The Age of Exploration

How did the Columbus' discovery of the Americas change the world?

The Age of exploration

Why did Europeans begin exploring west
across the Atlantic Ocean?

​The Age of Exploration (1492 - 1682)

​For over a thousand years, goods flowed back and forth between Europe and Asia along an important trade route called the Silk Road. After the Ottomans captured Constantinople in 1453, they gained control over the key trade route and imposed high taxes and tolls on goods passing through their territory. As a result, trade became more expensive and less profitable for European merchants.

​The Age of Exploration (1492 - 1682)

Monarchs and merchants across Europe looked for opportunities to fund voyages of exploration to discover an alternate sea route to Asia. Portuguese explorers like Bartholomew Diaz and Vasco da Gama ventured south around Africa.

​The Age of Exploration (1492 - 1682)

​In 1492, an ambitious Italian named Christopher Columbus tested whether or not advanced sailing technology was fast enough to traverse the Atlantic Ocean before running out of food and water.

Like many others, Columbus believed it was possible to sail west from Europe and arrive in East Asia, having no idea the vast continents of North and South America lay in his path. While sailing west, Columbus reached the Caribbean, making him the first European to reach the Americas since the 10th century AD. His rediscovery of the Americas sparked nearly two-hundred years of European exploration of the Western Hemisphere.

​The Age of Exploration (1492 - 1682)

​In August 1492, Columbus left Spain with a modest fleet of three ships. The largest of the three, the Santa Maria, was also the oldest and least technologically advanced, but it offered far more comfort and space to store needed supplies. The two smaller ships, the Nina and Pinta, were cutting-edge Caravelles. Sleek and light, they were the fastest open ocean ships, perfect for exploration.

Nobody knew how long the journey across the Atlantic might take or whether crossing the Atlantic to the west was even possible. After more than a month at sea, at 2 am on October 12th, 1492, the weary Spanish explorers sighted land.

Multiple Choice

Why did trade between Europe and Asia become more expensive for European merchants after 1453?

• The Ottoman imposed taxes along the Silk Road.

• People in Asia were no longer willing to pay high prices for European goods.

• New trade routes were created that were longer and more dangerous.

• The cost of transporting goods to Asia increased.

Multiple Select

Which Portuguese explorers were among the first to venture south searching for​ a sea route to Asia? Select TWO

• Bartholemew Dias

• Hernan Cortez

• Vasco da Gama

• Chistopher Columbus

Multiple Choice

What belief inspired Columbus to sail west across the Atlantic?

• The earth was much smaller than previously thought.

• The earth was round and not flat.

• There were undiscovered continents to the west.

• The earths roation would allow ships sailing west to travel faster.

The Homogenicine

For thousands of years, the people of North, Central, and South America lived separately from those in Europe, Africa, and Asia. When they finally met, their interactions changed almost every part of the world. Today, it’s hard to find a culture that doesn’t have food, technology, music, or art that comes from this mixing of the East and West.

The Columbian Exchange

Many historians point out that Columbus’ greatest historical accomplishment was not the discovery of a new world but rather that his discovery created one. No other event in human history can compare to the impact of the arrival of Europeans to the Americas.

Through a transportation of goods between Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas - a trade network called the Columbian Exchange, new crops, technology and ideas were introduced.

The Columbian Exchange

Some things were exchanged unintentionally. Invasive livestock, like pigs brought by the Spanish, devastated the ecosystem of the American Southeast. Earthworms, transported aboard English ships, radically altered the natural landscape of the Northeast. Most devastating were the many diseases brought unwittingly by Europeans, like malaria and smallpox.

By 1510 AD, the Taino (Ta-e-no) population, which had been the first to contact Columbus, had been reduced from several hundred thousand to less than one hundred thousand. By 1540 AD, only a few hundred remained. The future of the Taino was filled with captivity, forced labor, and terrible diseases for which they had little or no natural immunity.

Multiple Choice

What do many historians consider Columbus’ greatest historical accomplishment?

• Creating a connection between two worlds

• Discovering a new world

• Naming the Americas

• Finding gold in the Americas

Multiple Choice

What was the Columbian Exchange?

• The exchange of goods, crops, technology, and ideas between Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Americas.

• A trade network between European countries.

• A trade agreement between Columbus and Native Americans in the Carribean.

• The trade of exchange of goods, crops, technology, and ideas between between Asia and Europe

Multiple Choice

What was the most devastating effect of the Columbian Exchange on Native American populations?

• Spread of diseases like malaria and smallpox

• Introduction of new crops

• Forced labor

• Loss of natural resources

The Atlantic Slave Trade

Expeditions like Columbus’s cost a lot of money in the 1500s. It wasn’t easy for Columbus to find rich investors who would risk large amounts of money on a journey across the Atlantic Ocean. But he did find one big supporter in Queen Isabella of Spain. The Queen wasn’t motivated by charity or the desire to discover new lands. She wanted to expand Spain’s territory and increase its wealth.

Why were men and women from West Africa enslaved and brought to the America’s?

The Atlantic Slave Trade

Ferdinand and Isabella expected a return on their investment, and finding gold in unclaimed land would be perfect. After months of searching without success, the Santa Maria ran aground and sank off the coast of Hispaniola. Columbus left a small group behind on the northern coast and returned to Spain with the Nina and the Pinta.

At the royal court, Columbus told extravagant stories about the land he had found, but he had almost no gold or silver to show. He had seen enough in the jewelry worn by the Taino to believe there was more gold somewhere in the Caribbean. Unfortunately for Columbus, nearly all the gold and silver the Taino had came from trade with the Aztec.

The Atlantic Slave Trade

Though future Spaniards like Cortez and Pizzaro would discover gold and silver on mainland Central and South America, Columbus turned to another product that was a hot commodity in European markets, sugarcane. In the Caribbean, Columbus saw a perfect climate to grow the crop. In the Taino, he saw the possibility of free labor to work the fields.

The Atlantic Slave Trade

The most challenging part of growing cash crops is needing a lot of workers. The more you want to produce, the more labor you need. As global demand for crops like sugarcane increased, so did the need for workers, which created a problem. Europeans were not likely to sign up for a job halfway around the world.

Columbus first looked to the Taino, who successfully resisted. It wasn’t terribly difficult to escape and disappear into the surrounding forests. Lacking immunity to European diseases like malaria, those the Spanish were able to hold did not survive long.

The Atlantic Slave Trade

People from Europe, Asia, and Africa had interacted for a long time, which helped them build resistance to common diseases. When exposed as children, many survived and developed immunities. Between 1526 and 1867, during what became known as the Atlantic Slave Trade, more than ten million West Africans were forced into captivity and brought across the Atlantic to the Americas.

Multiple Choice

Who was Columbus's major supporter for his voyage across the Atlantic?

• Queen Isabella of Spain

• The King of Portugal

• Queen Elizabeth of England

• The Dutch East India Company

Multiple Choice

Why did Ferdinand and Isabella support Columbus's expedition?

• To find gold in unclaimed lands

• To spread Christianity

• To discover new spices

• To establish a trade route to Asia

Multiple Choice

What was the main challenge of growing cash crops like sugarcane in the Americas?

• Needing a large number of workers

• Finding enough suitable land

• Transporting the crops back to Europe

• Dealing with frequent natural disasters

Multiple Choice

During the Atlantic Slave Trade, approximately how many West Africans were forcibly taken to the Americas?

• 10 million

• 1 million

• 5 million

• 20 million