European Exploration
On Land and At Sea
European Countries
It is in the 1400's. Some European countries decided that they wanted more land. North America had just been discovered and Europeans were getting anxious-they all wanted this "new land". They wanted this land to become rich and expand their empires and cultures. They also wanted to spread Christianity
The First Obstacle...
On the European's voyage, they needed good and working supplies. Except, they didn't have accurate supplies while sailing. The Europeans didn't have good maps because they were drawn by hand. Also, there wasn't many navigation tools except for the compass which navigated direction and the cross-staff which was used by sailors to find the latitude. Sailors had to carefully watch birds because that meant they were near land. The direction of the winds also helped them find land.
The Second Obstacle...
When sailing, the Europeans didn't have most of the correct supplies needed to survive. Another thing slowing them down was rough seas and weather. Sometimes the wind blew them off course so far that it could be weeks or even months before getting back on track. Plus, there was only enough supplies to last them a few weeks.
The Third Obstacle...
With no good fruits or vegetables on board, sailors often grew sick. Diseases spread easily around the packed ship and many people grew ill on the voyage. Sailors were forced to eat rats or raw sawdust when supplies were low. Also, there wasn't much freshwater taken on the trip which might of caused dehydration.
The Fourth Obstacle...
The "unknown" caused many fearful sailors. Many believed that there was giant sea monsters lurking underneath the waves or that they would fall off the edge of the world. More reasonable fears were running into sandbars or rocky coastlines.
European Accomplisments
Native Americans had great ideas like the Europeans. They shared goods and ideas with each other which helped benefit both groups. Also, European and Native American tools were improved and replaced. The accomplishment that the Europeans were most proud of was gaining power and claiming land for their power.