European Exploration God, Gold and Glory!

Arrival of Europeans  Europeans traveled to the Americas in the late 15th century.  Conditions were hard.  Many Europeans died of disease or starvation.  Others were killed by Native Americans.

Columbian Exchange  Europeans brought tools, goods, and diseases that would change Native Americans’ way of life forever.  These included horses, guns, and smallpox.

Columbian Exchange  Horses allowed Native Americans to travel and trade more easily.  Guns made hunting easier and could be used as protection.  Diseases such as smallpox and measles, brought by European settlers, killed many native people.  This was called the Columbian Exchange.

The Columbian Exchange  A system of trade that was established between the Old World (Europe and Africa) and the New World (the Americas) that introduced new foods, goods and diseases across the Atlantic.

Missionaries and Exploration GOD  Many European countries believed it was their duty to spread Christianity.  Missionaries created settlements in the Americas to convert Native Americans.  A missionary is someone sent by a church to a foreign country to spread its faith.

Missionaries and Exploration  The main functions of these mission settlements were to teach Native Americans “civilization” and to convert them to Christianity.  For the Native Americans, the missions represented a way to help them learn European languages in order to trade and negotiate.

Europeans and Native Americans  It was hard for Europeans to live in the Americas.  They did not know how to grow local food crops. Supplies from Europe took months to arrive.  Some Europeans were friendly with Native Americans.  They learned how to farm crops such as maize from the Native Americans.  Many European colonies would not have survived without help from Native Americans.

Exploitation  Some explorers exploited many Native Americans.  Sometimes, this exploitation meant befriending them.  Other times, it meant robbing or killing them.  And at other times it meant enslaving them.

Exploration GOLD  Europeans needed spices, resources, and land.  Europeans wanted to find a safe and fast way to reach Asia and acquire (or get) spices directly.  They wanted resources to use, sell, and trade so they could become wealthy. Most hoped to find gold!  They wanted new lands so they could expand their country and control trade.

Reading Exercise….. Read the following stories and answer the questions that relate to the story.

Bartolome de Las Casas, a Catholic priest, fought against the abuse of Native Americans, earning the title “Protector of the Indians.” Due largely to his efforts, Spanish authorities passed laws providing greater protection for Native Americans. Most colonists, however, ignored the laws. Bartolome de las Casas A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies [1542] [PREFACE] The Americas were discovered in 1492, and the first Christian settlements established by the Spanish the following year. It is accordingly forty-nine years now since Spaniards began arriving in numbers in this part of the world. God made all the peoples of this area, many and varied as they are, as open and as innocent as can be imagined. They are utterly faithful and obedient both to their own native lords and to the Spaniards in whose service they now find themselves. … the very first day they clapped eyes on them, the Spanish fell like ravening wolves upon the fold, or like tigers and savage lions that have not eaten meat for days. When the Spanish first journeyed there, the indigenous population of the island of Hispaniola stood at some three million; today only two hundred survive. The island of Cuba is now to all intents and purposes uninhabited;" Puerto Rico and Jamaica, have been similarly devastated. Not a living soul remains today on any of the islands of the Bahamas. A further thirty or so islands in the region of Puerto Rico are also now uninhabited. All these islands… are now abandoned and desolate.

Questions and Answers from the passage.