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Early America and the Age of
Christopher Columbus
Land Bridge Invites New People
 Glaciers froze enough water that the
Berengia (a land bridge) was exposed
allowing people to cross.
Bering Strait
Alaska
Russia
Native American Societies
Around 1492
 Aztec Empire in Mexico
 Remnants of the Mayan City-States in
Central America
 Incan Empire in South America
 U.S. and Canada- Variety of cultures and
tribes living in all types of geographical
and climatological regions (See map page
11)
Back in Europe around 1492
Christianity
 Christianity shapes the
outlook of Europeans
– There was a call to convert
people of other faiths
– Crusades, Martin Luther and
Protestantism, Catholic
Monks
Map of the splits in Christianity
and the Islamic/Turkish Empire
Portuguese
 The Portuguese were the first to arrive in
West Africa in the 1400’s
– This interaction brought West Africa and
European trade closer together
– Portuguese were the first to create plantations
run by slaves
– A practice that was so efficient it would be used in mass
quantity in American society
Age of Exploration
 Portugal takes the lead
– Prince Henry the
Navigator used the
innovations and sent his
captains farther and farther
– Barthalomeau Dias
rounded the southern tip of
Africa in 1488
– Vasco de Gama reached
India ten years later
Reasons for Voyage and
Exploration
 Seek a Passage
through Americas
to the Far East
 Gold, Silver and
other Valuables
 Establish claims
to new land
 Spread
Christianity
Reasons for Voyage and
Exploration
 Convert Indians to
Christianity
 Intellectual curiosity
 Pave the way for trade
routes and new
settlements
Christopher Columbus
 Columbus felt there was
a faster way to Asia—
Across the Atlantic
– Queen Isabella of Spain
was encouraged to fund
an expedition…the
payoffs could be great
and the cost would be
minimal
Columbus
 Queen Isabella of Spain heard of
Columbus and decided to fund his
adventure
– On August 3rd 1492 Columbus set sail out of a
Spanish port
In 1492 Columbus sailed the Ocean
Blue…
 Columbus set sail with three vessels…
• The Nina
• The Pinta
• The Santa Maria
 A little more than 2 months later (October
12th 1492) the Pinta discovered land
The Mission
 Columbus was on a mission to discover
Gold
 He wished to claim land for Spain
 He also promised that he would spread
Christianity
First Encounter
 Columbus
encountered a group
of people calling
themselves Taino
 He renamed the
Island San Salvador
Zinn Reading- annotate and
notebook questions
Diseases and Enslavement
decimate the Native Americas
 Diseases Include:
– Small pox
– Mumps
– Measles
– Chicken Pox
– Typhus
“Discovery” of the Americas
Has Huge Effects
 Monarchs see their ability to increase
wealth
 Citizens can live in a society with few
constraints
 New plants and Animals are introduced
 Columbian Exchange
Columbian Exchange
 Used to describe the exchange of plants,
animals, human populations and diseases
between the Old and New world.
Old World
New World
Rivals
 Portuguese are resentful of the Spanish
 In order to avoid war, the Treaty of
Tordesillas was signed between the
Spanish and the Portuguese
Treaty of Tordesillas
 June 7th 1494
 Divided the Western
Hemisphere
Vertically
 The Americas
belonged to Spain
 East of the line
including Brazil
belonged to Portugal
Multiculturalism
 Elements of all three of these worlds can
be seen in our society
 Multiculturalism is one of our greatest
struggles and assets.