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CHAPTER 2 • SECTION 1
Henry the Navigator, began a school of navigation. He paid for sailing
expeditions to explore the Atlantic and the west coast of Africa. His ships
traveled further down the African coast than Europeans had ever gone. Those
voyages began Europe’s age of discovery. This age of discovery eventually led
Europeans to the Americas.
Under the sponsorship of Henry the Navigator, the Portuguese developed an improved ship
called the caravel. The caravel had triangular sails
as well as square sails. Square sails carried the
ship forward when the wind was at its back. Triangular sails allowed the caravel to sail into the
wind. The caravel was better than other European
ships of the time at sailing into the wind.
In January 1488, Bartolomeu Días (DEE-uhs),
a Portuguese explorer, reached the southern tip of
Africa. After sailing around it, he returned to Portugal at the urging of his crew. Días is said to have
named the tip the Cape of Good Hope because
he hoped they had found a route to Asia.
RESEARCH &
Go online to explore
WRITING
CENTER
more of the heated
debate at
ClassZone.com
History Makers
Christopher Columbus
Find links to biographies of Christopher
Columbus at the Research and Writing
Center @ ClassZone.com. Today
historians argue about Columbus’ character,
judgment, and legacy, but few dispute
his skill as a navigator. Historians believe
Columbus left home at the age of 13 or 14
to become a sailor on the Mediterranean.
When he was 25, he was shipwrecked off
the coast of Portugal. He made his way to
Lisbon, the great maritime center of his
time, where he was exposed to the latest
advances in sailing and to stories about new
lands west of Europe. Columbus became a
mariner in the Portuguese merchant marine,
working with the best navigators of the
time.
CRITICAL THINKING ANSWER
Evaluate Possible Answer: He was
curious, determined, and daring.
Unit 1 Resource Book
• American Literature, pp. 105–108
• America’s History Makers, pp. 95–96
• Readers Theater, pp. 131–136
More About . . .
History Makers
Christopher Columbus
Genoese sailor Christopher Columbus thought he
had found a faster way to reach Asia by sailing
west across the Atlantic. But he underestimated
the distance around the globe. In 1484, Columbus
asked the king of Portugal to finance his voyage.
The king refused, citing Columbus’ miscalculations
and the promising progress of his own explorers.
Columbus then asked the Spanish court. In January
1492, his plan was accepted, and on August 3, 1492,
Columbus set out on a voyage that changed history.
With one voyage to present-day Hispaniola,
Columbus changed European views of the world.
People soon realized that he had reached continents
that had been unknown to them. Thanks to
Columbus, the Atlantic Ocean became a bridge
that connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
Columbus completed a total of four voyages.
CRITICAL THINKING Evaluate What qualities
and character traits, shown in Columbus’ actions, may
have made him a good leader?
The Niña, the Pinta, and the
Santa María
The three ships that Columbus commanded
on his first voyage were tiny by modern
standards. The Pinta and Niña were each
about 70 feet long, and the flagship, the
Santa María, was over 100 feet long. Only
the Pinta and the Niña made it back to Palos
de la Frontera in southern Spain, landing
on March 15, 1493. The Santa María was
shipwrecked off the coast of Hispaniola on
December 25, 1492.
1451–1506
ONLINE
BIOGRAPHY
For more on Christopher Columbus,
go to the Research & Writing
Center @ ClassZone.com
Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, followed
Días’s route around the Cape. He continued north
along the eastern coast of Africa. Then he sailed
east across the Indian Ocean to India. At last,
someone had found an all-water route to Asia.
This route meant that the Portuguese could
now trade with Asia without dealing with Muslim
or Italian traders. Portugal took control of the
valuable spice trade. Portuguese merchants grew
wealthy. Spain and other European rivals wanted
to take part in this rich trade. They began to look
for their own water routes to Asia.
Christopher Columbus Before da Gama’s
voyage, an Italian sailor and navigator named
Christopher
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ist
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bus thought he knew a faster
way to reach Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic, which he calculated to be a shorter journey.
Spain’s rulers, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, liked Columbus’ plan because they wanted
a share of the rich Asian trade. The Queen also
welcomed a chance to spread Christianity. After
years of waiting, Columbus assembled his ships
—the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María—at the
port of Palos de la Frontera in southern Spain.
His fleet left the harbor on August 3, 1492.
