1. Section 1

2.  Vikings-first Europeans to make contact with North America  Came from Scandinavia-Denmark, Norway, Sweden ◦ Developed the longship, skilled sailors  Raided European nations but developed a huge trading network

3.  Leif Eriksson-son of Erik the Red set sail in 1000 west to Greenland, ended up being pushed to North America by strong winds  Landed on Labrador Peninsula in Canada  Sailed south to Newfoundland and possibly as far south as New England  Settled in Vinland but left after a few years, Native Americans always a threat

4.  Portugal’s Prince Henry the Navigator made many advances that advanced exploration  Built an observatory  Founded a school of navigation  Taught better methods of navigation and mapmaking.

5.  Reasons to explore: ◦ Hoped to bypass the merchants who had a monopoly on trade through the Mediterranean  Looking for sea route to Asia ◦ Wanted to spread Christianity ◦ Interest in Asian cultures  Marco Polo’s book inspired many to learn more about Asians

6.  Magnetic compass-tells North  Astrolabe-able to position your ship based on the stars  Caravels-ships with triangular sails that could sail against the wind  Placed rudders in back of ships to increase ability to steer the ship

7.  Bartolomeu Dias (Portuguese) led an expedition along African coast ◦ Ship blew around southern tip-Cape of Good Hope  Men wanted to turn around  Supplies low  Return to Portugal

8.  Vasco De Gama-(Portuguese) sailed around the southern tip of Africa to India  Found Muslim traders who spoke Portuguese  Made two more trips back  Even governed a small colony in India  Portugal wins the race to Asia

9.  Started the Atlantic slave trade  Devastating African communities  Increased warfare in Africa  Sent many slaves to Europe and islands in Atlantic  Other nations launch their own explorations at Portugal gets rich.