Download Explorers part 1

Explorers
Vikings
• The Vikings sailed from Norway, Sweden,
and Denmark.
• Vikings sailed west and built settlements in
Iceland and Greenland.
• 1000 AD, a Viking named Lief Eriksson
hired a crew and set sail from Greenland,
heading west. Eriksson found what is now
Canada.
• They called this new land “Vineland”
Vikings (Continued)
• In Vineland many grapevines grew there.
• The Vikings used Vineland as a base for
hunting and fishing.
• Lief’s brother led one trip to Vineland.
They were later attacked by people who
lived there. Lief’s brother was killed, and
the Vikings stopped traveling to Vineland.
Map
Vikings
Viking Ship
Explorers and Exploration
• Nearly 500 years have passed before the
Europeans returned to the Americas.
• During these years most Europeans did
not want to travel to unknown places
because it was too dangerous.
• Some thought horrible sea monsters
would eat them or the sea would boil into
fire.
Myths of the Ocean
Marco Polo
• In 1271, Marco Polo (17 yrs. old) left his
home in Venice, Italy to go to Asia with
father and uncle to trade and explore.
• Marco Polo reached China, India, and
Persia and explored and learned from each
country.
• 24 years later after leaving he returned to
Venice full of jewels and stories of the east.
His stories of adventure were later written
in a book.
Marco Polo
Trade Routes to the East
• For hundreds of years Europeans traded with
people from Asia.
• Europeans wanted gold, jewels, silk, and spices
from Asia.
• They used spices to make their food taste better.
• Traveling to Asia was hard and it took a long
time to reach it.
• Constantinople was captured by the Turks and
took control of the Middle East and stopped all
trade.
Renaissance
• Europeans began to make great advances
in science and technology (printing press).
• Europeans entered a new age of thought,
learning, art, and science.
• This period lasted from about 1400 to
1600, and it is called the Renaissance
Period.
• Renaissance is a French word that means
“Rebirth”
Renaissance
Portugal Leads the Way
• Portugal lead the way to search for the
first water route to Asia.
• Prince Henry (Portugal) set up the first
European school to train sailors in
navigation.
• Navigation is the study of how to plan and
control the course of a ship.
• Prince Henry thought the best way to
reach Asia was sailing south around
Africa.
Africa
Portugal (Prince Henry)
• Portuguese ships
found nuts, fruit, gold,
and slaves down the
African coast.
• Many other
Europeans found a
profit in placing
Africans into slavery
and selling them as
servants.
Vasco da Gama
• In the late 1400’s
Vasco da Gama
sailed around the
Cape of Good Hope
to India and later
sailed back to
Portugal with spices.
• De Gama finally
found a sea route to
Asia, showing the
way for future
explorers.
Routes of Da Gama
Christopher Columbus
• Columbus had been a sailor almost all of
his life.
• Columbus believed that sailing west would
be a quicker route to Asia.
• In 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella (Spain) supported Columbus on
his voyage.
• On August 3, 1492, Columbus set forth
with 89 sailors and three ships.
Columbus
Columbus (Continued)
• On October 12, 1492, Columbus sited the
“New World” (somewhere in the
Bahamas)
• Columbus made a total of four voyages to
the new world.
• Columbus died on May 20, 1506, and
always believed that reached Asia. He
thought he reached the Indies, and called
the people he met “Indians.”
Vespucci Challenges Columbus
• In 1499, Amerigo Vespucci (Spain) sailed
to the place where Columbus first landed.
He then sailed on his 2nd voyage to
present day Argentina (South America).
• Vespucci knew that he had not reached
Asia, and proved Columbus wrong.
• Vespucci formed a conclusion that the
land they found must be another continent
known as the “New World”
Vespucci
Balboa Reaches the Pacific Ocean
• On September 27, 1513, a group of
explorers lead by Vasco Nunez de Balboa
climbed up a mountain.
• It was the west coast of what today is
called the Isthmus of Panama.
• An Isthmus is a narrow strip of land that
connects two larger land areas.
• The Isthmus of Panama connects North
and South America.
Balboa (Continued)
• As Balboa reached
the top of the
mountain he fell to his
knees, he saw a huge
sea of blue.
• The sea was later
known as the Pacific
Ocean, and Balboa
said it now belonged
to Spain.
Pacific Ocean
Ferdinand Magellan’s
• In 1519, a Portuguese explorer
(Magellan) convinced the king of Spain to
pay for his expedition.
• An expedition is a journey taken for a
special reason.
• Magellan sailed through what is now
called the Strait of Magellan, near the
southern tip of South American.
• The sailors found themselves in the same
ocean Balboa had seen.
Magellan
• Magellan named it Pacific, which means
“peaceful” because the water seemed so
still and quiet compared to the Atlantic
Ocean.
• In 1521, Magellan reached the Philippine
Islands (but died there).
• It was now proved that Europeans could
sail west and reach Asia.
Ferdinand Magellan