European Exploration“New World, Here We Come!”

•At the beginning of the 15th century, Europeans knew little more than Europe and the lands around the Mediterranean and the Black Seas.

•The existence of India, China and Japan was shown by Marco Polo’s journeys and the trade routes that brought silk and spices to Europe. However, not very much was known about these lands.

•The rest of the World was a total mystery. Europeans had not explored the African and Asian interior, and they did not know that America and Oceania existed.

Marco Polo route

Marco Polo

Marco Polo was a Venetian trader and explorer who, together with his father

and uncle, was one of the first Westerners to travel the Silk Road to

China and visited the Great Khan of the Mongol Empire.

In the 15th century, European countries made many maritime expeditions. There were different reasons for this:

•Firstly, they needed to find new trade routes to the East. In 1453, the Turks conquered Constantinople, and took over the Byzantine Empire. This interrupted the trade routes between Europe and the Far East. Consequently, Europeans had to look for new routes to Asia, round the African coast or across the Atlantic Ocean.

•Secondly, there were a number of technical advances which improved navigation:

•New maps called “portulan charts” were developed. They showed the coastline and any obstacles at sea. Straight lines showed the shortest distance among different points. •Navigational instruments, such as the compass, the astrolabe and the quadrant, were developed. •Ships, such as caravels, were improved and, consequently, could travel longer distances

•Portugal looked for a new sea route to India around the coast of Africa (15th century). The Portuguese monarchs and Prince Henry the Navigator organised various expeditions.

•The Madeira Islands were discovered in 1418 and the Azores in 1431. Later expeditions explored the African coast.

•In 1488, Bartolomé Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope at the southern trip of Africa, opening the sea route to the Indian Ocean. In 1498, Vasco de Gama reached India.

•The Portuguese established trading posts along the new routes. Portugal created a great empire and became a world power.

Vasco de Gama

Bartolomé Dias

•The Crown of Castile was Portugal’s biggest rival in the search for new routes to India.

•The Castilians decided to sail to the west across the Atlantic, circumnavigating the Earth.

•This plan was very risky. Crossing the Atlantic was terrifying. It involved sailing a long way from the coast into unknown waters.

Christopher Columbus with Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile

•Christopher Columbus was a Genoese sailor. He was convinced that he could reach the eastern coast of Asia by crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Columbus thought that the world was round, although some people still believed that it was flat. •He presented his project to the Catholic Monarchs, who decided to finance the expedition. On 3 August 1492 an expedition of ninety sailors and three ships, the Pinta, the Niña and the Santa María, left the port of Palos de la Frontera, in Huelva.•But Columbus’ calculations were wrong. He thought the Earth was much smaller than it actually was. Weeks passed without Columbus and his men seeing signs of land. The crew complained, but Columbus persuaded them to continue. Finally, they saw land on 12 October 1492. Columbus thought he had reached Cipango (Japan), but the land belonged to an unknown continent. This continent was later called América.

•After the first expedition, Columbus made three more expeditions to explore and establish Castilian dominion of these territories. On the second voyage, a faster and safer route to America was found. On his last two voyages, Columbus explored part of the coast of Central and South America.

•In 1504, Columbus finally returned to Spain, where he died two years later, still firmly convinced that he had reached India.

•However, in 1502 an Italian sailor, Americo Vespucci, had already realised that these lands belonged to a new continent. Later, the continent was named America in his honor.

Voyages of Cristopher Columbus

•In 1519, an expedition of five boats and 250 sailors left Seville, captained by Fernando de Magallanes, with his second-in-command, Juan Sebastián Elcano. Their goal was to find a passage between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans to the Molucas, or Spice Islands.

•In 1520, they found a strait connecting both oceans. It was later named Strait of Magallanes. They sailed on to the Philippines. There, Magallanes was killed in a fight with the natives, and Elcano took command. The expedition headed for the Molucas and loaded up with valuable spices. Then, they sail for Spain. •After three years, only eighteen men and one ship, the Victoria, returned. They were the first to circumnavigate the world and prove that the Earth was round.

Juan Sebastián El Cano

Fernando de Magallanes

• Portugal and Spain created great overseas empires.• They were divided between in the Treaty of Tordesillas (1499). A line of demarcation was established. Portugal received territories east of the line: Africa, Asia and Brazil, which was discovered later. Castile received territories west of the line: most of the territories in the Americas. • These explorations marked the beginning of European supremacy over the rest of the world.

•The discovery brought major progress in science. Knowledge of the lands and oceans on the planet became more accurate. Many new plant and animal species were discovered. All this contributed to developments in Geography, Natural Science and Cartography.

