Christopher Columbus led a voyage from Spain in 1492 in search of a new trade route to Asia. After 36 days at sea, he landed in the Americas, specifically the Bahamas, believing he had reached Asia. His discoveries inspired further European exploration and colonization of the Americas. The Americas refer to the two continents of North and South America. The "New World" described lands in the Americas that were previously unknown to Europeans, while the "Old World" comprised Europe, Asia, and Africa. Other notable explorers who followed in Columbus's footsteps included Amerigo Vespucci and Vasco Nunez de Balboa. Ferdinand Magellan later led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe between 1519-15

1. Social Studies
Chapter 3
The Age of Exploration

2. Why did he become famous?
• He was a famous sailor and
explorer.
• He led a voyage from the Old
World in search of a new route
to India and China.
• He landed in the Americas.
They were also called the New
World during the years that
Columbus was alive.
• His discoveries inspired the
European countries to explore
and colonize the Americas.

3. What are the Americas?
• They include the continents of North
America and South America.
• The Americas include Canada, the United
States of America, Mexico, Cuba, Puerto
Rico, Brazil, the Bahamas, and many other
countries.

4. The Americas

5. What was the New World and the
Old World?
• The New World were the countries that
made up the Americas. The people who
lived in Europe and Asia knew little to
nothing about these lands.
• The Old World were the continents of
Europe, Asia, and Africa.

6. The Vision for the Future
• In 1486, Columbus asked
the leaders of Spain to pay
for a trip to find a new
route to Asia. They said
no to his request.
• In 1492, Columbus asked
King Ferdinand and
Queen Isabella a second
time to sponsor his voyage
to Asia. This time they
agreed to pay his fees.

7. What were the names of
Columbus’s three ships?
• The Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria
were the three ships that Columbus used to
reach the New World.

8. Columbus Sails West
• Columbus set sail
from Spain with three
ships on August 3,
1492.

9. How many days where the sailors
and Columbus at sea?
• It took Columbus and
the sailors thirty-six
days to reach the New
World by ship.

10. When did Columbus reach the
New World?
• Shortly after midnight on October 12, 1492, a sailor
on board the Pinta saw land on the horizon.

11. Where did Columbus land?
• He named the island San
Salvador. It is now part of
the present-day Bahamas.
• Columbus thought he was
really near India.
• He then named the area
the West Indies.
• He named the people he
met the Indians.
• He also visited the islands
of present-day Cuba and
Hispaniola.

12. Columbus’s Voyage

13. Exploration Continues
• People began to hear about the amazing
things that Columbus had done in the New
World. Many other countries began to send
their own explorers to the New World.
• Two or the more famous explorers to follow
in Columbus’s footsteps were Amerigo
Vespuci and Vasco Nunez de Balboa.

14. Who am I?
• He was a soldier and
sailor.
• He believed he could sail
from Spain to go to the
bottom of South America
to reach the Pacific Ocean.
He wanted to then sail
around the bottom of
Africa to finally return
back in Spain.

15. Magellan’s Voyage
• He sailed in September 1519.
• He named the Pacific Ocean, because it looked so calm.
The word Pacific means peaceful.
• Many of his sailors died along the way.
• Magellan was killed in a battle on the islands of the
Philippines.
• His remaining crew returned back to Spain.
• The arrived in September of 1522.
• Only 18 of the 250 sailors that went with Magellan
returned home alive.
• These men were the first explorers to circumnavigate the
world.

16. The End