Asian Trade Marco Polo brought back commodities useful

Asian Trade • Marco Polo brought back commodities (useful goods) such as spices, silk and porcelain from Asia. • The Crusades increased commerce (trade) between Asia and Europe • Europeans wanted a faster route to these goods and to cut out middle man.

New Tools & Technologies • • Cartographers made better maps Magnetic Compass – determined direction Astrolabe – calculated latitude using the stars Caravel – sailed faster, carried more cargo and food supplies, could float in shallow water – Known to many as the best ship to sail the seas.

Competition gets fierce! • By mid-1400 s, Italian ports faced increased competition foreign trade. • Countries, such as Portugal and Spain, began searching for sea routes to Asia which launched a new era of exploration. – Portugal was the country that got the ball rolling by sending ships down the west coast of Africa – an area that Europeans had never explored before.

Prince Henry the Navigator • Portugal’s Prince Henry founded a navigational school for Portuguese sailors and shipbuilders.

On to Asia! • . • Portuguese explorers sailed around Africa. They launched new efforts to realize their Portuguese dream of a trading empire in Asia. They wanted to find a sea route around Africa so that they could trade directly with India and China. • In 1488, Bartholomeu Dias rounded the southern tip of Africa called the Cape of Good Hope. – Dias called it the Cape of Storms but the king changed the name so as not to frighten future explorers. • Vasco da Gama sailed around Africa and reached the Indian port of Calicut in 1498. – Pedro Alvares Cabral followed da Gama’s route but swung so wide around Africa that he touched Brazil. By claiming that land for his King, he gave Portugal a stake in the Americas

Columbus Sails West 1492 - Spain’s King Ferdinand Queen Isabella paid for Columbus’ voyage to find a trading route in the West.

Columbus’ Voyage • Instead, he encountered a NEW WORLD! • Columbus claimed the new lands in the name of Spain. • He called the local people “Indians” because he believed he had reached the East Indies (islands off the coast of Asia). • Other Europeans followed Columbus and began to create settlements called colonies.

Amerigo Vespucci • In 1499, explorer Amerigo Vespucci began mapping South America’s coastline. • He concluded that South America was a continent, not part of Asia as previously thought. • By the early 1500’s, European geographers began to call the continent “America” in honor of Amerigo Vespucci.

Ferdinand Magellan • Europeans still wanted to find an easier route through or around South America to Asia. • In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan led an expedition of 5 ships and 200 men, heading along the Coast of South America • In late November 1520, he sailed through a narrow, twisting passage and into the Pacific Ocean. This passage is now known as the Strait of Magellan.

Ferdinand Magellan • Magellan thought he would reach Asia in a few days, but it took 4 months. • The crew ran out of food and ate rats. • Magellan was killed in a fight in the Philippines. • Only 1 ship and 18 men continued. They sailed around Africa and made it home. • Magellan and his crew were given credit for being the first to circumnavigate the world.

Explorers Reach NC • Giovanni de Verrazano became the first European to explore the coast of what would become North Carolina. • He sighted land in March 1524 near what is now Cape Fear. • Verrazano followed the coastline south for about 150 miles before turning to the north again. He was afraid he would run into the Spanish if he went too far south! • While sailing around NC’s coast, he saw the Outer Banks, but could not see mainland. As a result, he reported that the Albemarle and Pamlico sounds were the Pacific Ocean.

Explorers Reach NC • Hernando de Soto, a Spaniard, marched with a large group up the Atlantic coastline. • Having heard about the Cherokee, he turned toward western North Carolina. • He reached the Blue Ridge Mountains around May 1540. He was the first European to see these mountains. – The Natives in the area were friendly and very helpful. – They supplied food for both the Spaniards and their horses while they were searching for gold. • Spain’s search for easy riches in North America brought Captain Juan Pardo and Sergeant Hernando Boyano to the Carolina region in 1566. • They, along with a band of 25 soldiers, followed de Soto’s route and built a fort in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Desoto’s Route of Exploration

Reasons for Spanish Exploration • God – to spread Christianity • Greed – to gain wealth and power • Glory – to increase the country’s land prestige

The Columbian Exchange New to America/Natives: New to Europe:

The Columbian Exchange Constructed Response Practice Items new to America/Natives: Choose two of the items that were new to the Natives. List the two items and describe their impact on the Native Americans.

The Spanish Conquistadors 1. Who were the Conquistadors? 2. How did the Conquistadors view the Native Americans? 3. How did the arrival of the conquistadors impact the Native Americans?

The Spanish Conquistadors – Explorers who received grants from Spanish rulers. Francisco Pizarro – conquered Incas • In 1532, he captured the Inca ruler, destroyed the Incan army, and gained control of the Incan empire. Hernando Cortes – conquered Aztecs • Landed on the east coast of present-day Mexico looking for gold and glory. • Had heard of the Aztec Empire and the rumored riches that certain cities were forced to give to the Aztec as tribute • Eventually Cortes’ efforts led to the death of the Aztec Emperor, Montezuma, and Cortes seizes control of the region in the name of Spain.

Reasons for Spanish Victory • Guns – the Europeans had them • Diseases – small pox killed millions of natives • Steel – armor and swords could easily overpower the natives’ wooden weapons • Horses – scared the natives • Strategy – Cortes allied himself with the Aztec’s enemies

Exploration’s Effect on the Native Americans Negative: • Enslavement • Destroyed way of life • Died of diseases (smallpox) Positive: • Development (roads, cities, plantations, etc. ) • New ideas and goods – Wheat, livestock, cultures, religions, etc.

Which of these items was Columbus looking for in Asia? Plants Gold Silk Land Spices Animals

Gold would make them rich. Spices could be used to preserve food. Gold, silver, silk, and spices were important to the Europeans because. . . Spices could be used to make food taste better. Fill in the chart Silk was a new material for Clothing.

Triangular Trade The African MIDDLE PASSAGE was horrible!