Download Lesson 5 - Routes of Exploration to the New World Section 1

Lesson 5 - Routes of Exploration to the New World
Section 1 - Introduction
In Chapter 4, you read about why some Europeans sailed to the Americas. In this chapter, you will
learn why eight explorers came to the New World. How did they affect the native peoples there?
In 1492, Christopher Columbus landed on a Caribbean island. He claimed it for Spain. More
conquistadors (kahn-KEES-tah-dors), or Spanish explorers, followed. They planted Spain’s flag on
other lands in the Americas.
Explorers from England, France, and Holland came, too. Some looked for a Northwest Passage, a
faster sea route from Europe to Asia through North America. They never found it. But they did
claim North American land for the countries that sent them.
Were these explorers great men? Certainly, they accomplished much. They found new trade
routes and helped mapmakers draw better world maps. They opened the way for settlers.
But they also caused harm. They fought with American Indians who opposed them. They enslaved
whole tribes and forced them to work in mines and on farms. The Europeans also carried
contagious diseases. These are sicknesses that spread quickly among people. American Indians
had not been exposed to these illnesses before. Many became sick and died.
Look at the matrix on this page. A matrix is a chart with rows and columns. As you read
this chapter, you can use a matrix like this one to organize and compare information about
the explorers.
Section 2 - Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in Genoa, a busy seaport on the coast of Italy. As a child,
he read about the travels of Marco Polo. In the late 1200s, Polo had journeyed to Asia by land and
sea. He brought back stories of the riches and customs of China and the East Indies. Columbus
wanted to see these faraway lands.
When Columbus was about 14, he became a sailor. He traveled south along the coast of Africa and
north to Ireland. He may have gone to Iceland. Viking sailors from Norway had already explored
Greenland and the eastern Canadian shores. But Columbus and others did not know about these
voyages.
Nations in Europe wanted to find better trade routes to obtain the spices and silks of Asia. The
Portuguese tried to reach Asia by sailing around the southern tip of Africa. However, in the
1400s, people knew less about the geography of the world than is known today. Columbus believed
that Earth was much smaller than it is and that it had only one ocean. He thought he could reach
Asia faster by sailing west across the Atlantic.
This is the route of Columbus’s first voyage in the Caribbean.
Columbus asked the king of Portugal to pay for his trip. The king turned him down. His advisers
thought that the route around Africa was shorter. Finally, after almost 13 years, Columbus
convinced Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain to help him. They gave him three small
ships and about 90 men. Columbus promised to return with riches for Spain.
On August 3, 1492, Columbus left Spain with his three ships—the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa
Maria. They sailed southwest past the Canary Islands and then west across the Atlantic Ocean.
Early on October 12, a sailor saw an island with white beaches and dense green forests.
Columbus named the island San Salvador, which means “Holy Savior” in Spanish. He claimed it for
Spain. Friendly people greeted him. These people had lived in the Americas for thousands of
years. Columbus called them Indians, because he thought that he had reached the East Indies.
Some of them guided him to the island of Cuba. There, he found people wearing gold ornaments
and pearls, similar to those worn by the people of San Salvador.
For three months, Columbus searched for gold and spices. In 1493, he sailed back to Spain, with a
few gold ornaments and American Indian captives. The queen and king agreed to pay for more
voyages. Columbus promised to bring them “as much gold as they need . . . and as many slaves as
they ask.”
Columbus made three more trips. He explored more islands near Cuba and the coasts of Central
and South America. But he found little gold. When he died in 1506, he still did not know that he
had reached the New World.
However, his trips opened up a trade route that changed the history of the world. Later, Spanish
explorers did find gold. They also found the perfect climate for growing crops such as sugarcane.
To get enough crops and minerals to trade with Europe, early Spanish settlers forced American
Indians to work in fields and mines.
Soon, Europeans had colonies in the New World. Trade between Europe and the New World grew.
Animals and crops from one side of the Atlantic were introduced to the other side. Sailors also
brought ideas from one land to another. Even diseases crossed the ocean. Today, we call this flow
of goods and ideas between the Americas and Europe the Columbian Exchange, in honor of
Columbus—the man who started it all.
