In the last lesson, you learned about the native peoples that lived in the Americas and their ways of life prior to the arrival of Europeans.

In this lesson, you will learn about the events and motives that led the Europeans in search of new worlds to discover and conquer.

Map of the 'New World' of North and South America, first published in the 1540s. See larger version of the mid-16th century New World map here.

Lesson Objectives

Following successful completion of this lesson, students will be able to...

  • Compare the effects of European exploration of the 15th-17th centuries on Europeans, American colonists, Africans and Native Americans
  • Describe the various events in Europe that led to exploration

Essential Questions

  • What economic, religious, and social factors in Europe in the 15th and 16th centuries led to exploration and colonization of the Americas?

Enduring Understandings

  • There were important economic, geographic, social, and political conditions that influenced Europe, American colonists, Africans, and indigenous Americans during and after the explorations of the 15th-17th centuries.
  • The regional differences in the colonies led to the development of sectionalism in the United States in the 18th-19th centuries.

The above objectives correspond with the Alabama Course of Study: United States History I standards: 1, 1.1, and 1.2.