AGE OF EXPLORATION Canadian History 11 THE VIKINGS

AGE OF EXPLORATION | Canadian History | 11

THE VIKINGS • First to discover North America • Clues first appeared in written stories called sagas. • The sagas suggested that Bjarni Herjolfsson and Leif the Lucky had sailed to the new lands west and south of Greenland

THE VIKINGS SAGA: BJARNI HERJOLFSSON • In about the year 1000 a • Bjarnie went to find sea roving trader, Bjarni Greenland to see his father Herjulfson, went to visit but his ship went off his father in Iceland. course, and he ended up finding three islands. • His father lived in Iceland every year Bjarni • This was the coast of North spent the winter with him. America - a new land - but he didn't bother to get off • Then one year when Bjarni his ship and explore it went to Iceland to see his because he was so anxious father', Bjarni had found to see his father. that his Father had moved to Greenland. • He sailed back and found Greenland.

THE VIKINGS SAGA: LEIF ERICKSON • Leif Erickson, who lived in Greenland, was excited about finding the New Land. • He bought Bjarni's ship and got a crew of 30 men and sailed to the three places Bjarni had found. • They went first to Helluland then to Markland then on to a place he named Vinland the Good. • He named it Vinland because they found grapes which were probably big huckleberries. This was probably Newfoundland. • They stayed the winter and returned to Greenland in the spring.

THE VIKINGS SAGA: THORVALD ERICKSON • Leif's brother • He borrowed the ship and went to "Vinland the Good" to explore. • They spent the winter there, and in the summer they did more exploring. • One day they saw three canoes. Under the canoes were nine "Skraelings" American Indians. • The Vikings killed eight of them, but one escaped. • The very next day that Skraeling returned with lots more. • The Vikings got out their shields and soon the Indians left after shooting some arrows. • The only person hit was Thorvald. As he was dying he asked to be buried in a place he had liked and had mentioned he would like to stay there for awhile. • He became the first Viking to be buried in North America. • He wanted the place called "Crossness" forever. The rest of the Vikings then returned home.

L’ANSE AUX MEADOWS • Helge and Anne Ingstad were a husband wife team from Norway. • They had studied old documents and maps and read the sagas. • They came up with a hypothesis that the Vikings had discovered North America 500 years before Columbus arrived. • They began a dig in the 1960 s at the northeastern tip of Newfoundland, called L’anse aux Meadows.

L’ANSE AUX MEADOWS • The Ingstads found remains of houses like houses in Norway and Greenland in Viking times. • Other treasure included Viking jewelry, tools and even iron nails, which were unknown in North America before Europeans came.

L’ANSE AUX MEADOWS The early 11 th century settlement includes the following features, shown on the plan: 1: the large house. 2 -7: other structures, some with hearths and cooking pits. 8: the smithy. 9: a possible charcoal kiln. 10 -11: large cooking pits. A number of boat sheds were also found. Radiocarbon samples from several site areas produced dates clustering around AD 1000, which accords with the historic evidence of the sagas.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS • Influenced by a 200 year old book written by Marco Polo. • Polo had written about his travels from Venice, across Asia to Cathay. He wrote about silks, jewels, gold and spices. • Spices were very expensive, as they came from the East Indies, known as Spice Lands. • Columbus believed that if you traveled east by land, you arrived in the Indian islands off the coast of Asia. • If you traveled west, you could reach India by water- faster and cheaper. • This was during the time of the debate of whether the world was flat or round. • Columbus’ conclusion assumed the world was round.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS • Columbus moved to Lisbon, Portugal. • Lisbon was considered the headquarters for voyages of discovery. • He could not find supports there so he moved to Spain. • King Ferdinand Queen Isabella gave him the money he needed for ships, sailors and supplies.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS • Columbus made his famous voyage in 1492. • His 3 ships were the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. • He reached the land at the island of San Salvador in the West Indies. (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) • He was convinced he arrived in India and he named the island Hispaniola and its inhabitants Indians. • Later, other explorers made the same mistake and aboriginal peoples of North and South America also became known as Indians • He made 3 more voyages across the Atlantic Ocean in the next 10 years. • He never reached Cathay and he never even set foot on the mainland of North America! • His voyages were important, as he opened up new routes for exploration and trade.

