Explorers of the New World

1. Explorers of the New World

2. Christopher Columbus • For one of the most famous explorers, it is surprising how little is actually known of him. • For instance, no one really knows what he looked like. This painting is just a guess.

3. True or False? • Columbus discovered America in 1492 while trying to prove that the world is round.

4. Fact: • Columbus was trying to find a route to India. Navigators had known that the world was round for hundreds of years before Columbus.

5. Columbus never set foot on what is now “America.” He explored a series of islands that historians believe to be the Bahamas. However, no one is sure which island he explored first.

6. More about Columbus… • Columbus made a total of 4 voyages to the “New World.” • On his second voyage, he used 17 ships and 1200 men to conquer “Hispaniola.” (present day Haiti and Dominican Republic) • He introduced horses to the New World • He was the first person to take tobacco back to Europe from the New world • He was the first person to send natives back to Europe as slaves.

7. The “not so good” stuff: • When Columbus returned to the Caribbean for his second voyage, he brought with him soldiers, horses, swords, war-dogs, and other implements of war.

8. Here are some accounts, based on the eyewitness testimony of a Spanish settler Bartolomé de las Casas: • In one day, the Spanish dismembered, beheaded, or raped 3000 people.

9. They made bets as to who, with one sweep of his sword, could cut a person in half. • The Spanish cut off the legs of children who ran from them.

10. They loosed dogs that 'devoured an Indian like a hog, at first sight, in less than a moment.' They used nursing infants for dog food.

11. Eight million people -- virtually the entire native population of Hispaniola -- were exterminated by torture, murder, forced labor, starvation, disease and despair.

12. The Controversy We are all taught that Columbus is a hero. BUT He waged war against and brutalized the native people, took their land, and sent them to Europe as slaves. What should we believe?

13. The harsh reality • Columbus, whether he is a hero or a villain, opened up half of the planet for exploration. He set off a huge race between nations to colonize the “uncharted” parts of the world and reap the benefits of having new territories. • Within just a few years, other countries were sending explorers to the “New World.”

14. The so-called New World • A businessman from Italy, Amerigo Vespucci, claimed to have been with Columbus on one of the voyages. Vespucci claimed that he believed that there were new continents to be explored, and he claims to have created the phrase “New World.” He even insisted that he himself made voyages to the New World and landed on a large continent. • In truth, Vespucci was a pickle salesman, and there is no evidence, other than his own words, that Vespucci was with Columbusor made any separate voyages. • So what’s the big deal?

15. The big deal…. • Is this map. A Swiss map maker in 1507 called the newly discovered land “America” in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. The name stuck.

16. The Battle for Land • Part of the deal Columbus made with his financial backers is that he would claim the lands he found in the name of Spain. • Other countries scrambled to claim their own land. • Religious leaders didn’t want countries of the same religious beliefs fighting with each other, but they didn’t want countries with different religious beliefs getting the new land.

17. Catholics are Christian Catholics view the Pope as the link between God and man. If a country’s leader was Catholic, the country was too. Catholic countries were Spain, Portugal, & Italy Protestants are Christian Protestants don’t believe man needs a person to be a link to God. If a country’s leader was Protestant, the country was too. Protestant countries were England & France Catholic vs. Protestant

18. John Cabot • John Cabot, in 1497, sailed from England to explore the New World. • In his first voyage, he explored the coast of what is now Canada and New England. • In his second voyage, in 1498, he explored the coast as far south as present day South Carolina (some experts think even Florida). • England claimed that, since Cabot represented England, everything he sailed past belonged to England!

19. The Argument • Is it enough to simply sail past some land, or stick a flag in the sand, to claim a territory? • The countries of Europe agreed that, in order to actually claim a land as territory, the land must be colonized.

20. Juan Ponce de León • In 1513, Ponce de León landed on the beach of present day Florida. He thought he had landed on a large island, and he named it “La Florida” in honor of Easter. • He was in search of two things that were rumored to be there: • A city of gold • A fountain that would make people young, the “fountain of youth.”

21. A Quick Message from Florida • Yes, there really IS a “Fountain of Youth” in Florida.

22. Ponce (continued) • Instead of a fabled “Fountain of Youth” with magical powers, Ponce de León found a smelly spring of water flowing from the earth with no magical properties (except the ability to rake in money from tourists a few hundred years later!) • He never found a city of gold.