•One of the most important consequences of the discoveries was the contact among different peoples. Knowledge was exchanged. However, diseases introduced by the Europeans caused a dramatic decline in the indigenous population of America.

First Voyage• On his first trip he landed on an

island called Guanahani, but Columbus later renamed it San Salvador. He and his men were met by the local Taino Indians, many of whom were captured by Columbus’ men and later sold into slavery.

• Columbus thought he had made it to Asia, and called the area the Indies, and called its inhabitants Indians.

Columbus meets the Taino Indians

Columbus’s First Explorations

Landed in Bahamas but believed he was at the coast of China or the islands of Japan.

He called the island San Salvador which means “ Holy Savior”.

After sailing from the Canary Islands Columbus sighted land on October12, 1492.

The journey from the Canary Islands took 33 days.

Europe Learns of Columbus’s Voyage

Columbus was made an admiral and governor. La Navidad before returning to Spain in 1493.

The Night that Changed the World

“The night of October 11-12 was one big with

destiny for the human race, the most momentous ever experienced aboard

any ship in any sea.”

Samuel Eliot Morrison

IN 1492• In fourteen hundred ninety-two

Columbus sailed the ocean blue.He had three ships and left from Spain;He sailed through sunshine, wind and rain.He sailed by night; he sailed by day;He used the stars to find his way.A compass also helped him knowHow to find the way to go.Ninety sailors were on board;Some men worked while others snored.Then the workers went to sleep;And others watched the ocean deep.Day after day they looked for land;They dreamed of trees and rocks and sand.October 12 their dream came true,You never saw a happier crew!

"Indians!  Indians!"  Columbus cried;His heart was filled with joyful pride.But "India" the land was not;It was the Bahamas, and it was hot.The Arakawa natives were very nice;They gave the sailors food and spice.Columbus sailed on to find some goldTo bring back home, as he'd been told.He made the trip again and again,Trading gold to bring to Spain.The first American?  No, not quite.But Columbus was brave, and he was bright.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9q6HtcgWRA

Second and Third Voyages• On a second, larger expedition (Sept. 25, 1493–June

11, 1496), sailed with 17 ships and 1,200 to 1,500 men to find gold and capture Indians as slaves in the Indies. Columbus sailed around Hispaniola and along the length of southern Cuba. He spotted and named the island Dominica on November 3, 1493.

• On a third expedition (May 30, 1498-October 1500), Columbus sailed further south, to Trinidad and Venezuela (including the mouth of the Orinoco River). Columbus was the first European since the Viking Leif Ericsson to set foot on the mainland of America.

Second VoyageWith 17 ships, 1,200 men and boys including sailors,

soldiers, colonists, priests, officials, gentlemen of the court, and horses, Columbus set out on another journey to the west. He left the port of Cadiz, Spain, on September 25, 1493.

Third Voyage The monarchs financed yet another voyage for

Columbus. On May 30, 1498, Columbus set sail with six ships.

After a stop at the Canary Islands, three ships set sail for Hispaniola and three with Columbus at the lead, took a southern route.

On July 31, still searching for China, the great explorer discovered the islands of Trinidad, Tobago, Grenada, and Margarita.

He believed that he had spotted yet another island, but actually he had discovered the mainland of the South American continent

The Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María

Christopher Columbus: 4th voyage

• On his fourth and last expedition (May 9, 1502-Nov.7, 1504), Columbus sailed to Mexico, Honduras and Panama (in Central America) and Santiago (Jamaica).

• Columbus is buried in eastern Hispaniola (now called the Dominican Republic).

Fourth Voyage• Anxious to win back his good name and discover

riches in the Far East, Columbus set sail once again for the new lands.

• He left Cadiz on May 9, 1502, with four ships and 150 crewmen, one being his 13-year-old son, Diego. He arrived in Hispaniola on June 29.

Why do we Celebrate Why do we Celebrate Columbus DayColumbus Day??

Columbus Day is celebrated in the United States to honor

Christopher Columbus's first voyage to America in 1492.

 

Columbus actually discovered America on October 12, 1492, but Columbus Day is always celebrated on the the second Monday of October. It has been traditionally celebrated on Oct. 12 throughout most of the United States, parts of Canada, and in several of the Latin American republics.

Living ConditionsLiving Conditions  You would work in four-hour shifts doing things cleaning the deck, working the sails and checking the ropes and cargo. When you weren’t working, you would sleep anywhere you found space.

You would receive only one hot meal a day and your diet would be biscuits, pickled or salted meat, dried peas, cheese, wine, and fresh-caught fish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZEEbQ3hWmU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQopzzsD5kghttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSJKoOaRZmE