Chapter 2 - European Exploration and Settlement Flashcards
marco polo
- traveled through asia w/his father in late 1200s
- spent 17 yrs in china
- “the man w/a million stories”
christopher columbus
- italian seaman
- convinced king ferdinand & queen isabella of spain to sponsor voyage
- sailed west w/three small ships in august 1492
- found san salvador in the carribean sea
- made 4 trips to the carribean, finding more islands as well as south america
columbian exchange
the exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and people across the atlantic ocean between europe and the americas.
- brought new crops such as corn, potatoes, & squash to europe
- many europeans found new opportunities by crossing the atlantic to settle in the americas & introduced crops such as wheat and rice to these lands as well as domesticated animals like horses, cows, pigs, & sheep
- europeans brought germs that caused smallpox & other diseases deadly to indians
slavery
the treatment of people as property. people who are denied freedom in this way are said to be enslaved.
- at first, settlers forced indians to work for them
- native people began dying from european diseases so africans replaced them
- by the late 1400s, european explorers in west africa were trading guns & other goods for slaves
- in the 1500s european slave traders began shipping slaves to the caribbean for sale
spanish conquistadors
hernán cortes conquered the aztec capital of tenochtitlán in 1519. he pulled the city down and used its stones to build mexico city.
francisco pizarro attacked the inca empire in 1532, killed the ruler, atahualpa, and took over the empire.
juan ponce de león landed in florida in april 1513 whilst searching for the “fountain of youth.” he went back 8 yrs later to establish a spanish colony but died from a poisoned arrow shot by indians.
francisco vásquez de coronado searched for the “7 cities of cibola” with marcos de niza in 1540. he instead found american indan pueblos when continuing onto the great plains.
spanish missionaries
a person who travels to a territory/community in order to make converts to their religion.
- built settlements called missions where they taught local indians new skills & preached the christian faith
- each mission grew its own food & produced most of what they needed to survive
spanish borderlands
- by 1600, the spanish borderlands extended west from florida across present-day texas, new mexico, arizona, and california
- when european nations began showing interest in the land, small bands of soldiers were sent to these regions to protect the claims and lived in walled forts called presidios
- in 1565 a spanish naval officer named pedro menéndez de avilés drove the french out of their florida base & build a fort on the peninsula’s atlantic coast called st. augustine
- juan de oñate led the settlement of new mexico in 1598
- during 1600s & 1700s, settlement of spanish borderlands proceeded slowly
native americans vs spanish settlers
at first, the pueblo indians of new mexico welcomed the newcomers. however the spanish repaid their kindness w/cruelty. indians were made to work for the settlers as slaves. catholic priests ordered whippings of pueblo religious leaders who continued to practice their traditional rituals. the pueblo people rose up in revolt and drove the spanish out.
new france
in 1535, jacques cartier explored the atlantic coastline of north america, and claimed the land we know today as canada for france, later naming it new france.
samuel de champlain founded the first settlement in new france. he built a trading post called quebec in 1608.
the harsh climate of new france discouraged french farmers from crossing the atlantic.
coureurs de bois
french fur trappers who learned many skills from the american indeans w/whom they worked & lived.
native americans vs french settlers
the french were more interested in furs than farming so they made american indians their business partners.
champlain made friends w/nearby indians, especially the huron. fur trappers lived in huron villages, learned the huron language, and married huron women. they learned how to survive for months in the wilderness.
however many of the huron died from european diseases.
champlain helped the huron attack the iroquis, who became enemies of the french.
louisiana
in 1673, father marquette and louis joliet explored the mississippi river, hoping the waterway would be the northwest passage. it wasnt, so they returned to new france.
nine years later robert cavelier de la salle explored the entire length of the mississippi river. he planted a french flag at the mouth of the river and claimed everything west of the river for france on april 9, 1682, and named it louisiana.
newfoundland & roanoke colony
john cabot sailed west across the atlantic and landed in newfoundland in 1497. later, england would claim all of north america because of the flag planted by cabot.
nearly a century later sir walter raleigh tried to start a colony on roanoke island. the newcomers were more interested in gold and returned to england when their supplies ran low. in 1587 raleigh sent a second group of colonists. the leader john white went back to england for more supplies but stayed there for 3 yrs due to fighting between england & spain. when he got back the colonists had disappeared.
london company
formed by a group of merchants in 1607 to start moneymaking in virginia. crammed 105 settlers & 39 sailors into 3 tiny ships and sent them across the atlantic to ship back valuable goods such as furs & timber.
jamestown
settlers didnt know much about farming nor were willing to work hard at it. they began trading w/indians for food but the indians decided they would let the settlers die.
john smith took control of jamestown in 1608.
pocahontas saved jamestown by bringing food & keeping peace w/her people. john smith returned to england in the fall of 1609.
