This week we are discussing the beginning of European exploration into the new world. While we will focus on those explorers who came to the western hemisphere it is important to remember that Euopean explorers visited every continent and opended trade with many countries. While it is easy to explain their motivation to explore in terms of economics (some explorers became extremely wealthy) there was also a strong lure for the curious mind to experience the wonders of the world.
This week's homework assignment requires you to visit the website "Voyage of Exploration" at the link http://library.thinkquest.org/C001692/english/index.php3?subject=home . There is a short introductory slide show that you should skip if you are having difficulty in getting it to play. Then you must select a "great explorer" from the database and tell the story of his adventures. Where does your explorer fall in comparison to other well-known explorers (you'll find the information on the timeline). What was the purpose of the expedition? What were the tools of navigation used? What motivated your chosen explorer? (Hint: you'll find information about each of these questions at the various tabs in the web site).
Finally, read the article "What is Next to be Discovered" under the New Horizons tab (it is a few pages long, make sure you hit the "next" link at the end of the page). Then I'd like you to summarize your thoughts about where your generation will add its own chapter to the history of exploration. What are the areas in which our society faces its greatest needs? Do you think that your generation will make important contributions to human knowledge? Why?
The requirements for this assignment are exactly the same as those that preceded it. Thank you and have a great week!
I chose Meriwether Lewis and William Clark for my topic.
ReplyDeleteThe Louisiana Territory had just been purched by President Jefferson which opened up a large amount of land that had already been explored by trappers, but not been explored and mapped completly. So on June 20, 1803, Jefferson commisioned infantry captain Meriwether Lewis to command the expidetion. Lewis was told to find another commander, to be equal with him, and so he asked William Clark to come along. Lewis became more of the leader as they travelled across the West, from the Mississippi River to the Pacific ocean, but Clark (who had studied medicine, botany, zoology, astronomy stuff, and maps of trappers and traders) didn't seem to care for his knowledge was of extreme importance to the expedition. They set off in May of 1804 with 42 men. They traveled 15-20 miles a day, good distance considering the transportation of the day, and lost only one man at The Big Muddy, a dangerous spring run off. They were there not only to explore, but also to be diplomatic with the various Native American tribes they encountered. They made promises (many, I'm sure considering our history, were not kept) in order for there to be peace. Many tribes cooportated with Lewis and Clark, except for the Sioux (go Sioux!!!) Sacajawea, the wife of their Indian interpreter, helped them greatly in that she spoke the natives language and knew the land. In 1806, the expidition ended. This expidition helped America in that it opened up a lot of previously unknown land to settlers who would gradually move in over the years.
I think society's greatest needs lie in the knowledge of it's people. So much has been discovered just within the past twenty years (more stuff then I like to think about for most of you know I don't really care for modern stuff) and yet our society still lacks a lot. To me, I think it's more personal then us needing to go the extra mile and discover something new or explore new places (like Jupiter or whatever) I think before we press on and start discovering more things, society needs to check over themsleves. We need to get focused on things more important then what we are gonna wear tomorrow and what not. Many people today, to me, just don't seem to care much about wanting to know things, such as history and science and literature. It seems to me that our generation needs to reavalute itself and discover our priorities before we discover new things. Now, as for do I think that our generation will discover new things, sure I do. Things I may not like, but new things will be discovered.
Abel Tasman was a Dutchman born in 1603. He discovered Tasmania, New Zealand and mapped the whole of the north coast of Australia.
ReplyDeleteIn Holland one area of commerce was the sea. Tasman was a business man that wanted to make money.
Tasman got a job working for the Dutch East India Company. There was much money to be gotten in the spice trade, so Tasman was encouraged to go and explore new avenues of trade. In 1642, he signed a friendly treaty with the Sultan of Palembarg which is Sumatra.
He offered military protection for pepper.
Map making in 1570 was a primitive frontier. Mapmakers would copy off of one map, but because of clerical mistakes they would rename an important country. In Marco Polo's travels he named the southern part of Thai, Locach but in the German script at the time the mapmakers wrote Beach instead of Locah. So Tasman was sent to obtain knowledge of all the totally unknown provinces of Beach.
On this particular trip Tasman discovered Tasmania.The Dutch East India Company did not recognize the importance of that discovery. For over a century until the era of James Cook the
island of Tasmania remained unexplored.
