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    Key Concepts

    inAmerican History

    Colonialism

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    Set Contents

    Key Concepts inAmerican History

    Abolitionism

    Colonialism

    Expansionism

    FederalismIndustrialism

    Internationalism

    Isolationism

    Nationalism

    Progressivism

    Terrorism

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    Key Conceptsin

    American History

    Colonialism

    Darrell J. Kozlowski

    Jennifer L. Weber, Ph.D.General Editor

    University of Kansas

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    Key Concepts in American History: Colonialism

    Copyright 2010 by DWJ BOOKS LLC

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    Kozlowski, Darrell J.Colonialism / Darrell Kozlowski ; Jennifer L. Weber, general editor.

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    List of Illustrations ...........................viReaders Guide to

    Colonialism...................................vii

    Milestones in Colonialism(14921783) .................................viii

    Preface ...............................................x

    What Is Colonialism? ....................... 1

    Colonialism from A to ZAppalachian Mountains ................... 9

    Aztec Empire .................................. 10

    Balboa, Vasco Nuez de(14751519) ................................. 12

    History Makers:Hernn Corts(14851547) ................................. 13

    Champlain, Samuel de(1567?1635) ............................... 15

    Columbus, Christopher

    (14511506) ................................. 16History Speaks:Columbuss Log ........................... 20

    Da Gama, Vasco (1460?1524) ....... 21

    De Soto, Hernando(1496?1542) ............................... 22

    Disease ............................................ 24

    Drake, Sir Francis(1540?1595) ............................... 25

    England ........................................... 26

    Ferdinand (14521516) andIsabella (14511504).................... 29

    France.............................................. 30

    French and Indian War(17541763) ................................. 32

    Hudson, Henry (1570?1611) ......... 35

    Inca Em pire ..................................... 36

    Jamestown, Virginia ....................... 38

    London Company ........................... 40

    Then & Now:Business Or ganizations ............... 42

    Magellan, Ferdinand(14801521) ................................. 43

    Marquette, Jacques (16371675),and Louis Joliet (16451700) ...... 47

    Mayflower, The .............................. 50

    History Speaks:The Mayflower Compact ............ 51

    Mercantilism ................................... 52

    Native Americans ........................... 53

    Netherlands .................................... 57

    New England .................................. 59

    History Speaks: A Descriptionof New England .......................... 60

    New Fr ance ..................................... 61

    New N etherland ............................. 63

    History Makers: PeterStuyvesant (1592?1672) ............ 64

    New Spain ....................................... 65

    New Sweden ................................... 67

    Plymouth Com pany ........................ 69

    Portugal .......................................... 70Proclamation of 1763 ..................... 71

    Quebec ............................................ 72

    Then & Now:The French in Quebec ................. 73

    Roanoke, Lost Colony of ................ 75

    Russia .............................................. 76

    Slavery and the Slave Trade ........... 77

    Smith, John (15801631) ................ 80

    Spain ............................................... 83

    Squanto (1585?1622).................... 85

    Thirteen Colonies ........................... 87

    History Speaks: The MarylandToleration Act, 1649 .................... 93

    Tobacco ........................................... 94

    Vespucci, Amerigo(1451?1512) ............................... 96

    Viewpoints About

    ColonialismFrom The Diversity of Native

    America, Juan de Oate,1599 ............................................. 98

    v

    Contents

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    vi Colonialism

    From The Opening of theFur Trade, Samuel deChamplain, 1604 ......................... 99

    London Company (or Virginia

    Company) Charter, 1606 ........... 100From City Upon a Hill (A Model

    of Christian Charity),John Winthrop, 1630 ................ 102

    William Penns Charter, 1681 ....... 103

    Treaty of Paris of 1763 ................. 104

    Proclamation of 1763 ................... 106

    Letter to ReverendSamson Occum,

    Phillis Wheatley, 1774 ............... 108

    Glossary of Key Terms ................. 109

    Selected Bibliography.................. 113

    Index ............................................. 116

    List of Illustrations

    Photos

    Appalachian Mountains ................... 9Vasco Nuez de Balboa.................. 14

    Christopher Columbus ................... 18

    Queen Elizabeth I ........................... 28

    Henry Hudson discovering theHudson River ............................... 36

    English colonists arriving atJamestown................................... 40

    The Mayflower............................... 52

    The Dutch siege ofFort Chr istina ............................... 68

    Landing at Plymouth Rock............. 69

    Squanto and the Pilgrims .............. 86

    William Penn .................................. 90

    MapsThe Thirteen Colonies ...................... 5

    Magellans Circumnavigationof the World ................................ 45

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    The list that follows is provided as anaid to readers in locating articles onthe big topics or themes inAmericanColonial History. The Readers Guidearranges all of the A to Z entries in

    Key Concepts in American History:Colonialism according to these 9 keyconcepts of the social studies curric-

    ulum: Colonies; Economics andTrade; European Nations; Explor-ers and Conquerors; Government;Native Americans; People and So-ciety; Religion;and Wars and Bat-tles. Some articles appear in morethan one category, helping readers tosee the links between topics.

    vii

    Readers Guideto Colonialism

    ColoniesAppalachian MountainsChamplain, Samuel de

    (1567?1635)Jamestown, VirginiaLondon CompanyMayflower, TheNative AmericansNew EnglandNew FranceNew Netherland

    New SpainNew SwedenPlymouth CompanyProclamation of 1763QuebecRoanoke, Lost Colony ofStuyvesant, Peter (see

    New Netherland)Thirteen Colonies

    Economics and TradeAztec Empire

    Da Gama, Vasco(1460?1524)

    DiseaseJamestown, VirginiaLondon CompanyMercantilismNative AmericansPlymouth CompanySlavery and the Slave

    TradeThirteen Colonies

    TobaccoEuropean NationsEnglandFrance

    NetherlandsPortugalRussiaSpain

    Explorers andConquerors

    Aztec EmpireBalboa, Vasco Nuez de

    (14751519)Champlain, Samuel de

    (1567?1635)Columbus, Christopher(14511506)

    Corts, Hernn(14851547)(see Aztec Empire)

    Da Gama, Vasco(1460?1524)

    De Soto, Hernando(1496?1542)

    Drake, Sir Francis

    (1540?1595)Ferdinand (14521516)and Isabella(14511504)

    Hudson, Henry(1570?1611)

    Inca EmpireMagellan, FerdinandMarquette, Jacques

    (16371675),and Louis Joliet(16451700)

    Smith, John(15801631)

    Vespucci, Amerigo(1451?1512)

    GovernmentJamestown, VirginiaMaryland Act of

    TolerationMayflower CompactSmith, John

    (15801631)

    Native AmericansAztec EmpireDisease

    Inca EmpireNative AmericansSquanto (1585?1622)

    People and SocietyDiseaseMaryland Act of

    TolerationQuebecRoanoke, Lost Colony ofSlavery and the Slave

    TradeReligionMaryland Act of

    TolerationPlymouth CompanyThirteen Colonies

    Wars and BattlesEnglandFranceFrench and Indian War

    (17541763)New NetherlandProclamation of 1763Spain

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    After European explorers and adventurers discovered the Ameri-cas, colonization throughout the Western Hemisphere increasedquickly. European nations hoped to gain power and wealth bysending their people to settle the new lands.

    Spain sent the first European colonists to the Americas, fol-lowed by Portugal. By the mid-1700s, however, Great Britain heldthe most powerful colonial empire in the Americas.

    viii

    1325 Aztecs found the city of Tenochti-

    tln in what is today Mexico.

    1440 The Portuguese are the first Euro-

    peans to take slaves from Africa.

    1488 Bartholomeu Dias reaches the

    southern tip of Africa.

    1492 Christopher Columbus finds the

    Americas, leading to European col-

    onization of the new lands.

    1494 The Treaty of Tordesillas divides

    the New World between Spain and

    Portugal.

    1497 John Cabot claims the eastern

    shore of Canada for England, pav-

    ing the way for later colonization.

    1498 Vasco da Gamas fleet reaches the

    Indian port of Calicut, having

    found an all-water route to the

    Indies.1510 Vasco Nuez de Balboa establishes

    the colony of Santa Maria la Anti-

    qua del Darin in what is today

    Panama.

    1513 Balboa is the first European to see

    the Pacific Ocean.

    1513 Juan Ponce de Len claims and ex-

    plores Florida for Spain.1517 Ferdinand Magellan sets sail to find

    a sea route to the Indies for Spain.

    1519 Hernn Corts reaches Tenochtit-

    ln, capital of the Aztec empire, on

    November 12.

    1521 The Aztec empire collapses on Au-

    gust 13.

    1522 The Victoria, one of Magellans

    ships, becomes the first ship to

    circumnavigate the globe.

    1523 Spanish conquistador Francisco

    Pizarro arrives in Peru.

    1524 Giovanni da Verrazano claims New-

    foundland for France.

    1533 The Inca empire is conquered by

    Spanish conquistadors, leading

    to Spanish colonization of South

    America.

    1534 Jacques Cartier claims the Gulf of

    St. Lawrence for France.

    1541 Hernando de Soto reaches the Mis-sissippi River on May 8.

    1553 Negotiations between the English

    and the Russians lead to the found-

    ing of the Muscovy Company.

    1580 Francis Drake becomes the first

    Englishman to circumnavigate the

    globe.

    1585 Walter Raleigh and his groupattempt to colonize Roanoke

    Island.

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    1587

    Virginia Dare is the first Englishchild born in the Americas.

