1. Early Exploration
Discovering the World

2. Why Explore?
Early explorers sailed for three things, GOD, GLORY and GOLD!!
European countries want to establish trade routes with the “Far East” (China, India, SE Asia)
Exotic Spices, Cloth, and other rare goods =$$$$$$$$
Advances in technology make exploration possible. (Shipbuilding, Navigation, Cartography)
Cartography= Map Making

3. Christopher Columbus (1451-1506)
Italian Explorer
Columbus was convinced he could find a Western Sea route to Asia.
Columbus’s voyage was sponsored by the King and Queen of Spain.
Columbus set sail from Spain in August, 1492
He sailed with three ships. The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria

4. Columbus expected to sail West across the Atlantic Ocean and arrive in Asia in under two months.
He had SEVERELY underestimated the size of the Earth!

5. After more than 8 weeks at sea, Columbus’s crew was near mutiny.
Mutiny = a revolt against a superior officer.
Columbus and his crew spotted land on October 12, 1492.
Columbus thought he had landed in the “East Indies” (near the Philippines)
In reality he landed near the island of Hispaniola (in the Caribbean Sea), nearly 10,000 miles off course.

6. Columbus would make a total of 4 voyages to the Caribbean.
Columbus saw the native peoples of the islands and called them “Indians”.
Columbus noted how primitive the natives were, and how easily they could be conquered.
Primitive= Uncivilized or Savage
Columbus would make a total of 4 voyages to the Caribbean.
Maps made by Columbus helped pave the way for more exploration.
Columbus died in Spain in 1506

7. Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512) Italian Explorer
First European to map the coast of South America
The “Americas” are named after Vespucci

8. Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521)
Portuguese Explorer
Most famous voyage from
First crew to Circumnavigate the globe
Circumnavigate= to travel around the world
Magellan died in the Philippine Islands in 1521.