Age of Exploration

Vikings

• Left their own shores of Scandanavia in search of better land to farm—it was a matter of survival

• Viking raiders stole from other people and began settlements in England and Greenland.

• Lief Erikkson discovered North America around 1000 A.D., calling it Vinland

Marco Polo

• Traveled to Asia from 1271-1294 A.D.

• He brought back riches and stories of Asia that inspired trade between Europe and Asia.

The Silk Road

• The land route for trade between Asia and Europe

• Europeans greatly desired the silks, spices, and other riches to be gained through trade with India, China, and Japan

• The road took years to travel and became controlled by Muslims, who the European Christians had fought with for hundreds of years.

Prince Henry of Portugal

• Founded a school for navigation to help find sea routes for trade

• New technology was invented—astrolabes, caravels—that made sea travel over long routes possible

• Vasco da Gama found the way around Africa to India, opening a sea trading route with Asia and making Portugal a great power in Europe

For Spain!

• Their expeditions were motivated by gold, God, and glory

• Columbus, searching for a western sea route to Asia, finds the New World instead.

Spanish Conquistadors

• Cortes conquered the Aztec Empire, located in what is now Mexico, in 1521.

Spanish Conquistadors

• Pizarro conquered the mighty Incan Empire in 1533.

Carving Up the New World

• The Spanish, by the 1530’s had control over most of South America, Central America, and Mexico.

• The expeditions of explorers like de Soto and Coronado found no gold in North America, so that was left for other countries, like England, France, and Holland, to claim.

John Cabot

• An Italian explorer, Cabot got the King of England to sponsor two expeditions in 1497 and 1498

• Cabot explored lands from Canada to what is now North Carolina, claiming them for the British.

Old World to New New World to Old

• Horses• Cattle, pigs, sheep• Honeybees• Wheat• Rice• Citrus fruits• Sugarcane• Smallpox• Measles• Diptheria

• Turkeys• Corn• Beans• Squash• Sunflowers• Potatoes• Chocolate• Tobacco• Tomatoes• Quinine

Push Factors

• Scarce land

• Poor soil for farming

• Desire to spread Christianity

• Lack of resources—gold, spices, etc.

Pull Factors

• Adventure, Fame, and Glory

• Abundant land

• Abundant resources

• Jobs and other economic opportunities