    1588 The English navy defeats the Span-

    ish Armada.

    1602 The Dutch East India Company is

    founded.

    1606 King James I of England grants

    charters to establish the Virginia

    Company and the London Com-

    pany and founds the Plymouth

    Company.

    1607 Jamestown is established by the

    London Company.

    1608 Samuel de Champlain founds

    Quebec.

    1609 Henry Hudson claims New Neth-

    erland and begins exploring the

    Hudson River.1612 John Rolfe begins growing tobacco

    in Jamestown.

    1619 A Dutch slave-trading ship brings

    the first Africans to America.

    1619 Members of the House of Burgesses

    meet for the first time in Virginia.

    1620 TheMayflowerreaches Plymouth

    Rock.1637 The New Sweden Company is

    formed.

    1638 The New Sweden Company settles

    New Sweden, or what today is

    called Delaware.

    1643 The New England Confederation

    is established.

    1654

    John Casor becomes the firstlegally recognized slave in the

    thirteen colonies.

    1662 A hereditary slavery law is estab-

    lished in Virginia.

    1673 French explorers Jacques Mar-

    quette and Louis Joliet set out to

    explore the Mississippi River.

    1682 Robert de La Salle claims Louisi-

    ana for France.

    1689 The Glorious Revolution re-

    moves James II from the English

    throne.

    1705 The Virginia slave codes restrict

    the movement of blacks.

    1728 Vitus Bering sails the Bering

    Strait.

    1750 Thomas Walker discovers theCumberland Gap, leading to easier

    settlement of the land west of the

    Appalachian Mountains.

    1754 The French and Indian War

    begins.

    1763 The Treaty of Paris is signed, end-

    ing the French and Indian War.

    1763 King George III issues the Procla-mation of 1763.

    1799 Czar Paul I grants a charter to the

    Russian American Company.

    1807 Great Britain outlaws the African

    slave trade.

    1834 Britain outlaws slave ownership

    within its colonies.

    ix

    Colonialism (1300s1834)

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    The United States was founded on ideas. Those who wrote the U.S.Constitution were influenced by ideas that began in Europe: reasonover religion, human rights over the rights of kings, and self-governanceover tyranny. Ideas, and the arguments over them, have continued toshape the nation. Of all the ideas that influenced the nations foundingand its growth, 10 are perhaps the most important and are singled outhere in an original seriesKEY CONCEPTS IN AMERICAN HISTORY. The vol-

    umes bring these concepts to life,Abolitionism, Colonialism, Expan-sionism, Federalism, Industrialism, Internationalism, Isolationism,Nationalism, Progressivism, and Terrorism.

    These books examine the big ideas, major events, and influential indi-viduals that have helped define American history. Each book features threesections. The first is an overview of the concept, its historical context, thedebates over the concept, and how it changed the history and growth ofthe United States. The second is an encyclopedic, A-to-Z treatment of thepeople, events, issues, and organizations that help to define the -ism

    under review. Here, readers will find detailed facts and vivid histories,along with referrals to other books for more details about the topic.

    Interspersed throughout the entries are many high-interest features:History Speaks provides excerpts of documents, speeches, and lettersfrom some of the most influential figures in American history. HistoryMakers provides brief biographies of key people who dramatically in-fluenced the country. Then and Now helps readers connect issues ofthe nations past with present-day concerns.

    In the third part of each volume, Viewpoints, readers will find lon-

    ger primary documents illustrating ideas that reflect a certain point ofview of the time. Also included are important government documentsand key Supreme Court decisions.

    The KEY CONCEPTS series also features Milestones in. . . , time linesthat will enable readers to quickly sort out how one event led to an-other, a glossary, and a bibliography for further reading.

    People make decisions that determine history, and Americans havegenerated and refined the ideas that have determined U.S. history. Withan understanding of the most important concepts that have shaped our

    past, readers can gain a better idea of what has shaped our present.Jennifer L. Weber, Ph.D.

    Assistant Professor of History, University of KansasGeneral Editor

    Preface

    x

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    What is colonialism? It really is a simple concept.Colonialism is the extension of a countrysrule to lands beyond its own borders. These newlands established by the parent country are calledcolonies. The colonies may be either settler colo-nies, to which colonists move permanently, or

    dependencies, which are governed by the parentcountry but to which few colonists actually move.In settler colonies, the native populations and

    their cultures often are displaced or, sometimes,eliminated. Colonizing nations generally control thenatural resources, the labor force, and the marketsof a colony. The colonizing power also may attemptto impose the parent countrys culture, religion, andlanguage on the native people. Colonialism, then, is

    a system of direct political, economic, and culturalcontrol by a powerful country over a weaker one.

    HISTORY OF COLONIALISM

    The history of colonizationthe act of extendingones rule to another countrystretches around theglobe and across time. The term colonialism gen-erally is used to refer to overseas European empires.The history of colonization can be traced back tothe ancient Phoenicians and Greeks, however. The

    Phoenicians, who first settled on the Eastern edge ofthe Mediterranean Sea, were the major tradingpower in the Mediterranean region from about1550 B.C.E. to about 300 B.C.E. They traded with citiesin Egypt and Greece and established colonies as far

    west as present-day Cadiz, Spain.In ancient Greece, the Greek city-states often

    established colonies to further trade with foreigncountries and thus increase the wealth of the parent

    city-state. About 30 of the Greek city-states estab-lished more than one colony in the Mediterraneanregion. The most active colonizer was the city-stateof Miletus. It set up 90 colonies that stretched across

    1

    What

    Is

    Colonialism?

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    2 Colonialism

    the Mediterranean, from the shores of present-dayTurkey in the east to the southern coast of present-day Spain in the west. Several of these colonies wereon the northern coast of Africa.

    The early Romans often set up colonies to securenew conquests. Early in Romes history, colonies ofRoman citizens secured the two coasts of Italy. Thecolonists entered each conquered city in militaryfashion, preceded by flags and banners, and the es-tablishment of the settlement was celebrated withspecial ceremonies. The Roman colonists were freefrom taxes and from military service because oftheir position as colonists in a conquered city.

    Later, in the second centuryB

    .C

    .E

    ., colonizationbecame a way for Rome to provide for the poorestof its people. By the first centuryB.C.E., the Romanrulers were granting land to veteran soldiers to es-tablish colonies. The right to found colonies wastaken away from the Roman people by the emperor

    Julius Caesar (r. 49 B.C.E.44 B.C.E.). The right to colo-nize then became an exclusive power of the Romanemperors, who used it mainly to establish military

    settlements in the provinces of the empire.EUROPEAN COLONIALISM

    Modern European colonialism began in 1415, whenPortugal conquered the Muslim port of Ceuta innorthern Africa. In the decades that followed, Por-tuguese explorers sailed south along the west coastof Africa and established trading posts, ports, andforts. This wave of colonialism was led by Portu-guese and then Spanish exploration of the coasts of

    Africa, the Americas, India, and East Asia.Despite some earlier attempts, it was not until

    the 1600s that England, France, and the Netherlandssuccessfully established overseas colonies. Thesenations competed with Spain and Portugal, as wellas with each other, for new lands. Ultimately, Eng-land became highly successful in North America,establishing thirteen thriving colonies along the At-lantic seaboard.

    ENGLANDS THIRTEEN COLONIES

    No one ever took a complete or accurate census ofEnglands colonies on mainland America. By the

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    Colonialism 3mid-1700s, however, the thirteen English coloniesprobably had a total population of about 1,600,000colonists. About 450,000 of these lived in the NewEngland coloniesMassachusetts, Rhode Island,Connecticut, and New Hampshire. Slightly more than425,000 lived in the middle coloniesNew York,Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. More than700,000 lived in the southern coloniesMaryland,

    Virginia, North Carolia, South Carolia, and Georgia.The southern colony of Virginia had the largest pop-ulation, with about 340,000 colonial inhabitants.Georgia, the last colony to be established, was hometo fewer than 10,000 colonists.

    Blacks accounted for more than 325,000 of thetotal population of the British colonies. More than140,000 blacks lived in Virginia, more than 90,000in the Carolinas, and about 49,000 in Maryland. Inthe middle colonies, New York had the highest num-ber of blacksmore than 16,000. In New England,the black population was fewer than 13,000.

    A Mix of People The English were by far the mostnumerous of the colonists and made up the domi-

    nant group in all of the British colonies. They ac-counted for about three-fifths of the total whitepopulation. Among other national groups, the mostnumerous were Scots, Scots-Irish, and Germans. Many Scots welcomed the opportunity to seek abetter life in America. The Scots-Irishdescendantsof Scots who had settled in Northern Ireland in theearly seventeenth centurymigrated to America inthe late 1600s. The Scots-Irish came because eco-

    nomic difficulties and religious differences becameunbearable at home. Germans settled in Pennsylvania in large num-bers, attracted by the advertisements of the colonysfounder, William Penn. Other Germans settled in theHudson River Valley in upper New York. Still othersmoved southward into the Shenandoah Valley in

    Virginia and on to the Carolina frontier. Other non-English groups included the Irish,who settled in all the British colonies, and the Dutch,who lived chiefly in New York and New Jersey. Anumber of Swedes lived in Delaware. A group ofSwiss colonists settled in New Berne, North Carolina,

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    4 Colonialism

    and many French HuguenotsProtestants who es-caped religious persecution in their Catholic home-landsettled in South Carolina. Jews, who werepersecuted throughout Europe, also sought refugein British North America.

