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THE NEW WORLD
ENCOUNTERED
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Table of Contents
Smooth Sailing: Inventions Change The Course of Exploration
Notes to Teachers
2
Procedures
4
Extension Activities
5
A Clash of Cultures: West Africa and Europe
Notes to Teachers
7
Procedures
8
Extension Activities
9
"To boldly go where no man has gone before": Characteristics of an
Explorer
Notes to Teachers
10
Procedures
11
Extension Activities
12
Rivalries Are Settled by the Pope
Notes to Teachers
16
Procedures
17
Extension Activities
18
Glossary
20
Bibliography
26
Script
27
Related Videos from Rainbow
38
Smooth Sailing Inventions Change The Course of
Exploration
Notes to Teachers;
In the 1400s European sailors sailed along western
Europe, the Mediterranean, and the west coast of Africa,
usually staying within the sight of land. The reason for this
was that ships were not able to navigate easily. They
usually depended upon the compass, a log book, and
lookouts. Anxious to explore new water routes to Asia,
Europeans began building stronger ships and tools to help
with navigation and determining distances and locations at
sea.
Columbus had very few scientific instruments to
help in his navigation, and depended almost entirely on
dead reckoning when he crossed the Atlantic. This
method used direction and speed to plot a course and
position on a chart. To determine the speed of his boat, the
navigator threw wood chips into the water from the front
of the ship and timed their journey to the back. By
drawing a line representing the calculated distance traveled
in a certain direction on a chart, it was possible to get an
approximate position for the ship. The magnetic compass
was used to determine direction in Europe since the 12th
Century, and observations of the polar star and
constellations were used since the dawn of sea navigation.
As Portuguese and Spanish explorers began more north
and south travel, they found the curvature of the earth
made standard charts inaccurate over long distances. This
navigation method was improved by the 16th Century
invention of theMercator projection by Dutch
mathematician Gerardus Mercator,
who devised a map which depicted the curvature of the
earth on a flat surface.
Magellan also used more advanced methods of
celestial navigation utilizing observations of the sun,
moon, stars and planets. Use of the astrolabe, invented
by the Greeks 2,000 years ago, gave navigators more
means with which to gage their movements. It measured
the angle of the stars above the horizon. Knowing these
angles, sailors could determine their latitude, or distance
north or south of the equator, as well as the time. By the
early 1700s the astrolabe was replaced by a more accurate
instrument to measure the angle between a star and the
horizon, called the quadrant, and also by a simpler
instrument called a cross-staff. These devices were later
replaced by the superior sextant (actually an "octant") and
backstaff, which allowed, respectively, for the ship's
motion not to affect readings and for measurement of the
sun's height in the sky without looking directly at it.
The invention of the marine chronometer by
Englishman John Harrison in 1714 allowed for accurate
measurement of passed time, which in conjunction with
celestial observation was used to determine longitude, or
east-west position on the globe.
These inventions impacted upon the Age of
Exploration by assisting explorers in charting more
accurate courses and allowing them the ability to push
their explorations into farther corners of the globe. The
desire for exploration did not stop with the end of the Age
of Exploration. The desire to explore the rest of the globe
and outer space has caused people to continue to develop
more accurate and sophisticated navigational equipment
and push our horizons beyond the universe.
In this activity, students will be asked to become explorers
during the Age of Exploration faced with the many
problems and dangers of navigation and to create an
invention that will help them explore farther than any other
explorer.
Procedures:
1. Discuss some of the difficulties of sailing in the 15th
Century. Have students brainstorm some of the problems
in navigation that sailors faced. How did they solve some
of these problems?
2. Divide students into groups and explain that they are a
team of explorers who are planning an expedition of
exploration. Before they begin their journey they decide
that they want to explore farther than any other team has
in the past, however, in order to do this, they must
develop new equipment to help in arriving at their
destination. Each team must begin by deciding what
course they will sail and then brainstorm problems they
might encounter in their journey. Choosing one of the
problems to solve, students will then create an invention.
They should be encouraged to be as creative as their
imaginations will allow and not to be tied to traditional
thought or prior inventions. Once the team has agreed
upon the invention, they should complete the Invention
Plan Worksheet.
3. When groups have completed their plan, they are ready
to create a group poster of their invention. The poster
should include the name of the invention, a brief
description of the problem the invention will solve, a
drawing of the invention and an explanation of how the
invention works. The posters should be creative using
mostly graphics and symbols, with some wording. Each
team will then present their ideas to the class.
Extension Activities;
1. Instead of having students create inventions for the
explorers of the 15th Century, have them become
explorers of the 21st Century and do the same activity but
directed to space travel.
2. After displaying team posters around the classroom or
in the halls, have a panel of judges from another class
determine the best invention idea.
