1) Early European contact with the Americas began with the Vikings establishing a colony in Vinland in the 11th century, though they later abandoned it. 2) A series of developments in 15th-16th century Europe, including the Renaissance, new navigation technologies, and desire to find an eastern trade route to India, led Portugal and Spain to sponsor voyages of exploration. 3) Christopher Columbus' voyages for Spain in 1492 led to permanent European colonization, though he mistakenly thought he had reached Asia. Subsequent Spanish expeditions conquered empires of the Aztecs and Incas and claimed territory across North and South America.

1. Discovery of America
Early History of America
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2. Introduction:
• First known Europeans to reach Americas – Vikings, 11th C;
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established a colony – Vineland (fertile region)
• Abandoned and never returned; Europeans intrigued but did
not possess the resources; Trade through Mediterranean
• A series of interconnected developments provided impetus
for exploration and subsequent colonization of Americas
• Reformation and Counter reformation
• Renaissance
• Unification of small states into larger ones with centralized political
power
• New technology in navigation and ship building
• Establishment of overland trade with the East
• Subsequent transformation of the medieval economy
• Desire to supplant trade moguls, fear of Ottoman empire
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3. Portugal
• Henry the Navigator – Sagres Institute; Voyages to Africa
• The legend of Prester John; His school developed the
quadrant, the cross-staff, and the compass, made advances
in cartography, and designed and built highly maneuverable
little ships known as caravels
• 1487 – Bartolomeu Dias – tip of Africa
• 1488 – Vasco Da Gama – India; Jewels and Spices
• 1500 – Pedro Alvares Cabral – Brazil
• Trading posts in the South China Sea, the Bay of Bengal,
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and the Arabian Sea
• These water routes undercut the power of Italian states and
Lisbon became Europe’s new trade capital
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4. Spain
• Spain’s ambitions launched by Christopher Columbus; Nina,
Pinta and Santa Maria – San Salvador, Cuba, Haiti and
returned with several products unknown to Europeans
• Coconuts, tobacco, sweet corn, potatoes–and with tales of
dark-skinned native peoples whom he called “Indians”
• No gold or silver but western route to India
• Dispute between Portugal and Spain – Papal Bull, 1493 and
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Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494
• Columbus – 3 more voyages – Subsequent explorations
revealed that he discovered a new world
• Named after Amerigo Vespucci - In 1507 Waldseemüller
published a book in which he named the new land “America
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5. BITS Pilani, PHilyadenria bCada Cmamppuuss

6. Further explorations - Spain
• 1513 – Florida, Juan Ponce de León
• 1519-22 Ferdinand Magellan’s journey round the world
• 1519 to 1521 – Hernando Cortes – Expedition against Aztec
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empire of Mexico – Gold
• 1531 – Francisco Pizarro – Peru – Conquest of Incas –
silver
• 1535 – Buenos Aires
• By 1650 Spain’s empire was complete and its ships were
carrying plunder back to Spain
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7. • Utopian
• Savage and dangerous
• Civilize the world – Christianity
• Second coming of Christ
• Tradition derived from crusader’s struggle to free Holy land
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Religious motivation
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