Exploration

Exploration

Day 1
Trade with Asia

•

Around 1300, Marco Polo
traveled to Asia for items to sell
back in Europe at a great profit

•

Some of the items with which
he returned were salt, spices,
silks, and jewels

•

After hearing of his stories,
merchants traveled to Asia and
back in hopes of making a
fortune like Marco Polo

Asia

Europe

Africa

Turn and Talk

Day 1

• What types of items were brought to Europe from

Asia?

• Why were items from Asia likely so profitable?

Open Ended

What types of items were brought to Europe from Asia?

Open Ended

Why were items from Asia likely so profitable?

Day 1
Seeking New Trade Routes

•

Inspired to find faster trade
routes to Asia than by land,
Europeans began exploring for
water routes

•

Europeans also explored -

•

to become wealthier

•

to share their religion

•

to have a larger empire than the
empires of their rival countries

Turn and Talk

Day 1

• What were the reasons for European exploration?

• Why would traveling by water be faster than

traveling by land during this time?

Open Ended

What were the reasons for European exploration?

Open Ended

Why would traveling by water be faster than traveling by land during this time ?

Day 2
Christopher Columbus

•

Unlike others during this time,
Columbus believed the world
was round and that if he sailed
west, he would reach Asia

•

By reaching India and China, he
could access their lucrative spice
markets

•

Spices were rare in Europe, and
they were essential to the
preservation of food in a world
without refrigerators

Turn and Talk

Day 2

• What did Christopher Columbus believe about the

shape of the world?

• What did Columbus hope to achieve by traveling

to India and China?

Open Ended

What did Christopher Columbus believe about the shape of the world?

Day 2
Columbus Discovers the New World

•

While sailing for Spain in 1492,
Columbus landed in what he
thought was India

•

He called the natives he
encountered Indians; he later
realized he had actually discovered
a “New World”

•

On behalf of the king and queen of
Spain, Columbus hoped to spread
Christianity to the people living in
the New World

Europe

India

Africa

South

America

North
America

China

Turn and Talk

Day 2

• Why did Columbus sail west from Europe?

• What did Columbus discover?

Day 3
Continued Explorations

•

Spain, hoping to acquire land and
find gold in the New World, sent
soldiers called conquistadors to the
unexplored territory:
•

Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztec
Empire in Mexico

•

Francisco Pizarro conquered the
Incan Empire in South America

•

Explorers continued their quest to
find a faster way to Asia by seeking a
water route through North America
known as the Northwest Passage

Turn and Talk

Day 3

• Why were Spanish conquistadors sent to the New

World?

• What was the Northwest Passage?

Day 3
New Spain

•

Spain controlled much of North
and South America and called
this territory New Spain

•

New Spain included present-day
California, Texas, and Florida

•

Some Spaniards built missions to
convert Native Americans to
Christianity

•

Other Spaniards forced Natives to
dig for gold

Turn and Talk

Day 3

• What present-day states were part of Spain’s

territory in the New World?

• Why did Spain build missions?

Day 4
Columbian Exchange

•

A new trading pattern had started
between the Old and New World
called the Columbian Exchange

•

Plants, animals, people, diseases, and
ideas were moved across the Atlantic
Ocean

•

Europeans were introduced to new
foods like corn and potatoes, and
horses helped Natives hunt animals

•

Diseases like smallpox and measles
killed many Natives

New

World

Old

World

Turn and Talk

Day 4

• What was the Columbian Exchange?

• How was the Columbian Exchange both helpful

and hurtful to those involved?

Day 4
Colonization By Other Countries

•

Due to Spain’s success in the New
World, other countries wanted to
start their own colonies

•

France claimed territory that ranged
from present-day areas of eastern
Canada to New Orleans, including the
Great Lakes and the areas that run
south along the Mississippi River

•

This land provided the French with
the ability to interact with Native
Americans and establish the fur trade

Turn and Talk

Day 4

• Which areas of the New World was claimed by

France?

• What actions did France take with the land it

claimed in the New World?

Day 4
Dutch & English Colonies

•

The Dutch claimed land around
modern-day New York and New
Jersey; this colony, called New
Netherlands, served as an
important trading center

•

England established 13 colonies
along the Atlanticcoast

•

The English colonies were
established for a variety of
economic, social, religious, and
political reasons

Turn and Talk

Day 4

• Which area of the New World was claimed by

England?

• How were the French and Dutch colonies similar?

How were they different?