3. Have students research the inventions used by the
explorers during the age of exploration (celestial
navigation, astrolabe, sextant, chronometer) and then
determine which they believe was the most important
invention and why.
4. Have students create an advertisement to sell their new
invention. This could be a newspaper, TV or radio ad.
INVENTION PLAN WORKSHEET
After meeting with your team and deciding on
your invention, complete this worksheet to use a guide
in planning your presentation poster.
Name of Invention:
Purpose of this invention (what problem was it to
solve?):
Brief description of your invention:
Describe how your invention works:
Sketch of your invention:
A Clash of Cultures: West Africa and Europe
Notes to Teachers;
Before the 1400s the people of West Africa and
Europe knew little of each other. This began to change as
Portuguese explorers established trading contacts along
the West African coast starting in the 1440s. These
contacts began in the search for gold but quickly shifted to
human cargo and the slave trade and would soon have an
enormous impact on the interaction between West Africa
and the Americas. The Portuguese sent these enslaved
West Africans to work on Portuguese plantations.
However, the success of the Portuguese slave plantations
created a model that eventually would be duplicated on a
much larger scale in the Americas. By 1502, a small
number of Africans were working in the copper mines on
Hispaniola. With the decline of the native work force, due
mainly to disease, the European settlers of the Americas
turned to Africa for slaves. In the years to come,
European slave ships would haul hundreds of thousands of
Africans across the Atlantic to toil in the Americas. Just
23 years after Columbus landed in the Americas, African
slavery was on its way to becoming an essential part of the
European-American economic system.
The Atlantic slave trade would devastate many
African societies, particularly in West Africa. Starting in
the 1500s African communities began to lose many of
their fittest, brightest and young and able members to the
slave trade. Before the slave trade ended, Africa would be
drained of at least 12 million people.
In this activity, students will be asked to examine
the effect of the age of expansion on European and West
African cultures. Following the West African tradition,
they will become the historian of their village and
chronicle the tale of their village from the first contact
with the white Europeans through the devastating loss of
their best and strongest and the youth of their village.
Procedures;
1. Students should have a background of the development
of trade between Africa and Europe. Discussion should
include information concerning the well-established trading
network that connected West Africa and the coastal ports
of North Africa; goods that traveled to ports by desert
caravans that transported goods from Mediterranean
cities; the trade in salt, gold, ivory, and cotton; and how the
African empires that controlled these trade routes and
cities grew wealthy and powerful. They should recognize
that this would be very attractive to the explorers of the
15th Century, including the Portuguese traders who
quickly established trading outposts on the West African
coast. Have students brainstorm the positive and negative
effects of trade for both Africans and Europeans.
2. Discuss the development of the slave trade of West
Africa. Have students brainstorm the effects of this trade
on the West African villages and society during that time
period and the impact on Africa in the future.
3. Explain to students that the Africans did not leave
much behind in the way of written documents or records
of their civilizations and cultures, however, most of their
history is handed down, generation to generation through
the village historian or storyteller. They relate the history
of the village through the telling of stories about the
experiences of the village and its people of the
past. They are the keepers of the village history. They are
expected to keep the memories of the village alive in story
form and hand this special story down to the next
generation. Students are to imagine themselves as the
storyteller of a West African village during the late 18th
century. They are to write the story of their village
beginning with the first contact with the Europeans in the
mid 1400s. Their story should include how the first
villagers were taken as slaves and the effect this has had on
the village throughout time. They should be encouraged
to be creative with their story and may include names of
people and families and descriptions of incidents and life in
the village.
Extension Activities;
1. Have students research the three African Kingdoms
Songhai, Benin, and Kongo during the late 1400s. Have
them compare these kingdoms with Europe and the
Americas during the same time period.
2. Have students research the influence of West African
culture brought by the slaves on the American culture,
including plants, foods, music, and words.
"To boldly go where no man has gone before"
Characteristics of an Explorer
Notes to Teachers;
It is difficult to explain why people choose to leave
the familiar and safe place of home to face dangers of the
unknown. The desire to explore, the possibility of finding
something new, exciting and wonderful has been a part of
our world since the beginning of time. Man continues to
explore this world and beyond and continues to face the
dangers and risks of the unknown. Although we know
much about the world around us today, it was the early
explorers who chose to take the risks and dangers of the
unknown. They prepared carefully for their journeys and
tried to minimize the risks. They required the best
equipment of the time period, sturdy ships, well-trained
crews, the right supplies and the best information.
However, as important as these things were to the
journey, it was the special qualities of the leader that
determined the success or failure of the voyage. What
were these characteristics?
In this activity, students will be asked to identify
some of the personal characteristics of the explorers during
the Age of Exploration and have an opportunity to read
what Samuel de Champlain described as important
characteristics of an explorer in the 1600s. They will
compare and contrast these characteristics with explorers
of the 20th Century. They will then identify what they
believe to be the most important characteristics of an
explorer and create a "want ad" for one in the 16th
Century.