Section 3 - John Cabot
The opportunity for new trade interested many explorers in addition to Columbus. Giovanni
Caboto, later called John Cabot, was a young merchant, or shopkeeper, in Venice, Italy. He was
also a skilled navigator who wanted to explore the world. He had seen the spices and silks that
traders brought from Asia. He wanted to take part in this trade. Like Columbus, he thought the
best way to get to Asia was to sail west.
John Cabot traveled along this route during his first voyage in 1497.
In 1496, some merchants in England agreed to pay for his voyage. King Henry VII gave Cabot
permission to explore any “unknown land.” Cabot set out to find a faster and safer route to the
East Indies. He left Bristol, England, in May 1497. He had only one small ship and 17 men. They
traveled around the coast of Ireland and then west across the Atlantic. They sailed north of
Columbus’s route to avoid land claimed by Spain.
On June 24, Cabot reached the eastern coast of present-day Canada. He claimed the land for
England. He saw thick green forests and plenty of fish but no rich Asian cities. Cabot sailed back
to England. He told the king that he had reached Asia and would soon find its wealth.
The following year, Cabot sailed back to North America. On this try, he may have explored as far
south as Chesapeake Bay, near present-day Maryland. Historians do not know what happened to
Cabot; some say he was killed in a shipwreck, others that he returned to England and died soon
after arriving.
Like Columbus, Cabot never knew that he had reached a continent unknown to Europeans. But his
voyage opened the way for English settlers to North America.
Section 4 - Juan Ponce de León
Juan Ponce de León explored along this route.
When Columbus made a second voyage to the Americas in 1493, a young soldier named Juan Ponce
de León (wahn pahnss duh lee-OHN) went with him. Once Ponce de León arrived in the New World,
he settled on a Caribbean island named Hispaniola (today divided into the countries of Haiti and
the Dominican Republic). There he became a military commander under the governor.
In 1506, Ponce de León explored an island named Borinquen (soon to be renamed Puerto Rico).
There he heard many stories about gold. Hoping to discover this gold, Ponce de León led soldiers
to conquer the island. He and his men killed many native people. Later, Spain’s King Ferdinand
made him governor of the island.
Ponce de León soon heard of a magic fountain on another island. Stories told of a “fountain of
youth” whose waters were said to make people young again. Ponce de León asked permission to
search for this island. He wanted the glory of finding such a wonderful spot.
In 1513, Ponce de León set sail. After a month, he reached a coast with palm trees, sweetsmelling flowers, and beautiful birds. He landed on the Catholic feast day called Easter of
Flowers, or Pascua Florida in Spanish. Ponce de León named the land Florida and claimed it for
Spain. He sailed up and down the coast, but he did not find the fountain of youth. So he went
back to Puerto Rico.
In 1521, he returned to Florida to start a settlement. He brought 200 men as well as horses,
cattle, and seeds to plant. The American Indians there resented the invasion. They attacked, and
an arrow struck Ponce de León. Wounded, he sailed to Cuba and soon died. He never knew that
Florida was not an island but part of a vast continent.
Section 5 - Hernán Cortés
Here is the route Hernán Cortés took from Cuba to Mexico City.
The Spanish heard stories of a rich Mexican empire ruled by the Aztecs, a powerful American
Indian group. In 1519, Hernán Cortés (hehr-NAHN kohr-TEHZ), a Spanish nobleman living in Cuba,
sailed to Mexico in search of adventure and wealth.
Cortés arrived at a time when the Aztecs expected one of their gods to return. Stories say that
the Aztec emperor, Montezuma II, thought Cortés might be this god and sent him gifts of gold.
This made Cortés eager to conquer the Aztecs.
For months, the two men exchanged gifts and messages. Then Cortés and his men marched to the
Aztec capital. Many local American Indians joined them, hoping to overthrow the Aztec leaders.
The capital was on a series of islands in a lake, in the place where Mexico City is today.
Montezuma welcomed Cortés. After a week, Cortés took the emperor prisoner.