    Social Classes In the earliest colonial days, roughfrontier conditions destroyed European social dis-tinctions and classes, as all colonists had to worksimply tosurvive. New social classes eventually ap-peared later in the colonial era, but the social classesin America were not nearly as rigid as those inEurope. The colonial upper class included the officials

    who represented the authority of the British crown.This class also included representatives of the variouscompanies that had founded some of the coloniesand the families of the proprietors of other colonies.In the South, the upper class was made up of planta-tion owners. Wealthy merchants made up the upperclass in the middle and New England colonies. The colonial middle class included skilled work-ers and tradespeople from the towns, landowning

    farmers, ministers and other members of the clergy,and lawyers. Poor farmers, workers, and indenturedservants made up the lower class. At the bottom ofsociety were blacks, both free and enslaved.

    Religion in the Colonies Puritan influence domi-nated in New England. Once in America, the Puritansconsidered themselves free from the restrictions ofEnglands established Anglican Church, which pre-

    vented them from worshipping as they chose. ThePuritans gave control of the church to the congrega-tion, and church members elected officers. In theNew England colonies, the Puritan churches became

    very powerful in both religious and secular matters,and people were expected to attend their services.This strict attitude changed in the late 1600s, whenProtestants of other faiths began to find religioustoleration in the New England colonies.

    The middle colonies were the least influencedby English religious groups. Neither the Dutch inNew York nor the English Quakers in Pennsylvaniatried to control the religion of other settlers. Dutch

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    Between 1607 and 1773, English settlers seeking religious freedom and neweconomic opportunities founded thirteen distinct colonies along the easternAtlantic Coast. Other settlers came from The Netherlands, Sweden, France, Ger-many, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.

    The Thirteen Colonies

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    6 Colonialism

    Protestants, Presbyterians, Mennonites, Moravians,Lutherans, Quakers, and Catholics lived side by sidein the Middle Colonies.

    In the southern colonies, the Anglican Church

    held the same favored position that it held in England.Taxes were paid for the churchs support, and royalofficials and well-to-do families usually were Angli-can. Yet, in the South, the Anglicans lacked the zealof the New England Puritans, and followers of otherfaiths lived without fear of persecution.

    Steps taken in three colonies led to more religiousfreedom. In 1649, Marylands legislature passed theToleration Act, which provided that no Christians

    were to be persecuted because of their religiousbeliefs. In Pennsylvania, William Penns policy per-mitted all who acknowledged God to settle there.Penns policy also made it possible for Jews to find ahaven from persecution. Rhode Island was the mostliberal of the colonies in religious matters. It fol-lowed the principles of its founder, Roger Williams.

    Family Life In the early years of colonial settle-ment, there was little time for any sort of recreation.

    Working to survive took most of the colonists time.In some colonies, such as Massachusetts, work, as

    well as play, was forbidden on Sundays, so that allcolonists could attend church services.

    In colonial New England, farmers depended ontheir families to help work the land. Thus, most NewEngland families toiled long hours in the fields dur-ing the summer. In the winter, when it became toocold to work outside, the families made furniture,

    brooms, tools, household utensils, and other neededitems. Women of all ages spun wool and flax, wovecloth, and made clothes for their families. In the colonial South, the great distances be-tween planters homes tended to discourage socialactivity in rural areas. To make up for this, the wealth-iest planters kept winter residences in cities such asCharleston, South Carolina, and Williamsburg, Vir-ginia. There, the planters and their families enjoyed

    the winter social season.

    Education in the ColoniesAs the English colo-nies became more settled, education grew in im-

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    portance. In New England, close relations betweenchurch and state led to the rise of a public schoolsystem designed to teach reading and religion. Forexample, the Massachusetts Public School Law of

    1647 required each each town of 50 families or moreto support an elelmentary school.The great variety of religious groups in the mid-

    dle colonies made the creation of any system of pub-lic schools difficult. Furthermore, education wasnot yet considered a public function. For these rea-sons, the schools that were established usually werereligious schools, maintained by each church for thechildren of its faith.

    PEOPLE SHAPE THE COLONIESBehind the ideas of colonialism, of course, are thepeople who settled these lands. The settlers whocame to the Americas built each one of the colonies,

    whether Spanish, English, French, or Dutch, andmade each unique. From Spanish explorer HernnCorts, we know of the greatness of the Aztec em-pire in what is today Mexico. Although he was un-popular with colonists, the strict Dutch governor

    Peter Stuyvesant worked to bring improvements tothe colony of New Netherland, todays New York.Englishmen John Smith and John Rolfe saved thefragile Jamestown, Virginia, settlement from perish-ing and so helped to establish Englands first perma-nent colony in North America.

    NATIVE PEOPLES DEFEND THEIR LAND

    Huge social, cultural, and religious differences existed

    between the Native Americans and European settlers.European diseases, for which the native people hadno natural immunity, wiped out many tribes, andmost colonists viewed the natives as heathens. Ten-sions between the native peoples and the colonistsremained high, especially in the 1600s, as settlers tookover even more native land.

    In 1634, for example, members of the Narragan-sett tribe, in what is today Rhode Island, killed an

    English sea captain. An expedition set sail from Bos-ton under the command of John Endicott to punishthe killers. Indeed, Captain Endicott believed he was

    working Gods will against the savages. After a

    Colonialism 7

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    brief skirmish, the Indians disappeared. Endicottthen spent two days burning the empty villages anddestroying Indian food supplies.

    Captain Endicott next sailed into the area of the

    native Pequot. The two groups met to establishpeace. Endicott, however, distrusted the Pequot. Thepeace talks broke down, violence erupted, and thecolonists destroyed and looted the Indian village.

    The furious Pequots directed their anger againstthe nearest English settlement and besieged FortSaybrook. In response, the English declared waron the Pequots. In May 1637, English Puritans sur-rounded a fortified Pequot village. Within an hour,

    between 400 and 700 native men, women, and chil-dren were put to the sword or burned to death asthe English torched the village. This massacre brokethe tribes resistance. The colonists then forced aharsh peace, which essentially destroyed the Pequottribe, on the Native Americans.

    Similar tales of escalating violence define the re-lationship between Native Americans and Europeansettlers. Contact with European colonists resulted

    in a profound and indelible effect on native culturethroughout the Americas. In less than a generation,the world into which the Indians had been born, andfor which they had been prepared, vanished forever.

    THE COLONIAL LEGACY TODAY

    Colonialism shaped the world we live in today. Theboundaries of Englands thirteen colonies are, infact, the boundaries for many of todays Eastern Sea-board states. The religious and cultural traditionsof our nation have their roots in colonial times.English became the primary language of the UnitedStates because the vast majority of the colonistsspoke English. Indeed, the United States is a nationof immigrants from around the world.

    FURTHER READINGDavis, Kenneth C.Americas Hidden History: Untold Tales of the

    First Pilgrims, Fighting Women, and Forgotten FoundersWho Shaped a Nation. New York: Collins, 2008.

    Hart, Jonathan. Comparing Empires: European Colonialism fromPortuguese Expansion to the Spanish-American War. NewYork: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

    8 Colonialism

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    Appalachian Mountains

    Major mountain range in easternNorth America. In early colonial times

    (16071750), the Appalachians formeda barrier to British settlement of theland west of the mountains. This moun-tain range stretches from northeast

    Alabama, in the southern United States,north into the New England states andeastern Canada. The range is about1,500 miles (2,400 km) long and be-tween 100 and 300 miles

    (160 and 480 km) wide.The Appalachians aremade up of several smallerranges: the White Moun-tains, the Green Mountains,the Berkshires, and the BlueRidge among them. At 6,684ft. (2,037 m), Mount Mitch-ell in North Carolina is the

    tallest peak in the Appala-chians and the highest pointeast of the Mississippi River.

    During the early yearsof colonial settlement, thickforests, dense undergrowth,and few passages throughthe mountains forced theEnglish colonists to hug

    the Atlantic Coast. Nativepeoples populated the landwest of the Appalachians,including the area known as

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    AC

    Colonialismfrom

    A to Z

    9

    The Appalachian Mountains stretch from the southeasternUnited States into Canada. In colonial times, as seen inthis wood engraving of an eighteenth-century Virginiasettlement, the mountains prevented many settlers frommoving westward, away from the Atlantic coast.

    the Ohio River Valley. The French, whoclaimed this area, established a profit-able fur trade with the natives but setup few permanent settlements. By

    the 1750s, however, English settlerswere making their way west acrossthe Appalachians to establish forts andsettlements in the Ohio River Valley.

    Conflict over ownership of theOhio River Valley soon developedbetween the British and the French.In 1754, war erupted on the frontier.

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    10 Appalachian Mountains

    The British fought against the Frenchand their Indian allies. In North Amer-ica, this conflict was called the Frenchand Indian War, but it was a part of a

    wider war that was known in Europeas the Seven Years War. At this time,England and France fought each othernot only in Europe but also through-out the world.

    Battles were fought throughoutthe Ohio River Valley and in FrenchCanada. The fighting in North Amer-ica ended in 1760, when the French

    surrendered the city of Montreal, Can-ada, to the British. Peace was finallyestablished in 1763 with the signingof the Treaty of Paris. As a result of the

    war, the French lost almost all of theirlands in North America. The Britishgained Canada and the rich lands ofthe Ohio River Valley.