10
Procedures;
1. Define the terms explore, explorer and discovery, (to
explore is to investigate the unknown; an explorer is one
who investigates the unknown; exploration is investigation
for a purpose, while discovery could be finding by
accident) The discussion should then center on the dangers
of exploration at that time, including ships, navigation,
uncharted seas, unknown lands.
2. Explain to students the importance of leadership during
exploration. Ask them why they think a leader would be
important. Brainstorm important characteristics or
qualities of a leader for exploration and list them on the
board.
3. Distribute copies, or read to the students Samuel de
Champlain's description of the characteristics of a
navigator. How does his description match the
characteristics identified by the students?
4. In groups or as an independent activity, have students
design an advertisement for a leader of an exploration
team. The advertisement should include a description of
the job, the characteristics they have identified as important
to be successful in the job, and possible compensation for
the completed expedition. These advertisements should be
creative and include some graphics.
11
Extension Activities;
1. Students could design a resume of an explorer
including past experience and their qualifications.
2. Have students conduct job interviews of possible
explorers where students research an explorer and
represent him in the interview.
3. Have students choose an explorer to research and then
write a letter responding to the advertisement for a leader
of an expedition.
12
READING HANDOUT
A Good and Perfect Navigator
by Samuel de Champlain
"Move ad to Be a good man, fearing God, not allowing Mis sacred
name to Be Blasphemed on Board his ship,...and careful to have
prayers said morning andevening...Me had better not Be a delicate
eater or drinker, otherwise he will be frequently upset by changes
of climate and food...fie continually on his guard against scurvy,
and Be provided with remedies against it. Me should be robust and
alert, have goodsea-legs and Be indefatigable ...so that whatever
accident may befall he can keep the dec^and in a strong voice
order everyone to do his duty, he must not be above lending a
hand to the workjnimself, to ma/^e the seamen more prompt in
their attention.
Me should be pleasant and affable in conversation,
absolute in- his commands, not too ready to taff^with shipmates,
except the officers; otherwise he might be despised. Me should
punish ill-doers severely, and reward good men, gratifying them
from time to time with a pat on the back, praising them but not
overdoing it, so as to give no occasion for envy, that gangrene which
corrupts the Body and if not promptly quenched leads to faction and
conspiracy among the crew...Me should never let himself be
overcome by wine, for if an officer or seaman Becomes a drundard it
is dangerous to entrust him with responsibility; he might be sleeping
like a pig when an accident occurs...and He should turn night into
day, watch the greater part of the night, always sleep clothed so as
to be ready to come on deck promptly if anything happens. Me must
keep a private compass below
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and consult it frequently to see if the ship is on her course...He. must
Be...cognizant of everything concerning ship handling, especially of
making sail, He should take care to have good food and drink for his
voyage, and such as will not spoil, to have good dry bins to keep
bread or hardtack; and, especially for long voyages, to take too much
rather than too little...He must Be a good economist in issuing rations,
giving each man reasonably what he needs, otherwise dissatisfaction
will be created,...and entrust the distribution of victuals to a good
and faithful, stewardnot a drunkard but a good manager; for a
careful man in this office is above ad price."
From Samuel Eliott Morrison, The European Discovery of America:
The Northern Voyages (New York: Oxford University Press, 1971), p.
343
14
WANT AD
15
Rivalries are Settled by the Pope
Notes to Teachers:
Overseas exploration and expansion had begun to
inflame national rivalries in Europe. Portugal, the pioneer
in navigation and exploration, resented Spain's
involvement and conquests. Portugal had argued that
Columbus had landed on islands in the Atlantic Ocean that
they had already claimed. Spain argued that Columbus
had actually reached islands off the coast of Asia. In 1493,
Pope Alexander VI, a Spaniard, stepped in to avoid war
between the two countries by identifying different regions
of exploration for each country. In 1494 Spain and
Portugal signed the Treaty of Tordesillas. Spain and
Portugal decided to divide the western hemisphere
between them. Lands to the west of an imaginary vertical
line drawn in the Atlantic, including most of the Americas
belonged to Spain. Lands to the east of this line, including
Brazil, belonged to Portugal. The plan proved impossible
to enforce and the agreement had no effect on the English,
Dutch or the French who began colonizing the Americas
during the late 1500s and early 1600s.
In this activity, students will be asked to conduct a
debate in which one part of the class represents Spain and
her interests in exploration, and the other, Portugal and her
interests in exploration. They will present their cases
before the Pope and his advisors, who will then determine
a fair solution to the problem of claims in the new lands.
16
Procedures;
1. Ask students how they would settle an argument
between two people? At some point during the discussion
someone should introduce the idea of having a third party
listen to both sides and then make a decision on how to
settle the argument. Explain that this is what happened in
1494 when the Portuguese and the Spanish were in
conflict over the exploration and settlement of new
territories.
