Unit 2 Chapter 3The Age of Exploration

Leif Eriksson • Who was Leif Eriksson?

Viking Explorer • What year did he explore?

A.D. 1000• Where did he sail from?

Sailed from Greenland heading west

• Where did he reach on his expedition? He reached what is now Canada and called it Vinland (Vineland) because of the grape vines.

Marco Polo• Where is he from?

Venice, Italy• When (what year) did he leave

for his expedition?1271

• Where did he explore?Asia (China, India, Persia)

• What did he do after his journey?Brought the wealth of Asia back to Venice, Italy (Europe)

1254 - 1324

Christopher Columbus

1451 - 1506

• Born and raised in Genoa, Italy

• Oldest of five children in his family

Columbus’ Voyage • An avid sailor who was fascinated by Marco Polo’s

stories about the wealth of Asia. • For years, Columbus asked Spain’s monarchs,

King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, to support his plan to reach Asia by sailing west instead of going around Africa.

• It wasn’t until 1492 when Columbus promised King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella great wealth, new lands, and to bring the Catholic faith to the people of Asia that they finally agreed to support his voyage.

Heading West• Columbus understood

that Spain and Japan were on the same line of latitude.

• He believed, if he sailed directly west from Spain, he would reach Japan. His reasoning was accurate, but he did not figure that North America was in the way.

The Long Journey • Over twelve years, Columbus made four voyages to

the New World.• His first expedition consisted of three ships and 89

men. The Santa Maria was about 100 feet long. The Pinta and the Nina were smaller ships, only about 50 feet long.

• Crossing the Atlantic took 70 days. The crew became terrified with the size of the Atlantic Ocean.

• On October 9, Columbus and his crew thought they were lost at sea. Fortunately, land was sighted on October 12.

New Land• Columbus first landed on a

small island in the Bahamas and named the island San Salvador.

• He and his crew then sailed to a larger island, Cuba and then to Hispaniola.

• Columbus thought all these islands in the Caribbean were near Asia.

• In December of 1492, just two months after first sighting land, Columbus set sail to return to Spain.

Voyages to the New Land• Columbus made three other voyages to

North America. • His second voyage began in 1493 and

returned to Spain in 1496. • His third voyage began in 1498, and

finally, his fourth voyage began in 1502.• Columbus never did find Asia, but he

began more than a century of European exploration of the Americas.

Further Research • http://www.watertown.k12.ma.us/

cunniff/americanhistorycentral/03ageofexploration/index.html

Explorers

Marco Polo Leif Eriksson

Christopher Columbus

Where/When was he

exploring?

Who/ What country was he exploring for?

Who/ What country was he exploring for?

Who/ What country was he exploring for?

Where/When was he

exploring?

Where/When was he

exploring?

Interesting about him

Interesting about him

Interesting about him

Concept Map