European Exploration of North America
Learning Objective
I can describe reasons why Europeans explored North America and what happened when they met Native Americans.
Key Concepts
The European Age of Exploration, from the early 1400s through the 1600s, involved European nations exploring the world and finding new routes to places like India and the Americas.
Christopher Columbus, sponsored by the Spanish monarchs Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand, set sail in 1492 with the intention of finding a new route to the East Indies, but instead landed in the Caribbean Islands.
The arrival of European explorers had a devastating impact on the Indigenous Taino people, who faced enslavement, exposure to new diseases, and ultimately a significant decline in their population by the mid-1500s.
Practice Questions
This lesson includes 9 practice questions to reinforce learning.
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1. What was the main goal of Prince Henry the Navigator in the early 1400s?
2. Why was salt considered a valuable commodity during the Age of Exploration?
3. What did Vasco de Gama find when he reached India, and why were these items important to Europeans?
...and 6 more questions
Educational Video
The New World: European Age of Exploration in the Americas
Miacademy & MiaPrep Learning Channel