    PROCLAMATION OF 1763

    After the Treaty of Paris of 1763 endedthe French and Indian War, Britishcolonists hoped to continue estab-lishing settlements in the Ohio River

    Valley. Quickly, however, the Britishsettlers came into conflict with theNative Americans who lived in the re-gion. As an attempt to maintain peacebetween the colonists and the Native

    Americans, the British king, GeorgeIII (r. 17601820), issued the Procla-mation of 1763. With this proclama-tion, the British government tried toprevent colonists from settling westof the Appalachian Mountains by re-serving the Ohio River Valley for na-tive peoples. The colonists, however,resented being told that they couldnot settle in the region. The Procla-mation of 1763 was one factor, amongmany, that ultimately led to the Amer-ican Revolution (17751783).

    See also: England; France; Frenchand Indian War; New England; NewFrance; Proclamation of 1763; Thir-teen Colonies.

    Aztec Empire

    Once-powerful Native American em-pire located in what is today centralMexico. In the early 1500s, the Aztecempire fell to Spanish explorers. It isprobable that the native peoples

    who became known as the Aztecslowlymigrated south (from what is

    now the southwestern United States)in the sixth century C.E. to the areawhere Mexico City is today. Over time,these people prospered. According to a native legend, in1323, the people saw a vision of aneagle, perched on a cactus, clutchinga serpent in its talons. The peopleinterpreted this symbol as showing

    them where to build a city. In 1325,the Aztec founded the city of Tenoch-titln on a small, swampy island inLake Texcoco. Tenochtitln grew tobe a vast city and became the capitalof the Aztec civilization. By the early 1400s, the Aztec hadjoined with the people of two neigh-boring cities. The Aztec and their al-

    lies then began a century of conquest.By 1500, the Aztec were the most pow-erful group in the region, and Tenoch-titln became the center of a mightyempire. This vast empire was held to-gether by Aztec military power. The

    Aztec demanded tribute, in money orslaves, from those they conquered.

    AZTEC LIFELeading the Aztec society was theemperor, who ruled with the helpof powerful nobles. The noble class

    was made up of members of the royal

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    Aztec Empire 11

    family and military and religious lead-ers. Soldiers and craft workers madeup another social class. The two low-est classes were farmers and slaves.

    The Aztec economy was based onagriculture.Aztec farmers developedchinampas, rich plots of farmland re-claimed from swampy areas. Chinam-paswere artificial islands made frompiles of marsh plants taken from thelake bottom. Irrigation and the addi-tion of lake mud kept the chinampasfertile. Farming year-round, Aztec farm-

    ers grew a surplus of food. The extrafood was used to feed the craft work-ers, soldiers, and nobility.

    Religion was very important to theAztec and was ever present in theirlives. Apolytheisticpeople, they be-lieved it was essential to please theirmany gods because the gods con-trolled everything in the peoples

    lives. To satisfy their gods, the Aztecmade repeated sacrifices, both animaland human. At the height of theirpower, the Aztec may have sacrificedthousands of people each year.

    Aztec architects built huge, pyra-mid-like temples and grand palaces.

    Aztec craft workers produced pottery,jewelry, sculpture, and other works

    of art. The Aztec also developed a sys-tem of writing and a complex, 365-day calendar based on the movementof the sun and the stars. The Aztecreached the height of their power bythe early 1500s.

    FALL OF THE AZTEC EMPIREAfter Christopher Columbuss voyages

    of discovery to the Caribbean area,Spain sent hundreds of troops to theregion in search of gold and otherprecious materials. One conquista-dor, Hernn Corts, arrived on the

    island of Hispaniolapresent-day Haitiand the Dominican Republicin1504. Hearing rumors of great wealthin the land known as Mexico, Cortsput together an expedition to searchfor this treasure. In 1519, he reachedthe Yucatan peninsula with 110 sail-ors, 550 soldiers, 16 horses, and a fewcannons. From the coast, Corts andhis army began to march inland.

    Messengers brought the news ofthe arrival of these strangers to the

    Aztec emperor, Moctezuma II. Themessengers described fantastic ani-mals with two heads and six legs. Be-cause the Aztec had never seen horses,a man riding on horseback appearedto be some strange, new beast. Hear-ing descriptions of the Spanish andtheir leader, Moctezuma thought thatCorts was the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl.

    According to Aztec legend, this ancient

    god had left Mexico but had prom-ised to return one day as a bearded,fair-skinned man.

    As Corts made his way inland, helearned that many of the non-Aztecpeople in the area hated the oppres-sive rule of the Aztec. Through inter-preters, Corts made allies with thesepeople. As he got closer to Tenochtit-

    ln, he sent word that he would liketo meet the Aztec ruler and see hiscapital city. Moctezuma was unsure

    what to do. Finally, he decided to offerthe Spanish gold and other gifts, in thehope that they would take the giftsand leave Mexico. The gods, after all,

    were terrible beings, and Moctezumahoped that this one would go away

    before he and his followers did some-thing horrible to the Aztec people.When Corts saw the gold and

    other treasures that the emperor wasoffering, he became more determined

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    12 Aztec Empire

    to visit the Aztec capital and gaineven greater riches. Corts and hismen started marching to Tenochtitln.

    As they approached, Moctezuma, still

    hoping to bribe them to stay away,continued to send the Spanish gifts.Corts and his men reached Tenoch-titln on November 12, 1519. Whenthey arrived, they found a huge city

    with a population of more than300,000. Indeed, the city was largerthan any city in Europe at that time.

    Moctezuma, although still fearful

    of Corts and his army, invited themto stay in the imperial palace. Thisproved to be a deadly mistake. Assoon as Corts and his men were inthe palace they arrested Moctezuma,claiming that he had ordered an at-tack on the Spanish. Safe within thepalace, and with the emperor as hos-tage, Corts needed only a few men

    to defend his new stronghold.Last Days of Moctezuma For thenext few months, Moctezuma waskept a prisoner in the imperial palace.He tried to please Corts by erectingstatues of the Virgin Mary. Mocte-zuma even converted to Christianityto please Corts and swore allegianceto the Spanish king, Charles V.

    Moctezumas attempts to gainfavor with Corts and the Spanish

    worked at first. He was allowed to con-tinue serving as ruler, even thoughhe had little power. The situationchanged in April 1520, however, afterCorts left Tenochtitln to confrontrival Spanish forces that had comefrom Cuba to claim Mexicos riches.

    While Corts was gone, his fellowconquistadors killed more than 3,000

    Aztec when the Spanish mistook anAztec religious festival for a revolt.

    Enraged by the killings, the Aztecpeople of Tenochtitln rose up againstthe Spaniards, who had barricadedthemselves inside the imperial pal-

    ace. On July 1, 1520, the Spanish sentMoctezuma outside the palace tocalm the mobs. Instead of listeningto Moctezuma, however, the peoplethrew stones at him. Knocked uncon-scious, the Aztec emperor died withintwo weeks.

    Collapse of the Aztec Fighting be-tween the Spanish and the peoples of

    Mexico continued for several months.With his native allies, Corts attackedand burned Tenochtitln, destroyingthe city. In addition, new diseasesbrought by the Spanish caused thedeaths of untold numbers of Aztec.The Aztec empire collapsed on August13, 1521. Corts and the Spaniardssoon overran all of central Mexico

    and claimed its riches for Spain.

    See also: The Diversity of NativeAmerica in the Viewpoints section;Native Americans; Spain.

    FURTHER READINGAlonso, Roberto Velesco, et al. The Aztec Em-

    pire. New York: Guggenheim Museum,

    2004.

    Saunders, Nicholas J., and Tony Allan. TheAztec Empire: Excavating the Past. Ports-

    mouth, N.H.: Heinemann Library, 2004.

    Balboa, Vasco Nuez de(14751519)

    Spanish explorer considered the firstEuropean to see the Pacific Oceanafter crossing the Isthmus la Pan-ama. Born in 1475 in the Spanishtown of Jerez de los Caballeros, Bal-boa set out on his voyage to the Amer-icas in 1500.

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    Balboa, Vasco Nuez de (14751519) 13

    Balboa joined the expedition ofRodrigo de Bastidas, who was to bringback gold and other riches to KingFerdinand and Queen Isabella. In 1501,Balboa and the expedition exploredthe eastern coast of present-day Pan-ama and northern South America. Be-cause the men soon realized that theydid not have enough manpower, food,

    or supplies to start a colony, however,they sailed to the island of Hispaniola.There, the penniless Balboa tried tomake a living as a farmer, but he wasunsuccessful.

    ESCAPE TO CENTRAL AMERICA

    In 1509, to escape his creditors inHispaniola, Balboa hid with his dogin a barrel and stowed away on a shipbound for Panama. In Panama, Balboajoined a small settlement known asSan Sabastin de Urab, which hadbeen founded a few years earlier. Un-fortunately, San Sabastin de Urab

    was established in an area with poorsoil, which made farming difficult. Inaddition, the native peoples of theregion were hostile and frequently at-tacked the settlement.

