Age+of+Exploration

Emily Meyer and Rhiannon Clark 1350-1600

A wretched soul, bruised with adversity, We bid be quiet when we hear it cry; But were we burdened with like weight of pain, As much or more we should ourselves complain. -William Shakespeare In the Age of Exploration from 1450 to 1750, a lot of Europe wanted to come and claim their own piece of the “New World.” The “New World” is what was eventually considered North and South America. The some of countries that wanted a piece of the Americas were Spain, Portugal, England, France, and the Netherlands. Portugal led the way in voyages of expansion. They traveled down the Gold Coast also known as the West Coast of Africa, and they started a slave trade in 1441. Then in 1487, Bartholomew Dias rounded the tip of Africa and named it the Cape of Storms which was later renamed by King John II to the Cape of Good Hope. It was what became a passage to India and the riches that were there. Vasco da Gama was the first European to reach India and he made huge profits from the Spices he found there. In August of 1492, Christopher Columbus set sail with three ships to go around the world and land in the Indies, and named the inhabitants there Indios. The Columbian Exchange was born between the Old and New worlds, they exchanged products, plants, animals, and diseases. Later, in 1500, Pedro Cabral claimed Brazil for Portugal, when he was blown off course and landed in Brazil. Amerigo Vespucci charted the coastline of Central and South America, and his named was used in title the new world in 1507. In 1521, Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico, his motto was “conquer or die!” Soon small pox or “The Great Rash,” spread and ninety percent of the Aztecs were killed. Then, Ferdinand Magellan was the first to sail around the world, Fancisco Pizarro conquered the Inca Empire of Peru, Hernando DeSoto explored the Gulf of Mexico, and Coronado searched for the seven cities of gold. The 1600’s were the Golden Age of the Netherlands. During that time Amsterdam became the world’s largest commercial city. When, Spain came to the New World it had two reasons to gain more wealth and to convert the natives to Christianity. Many of the people who came to the Netherlands came for riches or the spread of their own religious beliefs. But, there was one other reason for the Europeans to come to the Americas; they came for the glory of having their name known for discovering a new part of the world. They wanted to be famous.


 * __ 5 important people __**
 * __1. Christopher Columbus-__ He was the European to discover the New World. He was born in Genora, Italy in the year of 1451. He thought that he could reach Asia by sailing west, he was eventually sponsered by Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand. **
 * __2. Amerigo Vespuchi-__ He charted the coastline of Central and South America, and in 1507 he used his own name to come up for a name for the new world, he called it America. **
 * __3. Pope Alexander VI__- He settled a rivalry between Spain and Portugal in the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. The Treaty of Tordesillas divided the territory called the "New World" between Spain and Portugal. **
 * __4. Vasco da Gama-__ He was the first European to reach India in 1498. He made a huge profit for the Spices he found there sixty thimes the cost of the voyage. **
 * __5. Ferdinanad Magellan-__ He was the first to sail around the world. He renamed the the South Sea the Pacific Ocean. He was killed while claiming the Philippine Islands, which were named after King Philip II of Spain. **

__Five Links__: 1.[|The Age of Exploration]-This website has links to different explorers in categories like English, Spanish, and European Explorers also Famous Pirates. 2.[|Christopher Columbus]- This website has a easy learnign format, that tells about Christopher Columbus's trips to America in an easy learning format. 3.[|Encomienda]-This website explains about th encomienda system and why it was so destructive. 4.[|Coronado]- This website has more information in it about Francisco Vasquez de Coronado who searched the Americas for riches for the Spanish Empire. 5.[|Triangular Trade]- This website has a more in depth look at triagular trade and what happened in it.



** __Five important terms:__ ** **1) __Mercantalism__ - A set of principles that dominated economic thought in the seventeenth century; it held that the prosperity of a nation depended on a large supply of gold and silver.** **2) __Encomienda__ - The right of settlers to use natives as laborers, it was meant to provide protection for Indians, but caused the natives to be ensalved as a labor force for the Europeans.** **3) __Conquistador__ - A Conquistador is Spanish conqueror of the Americas, some examples of conquistadors are Christopher Columbus, Ponce de Leon, and Hernan Cortes.** **4) __Colony__ - A settlement of people living in a new territory, linked with a parent country by trade and direct government control.** **5) __Balance of Trade__ - The difference in value between what a nation imports and what a nation exports over time. Each country wants to export more goods than import more goods so they can become a richer nation.** Timeline: 1492 - christopher Columbus reaches the Americas 1497 - John Cabot and Amerigo Vespucci explore the Americas 1518 - First boatloead of slaves brought directly from Africa to the Americas 1519 - Spanish begin conquest of Mexico 1520 - Magellan sails into Pacific Ocean 1595 - First Dutch fleet arrives in India 1630 - English found Massachusetts Bay Colony 1650 - Dutch occupy Prtuguese forts in Indian Ocean tradin areas 1700 - English establish colonial empire in North America 1767 - Burmese sack Thai capital media type="youtube" key="b3fYF6YvesA" height="315" width="420" align="center"

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