New World - New Opportunities

Backgrounds and New Beginnings

Vikings in America

Did the Vikings discover America?

Growth of Trade:

Events that led to greater trade between Europeans and the people of the Middle East were a series of religious wars in the Middle East called Crusades.

A New Route to the Far East:

Europeans were interested in finding an all-water route to Asia because land routes through the Middle East were controlled by the Ottoman Turks who monopolized the trade, causing high prices and less profits for European traders.
Portugal was able to take the lead in searching for new routes to Asia because it was the most able of the seagoing nations. Its sailors had been to the Maderia and Canary Islands, as well as the Azores in the Atlantic. The school started by Prince Henry the Navigator increased sea-travel knowledge among Portuguese sailors.

The African Continent:

Three kingdoms made up the Middle Kingdoms of Africa: Ghana, Mali, and Songhi. They were located at the center of important trade routes that ran between North Africa and the West African coast. Gold, salt, ivory, leather, iron, and other African goods passed through their markets.
The Portuguese raided African villages and traded with the Middle Kingdoms. Part of the trade included slavery.

Voyages of Columbus:

Christopher Columbus called the people he met in the New World "Indians" because he believed he had come to the Indies Islands, off the southeast coast of Asia.

Dividing the World:

Pope Alexander VI was able to prevent trouble between Spain and Portugal by drawing an imaginary line, called the Line of Demarcation, around the world and giving the newly found lands not under the control of a Christian leader to the west of the line to Spain and lands east of the line to Portugal.

Spain in the New World

Early Spanish Explorations:

The Spaniards explored the New World in Middle America, southern North America, and South America.
Spanish explorers hoped to find in Mexico and Peru gold, silver, and land.
Ponce de Leon- took control of the Caribbean islands and Florida for Spain by 1521.
Balboa- discovered the Pacific Ocean for Spain in 1513.
Magellan- his crew was the first to circumnavigate the world in 1522.

Conquests of the Aztecs and the Incas:

Cortez- conquered the Aztecs.
Pizarro- conquered the Inca.

The Spanish Search:

De Soto- reached the Mississippi river in 1541.
Coronado- traveled through present day Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas; and, his group were the first Europeans to see the Grand Canyon.

Spanish Colonies:

Spaniards controlled the large areas they took over in the New World by forming colonies with governments headed by viceroys directly representing the Spanish crown.

Expanding the Empire:

Spanish Missions- missionaries taught the Indians Christianity and Spanish ways of farming and making goods.
Spanish Influence- Spanish art blended with the Native American art through styles in art, crafts, and architecture; furthermore, the Spanish language became widely spoken.

France in the New World

Early French Voyages:

The first French explorer in the New World was Giovanni da Verrazano.
French Settlements:
The French made settlements in areas of eastern Canada and northern New York.
French settlers hoped to find furs, the Northwest Passage, and land in the New World.

French Missions:

The French set up Catholic missions like the Spanish did.
New France:
A private group was given control of French claims in North America. A governor was put in charge. An intendant led the sovereign council which was the appointed lawmaking and judicial body.

Into the Great West:

Marquette and Joliet- searched for the Northwest Passage in 1673.
La Salle- Robert Cavelier Sieur de la Salle claimed the Mississippi River Valley for France.

The Nature of New France:

French Influence- language, French cooking, and place names (St. Louis, Detroit, and Louisville).
French Settlers- Advantages the French had in colonizing the New World were a loyal band of settlers, a number of Indian allies, and a network of forts.

Other Europeans in the New World

The Dutch in North America:

The Dutch settled along the Hudson River in the New World.
The Dutch West India Company was formed to handle trade and settlements in America and Africa.

New Sweden:

New Sweden was along the Delaware River.

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