    Hernn Corts (14851547)

    The conquistador Hernn Corts, whotoppled the mighty Aztec empire in1521, was born in the Spanish city ofMedelln to a minor noble family. As ayoung man, he decided to make hisfortune in the Americas. He arrived onthe island of Hispaniola in 1504 and atfirst settled down to become a farmer.Soon, however, a desire for gold andadventure led him to join an expedi-tion of explorers that took over muchof the island of Cuba. His reward ofland and mines in Cuba made Corts awealthy man. In addition, Diego Ve-lzquez de Cuellar, the new governorof Cuba, made Corts his private secre-tary and appointed him mayor of San-tiago, a city on the southern coast of

    Cuba. In 1518, Corts made plans to leaveCuba and sail to Mexico in search ofgold and glory. He landed in Mexico inFebruary 1519. Along the way, he ac-

    quired the services of two valuable in-terpreters. One of the interpreters,Jernimo de Aguilar, was a Franciscanpriest who had been a member of anearlier Spanish expedition and hadlived among Mexicos native people.Through Aguilar, Corts was able tospeak with Indians who spoke Mayan.The other interpreter was a young In-dian woman whom the Spanish calledMarina. She spoke both Mayan andNahuatl, the language of the Aztec. Hearing stories of the great wealthof Tenochtitln, Corts made his way tothat city, the Aztec capital. Along theway, Corts made allies of many of theIndian groups ruled by the Aztec, andhe persuaded many of these people to

    join his march. By the time he reachedTenochtitln in late 1519, he had thou-sands of Indian allies. By the summerof 1521, Corts and his army had con-quered the Aztec.

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    14 Balboa, Vasco Nuez de (14751519)

    Balboa suggested that the settle-ment be moved to the region ofDarin, where the soil was more fertileand the Indians were thought to befriendlier. As the settlers approached

    that region, however, the local chief-tain and about 500 men attacked theSpaniards. Despite the overwhelmingnumbers of the attackers, the Spanish

    The Spanish adventurer Vasco Nuez deBalboa established the first Europeansettlement on the American continent. He

    was also the first European to see the PacificOcean, which he claimed for Spain.

    defeated them after a fierce battle.The Indians fled into the rain forest,and the Spanish plundered gold andother valuables from their homes. In

    1510, Balboa established the town ofSanta Maria la Antigua del Darin inwhat is today Panamathe first per-manent European settlement on the

    American mainland. Balboa eventu-ally became mayor of Santa Maria andof the Spanish territory of Veragua,located along the eastern coast ofPanama.

    TO THE SOUTH SEAIn 1513, Balboa heard stories aboutthe other sea from some of the localIndians. The tales told of a people tothe south who were so wealthy thatthey ate from golden plates and drankfrom golden goblets. Balboa was

    warned, however, that these were afierce people; a Spanish army of 1,000

    men would be needed to defeat them.Balboa sought assistance from His-paniola, but none came. Balboa decided to lead an expedi-tion to conquer the other sea andthe wealthy Indians who lived nearit. Balboa started his journey acrossthe Isthmus of Panama on September1, 1513. He was accompanied byabout 190 Spanish soldiers and a fewIndian guides. As Balboa and his menmade their way through the denseforest, friendly Indians joined theexpedition. As the force approacheda mountain range near the Chucu-naque River, the guides told Balboathat the other sea could be seen fromthe summit of the range. Balboaclimbed the mountain, and on Sep-tember 25, he saw the waters of thenewto the Europeanssea. When

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    Champlain, Samuel de (1567?1635) 15he reached the shoreline two dayslater, he marched into the water andclaimed the sea for Spain. Because hetraveled southward across the isth-

    mus to reach it, he named his discov-ery the South Sea.Balboa and his men explored the

    area. They traded peacefully withsome of the local peoples and de-feated others in battle. As the Span-iards began to make their way backto Santa Maria, they accumulatedtreasure in the form of cotton goods,

    gold, and pearls. After they reachedSanta Maria, Balboa dispatched a shipto tell the Spanish king the news ofhis discovery and give him his shareof the treasure.

    By 1518, Balboa had made manyenemies. His rivals were jealous of hissuccess and his wealth. Accused oftreason,Balboa was arrested and sent

    back to Spain. There he was foundguilty and sentenced to death for be-traying his king. He was beheaded on

    January 15, 1519.

    See also: Magellan, Ferdinand; NewSpain; Pizarro, Francisco.

    FURTHER READINGMarcovitz, Hal. Vasco Nuez De Balboa and

    the Discovery of the South Sea. New York:Chelsea House, 2001.

    Otfinoski, Steven. Vasco Nunez De Balboa:Explorer of the Pacific. New York: Bench-mark Books, 2004.

    Champlain, Samuel de(1567?1635)

    French explorer known as the fatherof New France, a French colony inNorth America. Samuel de Champlain

    was born into a Protestant family. The

    exact date of his birth is unknown.Some scholars believe that it was asearly as 1567; others believe that it

    was as late as 1580. He learned sailing

    skills from his father or his uncle andsoon became a respected navigatorand cartographer.

    EARLY EXPLORATIONSIn 1603, Champlain made his first

    voyage to what is today the easterncoast of Canada. He traveled up sev-eral of the rivers of the region andcollected information about local ge-

    ography. He used the information tomake an accurate map of Canadafrom Hudson Bay in the north to theGreat Lakes in the south. In 1604,Champlain made a second trip tothe region. Impressed by Champlainsfindings, the French king, Henry IV,asked the explorer to return to NewFrance and locate a site for a perma-

    nent French settlement. Champlainspent three years exploring the area,from the Bay of Fundy southward toCape Cod in what is today Massa-chusetts. He sailed home to France in1607.

    Champlain returned to NewFrance in 1608 and founded a settle-ment that grew to become the city ofQuebec. For protection, Champlainand his men built a fort two storieshigh surrounded by a moat. Twenty-eight settlers stayed to spend the win-ter at the new settlement, but onlyeight survived the harsh weather. Thefollowing summer, Champlain andhis men worked to improve relations

    with the local Indians. He made alli-anceswith the Huron, the Algonquin,and other groups in the region. Thelocal Indians insisted that the French

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    16 Champlain, Samuel de (1567?1635)

    join them in an ongoing war withthe Iroquois, who lived farther tothe south. A small party of French-men and Indians explored the Riche-

    lieu River and reached what is todayLake Champlain. On July 29, 1609,Champlain and his party encounteredabout 200 Iroquois. Fighting brokeout, and Champlain shot and killedtwo Iroquois chiefs. The Iroquois fledbut became lifelong enemies of theFrench.

    LATER LIFE

    In 1611, Champlain traveled to thearea of what is today Montreal, wherehe continued to work for good rela-tions with the Indians. He then re-tuned to France, where he soughtsupport from the new French king,Louis XIII (r. 16101643). Louis gaveChamplain the title of lieutenant, withauthority to appoint officers, make

    treaties, and conduct wars with thelocal peoples.

    Arriving back in New France in1613, Champlain set out to the westin search of the Northwest Passage,a waterway that would be a shortcutto Asia. He spent the next three yearsexploring and trading with his Indianallies. In 1616, he set sail once againfor France. He returned to New Francein 1620 and spent the rest of his lifethere. Rather than continue explor-ing, however, he spent his time im-proving the administration of NewFrance, working to build and fortifyQuebec, and expanding the profitablefur trade with the Indians.

    Champlain had a stroke in Octo-ber 1535 and died on December 25of that year. The site of his burial hasbeen lost to history.

    See also: France; Native Americans;The Opening of the Fur Trade in theViewpoints section; Quebec.

    FURTHER READINGChamplain, Samuel de. The Voyages of Sam-

    uel de Champlain, Volume 1. London: EchoLibrary, 2007.

    Morganelli, Adriana. Samuel de Champlain:From New France to Cape Cod. New York:Crabtree Books, 2005.

    Charters, Colonial

    SeeJamestown, Virginia; London Com-

    pany; Plymouth Company.

    Christianity

    See Aztec Empire; Ferdinand andIsabella.

    Colonialism and Disease

    See Disease.

    Colonies

    See Plymouth Company; ThirteenColonies; Roanoke, Lost Colony of.

    Columbus, Christopher(14511506)

    Italian explorer who, while sailingfor Spain, crossed the Atlantic Oceanand sighted the lands that later werecalled the Americas. The Americas

    were colonized by a number of Euro-pean countries. Columbus was born in the Italiancity of Genoa around 1451. His father

    was a weaver and merchant whotraded in wine, cheese, and wool.

    Growing up close to the sea allowedyoung Columbus to learn basic sea-faring skills. Later, Columbus signedup to work on a Genoese merchant

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    Columbus, Christopher (14511506) 17

    ship. During a voyage in the easternAtlantic, Columbus was shipwreckedon the coast of Portugal.

    At the time, Portugal was one of

    the chief seafaring nations of westernEurope. Under the guidance of PrinceHenry the Navigator (13941460),Portugal became a leader in new meth-ods of shipbuilding and ocean naviga-tion. Columbus remained in Portugaland became a master mariner, learn-ing to handle a newly developed typeof ship known as the caravel. This

    new ship was faster and more maneu-verable than older vessels. In time,Columbus made several voyages southalong the African coast and traveledas far north as Iceland.

    During these years in Portugal,Columbus developed his idea thatbecame known as the Enterprise ofthe Indies. After studying both an-

    cient and contemporary sources, Co-lumbus became convinced that a shipcould reach Cipango and Cathay

    Japan and Chinaby sailing west-ward. Most educated Europeans ofthe time believed that the earth wasround. Through careful observation,experienced sailors knew that theearths surface was curved. The dis-

    tance from Europe westward to Asia,however, was unknown.Columbus thought that the dis-

    tance between Europe and Asia wasno more than 3,500 miles (5,600 kilo-meters). Some scholars of the timethought that the distance was greater.In reality, the distance from theCanary Islands, off the west coast of

    Africathe place from which Colum-bus left Europe on his first voyage ofdiscoveryto Japan is about 10,600miles (16,900 kilometers).

