CHAPTER 2 Exploring the Americas

CHAPTER 2 BELL RINGER

What are the benefits and consequences when different cultures interact?

CHAPTER 2 NOTES(NEW PAPER)

REMEMBER: Write what is in REDThis is the only day this Chapter we will take notes!

A.K.A no assignment today, just notes.

Spain in America◦ European Explorers and Conquerors.

◦When Spanish explorers reached the Americas, natives told tales of silver and gold in their land. The Spanish traveled far and wide searching for this

gold.

◦These explorers, or conquistadors, received the right from Spanish rulers to explore and create settlements in America. In return, the conquistadors

agreed to give Spain 1/5 of any treasure found. Many tales were found to be false, however some were true.

Shmoop Clip!

Located in South AmericaIncans forced surrounding people to join the

Empire or they would be killed. The Incan Empire had benefits (crop houses- no starving)Cortes’ success encouraged Francisco Pizarro (12 years later) to lead an army into the Inca

capital in Cuzco, Peru.The Incan emperor Atahualpa ordered his men not to attack the Spanish so the small force of

Spanish conquistadors were able to defeat them.

The Spanish arrested and captured the Incan ruler and Pizarro controlled the now weakened

Incan Empire.

Located in now Mexico and Central AmericaAztecs became a strong empire by

conquering their neighbors.Religion played large part- Aztecs made 18

human sacrifices are year to their God (usually prisoners.

In 1519 Hernan Cortes landed on the East Coast of present-day Mexico. Within two

years he conquered the Aztec Empire and their gold by siding with Aztec enemies (small pox killed many Aztec warriors).

Conquest ofAztecs and Incans

Aztecs Incans

Why Spain Won

◦The Spanish were able to defeat the Aztecs and the Incas because:

-the Spanish had superior weapons that helped them defeat larger armies

-the Spanish made alliances with enemies of the Aztecs and Incas

-the Aztecs and Incas were weakened and killed by European diseases

Aztec Warriors

April 2nd, 1513 Spanish Explorer Juan Ponce de Leon came ashore on the Florida coast and claimed

the territory for the Spanish crown. He landed in Florida, which had many wildflowers and fragrant

plants, during Easter so he named the land La Florida because in

Spain Easter is known as Pascua Florida or “Flowery Easter”.

Spain in Florida

Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine,

Florida.

Ponce de Leon was not only searching for gold, he was also

searching for the Fountain of Youth (which he never found).

King Ferdinand made Juan Ponce de Leon governor of Florida. So he

brought back 200 Spanish settlers in 1521.Native Americans, Calusa, attacked this settlement and Ponce

de Leon died from wounds a few days later.

France in Florida

◦ In 1562 French Explorer Jean Ribault (REE-BOH) sailed to the St. Johns river near present-day Jacksonville, claimed Florida for France, and built a

stone monument as proof of the French claim to the land.

◦ In 1564 a group of French settlers came to establish a colony. The French built a fort along side the St. John’s River called Fort Caroline.

Fort Caroline

When the French claimed Florida, Felipe II (King of Spain) believed

they were trespassing on Spanish land. He named Pedro Menendez de Aviles governor of Florida and ordered him to build a colony in

Florida and drive out the French.

September 8, 1565 Menendez founded the settlement of St.

Augustine. He didn’t know it yet, but it was the 1st European

settlement in what would become the United States.

Spain defends its Florida Claim

Fort Caroline

Pedro Menendez de Aviles

Ribault planned to attack the Spanish, sent ships south to attack St. Augustine, but a

hurricane destroyed many of the boats. Spanish soldiers killed the few survivors who

managed to reach the shore.

Menendez then sent forces overland to capture Fort

Caroline with an order to kill everyone except for women,

children, and Roman Catholics. The Spanish victory

ended France’s attempt to control Florida.

