1. Europeans Reach the Americas pg. 42
Directions for notes: 1. Always copy the title of the section and page#
Chapter 2, Section 2:
Europeans Reach the Americas pg. 42

2. Directions for notes: 2. Copy the “Big Idea” of the section.
Christopher Columbus’s voyages led to new exchanges between Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

3. Main Idea 1: Christopher Columbus sailed across the Atlantic Ocean and reached a new continent that was previously unknown to him.
The Journey Begins: Persuaded King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to pay for an expedition across the Atlantic, by promising them riches, new territory and catholic converts.

4. On August 3, 1492, Columbus set sail across the Atlantic with three ships. On October 12, 1492, he reached the Americas. He made three more (4 total) voyages to the Americas.

5. Columbus and his crew landed in the Bahamas, on an island he named San Salvador.
He called the native people Indians because he thought he was in Asia (India/the Indies).
Columbus was interested in gold, but he never found any. Instead he brought back plants and animals.

6. Geography Skills page 43
**Where did Columbus first land? San Salvador, Bahamas ** Why do you think Columbus saw only the coastal areas of Mesoamerica? Too difficult to travel in the jungle, natives not friendly

7. Impact of Columbus’s voyages
Created conflict as Portugal and Spain competed to add lands to their empires.
In 1493 Pope Alexander VI, from Spain, decreed the Line of Demarcation through the Atlantic Ocean that allowed Spain to claim all lands west of the line.
Portugal and Spain then signed an agreement, the Treaty of Tordesillas, which moved the Line of Demarcation 800 miles further west. That’s why Brazil speaks Portuguese, not Spanish.

8. Analyzing Primary Sources page 44
**What were Columbus’s main concerns in founding a colony on the island of Hispaniola? Creating towns, controlling the collecting of gold, mayors for towns, priests and a church

9. Main Idea 2: After Columbus’s voyages, other explorers sailed to the Americas.
America was named for Amerigo Vespucci, who sailed to South America in 1501.
Vespucci
Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed Central America to discover the Pacific Ocean.
Balboa
Ferdinand Magellan headed an expedition in 1519 that eventually circumnavigated the world.
Magellan

10. Copy the Chart from page 45
“Old World”
“New World”
**The Columbian Exchange is the name given to this transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between Europe and the Americas.

11. Causes and Effects of Exploration
Effects/Results
Causes/Why