1. Ch 2, Sec 2: Early Exploration

2. Objectives Explain how Portugal led the way in overseas exploration.
Develop an understanding of how Columbus’s plan for sailing to Asia led to the New World.

3. Early Maps Very limited in detail
Created by people traveling coast lines and drawing what they saw
Only showed 3 continents:
Asia, Europe, and Africa
Ocean Sea-Western (Atlantic) and Eastern (Pacific) Oceans

4. Vikings Reached North America in the 800s-900s
Landed in Iceland and Greenland
Discoveries were not well known to other people in Europe
Columbus would be the first European to “discover” the Americas again.

5. Portugal takes the lead
Had no port on the Mediterranean Sea
Wanted a trade route to Asia for spices and Africa for gold
Paid explorers to find that route

6. Prince Henry Leader of Portugal
Started a school for explorers, astronomers, geographers, and mathematicians to work together
Known as Henry the Navigator
Started sending ships down the coast of Africa to trade

7. Portugal in Africa West Africa was a good source of gold
Known as the Gold Coast
Started buying slaves in the 1400s
King John II wanted sailors to find a way around the tip of Africa to India/China

8. Bartholomeau Dias Explored the Southern tip of Africa
Ran into a storm that pushed him around the bottom of Africa
Cape of Good Hope

9. Vasco da Gama Took Dias’ route to India
Explored Eastern Africa and created trading stops for future ships
First to reach India for an eastern sea route to Asia

10. Alvares Cabral Followed in Da Gama’s footsteps to India
Lisbon, India was a new trading center for the world
Went to far West and hit land in what is now Brazil
Land was claimed for the king of Portugal
The reason why Brazil is the only country in South America to speak Portuguese

12. Columbus Italian citizen Wanted to sail West to go to India
Thought it would take 2 months
Started sailing for Portugal for experience

13. Spain wants to explore Saw the success of Portugal
Wanted to gain the advantage of spice trade with Asia
Italy and Portugal thought Columbus was crazy for wanting to travel West to India, but Spain supported him

14. Why did Spain support Columbus
Columbus promised to promote Christianity to everyone that he came into contact with
If Columbus was right, he would gain a new/better route to Asia for Spain

15. Columbus’s First Voyage
Aug 3, 1492, Columbus left Spain heading West
3 ships-Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria
90 men
Had to convince his crew not start a mutiny

16. First Voyage Cont. Columbus found San Salvador (Bahamas)
Thought he was in the East Indies
Caribbean Islands=West Indies
Called the people Indians
This proved a success and Spain under King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella decided to fund Columbus’s future trips

17. Columbus’ next three trips
Went back to the Americas
Hispaniola (Haiti and Dominican Republic), Cuba, and Jamaica
Ended up traveling up and down the coast of South America/Central America (Mexico)
Europe now understood this was not Asia and that it was a new continent
Still did not understand how big of a land it was

19. Treaty of Tordesillas
Pope Alexander VI put a line on the map known as the Line of Demarcation
Spain got land to the West
Portugal got land to the East
Was in Spain’s favor-line was pushed further West
Split all land between both countries in the New World

20. Amerigo Vespucci Map maker Mapped South American coast line
First to call South America a new continent
America was named after him

21. Balboa Governor in Panama Explored the lands of Central America
First European to see the Pacific Ocean

22. Ferdinand Magellan
Hired by Spain to find a route around South America to Asia
Strait of Magellan
Named the
Pacific Ocean
Means “peaceful”
Died on the trip
Only 1 of 5 ships made it after 3 years with 18 of 300 men
First to circumnavigate the globe