    In the early 1480s, Columbus pro-posed his idea of sailing west to Asiato Portugals King John II (r. 14811495). The king was hesitant, how-

    ever. In 1488, Bartholomeu Diazreturned from a voyage on which hesuccessfully rounded the southern tipof Africa. Portugal then committeditself to finding a southern route toIndia and Asia. Rejected in Portugal,Columbus next turned to the rulersof Spain, King Ferdinand (r. 14791516)and Queen Isabella (r. 1474

    1504). By 1492, the Spanish monarchssupported Columbuss idea and out-fitted him with a crew of 90 men forthe voyage.

    A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERYChristopher Columbus was an expe-rienced sailor, and he took great carein his preparations for his trip acrossthe Atlantic. He chose the CanaryIslandsoff the west coast of Africabecause of the northeasterly trade

    winds that blow around the islands.Columbus knew that sailors on the

    Atlantic had problems in more north-ern areas of the ocean because of theprevailing westerlieswinds that blowfrom the west. These winds madesailing westward difficult. Columbusalso believed that his destination

    Japanwas located at the same lati-tude as the Canaries.

    Columbuss tiny fleetthe Nia,the Pinta, and the Santa Mariasailed from Palos, Spain, in August1492. The small ships stopped in theCanaries and took on more provisions.

    Then, on September 6, Columbus setout across the Atlantic. At first, theships were helped by steady winds.

    As the winds became more variable

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    and unpredictable, however, the tripgrew longer, and the crew became

    worried and angry. By October 10,the crew of Columbuss flagship, theSanta Maria

    , was ready to mutiny.Columbus remained convinced thatAsia lay just ahead.

    Early on the morning of October12, landan islandwas sighted. Goingashore, Columbus claimed the landfor Spain and named the island SanSalvador. Columbus, who most likelylanded in the Bahamas, explored the

    island and traded with the local peo-ple. These people came to be calledIndians because Columbus believedthat he had reached the East Indies.

    Columbus then continued on hisjourney, still searching for Japan orChina. Sailing from San Salvador, heexplored the northern coasts of what

    are today Cuba and Hispaniolapresent-day Haiti and the DominicanRepublic. In December, as he sailedalong the coast of Hispaniola, theSanta Maria hit a reef and was de-stroyed. With two ships remaining,Columbus prepared to return to Spain.He took about 10 of the local peopleback with him. The ships arrived in

    Spain on March 15, 1493. Columbuswas received with a triumphal wel-come and given the title Admiral ofthe Ocean Sea.

    This painting by John Vanderlyn shows the Italian explorer Christopher Columbuss landingat the island of Guanahani in the West Indies, on October 12, 1492. His voyages westwardacross the Atlantic Ocean set the stage for later European colonization of the Americas.

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    Columbus, Christopher (14511506) 19

    LATER VOYAGESOn September 24, 1493, Columbusset sail from Cdiz, Spain, to find newterritories and riches. This time his

    fleet included 17 ships and 1,200 men.Sailing from the Canary Islands onOctober 13, Columbus decided to fol-low a more southerly course. In earlyNovember, he sighted and named nu-merous small islands in the CaribbeanSea before again reaching Hispaniolaand Cuba. Still believing that his party

    was very near China or Japan, he

    forced his men to swear a solemnoath that Cuba was a part of Asia. Hefound little gold or other riches, how-ever, and returned to Spain in 1496.

    Columbus set forth on a third voy-age of discovery in 1498 with a fleet ofsix ships. He sent part of his fleet toHispaniola to provide aid to the settlershe had left there on his second voyage.

    He led the other part of his fleet south-ward, toward theequator, in the hopeof discovering more new lands. He ul-timately discovered the island of Trini-dad and sailed along the northerncoast of South America. There, he dis-covered the Orinoco River, in what istoday Venezuela. He then set sail forHispaniola. On arriving there, how-

    ever, he found the colonists fightingamong themselves. Many of the colo-nists were angry because they had notfound gold and other wealth. Othersrefused to work as hard as they neededto to make the new colony succeed. It took Columbus two years to putdown the revolt and restore order.Columbus agreed to give each of the

    colonists a tract of land and authorityover the Indians who lived on it. Evenafter these measures, however, condi-tions on Hispaniola grew worse. After

    several months, Columbus requestedthat the Spanish monarchs send ajudge to the island to deal with thesituation. In response Ferdinand and

    Isabella sent Francisco de Bobadilla.Shortly after his arrival, Bobadillaseized Columbus and arrested himfor mismanaging the colony. Colum-bus was placed in chains and returnedto Spain. When he arrived in the cityof Cdiz in November 1500, the kingand queen immediately ordered Co-lumbuss chains removed. Later, the

    royal court also restored all of Colum-buss possessions but did not restorehis titles. Columbus spent the next two

    years trying to recover his titles andclear himself of any wrongdoing. In 1502, Columbus was able to con-

    vince Ferdinand and Isabella to fund afourth voyage. To prevent any troubleon Hispaniola, they ordered Columbus

    not to land there. They charged him tosearch for the Straits of Malaccaanocean passage in the East Indiesandto look for gold and other wealth. Co-lumbus set sail in May 1502. He firstlanded at the Caribbean island of Mar-tinique. Because a hurricane was ap-proaching, Columbus then headed toHispaniola, where he hoped to find a

    safe harbor. He arrived in Hispaniolaon June 29 but was denied entrance tothe port. He warned the new governorof the approaching hurricane, but thegovernor refused to listen. The gover-nor ordered a fleet of 30 treasure shipsto set sail for Spain. Columbuss shipstook refuge in a small harbor and sur-

    vived the hurricane with only minor

    damage. Only one of the ships of thetreasure fleet survived the storm. Co-lumbus sailed on to Jamaica and thento the coast of Central America, still in

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    20 Columbus, Christopher (14511506)

    Columbuss LogC

    olumbuss original ships logs were lost in the 1500s, butseveral copies remain. The excerpts below are taken

    from a surviving copy of the log of his first voyage, in 1492.

    Friday, 3 August 1492. Set sailfrom the bar of Saltes at 8oclock, and proceeded with astrong breeze till sunset, sixty

    miles or fifteen leagues south,afterwards southwest and southby west, which is the directionof the Canaries. . . .

    Thursday, 9 August. The Admiral[Columbus] did not succeed inreaching the island of Gomeratill Sunday night. Martin Alonzoremained at Grand Canary bycommand of the Admiral, hebeing unable to keep the othervessels company. The Admiralafterwards returned to GrandCanary, and there with muchlabor repaired the Pinta, beingassisted by Martin Alonzo andthe others; finally they sailed toGomera. They saw a great erup-tion of flames from the Peak of

    Teneriffe, a lofty mountain. ThePinta, which before had carriedlatine sails, they altered andmade her square-rigged. Re-turned to Gomera, Sunday,2 September, with the Pintarepaired. . . .

    Thursday, 11 October. Steeredwest-southwest; and encoun-tered a heavier sea than they

    had met with before in thewhole voyage. Saw. . . a greenrush near the vessel. The crewof the Pinta saw a cane and alog; they also picked up a stick

    which appeared to have beencarved with an iron tool, a pieceof cane, a plant which grows onland, and a board. The crew of

    the Nia saw other signs ofland, and a stalk loaded withrose berries. These signs en-couraged them, and they allgrew cheerful. Sailed this daytill sunset, twenty-seven leagues.

    Saturday, 13 October.At day-break great multitudes of mencame to the shore, all young andof fine shapes, very handsome;their hair not curled but straightand coarse like horse-hair, andall with foreheads and headsmuch broader than any peopleI had hitherto seen; their eyeswere large and very beautiful;they were not black, but thecolor of the inhabitants of theCanaries, which is a very natural

    circumstance, they being in thesame latitude with the island ofFerro in the Canaries. Theywere straight-limbed withoutexception, and not with promi-nent bellies but handsomelyshaped. They came to the shipin canoes, made of a singletrunk of a tree, wrought in awonderful manner considering

    the country; some of them largeenough to contain forty orforty-five men, others of differ-ent sizes down to those fitted tohold but a single person. . . .

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    Da Gama, Vasco (1460?1524) 21

    search of Asia and gold. As they ex-plored the Caribbean, Columbussships barely survived several hugestorms. Columbus and his men ar-

    rived back in Spain on November 7,1504. When Columbus diedin Vall-adolid, Spain, on May 20, 1506he

    was 55 years old.

    See also: New Spain; Vespucci,Amerigo.

    FURTHER READINGChrisp, Peter. Christopher Columbus. London:

    DK Press, 2006.

    Doak, Robin S. Christopher Columbus: Ex-plorer of the New World. Mankato, Minn.:

    Compass Point Press, 2005.

    Corts, Hernn (14851547)

    See Aztec Empire.

    DF

    Da Gama, Vasco(1460?1524)

    Portuguese explorer best known forleading an expedition around thesouthern tip of Africa to India. Vascoda Gama was born in the Portuguesetown of Sines, on the southwesterncoast. The exact year of his birth is

    debated; scholars believe that it waseither 1460 or 1469.

