Chapter 2 Section 3

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Chapter 2 Section 3

• European Explorers Come and Go

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What to look for

• The first European Explorers in North Carolina
• Vocabulary
• Expedition

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North Carolina Standard Course of Study Objectives

• 8.1.03

Compare and contrast the relative importance of
differing economic, geographic, religious, and
political motives for European exploration.
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What will I learn?

• Why did the French and English search for a
  northwest passage to Asia?

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Introduction

• For centuries, Europeans had traded with Asia
  through various Mediterranean ports and via the
  land route known as the Silk Road.
• After the 1477 publication of Italian, Marco
  Polos Travels, a book about his travels to
  China, the Europeans were anxious to find a
  shorter, less expensive trade route to the Orient.

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The Search for New Trade Routes

• In 1488, Bartholomew Diaz rounded the southern
  tip of Africa into the Indian Ocean.
• Christopher Columbus thought sailing west was the
  best way, that Japan was only 3,000 miles with no
  land mass in the middle.
• For years Columbus tried to get support from the
  monarchs (kings and queens) of France, Portugal,
  and England.
• Columbus finally convinced Queen Isabella and
  King Ferdinand of Spain to finance his voyage.

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The Search for New Trade Routes

• Columbus left Palos, Spain on August 3, 1492 with
  the Pinta, the Nina, and the Santa Maria.
• Columbus landed on the Bahamian Island he named
  San Salvador on October 12, 1492 thinking he was
  just off the coast of India.

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The Search for New Trade Routes

• Amerigo Vespucci crossed the Atlantic 4 times and
  described many unknown plants and animals that he
  found along the coast of Brazil which proved
  Columbus had not reached Asia.

• In 1507, a German mapmaker drew a new map of the
  world based on Vespuccis information and labeled
  the new land America in honor of him.
• When Europeans realized that America was actually
  two continents, they simply named them North
  America and South America.

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The English Try First

• The first explorer to look for a northwest
  passage was the Italian navigator John Cabot.
• Cabot was financed by English merchants and
  reached the coast of North America in 1497.
• Sailing north along the coast, Cabot
  rediscovered Newfoundland.
• Newfoundland had been discovered previously by
  Leif Ericsson of Greenland in 1001.

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Verrazano Sails For France

• In March 1524, Giovanni da Verrazano was the
  first European to explore the coast of North
  Carolina.
• He could see over the Outer Banks into the
  Pamlico and Albemarle sounds but could not see
  the mainland. As a result, he mistook the sounds
  for the Pacific Ocean. This error persisted for
  more than a century, or 100 years, on maps.

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Giovanni da Verrazano and the French

• Giovanni da Verrazano was an Italian Explorer
  working for the King of France
• Giovanni da Verrazano was hoping to do for the
  French what Columbus had not done for the Spanish
  which was to find a shorter water route to China
  and the riches of Asia
• The color of the beaches in Carolina led him to
  believe that Gold was nearby
• Thinking that he had found a route to China he
  went back and told he was successful in his
  exploration he was actually in the Outer Banks

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Giovanni da Verrazano and the French

• Maps drawn in Europe for the next 50 years
  identified the sea of Verrazano stretching from
  Cape Hatteras to California
• Was just one of many explorers to think that what
  became North Carolina was their claim to fame

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Hernando De Soto

• Spains first and only attempt to settle North
  Carolina ended as a failure it was led by Lucas
  Vasquez
• Although the Spanish did not attempt another
  settlement in North Carolina, they did continue
  to search for gold.

• The most noted Spanish explorer in the region was
  Hernando de Soto who decided to search for the
  gold-bearing mountains described by Native
  Americans.

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Hernando De Soto

• De Sotos group met up with the Cherokee and
  other native groups and he treated them very bad
• He demanded favors from tribal leaders and stole
  goods and animals at will
• He did not respect the earth or other human beings

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Hernando de Soto and the Spanish

• By the 1520s the Spanish had conquered native
  peoples from China to New Mexico, discovered the
  real Pacific Ocean and lucked into gold and
  silver mines in South America
• Hernando de Soto and 600 soldiers explored the
  area that became the South Eastern United States

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Hernando de Soto and the Spanish

• De Soto and his men made their way into North
  Carolina following the course of the Catawba
  River through the mountains into Tennessee and
  finally to the Mississippi River where de Soto
  eventually died and was buried

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Juan Pardo and more Spaniards

• 2nd group of explorers was able to stay longer
  than de Sotos group
• Juan Pardo was a Portuguese soldier in the
  Spanish army
• He led his team on basically the same route that
  de Soto had led his team
• During his expedition- a journey for a specific
  purpose he left behind small groups that were to
  set up camp for future explorations
• These camps were to stopping points as they made
  their way back to the coast just like those
  before him Pardo did not find any gold or riches

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Walter Raleigh and the English

• By the late 1500s, the English had grown in
  strength and power to become Protestant rivals of
  the Catholic Spanish.
• The English wanted part of the New World riches
  for themselves
• Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh had
  studied the Verrazano reports and believed they
  could find the Northwest Passage- what explorers
  called the hoped-for all-water route through the
  North American continent

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Walter Raleigh and the English

• In 1578, Raleigh and Gilbert convinced the Queen
  to plan an expedition to find the Northwest
  Passage so that England would benefit and grow
  rich by trade with other nations.
• The expedition was turned back the first year by
  heavy storms and Spanish attacks. The two
  received permission for a second expedition.
  However, the Queen would not let Raleigh leave,
  for she had dreamt that he would die if he sailed
  away. Gilbert did go, but he was lost at sea in
  1583.
• The next year, Raleigh gained permission to try
  again, and he sent the first of several
  expeditions to the New World.

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Review

• 1. _______________ _____ _________________ was
  an Italian explorer working for France who was
  looking for a shorter water route to
  __________________ and the riches of Asia.
• 2. Most early explorers looked eagerly for a
  road to easy _______________________.
• 3. _____ _________________ treated the native
  peoples very badly during his expedition.
• 4. Juan Pardos group included _________________
  ________________, who tried to convert the
  natives to Christian beliefs and habits.
• 5. By the late ______________, the English had
  grown in strength and power to become Protestant
  rivals of the Catholic ___________________.
• 6. In 1578, Raleigh and Gilbert convinced the
  Queen to plan an expedition to find the
• ________________ _______________ so that England
  would benefit and grow rich by trade with other
  nations.