Chapter 4 Lesson 1

Trade route-a road or waterway that people travel to buy, sell, or exchange goods Explorer- someone who travels to learn about new places

The first Europeans to visit North America were known as the Vikings They were looking for a new trade route to Asia

Some European countries grew rich through trade with Asia Christopher Columbus wanted to find a better route to Asia Columbus sailed West instead of East like he should have and ended up in North America

American Indians were the only people living in North America at the time Columbus landed here When Columbus returned home, he told everyone about what he had seen Explorers from Spain, Portugal, and France decided to sail to the Americas to see for themselves These explorers hoped to find gold and a new trade route to Asia

Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo sailed north from Mexico and searched the Pacific Ocean for gold and claimed lands for Spain He was hoping to find a waterway that connected the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic Ocean He saw the San Diego Bay and other places as well as a large amount of American Indian villages; he did not find gold or a new waterway

France sent an explorer named Samuel de Champlain to the Americas He explored the east coast and found rich resources such as beaver and fish He decided that settlers from France should settle in North America He founded the city of Quebec in Canada

Explorers from France, Spain, and other countries sailed to North America hoping to find riches and a trade route to Asia; instead they found American Indians They also traveled to places Europeans had never seen and, sometimes, found rich resources

Colonies in America

Colony- a community belonging to a distant country Mission- a community built around a church

In 1620, the Pilgrims, who sailed from England on a ship called the Mayflower, landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts Pilgrims were Christians who hoped to build a colony where they could live and worship freely Their first winter here was a hard winter They did not have enough food and half of them died during the winter

The Pilgrims learned to adapt to their new home with help from the Wampanoag Indians They taught the Pilgrims how to fish and hunt for deer and turkey, and how to plant beans, corn, and pumpkins In the fall, the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians held a Thanksgiving feast Soon after that, more English families came to the Americas, especially New England, and started other settlements

They wanted to worship freely, but not everyone agreed on how to worship Roger Williams had a different view on worship than anyone else and the colony leaders forced him to leave Anne Hutchinson was also forced to leave because she did not have the same views as the other colonists Laws in New England changed and people came to believe that they should worship as they wanted

England’s colonies grew quickly and the king of Spain was worried because he thought that England might try to claim Spain’s land in the West Spain sent soldiers and priests to California and other places in the 1700s Forts were built, Indians were converted, or changed from one belief to another, and lands were defeated

The Spanish priests were Roman Catholics and they started the missions to teach their religion to American Indians Thousands of Indians came to missions in California and other places Some Indians were forced to leave their homes and join mission life; other joined willingly Mission work was very difficult but many American Indians learned new skills and ideas

The culture of California became a mix of Spanish and Indian cultures Priests and soldiers learned a lot from the Indians as well as teaching them new skills Some church buildings used both Spanish art and Indian designs Both the Pilgrims and the Spanish came to build settlements and each group met American Indians Today Indian, English, and Spanish culture are part of our American culture