9/26/23 The Age of Exploration!

For thousands of years, people have ventured from their native lands to look for new and better opportunities.  

Question:  Why would people search for better opportunities(geography and resources)?

The earliest known people to visit North America were the Norse people-the Vikings.  Leif Eriksson landed in Newfoundland, off the coast of Canada in the year 1000AD.  He set up a settlement there but abandoned it after just 2 years.  

Leif Eriksson – The First European in North America

In 1490, Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer, persuaded Kings Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to pay for his exploration to find a faster route to Asia.  He took 3 ships, the Niña(the girl), the Pinta(the painted one), and the Santa Maria(Saint Mary), to find fame and fortune.  Ferdinand and Isabella wanted him to bring Catholicism to the world.

Columbus first landed in the Bahamas, and also left men in Haiti and the Dominican Republic before going back to Spain. He made 3 trips in all to the New World:

Christopher Columbus | Educational Videos for Kids

Did Christopher Columbus actually “discover” America?  No, there were already people living in America for hundreds of years, and Leif Erikson had already been to North America almost 500 years before, but Columbus did set off an age of exploration from Europe to the New World.  Christopher Columbus is also responsible for what’s called the Columbian Exchange: the exchange of goods and ideas from Europe to the Americas and vice versa.

The Columbian Exchange transferred people, animals, food and disease across cultures. Old World wheat became an American food staple. African coffee and Asian sugar cane became cash crops for Latin America, while American foods like corn, tomatoes and potatoes were introduced into European diets.

These are the terms we will be discussing for the next 2 weeks

Terms for this unit:

exploration – traveling to new territories for the purpose of discovery

colony – a settlement ruled by a distant country

migration – movement from one region to another

mercantilism – economic policy where colonies serve as a source of raw materials to increase the wealth and maintain a favorable balance of trade for the “mother” country

free enterprise system – market system where people have freedom as consumers and producers

cash crop – a crop that is sold for money

representative government – political system where policies are created by representatives selected by the people

monarchy – a government where the ruler inherits the leadership role

industry – economic activity that involves the making of a particular product

 

Related Terms:

Compact-a signed agreement that is legally binding

Agriculture-the art and science of cultivating land for growing crops and raising livestock

Columbian Exchange–the transfer of plants, animals, disease, and technology between the Old World from which Columbus came and the New World which he found. 

Conquistadors-any of the leaders in the Spanish conquest of America, especially Mexico and Peru

missionaries–a person sent on a religious mission.

charter–a grant or guarantee of rights and powers, usually from a state or country. 

indentured servant-working for someone without pay for a certain number of years to pay off a debt

slave trade– the capturing, selling, and buying of enslaved persons. 

markets–where buyers and sellers can meet to exchange goods and services.