1. Europeans Reach the Americas

2. BUILDING BACKGROUND
Europeans, Africans, and Asians had traded with each other for centuries using land and sea routes. Native American groups knew of each other through trade routes. Although sailors often explored new areas, before 1492 the two worlds had no communication with each other.

3. Main Points
1. Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and reached a continent that was previously unknown to him.
2. After Columbus’s voyages, other explorers sailed to the Americas.

4. Vocabulary Words Christopher Columbus - a sailor from Genoa, Italy
Line of Demarcation - an imaginary boundary in the Atlantic dividing Spanish and Portuguese territories
Treaty of Tordesillas - agreement between Spain and Portugal moving the Line of Demarcation

5. Vocabulary Words
Ferdinand - Magellan Portuguese navigator whose expedition circumnavigated the globe
circumnavigate - to go all the way around the globe
Columbian - Exchange the transfer of plants and animals between the Americas and Asia, Africa, and Europe

6. Columbus’s Voyages 1492–1504

7. Columbus Sails across the Atlantic
Stories of fabulous kingdoms and wealth in Asia captured the imagination of Christopher Columbus, a sailor from Genoa, Italy. Columbus was convinced that he could reach Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean. On August 3, 1492, Columbus’ three ships set sail. The Niña and the Pinta were caravels. Columbus sailed in the larger Santa María. The ships carried about 90 sailors and a year’s worth of supplies.

8. They made a stop in the Canary Islands, and then on September 6, they resumed their journey.
Soon, they passed the limits of Columbus’s maps and sailed into uncharted seas. After more than a month with no sight of land, the crew grew restless.
Soon the crew saw signs of land–birds and floating tree branches. Columbus promised a reward “to him who first sang out that he saw land.” On October 12, 1492, a lookout cried, “Land! Land!” ending the long journey from the Canary Islands.

9. Christopher Columbus, 1494

10. Christopher Columbus: (1451–1506)
Italian explorer, he was convinced that he could reach Asia by sailing westward across the Atlantic Ocean. He gained the support of Spain’s monarchs and commanded a small fleet that reached the so called New World, setting off a tide of European exploration of the area.

11. The Columbian Exchange

12. Bell Ringer
If YOU were there... You are a European explorer who just returned to your homeland from the Americas. While you were gone, you tried new and different foods, including corn, potatoes, and cocoa. You have brought some of these foods back with you. You want your friends and family to sample these items, but they resist.
What will you say about these new foods?

13. Pop Quiz
1. Name the Italian explorer who was convinced that he could reach Asia by sailing westward across the Atlantic Ocean. 2. On August 3, 1492, Columbus’ three ships set sail. The Niña and the Pinta were caravels. Columbus sailed in the larger ship called ______. 3. What is the Columbian Exchange?

14. 1. Christopher Columbus
2. Santa María
3. The merchandise exchanged between America and Europe during Columbus’ discovery of America.