Chalk Talk

What do you know about Columbus?

What 2 people have national holidays named

after them?

Central Questions

• Who were the Europeans that came to the Americas, why did they come, and what effect did they have on the Native Americans?

• Why and how did the colonists revolt against the British?

• What were some of the major battles in the American Revolution?

• What steps lead up to the creation of America as a country?

The Age of Exploration

• Period from the 1400s- 1600s• Many sailors set out to explore the world

outside of Europe• New advances in technology made this

possible• Motivations: Gold, God, and Glory

3 Important Explorers

• Christopher Columbus– Wanted to reach markets of East Asia by going

West– Supported by the King and Queen of Spain– Given credit for “discovering” America in 1492– Thought he had landed in Asia– Though he made several trips to the Americas and

established colonies, he was sent back to Spain, poor and in chains, because his colony didn’t like his leadership

• Amerigo Vespucci– Americas named after him– Explored South America and realized the Americas

were NOT the East Indies– Wrote home about the culture and practices of

the people he met– Began in 1499 under Spain and later sailed for the

Portuguese

• Ferdinand Magellan– First to circumnavigate the world in 1519– Sailed for Spain– Miscalculated the time it would take, which resulted

in the death of many of his sailors– Got involved in tribal wars in the Philippines and

was killed– Some of his crew made it back to Spain

The “Discovery” of America

• “Discover” means being the first to find something• There were already people in the Americas when

Columbus came– Native Americans such as the Aztecs, Hopewells, Powhatans,

etc.– Vikings had already explored further North– Similar paper-making and blowgun technology was found in

South America and in Indonesia– Stone sculptures in Mexico have distinct African features and

some islands already had African slaves– Spear-points in Haiti were made from “guanine” – the same

word that was used in Africa

Columbus Meets the Natives

• The goal was to make money and settle the land• They used the natives– As guides– As slaves– To convert them– Or killed them

• Weapons• Diseases• 90% were eventually killed

Conversion

• Suplico que usted reconozca que la Iglesia como una señora y en el nombre del Papa toma el Rey como Señor de esta tierra y obedece sus mandatos.• Si usted no lo hace, yo le digo que con

la ayuda de Dios que entraré poderosamente contra ustedes. Haré la guerra por todas partes y cada manera que puedo.

• I implore you to recognize the Church as a lady and in the name of the Pope take the King as Lord of this land and obey his mandates.• If you do not do it, I tell you that

with the help of God I will enter powerfully against you all. I will make war everywhere and in every way that I can.

How Did the Americas Change?

• Land, labor, and resources taken from the Natives

• New products, people, technology, and ideas brought to the Americas

• Native populations drastically decreased• Transatlantic slave trade began• Became permanently colonized

Columbian Exchange

• Movement of European products to the Americas and from the Americas to Europe

• Foods:– America to Europe: corn, peppers, squash, tomato, potato, pineapples, cacao bean, sweet

potato, tobacco– Europe to America: bees (honey), apple, banana, carrot, coffee, kiwi, watermelon

• Livestock:– America to Europe: turkeys, guinea pig, llama, alpaca– Europe to America: cows, pigs, sheep– Europe to America (accidental): earthworms, brown rats, zebra mussels, tumbleweeds, wild

oats• Other

– Europe to America: Christianity, gunpowder, and dandelions– Europe to America: Diseases, esp. smallpox– America to Europe: Syphilis

Triangle Trade

• Columbian Exchange + Africa• Sugar, tobacco, and cotton from the Americas to

Europe• Manufactured goods, clothes, and rum from

Europe to Africa• Slaves from Africa to the Americas

Pros Cons