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people in Europe read of Marco Polo's travels to cathay (China) and other exciting Asian lands. The adventures Polo wrote about led many Europeans to think about the riches of Asia.
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Europeans had developed a taste for spices in their diets. Most spices came from islands in Asia. Because spices were shipped half way around the world on risky voyages , spices were costly.
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Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama found such a route and sailed all the way to India. Other Europeans had different ideas. Christopher Columbus thought Asia could be reached by sailing west from Europe.Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas/Asia his first voyage. On another voyage, Columbus reached South America. Later a mapmaker labeled this new continent "America" for another explorer, Amerigo Vespucci.
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people in Europe began to look to the seas and beyond. Some longed for adventure. Others wanted to spread christianity far and wide. Most of all, people wanted to find riches.
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John Cabot was an Italian living in England. In 1497 King Henry VII sent Cabot on a voyage to the West. The English thought that there might be a water route through the Americas that would lead north and west to Asia. They called this sought-for route the Northwest passage. Cabot landed on the far northern Atlantic coast of North America-probably the island of Newfoundland. Like other explorers Cabot failed to find the Northwest Passage. Europeans eventually stopped looking for the route.
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Powerful Spain claimed many of the New World lands. In the early 1500s, Spain was taking control of much of South and Central America and many Caribbean islands, including Cuba and Hispaniola. Meanwhile, Spanish governors and explorers began to look northward. Juan Ponce de Leon was a Spanish official in the New World. In 1508-1509, he explored and settled the island of Puerto Rico. King Ferdinand authorized Ponce de Leon to explore lands north of Cuba.
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A great interaction between the "New World" and "Old World" took place. This interaction is sometimes referred to as the Columbian Exchange. Plants, animals, and even diseases moved between the Western and Eastern Hemispheres. Europeans enjoyed ne American foods such as potatoes, tomatoes, beans, and corn. Native Americans made use of horses and cattle, which were introduced into the Americas by the Spanish.
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Spain was the most powerful nation in the world. Spanish explorerss had claimed huge tracts of land in the New World. They had begun sending gold and silver back to Spain. From their base on Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, Spanish officials eyed the North American coast eagerly. Ponce de Leon had explored and claimed Florida.
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Lucas Vazquez de Ayllon Had seen some of the Atlantic coastline of this region on an expedition. Ayllon intended to plant a strong colony for Spain along that coast.
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King Francis I of France sent Italian navigator Giovanni da Verrazano westward. Verrazano first reached land at North Carolina's Outer Banks. Across those narrow islands he thought he saw the Pacific Ocean. In fact, he was looking at the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds. Verrazano then explored farther up the coast. Verrazano submitted a glowing report to the king. However, the French king was now occupied with military challenges at home.
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Ayllon led a group of over 500 men , women, and children to a river he called "Jordan" (for the Jordan River in ancient Palestine). The Rio Jordan colony failed due to disease and starvation. Ayllon then took the colonists to a site in present-day South Carolina. Disease and starvation overwhelmed the settlers. In October 1526, the 150 remaining colonists returned to Hispaniola.
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The Spanish wanted to know more about the interior of North America. Land there might contain gold and silver. In 1539 Hernando de Soto sailed with a military expedition from Havana, Cuba, to the west coast of Florida. de Soto's soldiers marched northward to site near present-day Tallahassee, Florida. de Soto crossed Georgia and Soth Carolina and passed through the western tip of North Carolina.De Soto and his men were the first Europeans to see these regions.
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The Atlantic coastal region that is today part of the southeastern United States had been a flury of Spanish activity in the 1560s. Spain's rulers, however, had far greater interest in New World lands to the south. Conquistadores had taken firm controlof mineral-rich lands in present-day Mexico and Peru. Officials in Spain had seen the need to strengthen their hold on Florida. They had responded promptly and firmly to French threats.
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other European nations were challenging Spain. France sent colony under the command of Jean Ribault to North America. The colonists were Huguenots, or French Protestants, Protestants were sometimes persecuted in Catholic France. Some Huguenots sought religious freedom in the New World. Ribault's Huguenots attempted to settle near present-day Port Royal. a band of huguenots and Rene de Laudonniere settled at Fort Caroline, on the north Florida coast.
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The French fort seemed a direct threat. Spain sent troops under Pedro Menendez de Aviles to Florida. South of Fort Caroline, Menendez built a fort at St. Augustine. Meanwhile, Jean Ribault prepared to attack. A strom wrecked his fleet, however, and Menendez lost no time in dealing with the unlucky French.He captured Fort Caroline and killed most of the French defenders. Menendez built forts throughout Florida to strengthen Spain's grip.
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An expedition set out for Chesapeake Bay from the West indies to set up a Catholic mission. They entered an inlet in North Carolina's outer Banks and sailed into Albemarle Sound. They landed at the tip of the Currituck Inlet. Pedro de Coronas, a leader of the expedition, marked their landing by placing a wooden cross on the shore.Juan Pardo and Hernando Boyano led a small group of men to the South Carolina coast.
