Columbus's Voyages to America

• Competition for wealth in Asia among European nations was fierce
• Christopher Columbus, a Genoese sea captain, made a daring voyage for Spain in 1492

Columbus's Voyages

• Columbus sailed west across the Atlantic to find an alternate trade route to Asia and its riches
• He stepped onto an island in the Caribbean, never reaching Asia
• The Niña, Pinta, and Santa María sailed from a Spanish port around dawn on August 3, 1492
• Columbus and his crew went ashore in the early hours of October 12, 1492
• The Europeans thought they had reached the East Indies, but miscalculated their location and did not reach the East Indies

San Salvador

• Columbus landed on an island in the Bahamas in the Caribbean Sea
• The natives on the island called themselves the Taino, not Indians
• Columbus claimed the island for Spain and named it San Salvador, or "Holy Savior"

Subsequent Voyages

• Spain financed three more voyages after Columbus's first voyage
• Columbus embarked on his second voyage to the Americas in September 1493
• Columbus was interested in gold and returned to Spain to report his after finding none on San Salvador
• His intentions changed from explorer to empire builder
• The Spanish planned to transform the Caribbean islands into colonies controlled by Spain

Pedro Álvares Cabral

• Pedro Álvares Cabral, a Portuguese explorer, reached the shores of modern-day Brazil in 1500
• Cabral claimed the land for Portugal

Amerigo Vespucci

• Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian working for Portugal, traveled along the eastern coast of South America a year later
• Vespucci claimed the land was a "new" world, not part of Asia
• The new continent was named "America" to honor Amerigo Vespucci

Vasco Núñez de Balboa

• Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa marched through modern-day Panama
• Balboa became the first European to gaze upon the Pacific Ocean
• Vasco Núñez de Balboa led to Ferdinand Magellan convincing the king of Spain to fund his voyage into the newly discovered ocean

Ferdinand Magellan

• Ferdinand Magellan sailed around the southern end of South America into the Pacific
• Magellan and his crew reached the Philippines after months of exploring
• Magellan was killed in a local war
• Only 18 men and one ship out of Magellan's original crew returned to Spain nearly 3 years after leaving
• This crew were the first people to circumnavigate the world

Hernando Cortés

• Cortés and his followers were known as conquistadors
• These conquistadors carved out colonies in regions that would become Mexico, South America, and the United States
• In 1519, Cortés landed on the shores of Mexico
• The Spanish were lured by vast lands filled with gold and silver and any land they reached could be claimed for Spain, but will have to pay tribute to Spain
• The Spanish were the first European settlers in the Americas, greatly enriching their empire and leaving a mark on the cultures of North and South America

Conquering the Aztecs

• The Aztec emperor, Montezuma II, agreed to give the Spanish explorer a share of the empire's existing gold supply
• Cortés learned of the wealthy Aztec Empire in the region's interior soon after landing in Mexico
• The Spanish reached the magnificent Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán
• The Spanish launched a surprise attack, killing many Aztec warriors and chiefs, in an attempt to take over the Aztecs
• The Aztecs rebelled against the Spanish intruders and drove out Cortés's forces
• Cortés and his men conquered the Aztecs in 1521, despite being numbered only 600 men

Factors in the Spanish Victory Over the Aztecs

• Superior Spanish weaponry, including muskets and cannons, was unmatched by Aztec arrows
• Cortés enlisted the help of various native groups, aided by a native woman translator, to turn natives who were unhappy with the Aztecs to fight on the Spanish side
• European diseases, which the Native Americans had no immunity to, weakened the Aztecs

Conquering the Incan Empire

• Francisco Pizarro marched a small force into South America in 1532
• Pizarro and his army of about 200 met the Incan ruler, Atahualpa
• The Spaniards waited in ambush, crushed the Incan force, and kidnapped Atahualpa
• Atahualpa, who commanded a Incan force of about 30,000, brought several thousand mostly unarmed men to the meeting
• The Spanish killed Atahualpa after he offered gold as ransom for his release
• The death of Atahualpa lowered the morale of the Incas, making it easier for the Spanish to conquer the Incan Empire