For six months, Cortés held Montezuma captive. Then Cortés took a short trip away from the
Aztec capital. As he returned, the Aztecs attacked. Fierce warriors surrounded Cortés and his
army. The Spanish fled. Before leaving, they stuffed their pockets with gold. Many soldiers were
so weighed down that they drowned as they crossed the canals that ran like roads through the
city.
After their defeat, the Spanish surrounded the Aztec capital for nearly a year. The Aztecs could
not get supplies. Many of them had already been weakened or killed by smallpox, a contagious
disease carried by Europeans. Now, the Aztecs began to starve. Finally, Cortés and his army
attacked. Although the Aztecs put up a strong defense, they were defeated in 1521. Cortés
claimed their lands for Spain.
The Spanish now ruled Mexico. The Aztec Empire lay in ruins. An Aztec poet wrote a sad poem
about his people:
We are crushed to the ground; we lie in ruins.
There is nothing but grief and suffering in Mexico and Tlatelolco, where once we saw beauty and
valor.
Section 6 - Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier sails up the St. Lawrence River in 1534.
In 1521, Spanish explorers reached Asia by sailing around the southern tip of South America.
Europeans now knew that the Americas lay between Europe and Asia. But they still thought that
China was not far beyond the west coast of North America. King Francis I of France hoped to
reach China’s riches by sailing across North America. But no one had yet looked for such a water
passage.
In 1534, the French king sent an experienced sailor and navigator, Jacques Cartier (zhahk cahrTYAY), to find the Northwest Passage. Cartier sailed west to Newfoundland, in present-day
Canada. He entered a large gulf through a strait, or a narrow waterway between two large land
areas. He claimed the surrounding land for France. Just before returning to France, he saw a
waterway leading west.
Jacques Cartier followed this route along the St. Lawrence River.
The next year, King Francis sent Cartier back to map the waterway. Cartier reached its mouth on
the Catholic feast day of Saint Lawrence. So Cartier named the river the St. Lawrence. With
American Indian guides, he sailed as far as present-day Quebec, until his ship could go no farther.
He visited an American Indian village and brought some of its chiefs back to France. They told
the king of great riches farther west.
In 1541, the king sent Cartier and some settlers on a third voyage, to set up a French empire in
North America. Cartier took more than 100 settlers. After enduring a harsh winter, Cartier and
the settlers gave up. In 1542, they returned to France. Still, Cartier had staked France’s claim in
North America. Sixty years later, New France had its first permanent settlers.
Section 7 - Francisco Vásquez de Coronado
Between 1540 and 1542, Francisco Vásquez de Coronado took this route through what is now
Mexico and the American Southwest.
Spain’s rulers gained wealth and power from lands in Mexico and South America. They wanted
lands in North America, too. In 1540, hundreds of Spanish conquistadors marched into North
America. Their commander was Francisco Vásquez (VAHS-kehz) de Coronado.
Coronado had come to the Americas to seek glory and wealth. He was a nobleman, but his brother
had inherited most of the family fortune. Coronado’s rich wife, along with the viceroy, or
governor, of Mexico, paid for Coronado’s expedition.
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado and his men searched for one of the Seven Cities of Gold in
Cibola, which was then in Mexico.
A priest had told Coronado about one of the Seven Cities of Gold in Cibola (present-day New
Mexico). The Seven Cities were said to have as much gold as the Aztec Empire once had.
Coronado led his army to Cibola. He found American Indian pueblos but no gold. Scouts looked
further. They found the Grand Canyon and the Rio Grande valley but no gold.
Then Coronado listened to the tale told by an American Indian slave. The slave described a land
where boats with golden eagles sailed past trees hung with golden bells. To find this land,
Coronado marched across the plains to what is now Kansas. Again, he found no gold. Angry, he had
the slave killed.
Coronado and his men returned in disgrace to New Spain in 1542. He was later charged with bad
leadership and the mistreatment of American Indians. Only the Spanish priests thought his
expedition had succeeded. It gave them a chance to spread Christianity to American Indians in
the southwestern part of North America.
