Why Go Exploring?? Brenda Davis July 2009

Why Go Exploring? The voyages of Christopher Columbus were part of the Age of Exploration of the Americas. In addition to Columbus, explorers from many other European countries sailed across the Atlantic to explore the newly- discovered Americas. The trip across the Atlantic Ocean was long, dangerous and expensive. What made these men so anxious to undertake such a challenging journey? Let’s find out!

Why did Europeans explore the Americas? Draw this concept map on your paper to take notes.

There were many reasons for the exploration of the Americas. In this lesson, we will examine 5 important motivations for the Europeans.

Reason 1: Find a quicker route to the spices of Asia.

Before refrigerators, people used spices to preserve their food, or to mask the taste of spoiled food. Unfortunately, spices did not grow in the European climate. They had to be imported from countries in Asia – China, Japan and India – that were known as “The Indies”.

An Italian merchant named Marco Polo had made the overland trip to China in the 1200’s and brought back many spices, silks, and other goods that the Europeans wanted. Marco Polo’s trip took 24 years – far too long to make trading with The Indies profitable.

The map below shows all the known world during Polo’s time. People still believed the Earth was flat and that you would sail off the edge if you sailed west from Europe.

Columbus’ bright idea! Columbus believed the Earth was round, and that he could sail to the Indies by simply sailing west. When he reached the Americas in 1492, he thought he was in the West Indies. That is why he called the inhabitants “Indians”. The map to the right shows Columbus’ idea of what the Earth looked like. Notice the absence of the Americas.

If only…. Columbus’ first voyage to the Americas took about 70 days. If he had actually found the West Indies, it would have been a much quicker route to the much- desired spices. Although Columbus felt like a failure when he realized he had not reached the Indies, his voyages made an impact that completely changed the world he knew.

Reason 2: Gold!

The people of Europe fought many expensive wars and they looked to the resources of the Americas to fund those wars.

The first explorers of Mexico discovered sophisticated Native American cultures with jewelry and sculptures made of gold, silver and precious stones. They also heard stories of entire cities made of gold from the Native Americans.

Many people invested money in building ships to help the explorers find the precious stones and metals and bring them back to Europe.

Reason 3: Gain Knowledge

In the 1400’s most Europeans had never been more than a few miles from where they were born. Marco Polo’s stories of the exciting cultures in Asia made people want to know more about the world.

There were no TV’s, radios, phones or computers. The only way to learn about the world was to go and explore it. So they did!

Reason 4: Build Empires

An empire is a group of countries, or territories, ruled by one government.

All of the countries in Europe occupy a land that is about the size of the United States. The rulers of the European countries wanted more land – and more resources. They set out to conquer the Americas and control the land and resources so they could grow larger.

Reason 5: Spread Christianity

Christianity was the only religion in Europe in the 1400’s and the kings and queens of those countries were very religious.

The kings and queens financed the expeditions so the native peoples could be converted to Christianity.

Sum It Up! Look back at your notes. Think about the different reasons that the explorers began sailing to the Americas. Pretend you are an European explorer of the 1500’s. Write a journal entry explaining why you are undertaking such a dangerous voyage to the Americas. Add a map of your travels to your journal entry.