Outline Essay

I. Discovery and Settlement of the New World, 1492-1650
    A. Europe in the sixteenth century: Spain had great power. England was overcome with religious conflict after Henry VIII broke ties w/ the Roman Catholic Church and started the English protestant reformation. Protestantism became dominant in England after Elizabeth became queen in 1558. Under Elizabeth the British navy flourished. Late in the century Spain began to lose power. .Population was growing at a rapid pace.
    B. Spanish, English, and French exploration:
      SPAIN: Originated with the Italian Marco Polo’s exploration of China in 1295. Late 15th C. Spain became united and due to the fact that the Portuguese controlled trade routes in Africa and Asia they looked west. Christopher Columbus, exploring in the name of Spain, discovered the Bahamas in 1492. Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) divided SA land between Spain and Portugal. Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean while Magellan circumnavigated the globe. Leon explored Florida and Coronado explored Arizona and New Mexico. Soto discovered the Mississippi River. Pizarro destroyed the Incas in 1532. Cortes destroyed the Aztecs. Onate abused the pueblo peoples. Cabrillo explored CA coast.
      ENGLISH: Cabot=NE coast late 1400’s. Raleigh explored the Carolinas. England created Jamestown. People wanted gold from the discovery of Jamestown and the Virginia Company of London got the charter from England wherein the settlers who lived in Jamestown had the same rights as the Englishmen. Settled in the Eastern side of NA and also in the Chesapeake Bay.
      FRENCH: Verrazano=E seaboard 1524. The French focused on exploring the area around Canada and the more northern parts of North America. They developed the fur trapping industry there and were very influential in the fur trade from then on. They also occupied some islands around North America.
      First English settlements
        1. Jamestown: People wanted gold from the discovery of Jamestown...