Portugal established an early dominance in exploration under Prince Henry the Navigator, with explorers like Bartholomew Diaz and Vasco de Gama expanding Portugal's reach down the African coast and to India, making Portugal the most powerful European nation for a time. Christopher Columbus, sailing for Spain, was the first European to reach the Americas in 1492, landing in the Caribbean and establishing Spanish colonies, though he later died in poverty. Spain and Portugal raced to claim territory in the new world, leading the Pope to intervene and divide control between them with the Treaty of Tordesillas. Conquistadors like Hernan Cortez and Francisco Pizzaro then conquered the Aztec and Inca empires, bringing vast wealth back

1. Portugal’s Early place in Exploration
• Prince Henry the Navigator-creates a school
for navigators
• Bartholomew Diaz explored down Africa’s
coast then Vasco de Gama follows Diaz’s route
and finds India
• This makes Portugal the most powerful
country in Europe for a time

2. Christopher Columbus
• Italian Sailor- hired by Spain Queen Isabella
and King Ferdinand to sail west to Asia
• Lands on Hispaniola
• Conquers the local people on his 4 journeys
• Smallpox kills most of the native populations
• Columbus dies a pauper

3. Dividing up the New world
• Spain and Portugal have claims all over and they
are competing for control.
• Both countries are Catholic and they ask the Pope
to settle the dispute
• The Treaty of Tordesillas sets the Line of
Demarcation which divides the New World
between the two. Guarantees that Rome gets lots
of money from both of the “peaceful” countries.
• “Mercantilism” brings raw materials back to the
home country. The theory provides that a
nation’s wealth is determined by the amount of
gold it has – motivation for exploration.

4. Aztecs and Cortez
• Hernan Cortez conquers the Aztec empire
• He makes alliances with their enemies and
builds an army
• Between the effects of Smallpox and the
power of the Spanish and the Aztec’s enemies,
Cortez easily defeated the Aztecs.

5. Pizzaro and the Incas
• Pizzaro conquers the Inca of South America
quickly. Small Pox again. He holds their ruler,
Atahualpa hostage and eventually kills him
after the ransom is paid.
• Incan gold made Spain very wealthy

6. The relationship b/t England and Spain
before the Spanish Armada
• England wants a piece of the action. They
sponsor John Cabot to go west. He discovers
Newfoundland.
• The Spanish counter by funding Vasquez de
Coronado (present-day American Southwest) and
Hernando de Soto (present-day American
Southeast)
• Spanish “found” St. Augustine
• The English and Spanish clash over wealth and
religion (Spanish = Catholic, English = Protestant)

7. Spanish Armada and its overall effect
• Queen Elizabeth (England) is sponsoring “Sea
Dogs” like Sir Francis Drake to raid Spanish
treasure ships.
• 1588- Spain sends an Armada of 130 ships (the
Spanish Armada) to defeat the English and “re-
Catholic” England.
• The Spanish get trashed in a hurricane on the way
then the more experienced and faster English
defeat them
• England gets “Sea Dominance” setting the stage
for the British Empire.

8. French Settlements
• The French explorer Samuel de Champlain
founded New France along the St Lawrence
River.
• The main purpose was fur trade and the
French integrated with the native peoples well
adopting their ways and becoming allies. This
made them friends and allowed them to
colonize freely (but the settlements stayed
small)