2. •Europe: During the Middle Ages, European Christians went to war in the Middle East against the Muslims. These wars are known as the
Crusades. The purpose of the Crusades was to capture the Holy Land for European Christians.
-The Crusades were a failure, but Europeans were exposed to many new products, ideas, and cultures. Europeans wanted the goods from
India and China. (Silk, spices, food)
-European kings sent explorers to find a water route to India and China in order to trade directly with the Indians and Chinese and skip the
Middle Eastern merchants. This will begin the Age of Exploration.
AGE OF EXPLORATION: Search for all water route to India and China.
-Portuguese were the 1st
to reach India by water; went around Africa.
Silks:
Ginger
Limes
Oranges Lemons
Pepper
Nutmeg
European Crusaders
Spices:
Europe
Holy Land/
Middle East
Foods:

3. AGE OF EXPLORATION: Search for all water route to India and China.
•Christopher Columbus will sail west across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492. Columbus will discover the New World. He will discover gold, silver,
and other valuable resources in the New World. The Spanish government will send other explorers to conquer the New World and create colonies
in order to acquire the gold and resources.
•Columbus believed he
could reach Asia by
sailing west across the
Atlantic Ocean. Instead,
he discovered a new land.
•Advances in ship building
and new technology, such
as the astrolabe, allowed
Europeans to sail farther
than ever before.
European view of the world in the 1400’s.

4. Columbian Exchange: With the discovery of the New World by Columbus, other European nations will send explorers to the New World and
will begin creating colonies in order to search for gold and acquire natural resources such as lumber and furs.
-This will cause the cultures of the Old World (Europe, Africa, and Asia) to come into contact with the cultures of the New World
(The America’s). These cultures will exchange ideas, information, agricultural products, and other goods with each other.
Columbian Exchange: The exchange of goods, such as cattle and corn, between the America’s and Europe.

5. ENGLAND
FRANCE
SPAIN
EUROPE
Old World (Europe) meets the New World (America)
Spain: God,
Gold, Glory
New Spain: Spain creates empire in the New
World to control the gold and silver.
Cortes conquers the
Aztecs
Pizzaro conquers the
Incas
These European nations
will dominate North
America in the 1500-
1600’s.

6. Colonization: During the 1500-1600’s, European nations would create colonies in North America. They created colonies in order to control the
natural resources of the New World. (Gold, silver, animal skins, lumber, agricultural products, fish, and others.)
-They were also searching for the Northwest Passage: a water route through North America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific
Ocean. They never found it because it does not exist.
-In North America, it was England, France, and the Netherlands that created colonies.

7. Colonization: During the 1500-1600’s, European nations would create colonies in North America. They created colonies in order to control the
natural resources of the New World. (Gold, silver, animal skins, lumber, agricultural products, fish, and others.)
-They were also searching for the Northwest Passage: a water route through North America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific
Ocean. They never found it because it does not exist.
-In North America, it was England, France, and the Netherlands that created colonies.