Introduction to US History/Foreign Exploration

INTRODUCTION TO US HISTORY
LECTURER:GEOFFREY D. PLOURDE
FOREIGN EXPLORATION

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Welcome back to the spectacular field of US History! Last week, we learned about the cultures present in America before the Europeans arrived. This week's lecture moves along in history and is on the exploration of America by Europe.

As was previously mentioned, Columbus was not the first explorer to visit the Americas. The honor goes to the Vikings. The Vikings are most commonly known for pillaging. They were excellent sailors and put these skills to use in seeking out villages to attack. In the process, they explored much of the world around them. Sometime around the year 1000 AD, a Viking named Leif Ericson left Greenland and sailed west with a crew. He discovered a green fruitful land that he named Vinland. Today this is known as Newfoundland in Canada. Due to internal conflict, the Vikings did not leave a lasting presence in America. In addition to the Vikings, the Chinese, Egyptians, Phoenicians and Romans are also claimed to have reached America. There is no proof of any of these groups reaching America at this time. This does not necessarily mean that they didn't reach America, just that no evidence has been discovered. Therefore the Vikings can safely be considered the first explorers to America for whom we have proof of their visits.

America became unknown until 1492. Europe needed resources to fund its wars, forcing it to look outside of its borders. Spain was desperate for a new route to the Indies and Christopher Columbus brought forth the ambitious and logical plan of sailing west to India. King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella financed three ships, the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. When he landed on Cuba, he was able to acquire gold, reinforcing his belief that he had arrived in India. Needless to say, the Spanish sent more expeditions to America. In 1519, Hernan Cortes arrived in Mexico. Through superior firepower, he was able to conquer the Aztecs, giving the Spanish most of Mexico. From 1522 to 1532, Francisco Pizarro fought the inhabitants of South America. His territorial gains dramatically expanded the Spanish empire. From these Spanish possessions, the Spaniards extracted much gold. which assisted them with their plethora of wars in Europe.

While the Spanish were invading South America, the English were focusing on North America. They heard about the discovery of a new route to "India" and promptly attempted to send ships themselves. Operating under the English flag, John Cabot landed in Canada during 1497. Needless to say, the English and other European colonies sent more explorers. Unfortunately, there was not much gold in the areas that the English landed in. Instead they came across a variety of climates, some suitable for farming, others suitable for grazing. They were able to make this up by raiding Spanish galleons and disrupting the flow of gold and silver to Spain.

The lighter and more agile English ships allowed England to wrest naval dominance from Spain, an action that would have many important effects down the line. This concludes Lecture 2. Please work on the section from the US History Wikibook.