European Exploration

Background Europeans traveled to the Americas in the late 15th century. Conditions there were harsh. Many Europeans died of disease or starvation. Others were killed by Native Americans. In turn, Europeans carried with them tools, goods, and diseases that would change Native Americans’ way of life forever.

Background Europeans brought horses and guns to the Americas. These tools helped them travel across large areas and conquer people. With horses, Native Americans were able to travel and trade more easily. Guns also became important for native people. They made hunting easier and could be used as protection, too.

Native Americans and Europeans Impact Each Other’s Culture Many European countries believed it was their duty to spread Christianity. Various Christian missionaries created settlements in the Americas to convert Native Americans. A missionary is someone sent by a church to a foreign country to spread its faith.

Native Americans and Europeans Impact Each Other’s Culture The main functions of these mission settlements were to teach Native Americans “the arts of civilization” and to convert them to Christianity. For the Native Americans, the missions represented a means to help them learn European languages in order to trade and negotiate in an increasingly white world.

Native Americans and Europeans Impact Each Other’s Culture Soon after the arrival of Europeans, slavery began in the Americas. Native Americans were enslaved to work on the sugar plantations in the West Indies. Diseases such as smallpox and measles, brought by European settlers, killed many native people. The Native American population was too small for the large amount of work on the plantations. Europeans had to look to another source of workers to enslave.

Native Americans and Europeans Impact Each Other’s Culture It was hard for Europeans to live in the Americas. They were not familiar with local food crops. Supplies from Europe took months to arrive. Some Europeans were friendly with Native Americans. They learned how to farm crops such as maize from the Native Americans. Many European colonies would not have survived without help from Native Americans.

Early Spanish Missions Most early European exploration of the American Southeast was done by the Spanish. They launched ships from bases in the Caribbean, Mexico, and Florida. They explored the coastline of the Southeast.

Early Spanish Missions They observed the barrier islands that line the coast of Georgia. These islands were easier for ships to access than the mainland was. Early missions were built on these islands. From those missions, the Spanish then explored the coast.

Early Spanish Missions The purpose of the missions was to convert Native Americans to Catholicism. Natives Americans used the missions to help integrate themselves into the European world. Mission settlements usually were located in chiefdoms and contained at least one church, and a house for the missionary.

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto of Spain was the first European to see the interior of the American Southeast, including Georgia. De Soto landed on the coast of Florida in 1539. His party was large and well-equipped. He met many Native Americans along his way. De Soto was looking for gold.

Hernando de Soto He exploited many Native Americans in his attempt to find it. At times, this exploitation meant befriending them. Other times, it meant robbing or killing Native Americans. After a three-year campaign, de Soto died without finding any gold.

Hernando de Soto De Soto and his party were the only Europeans to see many Native American cultures before they declined. De Soto wrote of his contact with the native peoples. Today, historians benefit from de Soto’s writings, Ironically, his party spread disease throughout the Native American culture, contributing to its collapse.

Causes of European Exploration Europeans needed spices from East Asia. Asian trade goods were sold by Arab traders. Since spices were very expensive, Europeans wanted to find a safe and fast way to reach Asia and acquire the spices directly. They spent a lot of money to find this passage. The country that found the western passage to Asia would control trade between Europe and Asia. As a result of the Asian trade route explorations, the Americas were discovered.

Causes of European Exploration After Christopher Columbus reached the Americas in 1492, rumors of the New World’s wealth spread. The stories spoke of cities where the streets were paved with gold. The possibility of wealth and the power to control trade led all European countries that could afford it to spend money exploring the Americas.

France In 1562, France sent explorers to North America in search of gold. The French explorers made their way to South Carolina. There, they started a colony called Charlesfort. Soon, the explorers ran out of supplies and food.

France A ship returned to France to get more supplies, but did not return to Charlesfort until 1565. By that time, the settlers had left. The French also founded a colony in 1564 called Fort Caroline, in Florida.

Spain The Spanish, like all Europeans, were looking for wealth in North America. They destroyed Fort Caroline to stop competition with the French over the wealth of the Americas. In 1568, they built the first missions in the area of Florida where Fort Caroline had been. This was the beginning of the mission period in the Southeast.

Spain The missions were built to spread Catholicism. Missions were also used to integrate Native Americans as members of a new form of society ruled by the Spanish colonial government. This helped the Spanish control them.

Spain Local chiefs still led Native Americans, but the chiefs were ruled by the Spanish colonial government. The Spanish colonial government used the missions to communicate with the Native Americans. Native Americans and Europeans also traded goods at missions. Eventually, the mission system declined.

Spain Native populations in the Southeast were shrinking due to deaths. Many missions were left empty. Slave revolts and English raids destroyed the rest. The mission period ended in 1684.

England Queen Elizabeth I ruled Great Britain from 1558 to 1603. She was a Protestant, which is a Christian religion that differs from Catholicism in its practice. Great Britain was the enemy of Spain, a Catholic state. Philip II, the ruler of Spain, built the Spanish Armada, a large and powerful naval fleet, to attack the British.

England In 1588, the British defeated the Spanish Armada. British naval dominance enabled it to explore the Americas. It also signaled the decline of Spanish power in the Americas.

England The British came to the Americas hoping to find gold. They also realized they could make money by trading other items such as copper and furs. They also traded enslaved Native Americans. Many British slaves came from Georgia’s Native American population.

England The slave trade resulted in the deaths of many Native Americans. Many became involved in trading slaves themselves. Others moved away from the region. There are few records of what happened to most of the Native Americans who once lived in Georgia.

Summary Describe why Europeans wanted to explore. What impact did Native Americans and Europeans have on each other? (Include both positive and negative)