Spanish Exploration
On his 1492 voyage seeking a new trade route to the Far East, Christopher Columbus came upon Caribbean islands and people who were unknown to Europeans. He claimed these lands for Spain. Columbus’s journey opened the door to exchanges of people, ideas, plants, animals, and diseases between the Americas, Europe, and Africa that changed the world forever.
Reproduction Spanish ship in the Spanish Exploration area of Forever Changed: La Florida, 1513–1821
European Rivalry
Spaniards were at the forefront of exploration in the Americas, but the Portuguese, English, and French soon followed. All of the countries were seeking an economic and political edge over their neighbors. The pace of exploration was intense.