2. Explain to students that they will participate in a
simulation of this conflict. Divide the class into two teams
representing Spain and Portugal, and a smaller team
representing the church, led by the Pope. The teams of
Spain and Portugal will have an opportunity to argue their
cases before the Pope and his advisors, and then the Pope
will determine how to solve the dispute.
3. Distribute the Debate Preparation Worksheet to the
students and explain that they will use these sheets to
organize their argument for the hearing. The Pope and his
advisors will prepare an opening statement for the hearing,
and a question sheet in preparation for the debate. The
opening statement should state the issue that will be
decided and who is representing each side in the hearing.
The Pope and his advisors should also develop a list of
possible questions they may ask both parties during the
hearing.
4. Begin the hearings with the opening statement by the
Pope. Then have each side present its opening statement
and support for its position. At the end of the presentation
of each case, the Pope or his advisors may ask questions.
The floor should now be opened for a
17
debate between the sides. During this phase the Pope
oversees the proceedings and each side may question and
answer the other. The last phase of the hearing allows
each side 2 minutes to restate its case before the Pope.
Teams should have a few minutes before this final
statement to gather their thoughts and to include any
rebuttals or new information. The Pope and his advisors
will then meet in private to decide how they will settle the
dispute. When they return, they will give their decision
with an explanation.
5. When the simulation is over ask students how they
thought the hearing went. What was the most difficult
part? Did they think it was a fair decision? Why or why
not? What would they do differently? Do they think that
both parties would agree to the decision? Have them
review the Treaty of Tordesillas and compare their
decision with the actual decision. How is it different? Why
would the Pope become involved in this issue? How would
such an issue be resolved today?
Extension Activities;
1. Have students write letters of support for Spain or
Portugal to the Pope before he settles the dispute.
2. Have students write a position paper on this issue from
the point of view of the natives in North or South America.
18
HEARING PREPARATION WORKSHEET
Team members:
Statement of position:
Arguments FOR your position
Arguments AGAINST your position
Pieces of evidence (maps, letters of support) and
witnesses:
19
GLOSSARY
alliance a pact or confederation between nations, or any
union or relationship through marriage, kinship, or
friendship
allure the power to attract
ambitious marked by an eager or strong desire to do
something
anthropologist someone who studies the origins as well
as the physical, cultural, and social development and
behavior of humans
astrolabe an instrument for determining star positions for
the purpose of navigation
backstaff an instrument for determining star heights above
the horizon for navigation; an improvement over the
cross-staff
blaspheme to show extreme disrespect to something holy;
to curse
caravel a small, light sailing ship of the 15th and 16th
Centuries
celestial pertaining to the sky
chronometer timekeeping device; clock
commissioning the granting of official permission to carry
out a task
20
competition rivalry
conquistador a conqueror, especially one of the 16th
Century Spanish conquerors of Mexico and Peru
conviction belief or faith
cross-staff an instrument for determining star heights
above the horizon for navigation
dead reckoning a method of navigation using
measurements or estimates of distance traveled and
applying it to maps to determine position
derived to obtain or receive from a root source; to
arrive at through the application of logic
diverse varied; from many sources dominant
having the most control or influence elusive
difficult to find enormous huge
equator imaginary line splitting the Earth evenly
between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres
escuedos former units of Portuguese currency
espionage the act or practice of spying in order to
obtain secret intelligence
21
expedition a journey of some length or difficulty with
specific purpose, usually discovery
famine a drastic, wide-ranging food shortage, resulting in
malnutrition, starvation, and death
fertile rich in material required to maintain plant
growth; arable
flourishing growing abundantly; thriving
gangrene a serious infection which travels from a wound
toward the body and often needs to be stopped by
amputation
horizon the line along which the earth and sky appear to
meet
indefatigable not able to be intimidated or beaten
inexact not precise
latitude imaginary East-West running lines used to
describe position on the planet north or south of the
equator
longitude imaginary North-South running lines used to
describe position on the planet east or west of the
Greenwich Mean Time line, an imaginary line which runs
from pole to pole through London, England
Mercator projection a flat map depiction of the round
Earth which made early long-distance sea navigation
possible. Named after its inventor, Dutch mathematician
Gerardus Mercator.
