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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.