1. Good morning, Scholars! With your table, make a list of the three most important reasons for early exploration.

2. Explorers Turn your journal to the “Early Explorers” pages. Today, you will take notes on the RIGHT side.

3. Early Exploration Between 1492 and 1700, there was a push from European countries to explore new land. Why?

4. Reasons for Exploration There were three main reasons for exploration. We call them “The Three G’s”

5. One of the three main reasons explorers set out to find new land was for Gold. Some wanted to increase their personal fortune while others wanted to increase the fortunes of their mother country. Gold

6. God Early explorers believed that all people should be converted to Christianity. One of the three main reasons European empires sent explorers to new land was to convert the rest of the world to Christianity. They felt that everyone else was a “savage” and would naturally want to be converted to Christianity. They were wrong.

7. Glory Many early explorers went out to claim land and glory for their country’s leaders. By expanding territory, countries gained power. And at a time when much of the world was unclaimed, leaders of European nations strived to claim the land before anyone else.

8. Northwest Passage In the late 1400’s, the trade of spices, silk and other exotic goods between Europe and Asia was extremely profitable. Europeans wanted to find a faster route to Asia, so they went in search of a “Northwest Passage”. John Cabot one of the first to voyage out in search of this route. Instead of route to Asia, he landed on the North American continent.

9. Famous Explorers There are many famous explorers, but there are a few that had a lasting impact on the growth of the United States.

10. Amerigo Vespucci Italian 1501 set out to find route to Asia. First to realize America was another continent…not just Asian coast (Columbus) Mapmaker was impressed with Vespucci’s discovery, he named the land he explored “America” after Amerigo.

11. Ferdinand Magellan Portugese 1519 Known as first one to circumnavigate the world. Died before completing the journey.

12. Spanish Conquistadors Hernando Cortes Violently fought Aztec people and their leader, Montezuma, to take control of their land.

13. Closing Thrash it out! Which of the three G’s was most important to the eventual development of the United States. Be prepared to defend your choice!