22
monarchies nations governed by hereditary sovereigns
motivated provided with a reason to want to do
something; actuated
navigation the methods of determining position, direction,
and speed when traveling long distances in the air or at sea
navigator officer of a vehicle charged with the duties of
navigation; see above
orchestrating the act of organizing or managing so as to
achieve a desired goal
paradise a state or place of ideal beauty, loveliness, or
rapture
peninsula a long, narrow land mass jutting into a body or
bodies of water from a larger land mass
persuasive able to cause others to do something by
means of reasoning, argument, or entreaty
plunder to take goods forcefully and unlawful; to sack
pounds units of currency in Britain and many former
British colonies
pristine remaining in a pure, unspoiled state
profit financial gain return after all business expenses have
been met; gain
23
proximity nearness pursuit
the act of chasing
quadrant an instrument for determining star positions for
navigation; called a 'quadrant' because it divided the sky
into four sections for the user
reales units of the former currency of Spain and many of
its colonies
rebellion an uprising intended to change or overthrow an
existing government or authority
reliant dependent upon
renaissance a rebirth; a revival
resistance the act of striving against or actively
opposing
ruthless lacking compassion; merciless
scurvy a disease caused by vitamin C deficiency; once
common in sailors when the cause was unknown because
foods containing vitamin C were not stored on board many
ships
sextant an instrument for determining star positions for
navigation
sophisticated complex; complicated
thriving flourishing; doing well
24
treaty a formal agreement between two or more states or
nations
Treaty of Tordesillasa treaty between Spain and Portugal
mediated by Pope Alexander VI in 1494; it divided the
New World along a line of demarcation from pole to pole
100 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. Spain was
given exclusive rights to lands west of the line, Portugal to
lands east of the line.
ventured entered into a course of action entailing risk or
danger
victuals food
25
BIBLIOGRAPHY
American Heritage Illustrated History of the United
States. Vol. I, The New World. Silver Burdett Press, Inc.
1989.
Harden, Renardo. The Discovery of America: Opposing
Viewpoints. Greenhaven Press, 1989.
Brown, Gene. Discovery and Settlement: Europe Meets
the New World (1490-1700). TFC Books, 1993.
Hakim, Joy. The First Americans. Oxford Univ. Press,
1993.
Keith, Wilbur. Early Explorers of North America.
Chelsea House Publishers, 1996.
Maestro, Betsy. The Discovery of the Americas,
Lothrop. 1991.
Marks, Richard Lee. Cortes: The Great Adventurer and
the Fate of Aztec Mexico. A. A. Knopf, 1993.
Meltzer, Milton. Columbus and the World Around Him.
Franklin Watts, 1990.
Smith, Carter, ed. The Explorers and Settlers, A
Sourcebook on Colonial America. The Millbrook Press,
1991.
Stuart, Gene S. The Mighty Aztecs. National
Geographic Society, 1981.
26
THE NEW WORLD
ENCOUNTERED
NARRATOR:
In this program you will learn:
About the world 500 years ago and what three groups of people
were doing: the Europeans, Africans, and the Native peoples of
North and South America.
You will also discover:
Who the first European navigators were to set foot on the North
American continent and why they came.
You will find out who the Conquistadors were - and the Vikings.
As you are watching, think about what it would have been like to
sail into the unknown - 500 years ago...
In May of 1497, after months of preparation, John Cabot was
ready to set out on his search for the unknown water passage to
the Asian continent. He set sail under the English flag in a small
vessel called the Matthew, with a crew of 18 men. To determine
the speed of his boat, he threw wood chips into the water from the
front of the ship and timed their journey to the back.. It was an
inexact method at best, but somehow he managed to say on
course.
Five years earlier, in 1492 Cabot's rival, Christopher Columbus
had set sail in three caravel ships named the Nina, the Pinta, and
the Santa Maria, with a crew of ninety men to seek out the
eastern coast of India. His voyage was financed by Queen Isabella
of Spain.
In nearby Portugal, Prince Henry busied himself orchestrating
expeditions of his own. Commissioning the best shipbuilders,
map-makers, and captains he could find, he assured Portugal's
27
king and queen, that the quickest way to reach the Indies was to
find a passage along the coast of Africa that would lead them into
the Indian Ocean and the riches of the East
Such was the age of exploration and expansion at the turn of 15th
Century Europe. The monarchies of England, Spain, Portugal
and France, were in a heated race to discover the water passage
that would deliver them to the Far East. The precious jewels and
gold of the Orient and the valuable spices and silks of India were
objects of wealth and power to the ambitious kingdoms in
Western Europe. The country that could find a way to get there
by boat, instead of the long, difficult journey by land, would be
able to dominate the thriving trade and increase their power and
influence at home.
ROSALIND REMER I think the drive for expansion does come
from the competition, the very near competition associated with a
half a dozen to a dozen nations at any given time in close proximity
to each other all looking over each other's shoulders to see who's
gotten where. How far have they reached, have they found the
passage to the East. And there is a lot of espionage, there's a lot of
looking over each other's shoulders to see what's been accomplished.
