European EXPLORATION SETTLEMENT Brain Wrinkles Why Explore Brain

European EXPLORATION &. SETTLEMENT © Brain Wrinkles

Why Explore? © Brain Wrinkles

Age of Exploration • Life in Europe changed dramatically from 1450 to 1700. • New inventions and ideas led to the Age of Exploration. • Once the New World was discovered, Spain, Great Britain, and other European nations began to compete to claim as much territory as they could.

Spain • Exploration of the New World brought great wealth to Spain. • By the 1500 s, the Spanish had established numerous settlements from Florida to Georgia. • Spain had three main interests in the New World: God, Gold, and Glory.

God • During this time period, the predominant religion in Europe was Christianity (in particular, Catholicism). • European rulers wanted to spread their religion to other parts of the world. • One of Spain’s top priorities with exploration was to convert non. Christians into Christians.

God • The Spanish considered the American Indians in the New World to be uncivilized. • They wanted to teach the natives the Christian faith and convert them to Catholicism.

Gold • Many of Europe’s explorations were for economic reasons. • Europeans knew that they could make a lot of money as traders if they could get Asian goods for a cheaper price. • Spanish explorers also desired to find gold and other riches in the New World.

Glory • During this time period, Europeans believed that a country’s glory was based on the size of its empire. • European nations raced to gain new lands in order to be the greatest empire in the world. • Spanish explorers were willing to risk dangerous voyages in order to claim new lands for Spain.

Great Britain • Great Britain began exploring the New World in the late 15 th century. • Great Britain planned to settle and occupy the new land in order to cement its claim on the area. • The nation’s interests in the New World included Glory, Mercantilism, Opportunity, and God.

Glory • Like other European countries, Great Britain was in the competition to establish the largest empire around the world. • Great Britain saw how much Spain was benefitting from its conquests in the New World, and did not want to miss out.

Mercantilism • Great Britain’s goal for mercantilism was to export more goods to foreign countries than it imported. • In order to do this, Great Britain needed more resources than it had available. • British explorers hoped to find raw materials that they could use to manufacture goods in their own country.

Opportunity • During this time period, Great Britain had a huge number of poor and unemployed people. • This lower class of people needed a place to go for new opportunities. • Many of Great Britain’s citizens saw the New World as a chance for a new start in life where they could own land maybe even get rich working on it.

God • The Church of England was very powerful and punished anyone who spoke out against it. • Some religious groups in Great Britain did not agree with it, and wanted freedom to worship in their own way. • These groups, including the Pilgrims and Puritans, saw the New World as an opportunity to escape religious persecution.

Spanish Contact on American Indians © Brain Wrinkles

Spain Arrives • Spanish explorers and missionaries entered Georgia in the early 1500 s. • European contact made a dramatic impact on the American Indians. • European missionaries attempted to convert the natives to their religion. • They also brought diseases that wiped out a large portion of the native population.

de Soto • In 1540, a Spanish conquistador named Hernando de Soto led 600 soldiers across Georgia. • De Soto was searching for “cities of gold”. • De Soto’s men tortured and enslaved the natives in order to gain information about gold and silver locations. • He never found the gold, but he did leave a lasting impact on the American Indians in Georgia.

As Hernando de Soto marched throughout the Southeast, thousands of American Indians were tortured and killed by his men. © Brain Wrinkles

Diseases • De Soto and other Spanish explorers brought horrible diseases that devastated the American Indian population. • Some of the diseases included smallpox, influenza, measles, and chicken pox. • The natives had no resistance to the diseases, and entire villages were wiped

Barrier Islands • In 1565, the Spanish established St. Augustine, Florida as their first permanent settlement. • Then they moved north to establish a post off of Georgia’s coast on St. Catherine’s Island. • Over time, the Spanish traveled to some of Georgia’s other barrier islands, such as St Simons, Cumberland, and Sapelo, and established more posts.

Spanish Missions and Forts Along Georgia & Florida’s Coasts © Brain Wrinkles

Missions • The Spanish established missions (churches) in all of these places with the goal of converting American Indians to the Catholic religion. • As the Spanish influence grew, more and more American Indians adopted the new religion. • Many American Indians continued to practice Catholicism even after the Spanish abandoned the area.

Spanish Missions were established along the barrier islands to convert natives to Christianity. ©

American Indians • As the Europeans competed for land in the Americas, they had little regard for American Indians living in the areas. • Many natives were enslaved or killed from diseases. • The Europeans were only interested in the American Indians for trading, land deals, and military alliances.

Conflict in the Southeast © Brain Wrinkles

Southeast • By the 1600 s, Spain and Great Britain had settlements in the southeastern region of North America, and both wanted control of the area. • In 1663, England’s King Charles II declared a new English colony, Carolina, which overlapped Spain’s territory in the region. • After seeing the success of this colony, the British desired to take control of the Spanish territories in Georgia.

Allies • In order to remove Spain from the Southeast, British colonists began to make allies of many American Indian tribes in the region. • After arming the American Indians with firearms, the British led them on an attack of a Spanish mission in Georgia in 1680. • The Spanish defended the mission this time, but over the next few years, they abandoned the missions and retreated to their Florida forts for fear of future attacks.

Control • British and American Indian raids had successfully pushed the Spanish out of Georgia. • Spain was not quite ready to give up its claim to the Southeast, so the stage was set for future conflicts with Great Britain. • Neither country wanted to give up the resources or profits made in North America.