Lesson 3: European Explorers

September 17th, 2012

The VikingsSkilled sailors from Scandinavia

Sailed in sleek wooden sail boats powered by oars

They sailed as far east as Asia, as far south as Africa and as far west as North America

Eric the Red

Eric the RedEarly Viking explorer

Sailed west to Iceland He was eventually thrown out of Iceland

He sailed further west Eric landed in a place he called Greenland

The land was very cold, despite the name Why do you think he called it Greenland?

Leif Ericsson

Leif EricssonHeard about a land even further westHe sailed to find it in 1000 A.D.

Eventually landed in North AmericaEricsson and his crew were probably the first

Europeans to set foot on North America

VinlandEricsson and his crew landed on Newfoundland

His crew found grapes growing there, so they called it Vinland or “Land of Wine”

Vikings eventually settled in Vinland Until 1015, when conflicts with American Indians

sent them back home

Viking SagasHow do you think we know so much about

Vikings if they had no written language?

RecapWho were the two explorers we discussed?Where were they from?

The RenaissanceA new age that began in Italy about 1350Renaissance means rebirth

How do you think it was a rebirth?Cities like Venice became centers of trade

What do you think happened for Italy as a result of increased trade?

The Renaissance Spreads

The Renaissance spread to other parts of Europe This was thanks in part to the invention of the

printing press by Johann GutenbergWhat was the printing press?How did it help the spread of Renaissance ideas?

The Printing Press

Other Advances Improved ship design and ship building

Europeans adopted improvements from other cultures, such as the magnetic compass (Chinese) and the astrolabe (Muslims)

Ships were safer and fasterHow would this affect travel?

RecapWhat this period of rebirth known as?What helped it to spread?

The Portuguese Explore the African Coast

Europeans needed to find a better route to Asia The Silk Road was long and dangerous It was often controlled by merchants who

charged a high price for tradeEuropeans began looking for new trade routes

What alternatives do you think they could have used?

PortugalThe Portuguese took the lead in finding sea

routes

Prince Henry the Navigator

Portugal Explores the World

Prince Henry encouraged exploration He gathered the best in many fields to improve

navigationHenry sent Portuguese ships south along the

Atlantic coast of Africa Explorers continued travelling farther and farther

on each voyage They mapped the African shore and collected

African gold

The Slave TradeThe buying and selling of human beings

Turn to p. 113 and we will read about the slave trade

Recap What country took the lead in exploration in

the 1400’s?

A Sea Route to IndiaPortuguese exploration continued after Prince

Henry died (1460) This exploration was led by Bartolomeu Dias

Bartolomeu Dias

Dias Goes ExploringDias and his 3 ships nearly reached Africa’s

southern tipThey were caught in violent storms and blown

around the southern tip of Africa They reached the Indian Ocean

What do you think happened next?

The Cape of Good HopeDias went back to Portugal and reported he

found the tip of Africa, which he called the “Cape of Storms”

The king of Portugal renamed it the “Cape of Good Hope” Why is this a better name?

Recap What land did Dias discover in Africa?What did he call it?What was it eventually named?

Vasco Da Gama

Da Gama’s MissionVasco Da Gama and his four ships left to sail

around the Cape of Good HopeThey sailed east across the Indian Ocean and

reached India in 1498 Portuguese merchants eventually settled in

Calicut, IndiaThey bought spices at low prices and shipped

them back to Europe

RecapWhere did Da Gama and his crew eventually

land?

Exploration ContinuesTurn to p. 115