NARRATOR:
The voyage that Columbus thought would take only a matter of
days to complete stretched to over two months when, on October
12,1492, a small island in the Bahamas was spotted on the
horizon. Columbus was convinced it was one of the islands in the
Indies. He named the island San Salvador which means "Blessed
Savior". Assuming the people on the island who ventured out to
greet them were indeed the people of India, he called them
Indians. In his captain's log he wrote of his first encounter with
these native Indians as "well built, with good bodies and
handsome features...They do not bear arms or know them, for I
showed them a sword, they took it by the edge and cut themselves
out of ignorance. They have no iron. Their spears are made of
cane...They would make fine servants"... Columbus saw profit
and power all around him.
28
Believing he had successfully landed off the coast of India,
Christopher Columbus had no idea that he had accidentally
stumbled across two enormous continents populated with millions
of native American people. At the time of his arrival in 1492,
most of the tribes throughout North and South America were
primarily reliant on farming as their greatest food source. In
many regions, agriculture and storing food were the basis of
civilizations as advanced as those in parts of Africa and Asia.
These original, native inhabitants of North and South America
had evolved over thousands of years into rich civilizations with
complex and diverse cultures. One of the most advanced cultures
to arise in the Americas around 1000 BC was the Maya who lived
in the lowlands of southern Mexico and Central America. The
Maya created large stone ceremonial centers with numerous
pyramids which were constructed with extremely sophisticated
architectural techniques. They were also advanced in their study
of astronomy and were capable of predicting solar eclipses. They
invented a calendar which was more accurate than the one being
used in Europe at that time.
Another powerful group were the Aztecs who arose from a group
of traveling warriors. Legend tells that a high priest instructed
them to form a settlement when and where they came upon a
sign in the form of an eagle perched on a cactus eating a serpent.
They found their symbolic sign on an island in the middle of a
lake in Mexico. It was on this island they built their city and
named it Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs continued to grow in power
as they conquered tribes around them and soon became the most
dominant people in central Mexico.
The Native Americans that inhabited the northern regions near
the present-day United States and Canada did not possess
advanced civilizations like the Maya or the Aztecs, but did
exhibit a wide variety of cultures, some with highly organized
societies.
29
PETER POPE The Iroquois are a good example. They've got a
strong political organization and links between different tribal
groupings. They were what anthropologists call chieftain societies.
NARRATOR:
On the east coast of North America were many tribes that were
related to one another. Around the time of Columbus, five tribes
joined together to create the League of the Iroquois: the Oneidas,
Onondagas, Cayugas, Mohawks and Senecas. The League was
created in an effort to end the warfare among the tribes and it
remained in place for several hundred years.
When Christopher Columbus returned from this magnificent
New World in 1493, he was treated like a hero. He returned to
Spain with Indian captives and tropical plants, animals, and
fruits from the islands. He boasted about the fertile paradise he
had discovered and promised great riches for Spain.
This age of exploration and expansion was born during a period
when the people throughout Europe were experiencing a social
and intellectual awakening now known as the Renaissance, a
time of new ideas and creative invention in Europe. Merchants,
craftspeople, and storekeepers found their skills were of special
value and eventually the first middle class began to develop.
Above the middle class were the church leaders and nobles and
below them were the peasants and serfs. At the very top were the
monarchies, the kings and queens, whose passion for power
spurred the need for expansion.
Growing up during the Renaissance, Giovanni Caboto benefited
from the spreading interest in learning and the arts. Like
Columbus, Caboto was born in Genoa around 1455 when Italy
was at its peak in power and splendor..
Being the son of a merchant, it was natural that Caboto would
want to enter the trade business. He was very interested in
navigation and believed the world was round which meant to
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him that the rich spices and goods from Asia could be reached by
going north and then west of Europe to get there.
But on the far western shores of Europe, Prince Henry of
Portugal was mapping a different route. Prince Henry believed
that the Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Portugal was the best way
to get there, by sailing south along the coast of Africa to find
some waterway or shortcut through the African continent, or to
sail completely around the southern tip of Africa and then up the
eastern coast to the Indian Ocean. Each year he set off on a new
journey, filling in his maps, setting up trading posts near African
kingdoms, and returning to Portugal with ships filled with ivory,
gold, and African slaves.
The people on the African continent, with advanced civilizations
in Egypt, shared many of the characteristics seen in the
advanced cultures of the Americas. Egypt, who had created
magnificent kingdoms, pyramids and pharaohs, was a rival with
the quickly rising Roman Empire developing just north across
the Mediterranean Sea in Europe. Like the Native Americans,
many African tribes did not leave behind very much in the way
of written documents or records of their civilizations and
cultures. But, they created powerful kingdoms and were active in
local and international trade.
Most Africans lived in small individual villages like their
counterparts in the Americas and were hunters and farmers.
Chiefs or elders would normally exercise control over villages
which were closely bound to the agricultural cycles of planting
and harvesting.
