Early exploration of the new world

By wipug683
  • Period: Jan 16, 1300 to

    Early exploration of the New World

  • Feb 1, 1300

    Exploration begins

    Euopeans read of the voyages of Marco Polo. They begin to look towards the sea and beyond.
  • May 18, 1400

    Henry the Navigator

    Henry the Navigator of portugal urged sea captains to find a route to Asia around Africa. He wanted someone to find a route and get around Venices hold on the spice trade
  • Aug 10, 1492

    Columbus's radical idea

    Christopher Columbus has an idea he can get to Asia by sailing west. He landed in the Bahamas, which he thought was Asia. Later he reached south America. A mapmaker later named this new continent America after Amerigo Vespucci. The name stuck.
  • Oct 4, 1497

    Vasco da Gama gives it a shot

    The portuguese explorer seeks to find a route by sea to Asia by sailing around Africa. He succeded and sailed all the way to India.
  • Dec 15, 1497

    Move it John

    King Henry VII sends John Cabbot to find a passage to Asia through the Americas. Europeans gave up on the search for this passage.
  • Sep 15, 1508

    Here come the Spaniards

    Juan Ponce de Leon was a Spanish official in the new world. Spain had taken claim to large portions of the new world. King Ferdinand told Ponce de Leon to explore the lands north of Cuba.
  • May 15, 1513

    Goin North

    Ponce de leon set out with ships and crew to explore the new world futher. He landed on the east coast of Florida. His explorations showed that there were lands explorer worthy north of the islands.
  • Jul 20, 1520

    Spain wnats more

    Spanish official Lucas Vasquez de Ayllon wanted to go to America. He planed to make a strong colony on the coast of Florida
  • Jul 13, 1524

    Verrazano's turn

    King Francis I of France sends Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazano west. He first reached land at the outer banks. Across them he thought he saw the pacific ocean. Then he explored farther up the caist and gave the king a great report. The king was tied up with war though so he didn't send him back.
  • Jul 26, 1526

    Colonizing

    Ayllon takes a group of over 500 men, women, and children to a river he called the Jordan. The Rio Jordan colony failed due to diease and starvation. Then he took the colonists to a site in south carolina. The colony did no better. Ayllon himself died there. In October the remaining 150 people returned to Hispanolia
  • Jun 26, 1539

    A lust for gold

    The Spanish were interested in getting to the heart of north america to see if there was any gold or silver there. Hernando de Soto sailed to Florida with an army outfit. They seen lands no European had seen before. De Soto died on the trip, but many of his men returned to Mexico.
  • Sep 16, 1562

    Freedom

    France had made a colony in North America. It was fairly successful, but people ended up returning to France anyway. While they were there though, they had complete religious freedom.
  • Apr 16, 1565

    Spain vs. France

    The French made a fort in florida under the lead of Rene de Laudonniere. The Spanish saw this as a threat, so when a storm took the french ships, Pedro Menendez de Aviles took over the fort. Soon the spanish had more forts in florida to strengthen their grip there.
  • Sep 30, 1566

    A Catholic expedition

    A gruop of Catholic people head towards the Chasapeke Bay. Strong winds caused them to land in Albermarle sound though. They marked their place by leaving a wooden cross. They explored and then went back to their ships. Due to more storms they returned to the west Indies. One of their leaders were Pedro de Coronas.
  • Nov 16, 1566

    More Spanish Forts

    Juan Pedro and Hernando Boyano led a small group of men to the south carolins coast. they took almost the same route as de Soto did 25 years earlier. They built forts in the Blue Ridge mountains. They later abandoned these forts.
  • Sep 16, 1569

    Summary for Spains Conquering

    Spain had taken hold of vast areas of the Americas. With fertile soils, gold, silver, slaves, and valuable crops, the land was very valuable to tem now. They had many forts as well. They were converting the Indians to Catholicism. They were about to set their sight south. They had done their best to secure florida and other parts of america, but their reign would end soon, thanks to England. The British are coming!