Section 8 - Henry Hudson
On his first voyage, in 1609, Henry Hudson sailed up a river now named the Hudson River.
England kept searching for a northern sea route to Asia as did the country called Holland or the
Netherlands. In 1609, the Dutch East India Company in Holland hired Henry Hudson, an English
sea captain. He set out to reach China by sailing around the northern shores of Europe, near the
Arctic Circle. But his crew grew tired of ice and cold. They rebelled. Hudson agreed to change
course and sail west across the Atlantic instead.
Henry Hudson’s first voyage gave Holland a claim in North America.
While sailing along the Atlantic coast of North America, Hudson and his men entered a narrow
harbor. From there, Hudson saw a large body of water leading north. Believing that this was the
Northwest Passage, Hudson sailed up the waterway. When the water became too shallow for his
boat, Hudson realized that it was only a river. (Today, this is called the Hudson River.) But his
voyage gave Holland a claim in North America. By 1624, the Dutch had settled in the Hudson
Valley.
In 1610, English merchants paid Hudson to cross the Atlantic again. Reaching Canada, Hudson
sailed farther north. He passed through a long, narrow strait into a large body of water. Hudson
was sure that he had reached the Pacific Ocean. But, sailing down the coast, he found no opening.
Then the waters froze, trapping the ship for the winter. In fact, Hudson had not reached the
Pacific. The large body of water was a bay. It is now called Hudson Bay.
In the spring, the crew rebelled again. They set Hudson, his son, and seven others afloat in a
small boat. Hudson was never seen again. But his voyage did give England a claim to eastern
Canada.
Section 9 - Robert de La Salle
Robert de La Salle explored the Mississippi River.
In the 1600s, the French began to settle on their land claims. In 1666, Robert Cavelier de La
Salle, a French nobleman, sailed to New France. As a fur trader along the St. Lawrence River, La
Salle learned American Indian languages and explored the Ohio River. The American Indians told
him about a great river that flowed south all the way to the Gulf of Mexico.
La Salle dreamed not only of personal wealth but also of a French empire of trading posts, forts,
and settlements. King Louis XIV of France liked La Salle’s plan, but the king wanted La Salle to
pay for the journey himself. La Salle had to borrow money to finance his expedition. In 1681, La
Salle set out in a canoe to travel down the Mississippi River. When he reached the mouth of the
Mississippi River, he named the vast region he had crossed Louisiana, for the French king.
La Salle then planned to establish a sea route from France to the Mississippi River. He went to
France and received the king’s permission. In 1684, La Salle sailed to North America with more
than 200 settlers. After spending six months crossing the Atlantic, the ships missed the mouth
of the Mississippi and landed 500 miles to the west.
La Salle founded a colony there, on the coast of what is now Texas. Soon, the settlers were
starving. La Salle set out for help. Convinced that La Salle was crazy, his own men murdered him.
Although most of the colonists died, La Salle had given France a claim to the entire Mississippi
Valley.
Summary
In this chapter, you learned about eight early European explorers of the Americas. You used a
matrix to organize facts about them.
Europeans wanted a trade route that would be a shortcut to Asia’s riches. Columbus sailed west
and reached land. Others followed. These explorers thought that they had reached Asia. In time,
however, they realized that this land was actually a new continent. Some explorers, such as
Cartier and Hudson, kept searching for a fast route to Asia. But the real wealth for European
countries was the American land they claimed.
American Indians suffered greatly as a result of European exploration. The explorers fought
against tribes who opposed them. American Indians were often enslaved. In addition, Europeans
brought contagious diseases that killed many American Indians.
In Chapter 4, you learned that Spain and England were enemies. In the next pages, you will learn
about the rivalry between Spain and France. How did this conflict affect early settlements in
North America? Read on to find out.
Reading Further - Who Wins Florida?
The leading nations of Europe all competed to claim lands and wealth in the New World.
They were rivals in the founding of colonies, too. In the land we now call Florida, two great
powers battled for control. How did this conflict affect American settlement?
On an April day in 1564, three ships slipped silently from the docks of a French harbor. They
were bound for the wide Atlantic—and the coast of Florida.