28 Chapter 2
INTERDISCIPLINARY ACTIVITIES
CONNECT
to Math
Demonstration of Dead Reckoning
Navigation
Have small groups research and prepare a
demonstration of dead reckoning navigation,
the method used by Columbus. Demonstrations
should:
• list items Columbus used for dead reckoning.
• describe how the items were used.
• explain the mathematical process of
measuring speed and distance.
28 • Chapter 2
A Water Route to Asia Ten years later, another
Encourage groups to use visuals and props and
to act out the process of dead reckoning in their
demonstrations.
CONNECT
to Language Arts
Report on 1492
Explain that Columbus had been trying to
persuade Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to
finance his expedition for years before they
finally agreed. Have students use information
in the section as well as other sources to
write a brief report on conditions in 1492 that
finally caused the Spanish monarchs to accept
Columbus’ plan. Students’ reports should
mention competition with Portugal and other
European nations to trade with Asia, as well
as Spain’s internal conflicts—specifically, the
defeat of the Moors in Granada.
CHAPTER 2 • SECTION 1
GEOGRAPHY
Columbus’ Explorations Click here to see the interactive map
@ ClassZone.com
GEOGRAPHY
Columbus’ Explorations
1492–1504
CLASSZONE.COM
Connect Geography
History
CONNECT TO TODAY Have students
identify the modern-day countries Columbus
landed on or sailed closest to on his voyages.
ANSWERS
1. Movement south and west
2. Make Inferences Possible Answers:
Explorers wanted to reach land as quickly as
possible to replenish supplies. They wanted
to find a shorter water route to Asia.
Connect Geography
History
1. Movement In what direction did Columbus
sail on his voyages from Europe?
Presentation Options
2. Make Inferences Why was a shorter route
west important to European explorers?
Use the Power Presentations
DVD-ROM or the #MHL@SDC%DMSDQQ @
ClassZone.com to project the map.
Reaching the Americas
was relyingg on trade winds thatt blew
w toward the westt to speed his
across the ocean. (See map on page 1.) Butt byy Octoberr 10, he had been at
sea forr aboutt fourr weeks and had nott sighted land duringg thatt time. The crew
were close to mutiny, orr open rebellion, when theyy finallyy saw
w land.
The ships landed on an island in the Caribbean Sea. Columbus believed
he had reached somewhere in India, orr Asia, where spices grew. Columbus
named the island San Salvadorr and claimed itt forr Spain. Eagerr to reach the
rich countryy off Japan, which he believed to be nearby, he leftt San Salvador
with a group off islanders. Forr the nextt three months he visited several off the
Caribbean islands.
Finallyy he reached an island he named La Española, which todayy is called
Hispaniola. There, Columbus and his men found gold and pearls. This convinced Columbus thatt he had reached Asia. He decided to return home. In
1493 he sailed back
k to Spain. Believingg thatt he had found a waterr route to
Asia, he wrote to Ferdinand and Isabella. No one suspected thatt Columbus
had landed nearr continents entirelyy unknown to Europeans.
nt
Greeks. Sa
t to
help find their latitude.
European Exploration off the Americas 29
DIFFERENTIATING INSTRUCTION
Inclusion
Pre-AP
Sequence Voyages
Display of Changing
Attitudes Toward Columbus
List the facts below on the board and
have students use the map to identify
the voyages they describe. Then have
students write the number off the voyage
next to the fact.
• voyage that went farthest south • voyage that went farthest north • voyage that took the longest • voyage that went along the coast of
Central America Have students use the library and
Internet sources to prepare a poster
or other graphic display showing how
Columbus and his legacy have been
regarded over the centuries. Posters
should include information on when,
how, and why Columbus came to be
honored in the United States, as well
as on the controversy surrounding the
500th anniversary off his first voyage.
• Click on the four routes that Columbus
took to America.
• Point out to students that all four of
Columbus’ journeys ended up in the
present-day Caribbean. Ask students
which two journeys took Columbus
closest to North America.
• Point out the Pacific Ocean. Ask students
why Columbus was unable to reach this
body off water.
More About . . .
Hispaniola
The Caribbean island off Hispaniola is
home today to the nations off Haiti and the
Dominican Republic. Columbus reached
Hispaniola in early December off 1492.
He left a group off men on the island’s
north coast to found a colony. This first
colony was destroyed by the indigenous
inhabitants off the island, but a second one
was founded, and Hispaniola eventually
became Spain’s base for other early
explorations.
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