23. Trip #2 to La Florida • In 1521, he led an expedition to colonize the west coast of Florida. Taking two ships with 50 horses and 200 men, the group landed on Florida’s west coast and met immediate resistance from the natives. Ponce was wounded by an arrow and he, along with his entire force, withdrew to Havana, Cuba, where he died. • Juan Ponce de León is credited with being “the first European to step foot on what is now the USA.”

24. Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón • Historians think that Ayllón can be given credit for being the first European to start a settlement in North America, around 1526. • He left the island of Hispaniola with 600 settlers -- men, women, children, and African slaves. His goal was to start a settlement in La Florida (the Spanish name for all of what is now the American Southeast) in the name of Spain. • Why would he want to do this you think?

25. September 29, 1526 • On September 29, 1526, Ayllón’s group landed in what is present day McIntosh County, GA., after abandoning a camp farther north. • The group began building homes and establishing friendly connections with the Native Americans in the region. • Their settlement would be called “San Miguel de Gualdape.”

27. Disaster Strikes • Ten days after the ships land, Ayllón becomes ill and dies. • Because of cold weather, crops fail, settlers become ill and death becomes common. • Revolt and panic breaks out. • The slaves revolt. • The Indians attack. • San Miguel de Gualdape is abandoned. Only 150 people (of the original 600) make it back to Hispaniola alive.

28. Hernando De Soto • In 1539, De Soto led a force of 600 men to a site near present-day Tampa to begin a search for gold and other valuables. They marched into the interior and wintered near present-day Tallahassee, Florida.

29. http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/movies/soto/soto01.htm http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/movies/soto/soto02.htm Parent Site: http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/movies/soto/soto.htm

30. In 1540, the force moved northward into the areas that would become Georgia and the Carolinas, and then circled into Tennessee and down to Alabama. http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/movies/soto/soto03.htm http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/movies/soto/soto04.htm

31. Resistance from native tribes was common, stemming from the Spaniards’ practices of taking Indian food supplies, destroying their homes and forcing captives into slavery. • De Soto was wounded in one encounter with the natives. However, De Soto decided not to tell his men that ships were waiting in the Gulf of Mexico if they needed them. He wanted to keep going.

32. In the spring of 1541, De Soto and his men crossed the Mississippi River, perhaps near present-day Memphis, and are credited with being the first Europeans to view the Mississippi River. http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/movies/soto/soto05.htm

33. Pushing westward, De Soto and his men followed the Arkansas River into the area that would become Oklahoma. They were disappointed with their inability to find treasure and turned back toward the Mississippi. On this leg of the trip, De Soto became ill from a fever and died. • His death was a threat to the existence of the small army, since the Spaniards had told the hostile natives that De Soto was immortal! • De Soto’s remains were placed in a hollowed out tree trunk, fitted with weights and cast into the river.

34. Despite their leader's passing, the soldiers again pressed westward, following the Red River into northern Texas. No evidence of gold was encountered and the soldiers returned to the Mississippi, constructed rafts and floated out into the Gulf. By the time the explorers found Spanish settlements along the eastern coast of Mexico, only about one-half of the original group remained. http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/movies/soto/soto06.htm http://fcit.usf.edu/florida/movies/soto/soto07.htm

35. Ribault & Menéndez The French Challenge & the Spanish Response

36. France had almost given up on colonizing La Florida, when a group of French Protestants called Huguenots insisted that France enter the race. • Their leader sent Jean Ribault to La Florida for the sole purpose of establishing a permanent settlement in 1562. • Using sailing instructions from Verrazano's voyage of North America, Ribault reached the Florida coast near present-day Cape Canaveral on April 30, 1562. He sailed northward to the mouth of a wide river the Spanish called"the St. Johns", but Ribault renamed it "the River of May." He landed on a small river island, which he called "Mayport.“ (this is now Jacksonville, Florida)

37. Here Ribault constructed a five-sided column featuring a bronze shield bearing the coat-of-arms of Queen Catherine, the King of France’s mother, who had opposed the mission (she was Catholic). • Curious Timucuans visited the Huguenot encampment. The French presented the Timucuans with gowns of blue embroidery. In return, the natives stocked the French with maize, beans, cucumbers, and fish. Ribault wrote glowingly of the friendliness of the contact.

38. Charles Fort • Before returning to Europe, Ribault stopped at the Broad River, near present-day Parris Island, South Carolina, just north of Savannah. He called the spot"Port Royal" and built a log blockhouse, he named "Charlesfort,“ the first European fort in North America. • Later, when a Spanish expedition was sent to destroy the fort, they found the fort deserted. Ft. Caroline Two years later, a group of Huguenots arrived at the mouth of “The River of May” and built a three-sided fort they called Fort Caroline.

