1. Explorers of the New World
Chapter 13, Section 1

2. Why were Europeans trying to reach Asia?
Asia was known for its luxury goods: porcelain, silk, spices, etc.
Europe depended on Arab ships to transport these luxury goods from Asia to Europe. This meant the cost of the goods was extremely high once they reached Europe.
European merchants knew they could make a huge profit by sailing to Asia, buying luxury goods, sailing back to Europe, and selling the luxury goods there. They would no longer have to rely on or pay for Arab ships.

3. Why were Europeans trying to reach Asia?
Option A:
1. Arab merchant sails to Asia
2. Arab merchant buys goods from Asia ($)
3. Arab merchant sails to Europe
4. European merchant buys goods from Arab merchants ($$)
5. European merchant sells goods to European customers ($$$)
Option B:
1. European merchant sails to Asia
2. European merchant buys goods from Asia ($)
3. European merchant sails to Europe
4. European merchant sells goods to European customers ($$)
$ = cost of luxury goods

4. What were the motivations behind European expansion?
gold
money from trading luxury goods
possibility of finding more natural resources
setting up colonies
God
converting native peoples to Christianity
glory
explorers sought adventure
were seen as heroes, often had places named after them

5. What technological advancements enabled European expansion?
compass (learned from interactions with Arabs)
improvement in mapmaking
guns and canons (adapted from explosives, learned from interactions with Chinese)
round-hulled ships enabled sailing in the Atlantic; capable of carrying lots of heavy weaponry

6. Who was Prince Henry the Navigator
Who was Prince Henry the Navigator? What was his contribution to European expansion?
The Portuguese were excited to discovery new things, gain more wealth, and cause harm to the Muslim empires.
Prince Henry of Portugal sent expeditions to the West Coast of Africa beginning in 1434.
Henry opened a school to teach sailing and navigation techniques.
From Africa, the Portuguese brought back slaves and spices (like pepper). They were sure there was also a huge amount of gold that they just weren’t able to find yet.
The Portuguese reached the southern tip of Africa (the Cape of Good Hope) in 1488 while searching for India, but were too weary to go on and turned back to Europe.

7. Who was Christopher Columbus
Who was Christopher Columbus? What was his contribution to European expansion?
Spain saw Portugal’s progress and wanted to beat them to India. Spain was also motivated by money and religious conversion.
Columbus was an Italian navigator who was unable to get funding from the decentralized Italy, so he turned to King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
Columbus believed he could get to India faster by sailing West—across the Atlantic, instead of going all the way around Africa.
Columbus went on 4 expeditions, spending time on the Caribbean Islands and in Central America. Columbus had no idea that he was not in India—he even called the people he met “Indians”.
Later, navigators realized they had reached somewhere previously unknown to Europeans, Africans, and Asians. Thus they called this the “New World”.

8. Spanish Expeditions under Christopher Columbus

9. Who was Vasco de Gama? What was his contribution to European expansion?
After the Portuguese heard about Columbus’ successful expedition West, they again tried to reach India by going around Africa.
Vaso de Gama sailed around the Cape of Good Hope and reached India in 1498.
Da Gama’s expedition was followed by similar ones each year. One year, the ship was blown off course and reached Brazil, which Portugal claimed.
Portugal set up forts along the African and Indian coasts.
By 1514, the Portuguese had reached Indonesia and China. In 1542, they reached Japan.

10. Portuguese Expeditions Under Vasco de Gama

11. Who was Ferdinand Magellan
Who was Ferdinand Magellan? What was his contribution to European expansion?
Magellan led a Spanish expedition westward in 1519.
Magellan sailed around the southern tip of South America, across the Pacific Ocean, and reached Indonesia in On this trip, Magellan claimed the Philippines for Spain.
Magellan and his crew endured many hardships. Magellan was killed on the journey, but his crew was the first to circumnavigate the globe.

12. Ferdinand Magellan’s Voyage

13. When did any other countries besides Spain and Portugal begin exploring?
In the 16th century, monarchies in northern Europe (France, England, Holland) grew stronger, and had enough money to send expeditions out.
England and Holland, as Protestant countries, especially felt competitive with the achievements of Catholic Spain and Portugal.
Northern Europeans improved ship building methods and were able to have lighter and faster ships than Spain and Portugal.
The French, Dutch and British competed over the northern Atlantic because they could not compete with the Portuguese and Spanish in the Southern Atlantic.

14. What were the results of northern European explorations?
Northern European countries were looking for an Arctic route to Asia (instead of going around Africa or South America).
The British reached the Hudson Bay area in the 16th century and began colonizing the east coast of North America. The British wanted to use America as a source for fish or to sell their products to native people.
The French reached Canada in 1534 and claimed it as part of France. They also explored the Great Lakes area and Mississippi River Valley.
The Dutch also held colonies in North America, as well as in Brazil and the southern tip of Africa—competing with the Portuguese.

15. Henry Hudson’s Expeditions

16. What were the results of northern European explorations?
The French, British, and Dutch set up trading companies (for example: the British East India Company)
These companies were given monopolies over trade by the government of their countries. They also had the right to raise armies, mint their own money… they basically acted as their own government.

17. European Colonies in 1754

18. References
Stearns, Peter N., et al. World Civilizations: The Global Experience. Pearson Education, Inc: New York, p
French map of the first world circumnavigation of Ferdinand de Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano, from 1519 to Wikimedia Commons, 14 Nov Web. 16 April 2014.
Map showing the various outward and return legs of the Portuguese 'Carreira da India' ('India Run') in the 16th C. Walrasaid. Wikimedia Commons, Web. 16 April 2014.
The routes of the four voyages of Columbus. Wikimedia Commons, 28 Dec Web. 16 April 2014.
Map of the two North American voyages of Henry Hudson. Route of first voyages shown in red, second in purple. John Platek. Wikimedia Commons, 26 Feb Web. 16 April 2014.