The Spanish built large, wellarmed ships for sailing back and forth to the New World. Spanish
galleons often carried a valuable cargo of gold and silver. Other nations of Europe used similar
ships.
Aboard the ships were 300 men and 4 women. Some of these people were wealthy. Some were
workers. Some were soldiers. Most were Protestants. They may have been hoping to escape the
religious violence in France at this time.
Their leader was René Goulaine de Laudonniére (ruh-NAY goo-LEN duh loh-don-YEHR). His
mission was to start a colony in the New World. He, too, may have hoped to find religious
freedom. But the French rulers who sent him wanted something else.
These rulers knew that great quantities of silver and gold filled the Spanish galleons, or ships,
that sailed from the New World. The riches came from Spanish conquests in the Caribbean,
Mexico, and beyond. Such treasures made Spain strong. Other European nations feared and
envied Spain. Their rulers wanted a share of this wealth and power.
Spain had also suffered some failures. It had tried unsuccessfully to claim land in Florida and
north of the Rio Grande. These failures offered opportunities for Spain’s rivals. France now
hoped to succeed where Spain had not.
Artist Jacques le Moyne created pictures of the French experience in Florida. Here, he shows
the building of Fort Caroline.
The French ships reached Florida in June 1564. Laudonniére quickly put his people to work
building their new settlement. They chose a site that they could easily defend. First, they built a
fort, which they called Fort Caroline. Then they unloaded their supplies. These included guns,
gunpowder, and many other weapons.
The new settlers needed to protect themselves because they knew that the Spanish would try to
force them from Florida. After all, the French meant to challenge Spanish control of the region.
Fort Caroline was in good position to attack Spanish treasure ships sailing for Europe.
Laudonniére also had to worry about his own people. Many did not want to do the hard work
necessary to build a settlement. They wanted quick and easy wealth. As they hunted for gold,
supplies dwindled. American Indians living nearby at first willingly gave food to the settlers. Soon,
though, they grew tired of feeding the hungry French.
By the summer of 1565, the colony was in trouble. The settlers challenged Laudonniére’s
leadership. One group stole two ships and sailed off to make their fortunes as pirates. Other
settlers decided to abandon Fort Caroline.
Before they could leave, however, supply ships arrived from France. Several hundred new settlers
joined the struggling colony. The colony also got a new leader, named Jean Ribault (zhahn reeBOH). It seemed as if the colony that had nearly collapsed had now been given another chance.
A Turning Point for Spain and France
But in fact, Fort Caroline was in great danger. Long before Ribault’s arrival, spies in Europe had
told the Spanish about the new French settlement. As the French had predicted, Spain did not
plan to allow the colony to survive and grow.
Spain’s King Philip II ordered the removal of the French threat in Florida. He put one of his best
soldiers in charge of the mission. The soldier’s name was Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (meh-NEN-
dez day ah-vee-LAYS). Menéndez sailed from Spain in the summer of 1565. His ships reached the
coast of Florida at about the same time that Ribault’s ships arrived.
Menéndez wasted little time in seeking out Fort Caroline. Finding Ribault’s ships there, Menéndez
attacked and scattered them. He then wanted to attack the fort, but his large ships could not
reach it because of the shallow water. So Menéndez left to find a place on land for his forces to
gather. There, he would plan his attack on Fort Caroline.
Menéndez chose a site a few dozen miles from Fort Caroline. He called this place St. Augustine.
On September 8, 1565, he led his troops ashore and began to build a new settlement.
Meanwhile, Ribault’s scattered ships had returned to Fort Caroline. The French decided to launch
their own attack. The plan ended in disaster. Before they could strike at St. Augustine, a sudden
and powerful storm arrived. It destroyed the French warships. St. Augustine had been spared.
Now, it was Menéndez’s turn to attack again. He led his forces on a march over land and through
swamps to reach Fort Caroline. The difficult journey took four days. But the Spanish had
achieved surprise. They were easily able to overwhelm the fort’s weakened defenses. In a bloody
rampage, they killed many of the French settlers.
