Chapter 2 - Motives and Methods of European Exploration

North America

• Landscape included:

  • Forests + Great Plains

  • Appalachians + Rocky Mountains

  • Great Lakes + Grand Canyon

  • Missouri River + Ohio River + Mississippi River (drains into Gulf of Mexico @ New Orleans)

  • Arctic stretches + southwest deserts (Death Valley)

• The coastal plain permitted river transportation, which helped early settlements

• Native Americans adapted to different regions

Bering Strait

• 8000 BC - North America was accessible by land

• Bering Strait was a stretch of ocean containing a land bridge

• Large glaciers lowered ocean levels

• Humans migrated in search of game

• When the Bering Sea submerged the land bridge, people crossed by boats

• Was there migration by sea directly to South America? (historians unsure)

• 300 AD - Native Americans populated Hawaiian islands

Iroquois Native Americans

• 6 separate tribes - Mohawk, Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Tuscarora

• Lived in New York

• Allied against Huron Matriarchal society

• Extremely developed societal structure

• Useful allies to British

• 1350 - Settled in fortified (protected against attacks) villages

Vikings

• The Vikings were traveling warriors

• Lived in Denmark, Sweden, Norway

• Expertly designed ships

• Late 10th Century - Erik the Red settled Greenland

• Discovered Americas before Columbus

• 980 AD - Vikings explored North America

• Because of pressure faced from Native American tribes, the Vikings could only create temporary settlements

Cahokia

• 700 AD - Cahokia was a thriving culture based on maize cultivation

• 30k-40k inhabitants disappeared for no known reason

• Well-connected trade center

• 1300 AD - Cahokia civilization collapsed

• Stockade circling main city that provided protection

• Were large pyramids the tombs of leaders? (historians unsure)

• Cahokia was an example of when Native Americans failed to produce a lasting civilization

• EXTREMELY advanced

Reciprocity

• Exchanging things for mutual benefit (gifts & favors + sleights & injuries)

• Native Americans regularly fought wars with each other

• Europeans exploited the reciprocity system by trading unusual goods for property rights (hurt Native Americans by tricking their land away)

• Would lead to inevitable wars between Europeans + Native Americans

Crusades

• “Deus volt” - God wills it (reasoning for the Crusades)

• 1095 - Pope Urban II launches 1st military campaigns to take back Palestine from Muslims

• Moderately successful BUT wouldn’t achieve lasting control of Holy Land

• Sought-after silks, spices, etc. that would benefit travel + trade

• Renewed trade led to the Renaissance and early exploration

• Europe wanted to find a water route to India + China

Marco Polo

• 1271-1295 - Journeyed along the Silk Road (Mongolia to China)

• Received into Kublai Khan’s court

• Published Discourse Concerning Various Experiences

• Because Europe wanted Asian goods, it fought for access to Far East

Renaissance

• 1440 - Begins to spread

• The invention of the printing press + international commerce led to greater interest in learning + spread of ideas

• Rediscovered Roman law, literature, art

• Renaissance = “Rebirth”

• Ended medieval period

• Wealth + artistic achievement led to greater navigation + exploration

• Eventually the desire to reform the Catholic Church led to the Protestant Reformation

Capitalism

• Originated from the commercial revolution by Renaissance bankers

• Coined money for the international market

• Motivated acquisition of private property

Amerigo Vespucci

• 1454-1512

• 3 voyages exploring the South American coast (Amazon River)

• Calculated longitude + sailing distance

• Descriptive letters detailing his adventures

• A German scholar drew a comprehensive map from his letters

Prince Henry the Navigator

• Took advantage of Renaissance

• Founded a school that taught navigation, cartography, shipbuilding

• Invented the caravel, which made it possible to make extremely long voyages

• His exploration of the African coast allowed Europe to dominate the Indian spice trade

• 1384-1460

Vasco da Gama

• Discovered Cape of Good Hope with Bartholomew Dias

• By 1498, he made a voyage around Africa, to India, back to Portugal

• Brought back spices for Portugal trading posts

• Died in 1524

• Inspired Spanish exploration

Plantation System

• Large-scale commercial agriculture

• Large land holdings

• Exploited African American labor in New World

Christopher Columbus

• Both praised and hated

• Blamed for Native American disease, war, famine, enslavement

• King Ferdinand + Queen Isabella approved his journey west to Far East

• 1492 - Sailed to the Western Hemisphere

• Proved that the Earth is round

• Opened Caribbean Sea + Central America to Spanish colonization

• Died in 1506

Treaty of Tordesillas

• Dispute between Portugal + Spain

• Alexander VI decided that Spain can possess new lands, which divided up the land + gave Spain more land

• 1494 - Treaty of Tordesillas extended boundary line west

• Because of hatred of Christendom, the treaty banned England, France, Netherlands

Hernando Cortés

• Explored Mexico for Spain

• 1519 - Landed + subdued Native American tribes

• Destroyed Aztec Empire

  • Killed Montezuma (leader)

  • Crushed Aztec revolt

  • Opened for Spanish settlement + found gold & silver

Three-Sister Farming

• Native Americans grew maize, beans, squash

• Crops were better grown together

• Healthy nutrition helped the Native American diet

Francisco Pizarro

• Most brutal treatment of Native Americans

• 1530 - Landed in South America

• Conquered Inca Empire

  • Captured Atahualpa + demanded ransom of gold/silver to release him

  • Conquered Peru + ruled with iron fist (tyranny)

• Assassinated in 1541

Cabeza de Vaca

• 1528 - Survived expedition to explore Florida

• Set out across Gulf of Mexico + landed in Texas

• 1st European to see Southwest

• Reported bison + gold, which led to further Spanish exploration into New Mexico

• Provincial governor

Hernando de Soto

• 1st Spaniard to explore Florida

• 1539 - Landed in Florida + explored Southeast

• Discovered Mississippi River

• Died of fever in 1542

Black Legend

• Negative impact of Spanish conquest - War, slavery, disease

• New nations built on blended societies (clash of cultures)

John and Sebastian Cabot

• Father-son team that worked for English Crown

• Father died before journey

• 1509 - Sebastian claimed fishing beds off Canadian coast for England

• Helped start English influence in New World

Giovanni de Verrazano

• Claimed land for France

• 1523 - Steered ship toward Carolinas and Nova Scotia

• Reported back to king, which spurred French interest in further colonization

• 1528 - Killed + eaten by Native Americans

BIG PICTURE

• North America - Small populations, different biomes, huge land tracts, natural resources

• 1st settlers - Came over land bridge; spread through Western Hemisphere; varied cultures but no lasting civilizations

• Rise of nations + return of trade + Renaissance → Discovery + exploited colonies’ riches

• Christopher Columbus → Large empire + God, glory, gold

• Portugal, England, France, Netherlands are jealous of Spain → Laid claims to land in New World