Throughout Africa a wide variety of empires, kingdoms and citystates rose up before 1450. A section known as southern Nubia
began to flourish along the Nile River south of Egypt and became
an important trade center.
ROSALIND REMER In the beginning of the 1500's Africa's major
role with regard to European exploration was as a trading partner.
The religion of Islam had spread throughout the
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northeastern portions of Africa and some portions of the west. And
with that came the trading relationships between southern
Mediterranean Europe and African people. The goods that
Europeans most wanted were gold, ivory from the tusks of elephants,
and eventually slaves for labor.
NARRATOR:
Giovanni Caboto also dreamed of finding the elusive route to the
legendary oriental kingdoms of Asia and India. He traveled first
to Spain and then to Portugal to find funding for his expeditions,
but failed in both countries. His last real hope was England. So in
1496, Caboto moved with his family to the British Isles and
changed his name to John Cabot. He raised all of the money for
his trip from wealthy merchants. From King Henry, he sought
only a seal of approval and permission to sail under the English
flag.
King Henry signed Cabot's charter and agreed that Cabot could
claim all lands he discovered in the name of England. In 1494
Spain and Portugal had signed the Treaty of Tordesillas. The
treaty in effect divided the Atlantic Ocean along an imaginary
line running north to south. AH lands to the west of this line
would belong to Spain while all lands to the east would belong to
Portugal. Since King Henry of England never signed the treaty,
he planned to claim lands north of Spain's explorations on the
same latitude as England.
After five long weeks on his voyage aboard the Matthew, Cabot
and his crew of 18 landed at what is believed to be the
Newfoundland coast. Like Columbus, Cabot thought he had
succeeded in reaching the Far East when he had actually failed.
Although Cabot never reached the Asian coast as he had
dreamed, he encountered the magnificent North American
continent formerly unknown to the outside world. He had
reached the shores of the New World and given England a claim
to the pristine continent the other monarchies had been boasting
of. Also, Cabot's routes to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia were
bursting with fish. Within a few short years,
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British and French merchant fisherman would swarm to the
area.
PETER POPE They get into boats and they catch fish with lines off
shore and they bring the fish on shore and dry them and then they
pack them on the ships at the end of the summer and take them back
to Europe. And that fishery fed millions of people for hundreds of
years right into the 20th Century and made millions, millions of
dollars or pounds or esceudos or reales or whatever for various
European countries. Indirectly too that fishery leads towards the
settlement of North America.
NARRATOR:
In fact, if Cabot had never sailed for England, the United States
might not exist as it is known today; for its laws, customs and its
language are derived from the first English colonies, financed
largely by the profits of the Newfoundland fishing industry.
500 years before Cabot's voyage, in the year 1000 AD, legendary
stories tell of a European by the name of Lief Ericson as the first
European to actually set foot on the Americas. According to a
legendary Scandinavian tale called Eric's Saga, "They found wild
wheat...and grape vines...Every stream was teeming with fish...In
the woods there were a great number of animals of all kinds." To
Ericson and his sailors, having grown up in Greenland, it seemed
a paradise. They named it Vinland, land of grapes.
PETER POPE And it's pretty clear from various accounts not just
the sagas but other actual economic accounts that have come down
from Greenland and Norway in that period that the Greenland Norse
actually went on exploiting North America for a while after they had
discovered Vinland. They never set up a colony here in North
America the way they set up a colony in Greenland itself. I think it
was a little bit too far.
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NARRATOR:
Many people in modern times came to think the Eric Sagas were
based on myth and not history, but in 1960 Viking settlements
dating back to the year 1000 were discovered in Newfoundland
and because grapes do not grow there, historians believe there
may have been other settlements closer to New England. But
these discoveries prove that the sagas are more than likely based
on fact. The sagas offer us the first glimpse of the Americas as
seen through the wondering eyes of Europeans who reached its
shores five centuries before Christopher Columbus and John
Cabot.
As Cabot was returning from his voyage to Newfoundland,
Columbus was making arrangements for yet another trip of his
own. Undeterred by the fact that he had not found the actual
coast of India or the great riches he dreamed of, he embarked on
a third voyage in 1498, this time traveling all the way to the
mainland on the coast of South America which he believed to be
another Asian world south of China. When he made his return to
the island of Hispaniola, there were many reports that Columbus
found the colonists near rebellion and abusing the Indians. Many
of the colonists fled home to Spain and told the king and queen of
Columbus' poor governing. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
felt Columbus was to blame for the rebellion, the failure to find
more gold, as well as the poor treatment of the Indians. They
sent a ship to collect Columbus and brought him back to Cadiz
locked in chains.
By this time Cabot was preparing five new ships for his next
voyage. In May of 1498 he set out for his second and last
expedition.