The year 1565 was a turning point for Spain and France in the Americas. In that year, Spain had
its first success in establishing a settlement in Florida. The base that Pedro Menéndez de Avilés
built at St. Augustine survived and flourished. It grew into a town. Today, it is celebrated as the
first permanent European settlement in the United States.
In 1565, France’s plan for a colony in the New World ended—at least for a time. The French did
send a force to the area in 1567. But they came only for revenge. French soldiers killed some
Spaniards at Fort Caroline. Then the French left.
France did not give up its New World dreams. The French would later build an empire in North
America as fur traders. These frontier businesses did not require large settlements of colonists.
As a result, the French population in North America was never very large.
Spain had other jealous rivals in Europe. These countries would seek their own share of Spain’s
American treasure. They would send pirates to raid Spanish ships. They would send settlers to
start new colonies.
Spain had won a victory in 1565. But the larger struggle for control of the New World continued.
Enrichment Reading - Europeans in the Americas
How were Europeans able to conquer the Americas? Think of the hardships. The land area was
huge. The ocean journey to the Americas was long and dangerous. About 60 million people already
lived in North and South America. That is about as many as lived in Europe. American Indians
were skilled warriors. They were determined to defend their lands. And the Europeans were not
unified. In fact, they were often at war among themselves. What were the Europeans’
advantages?
First, to reach the Americas, European ships could travel long distances and sail against the wind.
The Europeans also had navigational tools that allowed them to find their way across the ocean.
The compass and the astrolabe gave them directional bearings, by day and by night. Later, the
chronometer and the sextant helped explorers find their ship’s location in the ocean.
Europeans also had advantages in war. They used gunpowder and sharp steel swords. The noise of
their gunfire and the strength of their swords helped to frighten American Indians in battle. And
their horses gave them speed and power. As one American Indian explained, “Think, then, what
must be the effect, on me and mine, of the sight of you and your people, whom we have at no time
seen, astride the fierce brutes, your horses, entering with such speed and fury into my
country,…as to strike awe and terror into our hearts…”
Their greatest advantage however, was something that Europeans didn’t even know they had. It
was resistance to the diseases they brought with them. Because American Indians had not been
exposed to these, their bodies had no way to fight these illnesses. Sickness and death swept
across the Americas. This caused the collapse of some American Indian cultures and fear and
chaos in others.
Europeans shared these advantages equally. But how each nation used them differed. Read on to
see how people from different nations in Europe explored the Americas.
The Spanish
In 1492, Spain had finally won a 700-year war against the Moors. Spanish soldiers were
experienced and well-trained. That same year, Columbus brought back word of a new world to
conquer. Many conquistadors, or soldiers, sailed off to the Americas. They came to seek gold and
glory.
To see how the Spanish used their advantages, we can learn about Francisco Pizarro. He heard
stories of a great Inca empire with much gold in South America. Pizarro hoped to conquer it.
Before he reached the Incas, smallpox did. Thousands died, including the Incan ruler, and many of
his generals. These deaths plunged the Inca Empire into civil war. As two sons of the emperor
fought over who would rule, Pizarro prepared his attack. Finally, with 160 men and 62 horses, he
advanced.
Atahualpa, who had won the civil war, was not sure what to do. He was the powerful ruler of 5
million people. His was the greatest empire on Earth. He decided to invite the Spanish to meet
him in a great plaza. Pizarro arrived first and set men with guns around the plaza. Then he waited.
The emperor arrived with some 3,000 unarmed men. Suddenly, at a signal from Pizarro, his men
opened fire with guns and cannon. Then his soldiers on horseback charged into the crowd.
Swinging their steel swords, they killed many people. In the chaos, Pizarro captured the emperor.
The Spanish held Atahualpa prisoner. In the end, Pizarro killed him. Then he claimed the Inca
Empire for Spain.
The Spanish conquered all of Central America and most of South America. In North America,
they took Florida, the Southwest, and much of the present-day western United States. Spain
ruled these lands harshly. The Spanish controlled trade, government, and religion. They set up
Catholic missions and forced the American Indians to practice this religion. The Spanish also
forced them to build towns and forts, and to grow food and work the mines.