Spanish Settlements◦ Spanish Law called for three kinds of

Settlements in the Americas:◦ Pueblos- towns (centers of trade)◦Missions- religious communities (small

town) surrounding farmland and a church. ◦ Presido- Forts built near Missions

Some settlers profited by exporting crops and raw materials to Spain. In the West Indies the main exports were tobacco and sugar cane. The Spanish raised these crops on plantations and use Native Americans as plantation workers.

Plantations- Large farms on islands in the Caribbean on which Native Americans were forced to produce sugar

◦ Class System: 1)Peninsulares-

People who were born in Spain, owned land, served in the Catholic Church, and ran the local

government.

2) Creoles-

Born in Americas to Spanish parents.

3) Mestizos-

People with Spanish and Native American Parents.

4) Native Americans-

Often very poor

5) African Americans-

Slaves

RELIGIOUS RIVALRIES

The Europeans who explored and settled in North America in the 1500’s sought wealth, but they also wanted to spread their

Christian faith.

Kings and Queens claimed the desire to spread Christianity beyond European borders to be their primary reason for

exploration in the Americas.

The first to arrive were Roman Catholics- the only Christian church in the Western part of Europe at this time.

The primary goal of missions in Spanish colonial society was to convert Native Americans to Christianity and increase Spanish

control.

Religious Rivalries in Europe

◦ In 1533, the English King, Henry VIII, left the Catholic Church. Later during the rule of his daughter Elizabeth I, further reforms established England as a Protestant nation. It was common for Kings/Queens to insist their subjects follow their religion- those who didn’t could lose their lands and fortunes. Many people were not happy about leaving the Catholic church, but had little power to resist.

◦England’s Protestantism cause conflict with Spain (they followed the Catholic Church). In 1585, King Philip of Spain made plans to invade England so they could overthrow Protestantism.

◦May 1588, Philip sent an armada (war fleet) of 132 ships to England. With 30,000 troops and 2,000 guns, the Spanish Armada was the mightiest naval force in the world. Yet the smaller and faster English ships had the upper hand.

Defeat of the Spanish Armada

Cause:

◦ By defeating the Spanish Armada , England remained independent and

Protestant.

Effect:◦Nations saw that Spain could be beaten and they challenged Spanish

land claims.

◦ The defeat of the Spanish Armada marked the end of Spanish control over the seas so the English could

start settling colonies in North America.

In 1609, the Netherlands (Dutch) hired Englishmen Henry Hudson to look for it; he did not find a passage to India

and turned back. The next year Hudson tried again and discovered

present-day Hudson Bay. Thinking that he had reached the pacific, he

searched for an outlet. His crew became impatient and rebelled,

setting off Hudson, his son, and a few sailors adrift in a small boat never to

be seen again.

European countries were looking for all-water routes to Asia because they wanted to be part of the Spice Trade

Explorers looked for a Northwest Passage because they thought it was a direct

water route to Asia through North America.

England sent John Cabot, an Italian, to look for a Northern sea route to Asia in 1497 and

landed on around present-day Newfoundland. In 1524 France hired an Italian, Giovanni de Verrazano, to look for a northern route who explored the coast of North America from

present-day Nova Scotia down to the Carolinas. In 1535, French explorer Jacques

Cartier sailed up the St. Lawrence River hoping it to lead to the Pacific; he did not make it there however he did find a mountain peak

and named it Mont-Royal (“royal mountain”) in present-day Montreal.

Search for a Northwest Passage

Northwest Passage Found!• It was not until the 1850s

that Sir Robert McClure discovered a route through

the Canadian Arctic. McClure was searching for an earlier lost party and became ice-bound - the relief party searching for

him also became trapped.

• Urgency behind the search for the passage was

tempered by completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, and later by the Panama Canal,

in 1914.

• Not until 1903-06 did a single ship make the entire trip through the passage. This was accomplished

under the leadership of the Norwegian explorer Roald

Amundsen. The first successful commercial voyage was made by

the ice-breaking tanker SS Manhattan in 1969. This voyage

followed the discovery of large oil deposits in Alaska, which

influenced the opening of a shorter route to the east coast of

the United States.