PETER POPE All we know about that expedition is that one of the
ships returned without ever crossing the Atlantic. We don't know
what happened to the rest of the expedition. There is a 16th Century
English historian with the strange name of Paulide Virgil and Paulide
Virgil says the only land that Cabot discovered on that voyage lay at
the bottom of the ocean. Which is a kind of cruel way of saying that
he may have sunk.
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NARRATOR:
Perhaps the most famous conquistador in all of Spanish history is
Hernan Cortes. From the Spanish colony in Cuba, under Cuban
governor Diego de Velazquez, Cortes was appointed General of
an expedition to Mexico. He organized eleven ships and 500
soldiers. But once on the shores of Mexico, Cortes decided to
renounce the orders of governor Velasquez and instead marched
his soldiers inland toward the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.
Along the way he made an alliance with the Indians of Tlaxcala,
traditional enemies of the Aztecs. Cortes fooled many into
believing he was the god Quetzalcoatl. The Indians had always
believed that this legendary white ruler would return to Mexico
from the east. By the time Cortes arrived, the great Aztec king,
Montezuma, was too awestruck by what he had heard of Cortes
to organize a resistance and Cortes and his soldiers walked into
the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, unopposed in November 1519.
Cortes wrote that it was "the most beautiful city in the world".
ROSALIND REMER Montezuma offered him gifts, he showed
him gold, he was a very good host initially. And Cortez knew this
was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of the situation and
used his soldiers to plunder the Aztec people until they were
extremely weak. At which point he ordered that their city and
temples be torn down and that a new Spanish style city be built in its
place.
NARRATOR:
Soon, Spanish ships filled with Aztec gold and treasures sailed to
Spain from its new empire in Central America. Cortez was given
the title Marquis del Valle de Oaxaca and continued many more
conquests in Honduras in 1524 and Baja California in 1536.
The Spanish empire was farther expanded by another famous
conquistador named Francisco Pizarro. Pizarro formed a
partnership with another conquistador named Diego de Almagro
and began to explore lands to the south of the Indies. Their first
expedition reached the San Juan River in Colombia
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before being forced to turn back. Their second exploration
between 1526 and 1528, after experiencing famine, disease,
and a rebellious crew, reached the Santa River in Peru and
returned to Panama with gold, cloth, and llamas.
The governor of Panama refused farther explorations and
Pizarro decided to sail to Spain to appeal directly to the king.
The king agreed with him and laid claim to all of Peru including
its subjects and its treasures. Pizarro was made a knight of
Santiago and Governor and Captain General of the conquered
lands.
ROSALIND REMER By and large the Spanish conquest of
Central and South America was done at the expense of the native
peoples. Their cultures were disbanded, their buildings, their cities,
their temples were left in ruins. Many of them were enslaved, many
of them died in slavery working for the Spanish Conquerors to
extract gold and silver from mines. There's no question that these
native cultures were stopped, prevented from flourishing because of
Spanish conquest.
NARRATOR:
Other Spanish conquistadors began to push north into what is
now the United States. Ponce de Leon, who had sailed to America
on Columbus' second voyage and had claimed Puerto Rico for
Spain, went on a quest to find what the Indian legends described
as a Fountain of Youth. He explored the peninsula of Florida
which he named and claimed for Spain and set up the first
settlement on the continent, calling it St. Augustine.
The daring voyages and dangerous adventures of these early
explorers paved the way for future expeditions. Waterways and
navigational routes were penciled into existing maps for the next
explorer to follow and improve upon. With the discovery of the
Americas, the European pursuit of trade and expansion would
only continue. America appeared early on as a land of great
opportunity just ripe for the picking.
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To Review:
500 years ago, European Monarchs and merchants hired
experienced navigators to help them find a water passage to the
riches of Asia.
John Cabot sailed for England. Christopher Columbus sailed for
Spain.
Spain's Conquistadors plundered the people and resources of
South America.
The Vikings, or Norse people, sailed to North America 500 years
before Columbus.
THE END
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Native Americans: People of the Desert
Native Americans: People of the Forest
Native Americans: People of the Northwest Coast
Native Americans: People of the Plains
The New World Colonized
The New World Explored
Old Glory
Our Constitution: The Document that gave
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Seeds of Liberty: Causes of the American Revolution
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CREDITS
Written and Directed by
Rhonda Fabian
Producers
Rhonda Fabian
Jerry Baber
Graphics & Sound
Ron Schindlinger
Production Manager
Jason Hazelwood
Teacher's Guide
Linda Clark, M.A.
Curriculum Consultants
Michael Worosz, M.A.
Rosalind Renter, Ph.D.
Linda Clark, M.A.
Special Thanks
National Park Service
New Netherlands Museum
Elizabeth II Tall Ship
Lost Colony
Rising Tide Theater
Captain & Crew of the Matthew
Video and teacher's guide produced for Rainbow
Educational Media by Fabian-Baber Communications, Inc.