+

C1S5
Early European
Explorers
Mrs. Taylor
The World in 1500
+
Objectives

 1.Describe the Portuguese water route

to Asia.

 Explain
why Spain’s rulers financed
Columbus’s voyage of discovery.

 Describe Columbus’s first voyage..

+
Main Idea

 Columbus's journey permanently

linked the Americas to the rest of the
world.
+
Terms & Names

 navigator
 caravel
 Christopher Columbus
+
A Water Route to Asia
 Henry the Navigator was a Portuguese
prince who organized and paid for
sailing expeditions to explore the
Atlantic and west coast of Africa.
 Portugaldeveloped an improved ship
called the caravel.
 It had triangular sails as well as square
sails.
 Square sails carried the ship forward &
triangular sails allowed the caravel to
sail into the wind.
+

Improved caravel – with square sails and triangular sails

+
A Water Route to Asia
 Bartholomeu Dias reached the southern tip
of Africa in 1488.
 Thistip of Africa was named Cape of Good Hope
because Dias had hoped he found a route to
Asia.

 Vasco da Gama followed Dias’s route ten

years later.
 daGama continued north along the east coast
of Africa & then sailed east across the Indian
Ocean to India.
+
A Water Route to Asia

 This meant Portugal could trade with Asia

without dealing with the Muslims or
Italians.
 Lisbon, Portugal merchants became
wealthy in spice trade.
 Other European countries wanted to take
part in this valuable trade.
+
Columbus’s Plan
 Christopher Columbus thought he knew a
faster way to reach Asia.
 He decided to sail west across the Atlantic.
 He calculated this would be a shorter
journey.
 Columbus made several mistakes
 He relied on the writings of Marco Polo and a
geographer – they were wrong about the size
of Asia.
 He underestimated the distance around the
globe. He thought the earth was smaller.
Asia was bigger.
 He thought the Atlantic Ocean would be
+

Christopher Columbus

Ferdinand & Isabella

+
Columbus’s Plan
 On the advise of his advisers, the king of
Portugal rejected Columbus’s request to
finance a voyage across the Atlantic.
 Columbus then approached King
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain.
 This initially intrigued the monarchs because
they wanted to get in on the high profits of
the Asia trade.
 Also the queen wanted to spread Christianity.
+
Columbus’s Plan
 Negotiations broke down because:
 The monarchs advisers urged them not
finance him.
 They were involved in a war to drive
Muslims out of Spain.
 Columbus demanded high price
 Title of Admiral of the Ocean Sea
 % of any wealth he brought from Asia.
 Be made ruler of the lands he “found.”
 In 1492 the monarchs & Columbus reached
an agreement.
+
Setting Sail
 Initially Columbus had trouble finding a
crew.
 The fleet of ships set sail August 3, 1492.
 The ships were loaded with enough food for a
year, barrels of fresh water, firewood, & other
necessities.
 By October 10 men lost courage and
confidence in their leader.
 They thought they would starve & talked of
returning.
 To avoid mutiny, Columbus & crew agreed to sail
for three more days.
 Two day later a sailor called out “tierra, tierra”
(land, land)
+
+
Reaching the Americas
 When the ships landed on an island in the
Caribbean Sea, Columbus believed he had reached
the Indies (islands in Southeast Asia) where spices
grew!
 The Taino people greeted Columbus, who
mistakenly called them Indians.
 Columbus named the island San Salvador.
 Had his crew to “bear witness” that he was
taking the land for the King & Queen.
 Columbus wanted to get to Japan, he visited
several islands in the Caribbean.
 He found gold and other precious objects on the
island Hispaniola.
 Columbus returned to Spain, thinking he found a
+
An Expanding Horizon
 Columbus made three more trips to the Americas.
After the fourth one, the monarchs refused to support
him any longer.
 He didn’t bring back the treasures the monarchs
wanted.
 He didn’t spread Christianity, but instead mistreated &
enslaved the people which made Isabella angry.
 By the time of his death in 1506, he believed he had
reached Asia and was upset that he didn’t get the
recognition he thought he deserved.
 In time Europeans realized Columbus had actually
reached continents previously unknown to them.
 Instead of a barrier, the Atlantic Ocean became and