Today, signs of Spanish culture remain in the western United States. They can be heard in the
region’s music and be tasted in the foods. They are visible in the architecture of the missions.
The Spanish brought horses to the Americas. This changed the culture of many American Indians.
When the Lakota, or Sioux, tribes got horses, they moved onto the Great Plains to hunt the
buffalo. This put them in conflict with the Crow, the Mandan, and others who lived on the plains.
The British
In the 1600s, Great Britain did not have unemployed soldiers eager to conquer new lands. Instead,
many British people wanted a place to build new lives and new communities.
British rule offered settlers more freedoms than did Spanish rule. English colonists had some
religious freedom. They had more say in government. And there was more opportunity for
business than in Spanish colonies.
The British settlers often brought their families. They built homes and planted gardens. They
came to stay. They were less interested than the Spanish in converting American Indians to their
religious beliefs or in forcing them to work. What the British wanted was the land.
Sometimes the British bought land from the American Indians. Often, however, land was a prize
of war. The British fought many wars and had many conflicts with the American Indians who lived
in the lands they settled on.
Sometimes the British made treaties with one Indian nation to fight another. At other times, the
British became allies with American Indians to fight the French. In one war, the British were
allied with the powerful Iroquois Confederacy. The French were allied with the Huron. When the
Huron were defeated, they were driven from their homelands. Then British settlers moved in.
The French
The French were not so eager to leave their farms and towns in France for the hardships of the
New World. Those who came were usually men looking to earn some money and then return home.
Those who stayed were often trappers. Trappers did not want land as much as the British did.
They wanted furs and hides from local animals. They worked with American Indians to get beaver
pelts and deer hides to send back to France. This made the French less threatening to American
Indians. As one chief explained, “When the Frenchmen arrived…they never mocked at our
ceremonies, and they never molested the places of our dead.”
The French claimed a vast territory. But with far fewer settlers than the British, they had a
hard time defending their claims against the growing British population.
Today, the French influence can be seen from Quebec in Canada, all the way to New Orleans, on
the Gulf of Mexico. In these places, people still speak French or dialects that are based on
French. And in New Orleans you can also see and taste the influence of France.
The Dutch
The Dutch came from the Netherlands, sometimes called Holland, in the early1600s. They were
merchants who built an empire of trade. They bought Manhattan Island from American Indians
for about 24 dollars and founded New Amsterdam in 1625. It became the capital of the Dutch
colony of New Netherlands. From the beginning, this was a diverse colony that reached up the
Hudson River into present-day New York and New Jersey. One visitor to the little village of New
Amsterdam heard more that 18 different languages spoken. Another noted that worship was just
as varied.
Like the French, the Dutch did not push American Indians from their land. They, too, wanted to
trade with their native neighbors for furs. They could sell the fur in Europe for a lot of money.
This colony built on trade did not last long. By 1674, the British had taken control. However, the
Dutch ideas of diversity became part of the American tradition. And the Dutch left an
interesting landmark. They had a long wall of logs built to protect their colony. In time, the wall
was torn down and became a street. Today that street is called Wall Street. It is one of the
financial centers of the world.
The Swedes
People from Sweden started a colony called New Sweden in 1638. Like the Dutch colony, it was
based on trading local resources such as furs and fish. The small colony was built along the
Delaware River in present-day New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. The Swedish
settlers were not in power for long. By 1682, they were part of William Penn’s British colony of
Pennsylvania. Penn welcomed them. The Swedish colonists introduced the log cabin to American
settlers on the frontier.
The Portuguese
Portugal gained a huge colony in South America as the result of a storm. The navigator Pedro
Alvares Cabral was trying to sail to India when a wind blew his ship all the way to present-day
Brazil. There, the Portuguese started a colony. They ruled much as Spain ruled its settlements.
They forced the American Indians to work for them. The Portuguese settlers had little say in
government. And there was no freedom of religion.
Portugal is a small country but its influence on Brazil was great. Today, Portuguese remains the
language of Brazil. There are many more people in Brazil who speak Portuguese than in Portugal.
