European Exploration and the Discovery of America

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European Exploration and the Discovery of America

• Unit 1, Lesson 1

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Essential Idea

• Contact between the Old and New Worlds led to
  the exchange of many things but ultimately led to
  conflicts.

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The New World

• Where?
• The New World, which was the Americas
• Migration
• The first people in America likely migrated over
  from Asia over a land bridge during the last Ice
  Age
• People Arrive in the Americas

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Mesoamerica

• Location
• Mesoamerica, which is present day Mexico and
  Central America
• Climate
• The climate was warm and stable
• Agricultural revolution
• Time period when early Americans learned to grow
  crops because of the good climate

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Cultures of the New World

• Culture
• Centralized because of agriculture, especially
  maize/corn, allowing people to stay in one place
• Benefits
• Civilizations were able to grow into complex
  societies with high populations
• Problems
• Much easier to conquer

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Cultures in Mesoamerica

• Mayans
• Developed complex architecture, mathematics, and
  calendars
• Aztecs
• Built sophisticated, highly populated cities

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Cultures of the New World

• Location
• Present day United States
• Climate
• Not as dependable as Mesoamerica
• Food Source Agriculture in stable climates,
  animal herds in less stable areas
• Culture
• Nomadic because these people tended to move from
  place to place following food sources (animals)
• Why follow animals?
• Less stable weather limited effects of
  agricultural revolution
• Benefits
• Spread out and difficult to conquer (United
  States government will struggle with Indians for
  decades)
• Problems
• Could not develop into advanced civilizations

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Cultures in Present-Day Western United States

• Anasazi and Cahokia
• These groups built complex civilizations but
  likely fell apart due to drought (unstable
  climate)

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Cultures in Present-Day Eastern United States

• Cherokee
• Lived in more stable region of United States (the
  Southeast) and managed to grow maize, beans, and
  squash

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Iroquois Confederacy

• Iroquois Confederacy
• Northeastern tribes formed this government,
  loosely joining their tribes together
• Confederacy
• Union of small governments with a WEAK central
  government

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The Old World

• Where? The Old World, which was the Eastern
  Hemisphere (Europe, Africa, Asia)
• Reasons to start exploring-
• The Catholic Crusades exposed Europeans to
  products in Asia such as silk and spices
• The Great Silk Road became the major trade
  route that connected Europe and Asia
• This route was dangerous, slow, and expensive to
  use
• European countries started looking for other
  routes, over water, to access Asia

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European Exploration Portugal

• Portugal
• Route- Went around Africa to access Asia
• Prince Henry the Navigator established a school
  dedicated to exploration
• Portugal developed the caravel, a boat able to
  travel Africas rough coast
• While exploring Africa, Portugal was exposed to
  African slavery and started trading for slaves

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European Exploration Spain

• Spain
• Route- Went west across the Atlantic Ocean
• Spain commissioned Christopher Columbus to look
  for a western route
• On October 12, 1492, Columbus discovered
  (disputed!) the New World when he landed on
  islands in the Caribbean Sea, later called the
  West Indies
• European Exploration

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The Columbian Exchange

• Columbian Exchange- the transfer of goods, crops,
  diseases, etc. between the old and new worlds
  after 1492
• The New World brought gold, silver, corn,
  tobacco, and other vegetables
• The Old World brought sugar, rice, horses,
  cows, and DISEASE, and SLAVES
• Future implications
• 1. Disease would wipe out Indian populations and
  make conquering them easier in the future
• 2. Slavery went on to become vital to much of the
  economy of the United States, and also became
  very controversial

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Spain vs. Portugal?

• Issue Spain and Portugal were exploring and
  claiming new lands
• Why an issue?
• Both were Catholic, and the Pope did not want two
  Catholic countries fighting
• Solution
• Treaty of Tordesillas- Pope set a line of
  demarcation to divide Spains and Portugals
  lands
• Consequence
• Spain was the first country to explore what is
  now the United States