Europeans were almost entirely unaware of the American continents before the fifteenth century
* A few wanderers, such as Lief Erikson in the eleventh century, had crossed the Atlantic
* This had no large impact because the voyage was still impossible for most
* By the fifteenth century, technology had developed enough to consider the voyage
Conditions in Europe had changed in the late fifteenth century
* There was a reawakening of commerce
* The bubonic plague had decimated the European population
There was a growing interest in overseas exploration
* There were advances in navigation
* There were advances in shipbuilding, making long-distance travel more feasible
* Explorers were looking for new markets
* New trade routes were being opened with this new technology
With previous shipbuilding and navigation, Europeans were not able to reach the Americas nor had a reason to
* The sextant was a tool for determining latitude and longitude
* Ships called caravels were able to make the long journey across the Atlantic
Wealth, economic and militaristic competition among European states, and the desire to spread Christianity were all motivators for European exploration
Exploration and Conquest
The Portuguese expanded overseas first, around 1400
* They were the main participants in the African slave trade at this time
Spain undertakes the first conquests in America
* Spain devotes many resources and money to naval investments
* They eventually supplant Portugal as the leaders of seafaring as well
Sixteenth Century
Portuguese traders are traveling south and east
The Spanish monarchs finance Columbus into the Caribbean
* They sought to gain trade and build their empire by subsidizing Columbus’ voyages
Christopher Columbus
An explorer from Genoa, Italy
Set sail in August 1492
Sailed for six weeks before arriving in the present-day Bahamas
Sailed on three ships: The Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria
He believed he had reached Asia
* Traces of this mistake still linger today
* Some Caribbean islands are still called “indies”
* Native American groups are still often referred to as “American Indians”
He was seeking a new route to Asia, but found the American continents instead
He claimed the islands he found for Spain and continued exploring
He demanded tribute from local groups
Columbus left 40 men on the island of Hispaniola and returned to Spain
* Hispaniola is now shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti
Columbus immediately took on a derogatory and demeaning view of the native people
* He generalized them as all being timid, simple, and gullible
Other Explorers
Vasco de Balboa was a Spaniard who fought his way across the isthmus of Panama in 1513
* He was the first European to see the ocean that separated America from China
Prince Henry the Navigator wanted to explore the western coast of Africa, not find a route to China
* This Portuguese explorer wanted to establish a Christian empire and aid in his country’s wars against the Moors of Africa
* He was not able to do this but did explore as far south as Cape Verde
Spain and Portugal divided these “heathen lands” of the New World
* Most of it went to Spain
* Portugal received land in Africa and Asia, as well as what would later become Brazil
Ferdinand Magellan, employed by the Spanish, found the strait now bearing his name in southern South America
In 1486, Bartholomeu Dias rounds the southern tip of Africa in the Cape of Good Hope
In 1497 to 1498, Vasco de Gama completes this journey, making it to India
In 1500, explorers bound for India were blown westward and ended up on the coast of modern-day Brazil