How would gold and riches flowing back to Spain change the balance of power among the European monarchs? If you were a French, English, or Dutch king what would you do about this?
Objective: We are going to examine the exploration and colonization of North America. Essential Questions: 1. How were indigenous societies in the Americas impacted by the arrival of the Europeans? 2. How did European exploration foster globalization and spur cultural exchange in the Western Hemisphere? 3. What are the moral implications and human cost of European exploration.
Giovanni Caboto or “John Cabot” sailed for England and claimed to have found a northwest passage to Asia. In fact his “New Found Island” was North America.
Verrazano another Italian explorer sailed for France and was the first European to explore from the Carolinas up to Canada. Verrazano was the first European to enter the harbor of modern New York.
Cartier sailed for France and went halfway up the St. Lawrence river in search of a Northwest Passage and claimed land for France.
In 1609 Henry Hudson sailed first for the Dutch and entered New York Harbor. The next year, Hudson sailed for England and entered the Hudson bay. After a harsh winter the crew rebelled and set Henry Hudson, his son and seven loyal sailors a drift in a small boat….They were never seen again….
Since the spread of Christianity Europe was dominated by the Roman Catholic Church. In 1507 Martin Luther protested against the Catholic Church and created the Protestant Reformation. As a result of the printing press many people were able to read Luther’s ideas.
The Spread of Lutheranism
How would the split in the Catholic Church and the creation of Protestant religions impact settlement in the Americas?
Samuel de Champlain founded Port Royal, the first French Settlement and set up the trading post of Quebec. French colonists were known as coureurs de bois, they established friendly relations with the natives and traded for furs and beaver skins.
New France (about 1750) with provinces marked in shades of green. Pastel green: Lower Louisiana, Light green: Upper Louisiana Luminous green: Upper Country of Louisiana Olive: Acadia, Dark green: Canada
Peter Minuit and the Dutch settled “New Netherland” in modern New York as a fur trading colony. The island of Manhattan was called New Amsterdam. Due to their rivalry with the French, The Dutch made an alliance with the Iroquois.
Which of the explorers were the most successful? By today’s standards, which of the European colonists were the most moral? What role did religion play in exploring the Americas? Would you have come to the New World? If so why?
The first English attempt at colonization on Roanoke Island ended in disaster. The colonists were never found……
In 1606 King James I chartered the Virginia Company to create a colony by the Potomac River. 105 men led by Captain John Smith men began the colony. They searched for gold until they ran out of food and nearly starved.
The colonists were saved by Powhatan, a local who taught them to grow corn. John Rolfe married Pocahontas, daughter of Powhatan. Jamestown only survived upon the sale of tobacco in Europe.Powhatan tobacco
In Jamestown the colonists created the House of Burgesses, a representative government. Women were brought to the colony to “make the men more settled.” Slavery came to the colony by 1619, though some Africans became free in Virginia. House of Burgesses Women Slavery
How did the House of Burgesses influence our modern government? What saved Jamestown, how is that ironic? Was John Smith a hero? What would have happened if the Jamestown colonists did not discover the use of tobacco?
In England people who were not members of the Anglican church were persecuted. After fleeing England and first staying in the Netherlands a group of 100 Puritan Separatists sailed for Virginia. In 1620 the Mayflower landed on Cape Cod…persecuted Mayflower
In the name of God, Amen. We whose names are underwritten, the loyal subjects of our dread Sovereign Lord King James, by the Grace of God of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.Having undertaken, for the Glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and Honor of our King and Country, a Voyage to plant the First Colony in the Northern Parts of Virginia, do by these presents solemnly and mutually in the presence of God and one of another, Covenant and Combine ourselves together into a Civil Body Politic, for our better ordering and preservation and furtherance of the ends aforesaid; and by virtue hereof to enact, constitute and frame such just and equal Laws, Ordinances, Acts, Constitutions and Offices, from time to time, as shall be thought most meet and convenient for the general good of the Colony, unto which we promise all due submission and obedience.In witness whereof we have hereunder subscribed our names at Cape Cod, the 11th of November, in the year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord King James, of England, France and Ireland the eighteenth, and of Scotland the fifty-fourth. Anno Domini 1620
Nearly half the Separatists died the first winter and William Bradford was elected the first governor. The Separatists would not have survived with out the help of the Wampanoag tribe. Tisquamtum an English speaker showed them how to survive in the harsh northern climate.
What was the difference in the motivation for the settlement of Jamestown and Plymouth? How did religion influence life in Plymouth? How did the Mayflower Compact influence life in the colony? What would have happened if the Wampanoag did not help the colonists?