Where's the Gold?

When Columbus sails off on his first voyage, he is looking to profit by pioneering (and then controlling) a new route to the wildly profitable trade with India. He returns home with promises of gold, but little else.

His second voyage includes 17 ships and 1200 eager colonists, most of whom die from famine and disease. Columbus tries to squeeze gold from the native peoples he meets, but again returns home with little to show.

Despite these failures, the Spanish colonies he helps establish are soon sending home gold and silver. Lots of it. By the 1600s, Spain is sending yearly treasure fleets back from their colonies with 30 to 90 ships, each.

In the meantime, the English, French, Dutch and Portuguese are busy exploring every inch of the North American coast. Instead of gold, they find plenty of Indians, who hamper exploration further inland.
Age of exploration, 1500s map

  Looking Everywhere
The lines above mark the routes of voyages which explore America during the 1500s, from top to bottom. Most are in search of gold, hoping to find deposits as rich as those discovered by the Spanish in Mexico and South America. In the far north, the English and Dutch are exploring more northerly routes, looking for a 'Northwest Passage' to India. They never find it. Almost everywhere else, explorers are looking for promising places to establish colonies. Even when they find no gold, they continue to search for ways to turn this new land into profit.

Spanish exploration, 1500s map

  Spanish Brutality
Of all the countries exploring the American continent, Spain is the most aggressive. It launches full-scale military expeditions, with cannons, cavalry and lots of armor. Calling themselves 'conquistadors,' the Spanish are intent upon conquest, not mere exploration. The expeditions to Mexico and Peru result in the complete destruction of the Aztec, Maya and Inca civilizations, with incredible brutality (lower left). The Spaniards make slaves of the native people, forcing them to work the Spanish gold and silver mines. Great wealth is shipped back to Spain in large treasure fleets, protected by warships. Areas highlighted in YELLOW become Spanish possessions.


English exploration, 1500s map

  No Gold for the English
The English send a couple of single-ship expeditions to explore the American coast, but find no gold. The coastal areas provide excellent fishing, but that isn't enough to justify the cost of trying to establish and supply remote colonies. Instead, the English turn their attention to finding a northern route to the great riches of China. This means sailing west from Greenland, and trying to pick a way through the ice. The English send repeated expeditions to this area, including one with a large fleet (top left), but never succeed in finding the elusive Northwest Passage. Eventually, the English get around to establishing colonies in America, but with little support from the government. Areas highlighted in RED become English possessions.


French exploration, 1500s map

  Trapping and Trading
The French, like the English, try to find a northerly route to China. They explore the St. Lawrence River in a series of expeditions (in PURPLE). When they hear of a land said to be full of gold and diamonds, however, they abandon the search for a Northwest Passage, and focus instead upon finding these supposed riches. French expeditions are conducted in canoes, going across the Great Lakes, and then down the Mississippi River (in GREEN) to establish a colony at New Orleans. They claim all this territory for France (BLUE highlights), but find no riches. The French establish a stronghold at Quebec, although most French settlers come to trap beaver, not establish colonies.  They trade peacefully with Indians in the region for additional furs.


Dutch, Henry Hudson voyages, 1600s map

  Dutch Traders
The Dutch Republic (today, called the Netherlands) is a relatively new power in Europe, founded in the late 1500s. The Dutch are mostly interested in sailing east around Africa, as the Portuguese had, to reach India and the Spice Islands. They assemble great fleets that make this voyage once a year, returning with magnificent profits (right). But they also send a small expedition to America, sailing up the Hudson River (top left) from a site they name New Amsterdam, but which the English later rename New York. Like the French, the Dutch obtain beaver pelts by trading with Indians. The Dutch briefly claim the Hudson River Valley (highlighted in GREEN) but lose control of the entire area when the English seize New York, with a small fleet of warships.


Magellan, Drake and Chinese voyages, map

  Circling the Globe
Throughout the 1500s, Europeans swarm all over the Americas, looking for treasure. But they also continue to look for ways to get around America, and finally reach India and China. Northerly attempts have all failed, due to ice, but attempts are also made to get around the lower tip of South America. The first to succeed (BLUE route) proves beyond all doubt that the world is, indeed, round. The second round-the-world voyage is English. It occurs 50 years later (PURPLE route), and explores the coast of California along the way. The Chinese are also infected with exploration fever, even before Columbus. A huge Chinese fleet, which contains some unbelievably gigantic ships (top right), makes several expeditions in the late 1400s (YELLOW).