ROUTES OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

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JOHN CABOT • Homeland: Venice, Italy • Project: A voyage to discover an all-water route to the riches (spices)of Asia. • Sponsor: King Henry VII of England • Discoveries: Probably NFLD and/or Cape Breton Island. Outcomes: • Little is known about Cabot’s life up to 1497. • In 1498, he set out on a 2 nd trip and was never seen again. • Cabot’s crossing of the Atlantic had lasting results. : – He made England’s first claim to territory in North America. – He found an unlimited supply of Cod fish. In Catholic societies, eating of meat 153 days a year was prohibited. English fishermen became regular visitors.

ROUTES OF JOHN CABOT

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JACQUES CARTIER • Homeland: France • Projects: To search for an all -water passage to Asia and then to follow the St. Lawrence River in hope of finding riches closer to home. • Sponsor: King Francis I of France • Discoveries: Various parts of NFLD and parts of what are now NS (Cape Breton), PEI, NB and QUE. Much of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the St. Lawrence River. Outcomes: • Had three voyages: 1534, 1535, and 1541 • Made contact with Aboriginal People • He did not discover the riches of the East or a route to them. French leaders lost interest, as they were after diamonds and gold and not beaver pelts. • About 50 years later, Europeans became interested in North American furs. Fur traders, fishermen and map makers were all crossing the Atlantic.

ROUTES OF JACQUES CARTIER

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SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN Homeland: France Projects: To help French explorers on fur-trading voyages by acting as a map maker • Sponsor: King Henry IV of France appointed Champlain Royal geographer • Discovery: The St. Lawrence River as far as the Lachine Rapids in 1603; the coastline of North America, from present-day NS to present-day Massachusetts in 1604 -05 Outcomes: • In 1604, he went with Sieur de Monts to the Bay of Fundy. • De Monts had been granted a monopoly on the fur trade. In return, he was to start a colony. • • • They spent the winter on the island of St. Croix, where many men died of scurvy. In 1605, they moved to Port Royal where he explored the Atlantic coast and made careful maps of NS, NB, Maine and Massachusetts. The maps were so accurate that sailors could use them today. Many places along the coast still have the names Champlain gave them more than 350 years ago. In 1608, he moved to a location what is now Quebec on the St. Lawrence river. He developed the rest of his life to the development of a fur-trading colony.

ROUTES OF SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN

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OTHER LEADING EXPLORERS

HENRY HUDSON • 1609 -11 • Discoveries: Hudson River and Hudson Bay

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ETIENNE BRULE • 1609 -32 • Discoveries: South of Lake Ontario

PIERRE RADISSON AND MEDARD GROSEILLIERS • 1650 s • Discoveries: Sault Ste. Marie Region; north shore of Lake Superior

LOUIS JOLIET AND FATHER JACQUES MARQUETTE • 1669 -73 • Discoveries: Lakes Ontario, Erie and Huron; Lake Michigan and upper Mississippi River

LA SALLE AND FATHER LOUIS HENNEPIN • 1669 -82 • Discoveries: Lakes Ontario and Erie; Niagara, Ohio and Mississippi Rivers to the Gulf of Mexico

DANIEL DULHUT • 1680 s • Discoveries: Region south and west of Lake Superior

HENRY KELSEY • 1690 -92 • Discoveries: Buffalo country of Northern Saskatchewan and possibly Alberta

PIERRE LA VERENDYRE • 1731 -43 • Discoveries: West of Lake Superior as far as the Saskatchewan River and south to South Dakota

ANTHONY HENDAY • 1754 -55 • Discoveries: First European to travel west to within sight of the Rockies

SAMUEL HEARNE • 1770 -72 • Discoveries: Overland to the mouth of the Coppermine River on the Arctic Ocean

ALEXANDER MACKENZIE • 1789, 1793 • Discoveries: Down the Mac. Kenzie River to the Arctice Ocean; overland to the Pacific

GEORGE VANCOUVER • 1791 -95 • Discoveries: Vancouver Island much of the coast of BC

SIR JOHN FRANKLIN AND MANY OTHER ARCTIC EXPLORERS • Early 1800 s • Discoveries: Canada’s vast northland of coastline, waterways and islands