    Under the sponsorship of PrinceHenry the Navigator (13941460), thePortuguese had been sailing southalong the west coast of Africa sinceabout 1420. In 1427, one of Henryssailors discovered the islands of the

    Azores, to the west of Africa. By 1434,

    Portuguese ships had reached as farsouth as Cape Bojador, on the north-

    west African coast. Slowly, Portuguesenavigators sailed along Africas westcoast, mapping the area and establish-ing small trading posts. By 1462, Por-tuguese sailors had reached the coastof what is today the country of SierraLeone. Almost 25 years later, in 1488,

    Bartholomeu Diaz reached the south-ern tip of Africa, which he named theCape of Storms. He quickly returnedto Portugal with news of his voyage.

    Recognizing that Diass success openedan all-water route to Asia, PortugalsKing John II (r. 14771495) renamedthe tip of Africa the Cape of GoodHope.

    FIRST VOYAGE TO INDIA

    On July 8, 1497, Vasco da Gama leftthe Portuguese capital of Lisbon with

    four ships and a party of about 170men. Da Gamas ships hugged the Af-rican coast until they reached thearea of Sierra Leone. They then headedsouth into the open sea until, on De-cember 16, they reached the point at

    which Dias had turned back. Da Gamasailed on, into the Indian Ocean, allthe while keeping close to the east-

    ern coast of Africa. He stopped andtraded goods with the Islamic sultanof Mozambique and then sailed northto the coast of what is today Kenya.There he visited the African ports ofMombassa and Malindi. In one ofthose ports, da Gama hired an expe-rienced sailor who knew that themonsoonwinds would take the Por-

    tuguese ships directly to the westcoast of India.

    On May 20, 1498, da Gamassmall fleet reached the Indian port of

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    22 Da Gama, Vasco (1460?1524)

    Calicut. There, da Gama and his menat first found it difficult to establishtrade with the local merchants buteventually had some success. Da Gama

    set sail to return to Portugal on Au-gust 29, 1498. Only two of his fourships made it home; they reached portin September 1499. King Manuel I(r. 14951521) welcomed da Gama

    with riches, named him a heredi-tarylord, gave him the title Admiralof the Indian Sea, and made him theEarl of Vidigueria.

    LATER VOYAGESIn 1502, da Gama set sail with 20ships to enforce Portuguese interestsin India and the east. On arriving inthe Indian Ocean, he captured a Mus-lim ship that had sailed from Mecca,in what is today Saudi Arabia. Heplundered the ship and locked all thepassengers, who included several

    wealthy Muslim merchants, insidethe hull. He then ordered the ship tobe burned. Word of da Gamas aston-ishing cruelty spread, and when hereached the port of Calicut on Octo-ber 30, the local ruler was eager tosign a trading treaty. Da Gama arrivedback in Portugal in September 1503and enjoyed the life of a noble.

    Because of his fierce reputation,in 1524, Vasco da Gama was sent toIndia to replace theviceroy, or gov-ernor, of the Portuguese trading post.Da Gama contracted malaria anddied in the city of Cochin on Decem-ber 24, 1524. His body was buried inIndia but was moved to Portugal in1539. In Portugal, he was reburiedin a casket adorned with gold andjewels.

    See also: Portugal.

    FURTHER READINGAmes, Glenn J. Vasco da Gama: Renaissance

    Crusader. London: Longman, 2001.

    Bailey, Katharine. Vasco da Gama: Quest forthe Spice Trade. New York: Crabtree Books,

    2007.Koestler-Grack, Rachel A. Vasco da Gama and

    the Sea Route to India. New York: ChelseaHouse, 2005.

    De Soto, Hernando(1496?1542)

    Spanish explorer who was the first Eu-

    ropean to explore what is today Flor-ida and the southeastern United Statesand the first European to see the Mis-sissippi River. De Soto was born sometime between 1496 and 1500 in Ex-tremadura, a poor region of the Spain.Little is known about his childhood,except that it was spent in two townsBadajoz and Jerez de los Cabelleros.

    Hernando de Soto sailed to theAmericas in 1514 with the first gover-nor of Darin, an area in what is todayPanama. De Soto gained fame as anexpert rider and fighter. He also be-came known for his cruelty towardIndians. In 1532, he joined the mas-sive expedition of another Spanishexplorer, Francisco Pizarro. Marching

    southward from Panama into what istoday Peru, the Spaniards quicklyconquered the wealthy Inca empire,

    which fell in 1533. The Spaniards took untold wealthin gold and silver from the Incas. Asone of the heros of the conquest, deSoto returned to Spain a rich man. Hemarried Isabel de Bobadilla, a relative

    of the late Queen Isabella. SpainsKing Charles V (r. 15161556) thenappointed de Soto governor of Cubaand assigned him the task of coloniz-ing the Americas.

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    De Soto, Hernando (1496?1542) 23

    RETURN TO THE AMERICAS

    In early 1538, de Soto set sail fromSpain and headed to Havana, the capi-tal of Cuba. There, he established his

    rule as governor. In May 1539, he de-parted Havana and sailed northwardto the western coast of Florida, whichhad been claimed and explored bythe Spaniard Juan Ponce de Len in1513. De Soto sailed with more than1,000 soldiers and sailors and nineshipsthe largest expedition ever toexplore the Americas.

    The exact route of de Sotos expedi-tion is not clear. He and his expeditionprobably stopped first at what is todayPort Charlotte, Florida. He then trav-eled northward along the coast, stop-ping for the winter at the Indian villageof Anhaica, near present-day Tallahas-see, on the southern coast of the Flor-idapanhandle. This is the only site at

    whicharcheologistshave found firmevidence of de Sotos expedition.After hearing stories of great

    amounts of gold to the northeast, deSoto and his men headed overlandinto what is today Georgia and SouthCarolina. Unsuccessful in the questfor riches, the group continued north-

    ward into present-day North Caro-

    lina, where de Soto rested for a monthas he sent out small search parties tolook for gold. The expedition then

    wandered westward, into what istoday Tennessee and northern Geor-gia. From there, de Soto and his menmoved south toward the Gulf of Mex-ico, where they planned to meet twoships from Havana that were bring-

    ing fresh supplies.On the way southward, hostileIndians of the Mobilian people am-bushed de Soto and his men. TheSpaniards fought back but suffered

    serious casualties, including morethan 20 dead and hundreds wounded.In addition, the Spaniards lost mostof their supplies and horses. Fearful

    that the bad news would reach hissupply ships, de Soto led the remainsof his group westward into what istoday Mississippi. There, the Span-iards spent the winter of 15401541.

    In the spring of 1541, the groupresumed its trek and continued west-

    ward. The Spaniards reached the Mis-sissippi River on May 8, 1541. Hernando

    de Soto became the first European tosee the mighty river. The river proved,however, to be a problem to cross. Asthey labored to build rafts on whichto cross the Mississippi, the Span-iards were attacked repeatedly by un-friendly Indians. After spending abouta month on the rivers shore, the Span-iards finally crossed into what is today

    Arkansas. They eventually reachedpresent-day Oklahoma and Texas asthey continued on their search forgold. Returning eastward to the Arkan-sas River, the explorers endured aharsh winter encamped along its shore.By now, the men were exhausted. Theexplorers interpreter died, and trad-ing with the Indians for food and sup-

    plies became increasingly difficult.In spring 1542, de Soto and hismen returned to the Mississippi. InMay, de Soto caught a fever and died.The men tried to conceal his deathfrom the Indians, as de Soto had triedto convince them that Christians

    were immortal. They wrapped hisbody in blankets and weighted it with

    sandbags. Then, in the middle of thenight, they sank the body in the mid-dle of the Mississippi River.

    The survivors of the expeditiontried to return to the east but were

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    24 De Soto, Hernando (1496?1542)

    pushed back by hostile Indians. To es-cape, the Spaniards floated down theMississippi River and into the Gulf ofMexico. On the gulf, the men stayed

    close to shore and eventually madetheir way to the small Spanish town ofPnuco, in Mexico, where they rested.The group then traveled to MexicoCity, where they told their story tothe Spanish governor.

    Although de Sotos expeditionfailed to find any gold or establish anycolonies, the survivors of the com-

    pany provided Europeans with theirfirst information about the geogra-phy and the peoples of what is todaythe North American southeast. Inaddition, some of the horses that es-caped from de Sotos party formedthe first herds of wild mustangs inNorth America.

    See also: Inca Empire; Native Ameri-cans; New Spain; Spain.

    FURTHER READINGGallagher, Jim. Hernando de Soto and the Ex-

    ploration of Florida. New York: Chelsea

    House, 2000.

    Heinrichs, Ann. De Soto: Hernando de Soto

    Explores the Southeast. Mankato, Minn.:

    Compass Point Press, 2002.

    Hubbard-Brown, Janet. Hernando De Soto

    and His Expedition Across the Americas.New York: Chelsea House, 2005.

    Disease

    Brought by European colonists to theAmericas, various illnesses for whichthe native peoples had no natural de-fenses, thus causing widespread deathamong many tribes. In some instances,Europeans deliberately infected native

    Americans so that they would becomesick and die. Most scholars believe thatepidemic disease was the major cause

    of Native American population declineafter the arrival of the Europeans.

    EPIDEMIC DISEASE

    Two common diseases that were

    prevalent, but not deadly, in Europewere chicken pox and measles. Thesetwo diseases were deadly to Native

    Americans. Smallpox, however, wasthe greatest killer of Native Americanpopulations. Epidemics often imme-diately followed European explorationand sometimes destroyed entire vil-lage populations. While precise figures

    are not available, some historians es-timate that about 80 percent of someNative populations died due to Euro-pean diseases after first coming intocontact them.

