North America, Religious Freedom, Protestant Reformation

1. NORTH AMERICA
and
THE DESIRE FOR RELIGIOUS
FREEDOM

2. 1. Mercantilism – the economic theory that a nation’s power depends on its
wealth
2. Columbian Exchange – the widespread transfer of goods, people, and ideas
between the Americas and Europe (after Columbus’ voyages)
3. Northwest Passage – the direct water route to Asia through North America
which was sought by European explorers
4. Coureur de bois – a French trapper and woodsman living among the Native
Americans
5. Protestant Reformation – a movement in Europe which aimed to reform
(improve) the Catholic Church, which led to the formation of Protestant
religions

4. • In 1517, a German priest named Martin Luther nailed a list of complaints
against the Catholic Church to the door of a cathedral, hoping to reform the
Church
• Pope Leo X ignored Luther’s complaints
• Luther believed that faith alone, rather than good works, was the way to
salvation
• Luther’s followers formed the first Protestant religion, called Lutheranism

6. • The Protestant Reformation caused great changes in Europe
- John Calvin of France started the Calvinist religion (1519)
- England’s King Henry VIII started the Church of England in 1534
because the pope would not declare his marriage invalid

8. • European nations were now divided into Catholics and Protestants

9. • As Europeans crossed the Atlantic into North America, they brought their
religious beliefs with them
• Spanish and French Catholics spread their faith to the Native Americans in
the Southwest, Southeast, and Northeast
• Dutch and English Protestants established colonies along the Atlantic coast

10. • European nations crossed the Atlantic to practice their religions peacefully, and
to gain wealth
• Rulers believed in mercantilism, and wanted to increase their nation’s wealth
through acquiring gold and silver, and by developing trade
• They competed for territory that could provide valuable resources or which
could serve as trade communities
• The voyages of Columbus and others brought Europe, Asia, and Africa together
with the Americas
• The sharing of goods, ideas, and technology became known as the Columbian
Exchange

11. https://learnodo-newtonic.com/columbian-exchange-facts

12. • The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) had divided the Americas only between Spain
and Portugal
• Other nations ignored the Treaty, and in the 1500s and 1600s, sent explorers to
chart the coast of North America and search for a Northwest Passage to make
travel to Asia easier

13. • In 1497 John Cabot explored for England
• In his search for the Northwest Passage, he landed in present-day
Newfoundland off the coast of Canada

14. • Giovanni da Verrazano sailed for France in 1524
• He explored the coast from Nova Scotia down to
the Carolinas
• Jacque Cartier was a French explorer who, in 1535,
sailed up the St. Lawrence River hoping to reach
the Pacific Ocean
• He reached a peak which he called “Royal
Mountain” today called Montreal

15. • Henry Hudson
- In 1609, he discovered the river which we now call the Hudson River
- In 1610, he discovered the Hudson Bay

18. • France wanted to make profits
from fishing and fur trading
• Samuel de Champlain established
a settlement in 1608 in Quebec, Canada
• He discovered Lake Champlain

19. • The French built trading posts
throughout Canada
• The French trappers, called
coureurs de bois, had a good
working relationship with the
Native Americans
• By 1626, Portugal, Spain,
France, and the Netherlands
had established colonies in the
Americas