Discovery of a New World 9/5/14

• First Group to discover the New World: the Vikings 1000 AD
  • Leif Erickson: he settled in present day Nova Scotia and called it Vinland. They is just having fun
  • After the vikings everything went dead from 1000-1492
• What events caused a search for a NW passage? (taking you to Asia for "spices and junk")
  • Marco Polo wrote a book about his adventures in China, 1295 led to the Silk Road
  • The religious Crusades -> discovery that the muslims had been trading with China
  • Italian city states Venice and Genoa get really rich trading with Muslims who were trading with Asians. They tended to rip people off. (Renaissance)
  • Crusades, Renaissance, and Reformation, led to a need for the NW passage
• Famous Discoverers
  • Portuguese Maritime empire
    • Bartolomeo Dias, 1487
    • Vasco de Gama, 1498 made it to India
    • Christolo Colon 1451-1506 from the Genoan city state: convinces the Spanish monarchy to give him ships and money to GO WEST TO GET EAST. Made four voyages. He didnt even realize that he had discovered a new World
  • First Spanish Conquests
    • Ferdinand Cortes: defeated the Aztecs, Monteczuma being the cheif, because they thought he was a god.
    • Francisco Pizarro: defeated the Incans, Atahualpa. Took over Peru\
  • Dutch Guy
    • Henry Hudson, hudson bay. Claimed New York for the Dutch
  • French Peeps
    • Samuel Champlain
• Economic Policies
  • Mercantilism: exports>imports, lead to need for colonies, getcha gold
• Reasons for going to the New World
  • Scientific Curiosity!!!! Caravel is the new type of ship w/ and extra sail and a much improved compass, sextant used to look at the north star, better maps more accurate
  • Religious Peeps wanted to spread religion.