    In 1618 and 1619, smallpox wipedout 90 percent of the MassachusettsBay Native Americans, who lived in

    what is today the New England area of

    the United States. Farther to the west,the Mohawk also were infected aftercontact with children of Dutch tradersin the Albany, New York, area in 1634.The disease ravaged the native people.Smallpox swept through Mohawk

    villages, affecting groups living nearLake Ontario in 1636, and reachingthe lands of the Iroquois by 1679, as it

    was carried by the Mohawk and othertribes who traveled the trading routes.

    The native people living along thewestern coast of North America werenot spared from similar epidemics.

    After first coming into contact withEuropean explorers in the 1770s,smallpox rapidly killed at least 30percent of the Native Americans wholived in what is today the northwestcoast of the United States. For thenext 80 to 100 years, smallpox andother diseases continued to devastate

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    Drake, Sir Francis (1540?1595) 25

    native populations in the region. Bythe mid-1800s, when large number of

    white settlers came to the area, thenative population had decreased

    from about 37,000 to only 9,000.AN ONGOING ISSUE

    Smallpox epidemics continued tobreak out among native peoples. Forexample, in 1780-1782 and 1837-1838,smallpox epidemics brought devasta-tion and a drastic decline in the pop-ulation of the Plains Indians. By 1832,the federal government established

    a smallpox vaccination program forNative Americans, the first programcreated to address a health problemof American Indians.

    See also: Native Americans.

    Drake, Sir Francis(1540?1595)

    English explorer, slave trader, andpolitician. Francis Drake was born inDevon, England, probably about 1540.

    As with many of the famous priva-teers of this time, his exact date of hisbirth is unknown and little is knownabout his childhood.

    In the late 1560s, Drake sailed withthe first English slaving ships bring-

    ing enslaved Africans to the Americas.In the Gulf of Mexico, the Spanish at-tacked the English fleet and destroyedall but two of their ships. Drake es-caped, but the incident made him re-gard the Spanish as his lifelong enemy.

    TO THE PACIFIC

    Drake set sail with five ships in De-

    cember 1577. By October 1578, aftera battle against the fierce storms atthe Straits of Magellan, at the south-ern tip of South America, only oneship remained. Drake sailed that ship,

    The Golden Hind, northward into thepeaceful waters of the Pacific Ocean.

    As they made their way north alongthe western coast of South America,

    Drake and his men plundered Span-ish ports and attacked Spanish ships,stealing huge amounts of treasuregold, silver, and precious jewels.

    By June 1579, still on its north-ward course, The Golden Hind hadsailed past what is today San Diego,California. After Drake stopped to re-pair his ship and get supplies from

    friendly Indians he set sail again, stillheading he north, in search of the fa-bled Northwest Passage. Drake and his men reached as farnorth as what is today British Colum-bia, in Canada, and the panhandleof Alaska. Drake then turned his shipto the south and west. He sailedacross the Pacific Ocean and reached

    the Moluccas, a group of islands inthe East Indies, also known as theSpice Islands. The Golden Hindthen sailed west-

    ward, across the Indian Ocean andaround the Cape of Good Hope, atthe southern tip of Africa. Drake andhis 59 remaining men reached theport of Plymouth, England, in Sep-

    tember 1580. Thus, Drake becamethe first Englishman to circumnavi-gate the globe. On April 4, 1581, as areward for Drakes successes, QueenElizabeth I boarded The Golden Hindand had him knighted. The Englishsaw Drake as a national hero, but theSpanish labeled him a pirate.

    DEFEAT OF THE

    SPANISH ARMADA

    In 1585, Drake sailed to the Americasand raided the Spanish ports of SantoDomingo and Cartagena, again stealing

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    26 Drake, Sir Francis (1540?1595)

    gold, jewels, and other valuables. Onhis return voyage, he attacked theSpanish settlement at St. Augustine, inFlorida. Furious at Drakes daring ex-

    ploits, Philip II planned to invade Eng-land. Before war actually broke out,however, Drake boldly attacked Spainitself and destroyed more than 30Spanish warships. By causing so muchdestruction, he delayed the plannedinvasion of England by at least a year.

    In 1588, Spain assembled a fleet of22 powerful galleons and more than

    100 merchant ships that had been out-fitted for battle. In May 1588, the hugefleet set sail, heading for the EnglishChannel. Meanwhile, the English pre-pared for the attack. Lord Howard ofEffingham was in charge, and Drake

    was second in command. The Englishfleet consisted of 34 warships andabout 170 armed merchant ships.

    The Spanish sailed up the EnglishChannel in a crescent formation.When the Spanish reached the Frenchport city of Calais, the English attacked.The smaller English ships were ableto outmaneuver the huge Spanishgalleons, and the English were betterarmed. Then, taking advantage ofthe flow of the tide and the cover of

    darkness, the English sent fireshipsamong the Spanish fleet, causing theSpanish ships to scatter. The nextmorning, the two navies engaged inbattle, and the English emerged victo-rious. The English fleet blocked theEnglish Channel, however, therebyforcing the Spaniards to sail north-

    ward, around Scotland and Ireland, to

    return home. Along the way, the re-mains of the Spanish fleet encoun-tered fierce storms that caused greatdamage. By the time the armadareached Spain, it had lost half of its

    ships and three-fourths of its men.England became the uncontestedruler of the seas.

    See also: England; Magellan, Ferdi-nand; New Spain, Slavery and theSlave Trade; Spain.

    FURTHER READINGBawlf, Samuel. The Secret Voyage of Sir Fran-

    cis Drake, 15771580. New York: Penguin,2004.

    Paige, Joy. Sir Francis Drake: Circumnavigatorof the Globe and Privateer for Queen Eliz-abeth. New York: Rosen Publishing, 2002.

    England

    Nation located on the southern partof the island of Great Britain, situatedacross the English Channel northeastof the nation of France. England be-came a united nation sometime inthe 900s. Its close connection to Eu-

    rope was reinforced by the NormanConquestof 1066. Englands powergrew, and by the late 1400s, the king

    was commissioning explorers to sailwest in search of gold, spices, and thefabled Northwest Passage. In addi-tion, English explorers looked for richand fertile lands to colonize.

    EARLY EXPLORATIONS

    In 1496, King Henry VII (r. 14851509) hired an Italian explorer, JohnCabot, to sail westward in an attemptto find the Norwest Passage and reach

    Asia. Cabot failed on his first voyage,reaching only as far as Iceland. Thefollowing year, Cabot set sail again.This time, he arrived at the eastern

    shore of what is today Canada, prob-ably the coast of Newfoundland. Al-though he found no gold, he claimedthe region for England. Henry VII waspleased with Cabots successes, and

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    England 27

    in 1498, he outfitted the explorerwith five more ships. After settingsail from England, one of the shipsstopped in Ireland for repairs. The re-

    maining four ships, with John Cabotin command, sailed out to sea andwere never heard from again.

    John Cabots son, Sebastian, wasalso a navigator and a mapmaker. Be-cause Henry VII was still keen to findout more about the lands to the west,he funded a voyage to be led by Sebas-tian Cabot. The younger Cabot set sail

    in 1508 and was able to make detailedmaps of the eastern coast of Canada.When the Cabot expedition returnedto England, however, the men discov-ered that Henry VII had died and hisson, Henry VIII (r. 15091547), hadbecome king.

    Henry VIII had little interest inoverseas exploration. He devoted

    much of his foreign policy to Euro-pean affairs. He tried especially to re-gain French lands that once had beenruled by English monarchs. Ultimately,Henry gained no land in France. Hedid, however, greatly expand his navy,thereby laying the foundation forEnglands rise as a powerful seafaringnation.

    Henry VIIIs young son, EdwardVI (r. 15471553), assumed the thronein 1547. With the encouragement ofhis advisers, the young king autho-rized new voyages of discovery. Oneof the first trips was a trade expedi-tion to Morocco, on the northern coastof Africa. Later voyages explored the

    western coast of Africa.

    Once again in search of newroutes to the riches of Asia, a fleet ofthree ships departed from London in1553. Rather than sail westward, theseships, under the command of Hugh

    Willoughby, headed north and east,in the hope of finding a northeastpassage to Asia. During a violent storm,the three ships were separated. Ulti-

    mately, Willoughbys ship becametrapped in ice, and the entire crewfroze to death. The other two ships,led by Richard Chancellor, fared bet-ter. They managed to reach the north-ern coast of Russia, and landed nearthe present-day city of Archangel. Onhearing of the Englishmens arrival,the czar, Ivan IV (r. 15331584), in-

    vited them to Moscow, the Russiancapital. Successful negotiations led tothe founding of the Muscovy Com-pany, the first English joint-stockcompany. Soon, the Muscovy Com-pany held a monopolyon trade be-tween England and Russia.

    A MAJOR EUROPEAN POWERWith the ascent of Elizabeth I (r.15581603) to the English throne,England became a major Europeanpower and eventually ruled the seas.

    Among the most successful Englishexplorers was Francis Drake. Drakefirst sailed as aprivateer.Queen Eliz-abeth hired him to plunder the Span-ish colonies on the western coast ofthe Americas. To get there, he crossedthe Atlantic and traveled through theStraits of Magellan, at the southerntip of South America. Drake was ableto pillage several Spanish ships andmany colonial ports. He and his mencarried off vast amounts of gold, sil-

    ver, and other treasures. Drake thensailed northward along the coast of

    what is today the United States. Hereached as far north as the Alaskan