Enrichment Reading - Exploration, Trade, and Interdependence
Economics is the study of how people use resources to produce and exchange goods and services
to meet their wants and needs. This essay will explore these key economics concepts:
• Money is a means of exchange that is a measure of value and that tends to hold value.
• Trade offers many benefits to countries.
• Opportunity cost is the cost of the option not taken when making a decision.
Christopher Columbus’s voyage across the Atlantic Ocean was not easy. But it ended in success.
That is, his ships safely reached land that he thought was part of Asia.
In his journal, Columbus wrote notes about his journey. He described what he saw in the strange
new lands. He also wrote of his desire to return to Spain. “But in truth,” he noted, “should I meet
with gold or spices in great quantity, I shall remain till I collect as much as possible, and for this
purpose I am proceeding solely in quest of them.”
For almost 8 months, Columbus looked for lands rich in gold or spices that he had heard tales of.
He found only enough gold to keep him interested. He went back to Spain with the small amount
of gold he had received in trade. He vowed to return. The opportunities in this land were great.
Money
Columbus sailed for the glory of Spain and of his religion. But he sought other prizes, too. One
thing he wanted was gold.
Of course, gold is beautiful to look at. But it is also rare and valuable. For hundreds of years,
people around the world have used gold as a form of money.
What, exactly, is money? In economics, money has three key features:
• It is recognized by both buyers and sellers as a means of exchange.
• It is an agreed-upon measure of the value of goods and services. For example, people pay more
for a pair of sneakers than a pencil, so the sneakers are worth more than the pencil.
• It tends to hold its value and is likely to be worth about the same amount in the future as it is
today.
Money is useful in the exchange of goods and services. Without money, people would have to use
the oldest form of trade—barter, or the exchange of one product or service for another. For
example, suppose someone wanted some corn. The person would have to find something to trade
that the corngrower wanted—perhaps candles. The two people would then have to agree on how
much corn to trade for how many candles. And what if the same person wanted corn again the
next week? The corn seller no longer needs candles. The two would have to find something else
the corn grower wants in trade for the corn, and agree on the amount.
Money makes such dealings simpler. Buyers and sellers can make an exchange easily. They do not
have to strike a new bargain each time they want to do business.
Spices and Trade
Columbus also sought spices. These were valuable to Europeans. Spices made food taste better
and last longer. But many spices could be grown only in distant Asian lands. This made distribution,
or the process of moving items to the people who want them, difficult. Asian spices had to be
imported—brought into one country from another for sale. One of Columbus’s main goals was to
open a trade route to Asia in order to have better access to spice markets.
Trade is important to a country’s economy. It allows a country to obtain goods and services it
cannot produce or provide for itself. Resources are scarce. Not every country or region has the
same amounts or types of natural resources. And, in some places, it can be costly to collect or
develop certain resources.
Trade also allows a country to gain wealth by selling the goods and services it does produce. To
sell a good or service to another country is to export that good or service.
To see the benefits of trade, consider this example. Country Z has plenty of oil that it can easily
produce. But, Country Z gets little rain. It cannot grow much food without building very costly
systems for bringing water to its farmland. If it devotes workers and money to building these
systems, it will have to produce less oil. That is, if it builds water systems, it faces a high
opportunity cost. In economics, an opportunity cost is the cost of the choice you pass up when you
make a decision. For example, if Country Z chooses to build a water system, it gives up some of its
oil production. The value of the lost oil is the opportunity cost.
Trade allows Country Z to invest its money in producing oil. Then, it can sell that oil. It can use
the money from the sale to buy food from a country that produces lots of food.
This example shows the benefits of trade. It also shows the effects of specialization. By
specializing in producing oil, Country Z must depend upon another country for food. It must trade
with other countries.
Columbus was only partly successful in his mission. He did find some gold, and those who followed
him would find more. But, he did not reach the spice lands of Asia. Yet, Columbus’s journey
changed the world forever. Europeans gained access to the rich resources of North and South
America. And, the people of the Americas saw their lives change dramatically with the arrival of
Europeans.