4. The first peoples in the Americas.

The explorers found people living in every part of America. They called these people the Indians. They spoke over 2000 different languages. The Indians hunted dear, rabbit, gathered desert fruits, nuts. Other groups lived in the desert, they were farmers. They lived mainly on foods they grew. The village people lived in buildings like apartment houses. Some Indians lived near the ocean. They hunted whale, seal, porpoise (дельфин). Some Indians lived in large cities. They made jewellery; they worked as carpenters, miners, teachers and priests. The Aztecs of Mexico built the largest city. Over one hundred thousand people lived there. It was one of the largest and best planned cities in the world.

5. Columbus voyages

1st Voyage (1492)

In the first expedition Columbus equipped three vessels — "Santa Maria ", "Pinta" and "the Nina". There were only 100 persons. During expedition America was opened. The foot of the European stepped for the first time into islands of Caribbean Sea — Bahamas, Espanola (Haiti), Cuba. By this travel begun expansion of New World by Spain.

2nd Voyage (1493)

Columbus departed Spain on September 25, 1493, on his second voyage to the New World. Arriving nearly two months later, on November 28, 1493, Columbus found the makeshift fortress burned and all his men dead, probably killed by the fierce Caribbean Indians who often raided coastal settlements.

During his second voyage, Columbus was told by the Indians of Espanola (Haiti), that Black people had been to the island before his arrival.

3rd Voyage (1498)

On July, 31st 1498 the island Trinidad was opened. 20th of August Columbus arrived to Hispaniola. In 1499 Columbus's monopoly on opening of the new earths was cancelled. In 1500 royal couple has directed to Hispaniola with unlimited powers of the representative Francisco Bobadilla. He took in hand all power on the island, arrested Columbus with his brothers, and sent them to Spain. After the arrival, however, local financiers could convince a royal couple to dismiss charges from Columbus.

4^th Voyage (1502)

In the fourth expedition Columbus took with him his brother Bartolomeo and 13-year-old son Ernando. During the fourth swimming Columbus opened continent to the south from Cuba — coast of Central America — and has proved that Atlantic Ocean separates from the Southern sea about which he heard from the Indians, an insuperable barrier. He also has informed the first on the American Indian people living at the Southern sea.

6 билет De Soto's and Coronado’s journey.

Tales of rich cities to the North of Mexico encouraged more Spaniards to explore the Americas. One of the Spaniards who searched for rich Indians was Hernando de Soto. De Soto got permission from the king of Spain to explore the lands North of Mexico. Along the way to Georgia, Alabama half of the soldiers died from fever and were killed fighting Indians. In 1541 De Soto and his men reached the Mississippi valley. They were disappointed because they didn’t find gold they headed back across the Mississippi. There De Soto died of a fever. He found no treasure. But his journey gave Spain a claim to a large area of land in the Southern and Eastern parts of what is now the US.

Francisco Coronado led a group of men from Mexico through the South-Eastern part of North America. He was in the region of what is today Arizona and New Mexico. Along his way he saw cities build by the Pueblo and the Zuni. He found no bell but his journey gave Spain a claim to much of the South-Western part. The land the Spaniards claimed in the Americas was 20 times bigger than the size of Spain and thousands of miles away. To govern the land the king divided it into 2 large colonies. Each of these colonies was called viceroyalty.