39. Fort Caroline was an unusual colony. Not all the settlers were Huguenots. There were some Catholics. The colony included soldiers, tailors, brewers, an artist, a physician, and an astronomer. What the colony lacked was a minister and enough experienced soldiers to protect it. Farming proved difficult. The restless young men stole the fort's longboat and sailed out the mouth of the St. Johns to plunder Spanish gold ships.

40. PEDRO MENENDEZ de AVILES • Pedro Menendez de Aviles was a skilled sailor, a wealthy supporter of Spain, and a staunch Catholic, all qualities needed to take control of Florida. • In August of 1565, Menendez's attack fleet reached the mouth of the St. Johns, only to discover that Ribault's five ships were blocking the entrance. Menendez withdrew south to a deep and protected harbor he had seen on August 28, 1565, St. Augustine's day. • He started a camp in the place he called"St. Augustine", not knowing he would be starting the oldest continuous settlement in the United States.

41. Jean Ribault realized he had to be daring to confront the Spanish so he set sail to attack the Spanish while they unloaded supplies. Unfortunately for Ribault, a sudden storm pushed his fleet past St. Augustine's protected harbor. Most of the French ships crashed on the Atlantic shore near present-day Daytona Beach. • Menendez, realizing the French were caught in a storm south of St. Augustine, decided to start his own surprise attack, an overland march to Fort Caroline. He left his fleet guarding the entrance to St. Augustine, while he sent five hundred professional soldiers through the swamplands of Northeast Florida. Despite a driving rain storm and waist deep water, the troops marched north for three days.

42. The men thought their leader was insane, but Menendez's plan worked perfectly. He had a French traitor as an informant. They reached Fort Caroline in the early morning and discovered the fortress unprepared for any landside attack. • The Spanish rushed the defenseless garrison on three sides. Most of the French were not trained soldiers and quickly deserted their positions. The Spanish killed 142 French before the survivors surrendered. The Spanish lost one soldier. Menendez renamed the fort “San Mateo.”

43. Ribault's forces, crushed on the Daytona Beaches, had no other option but to march northward in hopes of attacking St. Augustine. The effort might have succeeded if they were not stopped at Matanzas Inlet, the southern entrance to St. Augustine Harbor. Without tools and sufficient lumber, the French could not cross the waterway.

44. Menendez found the worn French on the south side of the Inlet. Some rich Frenchmen offered payment for their lives, but Menendez refused. He brought Ribault across the Inlet in a rowboat and accepted formal surrender. Ten Frenchmen at a time were brought across the waterway, and with their hands tied behind them, marched behind sand dunes to be executed.

45. When it was Ribault's turn to die, he told Menendez he was proud to be a Lutheran. Only ten Catholic French and six cabin boys were spared from the ordeal. The Inlet became known as "Mantanzas" or "massacre" Inlet.

46. Matanzas Inlet today

47. Spanish Missions • The key to Spain’s success in the New World wasn’t soldiers, guns or war dogs, it was the “missions.” • A “mission” is a small church that is built to serve as a base for spreading a religion. Missions are run by “friars,” (Catholic priests or missionaries). • The missions served as places where the Indians could be taught religion, Spanish, and how to write.

48. Georgia’s Two Spanish Provinces • The coast of Georgia was divided into two “provinces” to help organize the missions. • Guale (“Wal-lee”) was to the north, between modern-day Savannah and the Altamaha Rivers • Mocama was to the south, between the Altamaha and St. Mary’s Rivers. By 1665, there were 38 Spanish missions serving 25,000 Native Americans.

49. Natives and European Religion • In 1566, Menendez sailed up the coast from St. Augustine to find a place to build more missions. • He left a garrison of soldiers on Cumberland Island and sailed north to meet the Guale king on St. Catherine’s Island. • On St. Catherine’s, he erected a cross and held 4 days of religious instruction.

50. Santa Catalina de Guale Located on St. Catherine’s Island • It served as the base for the Guale missions. • The cemetery was under the floor of the church and held the remains of Guale Indians who had converted to Catholicism. • (It was the Northern boundary of Spanish La Florida until 1680, when Indian slave-raiders destroyed the church and surrounding buildings. The Indian slave-raiders had been outfitted with weapons by the English from the South Carolina colony.)