Across the Ocean: Explorers, Routes, and Change

Reasons, Routes, and Results

In the 1400s and 1500s, several European kingdoms sponsored voyages across the Atlantic Ocean. Rulers and merchants wanted new routes to Asian markets, where valuable goods such as spices and silk could be found. They also hoped to gain wealth, claim land for their kingdoms, and spread Christianity. These goals are sometimes summarized as wealth, power, and religion, but each voyage had its own plan.

In 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed west from Spain with three ships. He hoped to reach Asia by crossing the Atlantic. Instead, he reached islands in the Caribbean. He returned to the Caribbean on later voyages. The Taíno people already lived on many of these islands and had their own communities, leaders, and trade networks.

English-sponsored explorer John Cabot sailed west from England in 1497. He reached the coast of the northwestern Atlantic, probably near present-day Newfoundland. His voyage gave England information it used to support claims in North America. Beothuk, Mi'kmaq, and other Native peoples already lived in the region and used its coastal waters and lands.

In 1534, Jacques Cartier traveled from France across the Atlantic and into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. On a second voyage the next year, he followed the St. Lawrence River. Cartier met communities connected to the St. Lawrence Iroquoians. His reports encouraged France to take a stronger interest in the region and its waterways.

In 1608, Samuel de Champlain traveled from France to the St. Lawrence River and helped establish Quebec. He worked with Wendat and some Algonquin-speaking allies in the region. On one journey, he joined Indigenous allies in a conflict with Haudenosaunee warriors. This showed that European newcomers could become involved in existing Indigenous relationships and conflicts rather than entering an empty land.

Exploration changed life for Native peoples in many places. Europeans claimed lands that Native nations already used and governed. Trade brought new objects and animals, but it also brought diseases to which Native communities often had little resistance. Violence, forced labor, and competition over land harmed many communities. Native peoples responded in different ways: some traded or formed alliances, some resisted, and many adapted while maintaining their cultures and governments.