastline and continued on  1580 he made it back to Plymouth Harbor  In 1588 he helped defeat the Spanish Armada

 Born: 1450  Died: 1499?  He was the first European since the Vikings to explore the mainland of North America and the first to search for the Northwest Passage.

 France wanted a larger empire, spices and riches, and to expand Christianity.  They also wanted animal furs. They enjoyed wearing hats and coats made out of animal skins.

 Born: 1643  Died: 1687  He was the first European to sail down the Mississippi River from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico.  sailed the rivers of N.A.

 Born: 1491  Died: 1557  He discovered the St. Lawrence River.  3 expeditions, but no passage through the north

 Born: 1637  Died: 1675  He was on the expedition that led to the discovery of the Mississippi River.  Led exploration with the help of Louis Jolliet  Set up a trading post and Monastery on Lake Michigan