Chapter 1 THE NEW WORLD European explorers began sailing across the Atlantic Ocean in the 15th and 16th centuries in hopes of finding a new trading route to Asia What they found instead were two continents filled with many strange new discoveries Of course many thousands of Native peoples had been living in the Americas for centuries but to the many European settlers that began traveling across the sea in search of a new home this was truly a new world 4
THE NEW WORLD 1 Although we give credit to Columbus for discovering the new world he himself didn’t believe it After four voyages across the Atlantic he still thought he had found a new route to Asia 2 Christopher Columbus wasn’t the first European to reach North America In 1001 C E a group of Scandinavian sailors led by Leif Ericson landed in what is now Eastern Canada Among the discoveries they made was a plant they had never seen grapevines Because of this they named the new land Vinland you Are Now Leaving Vinland Thanks for Visiting 5
3 North and South America were named after Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci His exploration of the South American coast in 1501 convinced most people but not Columbus that this was a new land not part of Asia 4 The English weren’t the only ones to establish colonies in the Americas The Spanish had colonies in Mexico Florida and California and there were several French Dutch and Swedish colonies as well 5 Most explorers were hoping to find gold in the New World Many ships were sent back to Europe full of a type of shiny rock called pyrite also known as fool’s gold We'll Be Rich Rich I Tell Ya Uh 6
THE NEW WORLD WELCOME TO PENNSYLVANIA 6 The colony of Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn who established it as a home for members of the Quaker religion 7 The colony of Georgia was settled by a group of English colonists that owed large debts that they couldn't repay These debtors were sent to Georgia to raise silk worms and send silk back to England to repay their debt 8 Europeans discovered many new foods in the New World that didn't exist in Europe including corn maize squash pumpkin avocado and Hot CHOCOLATE chocolate NEW WORLD SPECIAL GUACAMOLE PUMPKIN PIE 7