In the Oxford Book of Exploration it states, "In spite of strict instructions from the Dutch East India Company's governor-general, van Diermans, to be careful in his dealings with "bararous" people, most of his encounters ended up in violence."
In order to survive mutiny, shipwreck, pirates e.t.c., Tasman had to be a strong willed captain.
Abel Tasman would have used a compass, cross staff and sextant in order to navigate.
What's next to explore for our generation?
The Field of Medicine, (cure for Aids, Cancer)
The Field of Science (agriculture), the depths of the ocean. My concerns is that we keep our ethics and morals in place in order to be blessed in our discoveries.
Source cit: Voyage of Exploration, The Oxford Book of Exploration, Wkipedia
I chose to do my report on Leif Erikson. Leif Erikson was a viking who reached the New World five hundred years before Christopher Columbus. Leif arrived in 1001 AD while In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Leif Erikson second son of Eric the Red was born in Iceland. He was not raised with his family, but rather when he was eight years old, moved in with a man named Thyrker. At the age of 12, when Erikson was thought to be a man, he moved back with his family. Later Eric killed a man and for three years was kicked out of Iceland. But previously he had been kicked out of Norway. Erikson had heard rumors of a new land to the west so he wanted to go explore. He went in search of this 'land to the west' and took with him slaves, supplies, and his family. They camped out when they found the new land and Erik called this land Greenland. It is because of this voyage that Erik learned many things. This time with his father was special, his father taught him many things about how to be a good deep sea sailor. Eventually they travelled back to Iceland to share their discovery with friends and family.
ReplyDeleteLeif Erikson and his Father Eric the Red come several years before Marco Polo on the timeline and several years after Alexander the Great. Eric the Red discovered Greenland a few years before his son Leif went to North America. There really wasn't much a a purpose on Eriksons voyage except that he was exiled from Iceland so he chose to go in search of unknown land to the west. It doesnt mention anything about any tools used by these man at this time.
After reading the "What is next to be discovered" article I think our society needs to explore the seas more. But beyond just trying to make new discoveries, I think our generation needs to discover ways to "save the earth" things that would make everything we do eco friendly. Ways to make our air more clean and filtered along with the water we drink or swim in. I also think that my generation could possibly have many important contributions to knowledge in the future. The only problem is many people and kids today have become more and more lazy so in order for us to enhance human knowledge it would require people to become more determined and disciplined.
http://library.thinkquest.org/C001692/english/index.php3?subject=home
i have decided to tell you about prince henry this week. prince henry was known as the navigator. he was born on March 4, 1394 he was a the third son to King John I and Queen Philippa of Lancaster England. the prince has a huge imaginatin and a divine interest in math and astronomy which led this boy to earning the name prince henry the "navigator" because he was once told that the sea was not navigable. henry was curious and ended up building a home on the very top of portugal facing africa. henry was later made govenor of te portugals heachieved many accomplichments in his lifetime such as establishing a naval observatory for the teaching of navigation, astronomy and cartography around the year 1450 on top of all of this prince henry was an extremely influecial leader that impacted lives of many.
ReplyDeleteafter reading the "what's next" article i came to the conclusion that thinking there is nothing left to nexplore is a stupid assumption to make.. many times here in america we become so comfy with our lifes that we just assume let someone else explore and find new things just try to imagine what the world would be like if each persn took 1 year out of there lifes to try and discover something... sure many would fail but at the same time imagine the possibilities.
i honestly dont know when or how our generation will make an impact i mean there is no doubt we will but at the same you have to look back at the obvious laziness and effortless lives so many are leading its gonna take some kind of miricle but it will happen.
alexandria,
ReplyDeletefunny story i got on here anticipating to do my essay on Leif Erikson but then i thought well first i will checkand make sure no one has done him yet... but sure enough you had but no big deal actually you probably did way better than i would have anyways i really liked your essay it went into great detail and it held my attention so great job :)
biggin,
i liked your essay and i liked the way you worded things it made it more interesting to read i find many things about his man interesting now that i know more about him because of you... so thanks and great jod :)
private elijah,
i enjoyed your essay i think mainly because im so familiar with those explorers like it made it lot easier to read knowing i had earlier knowledge on the subject so very good job!!
biggin,
ReplyDeleteGood essay. I find it interesting that they offered military protection in exchange for pepper. Seems to me like the Sultan got the good end of the deal, but of course that's coming from me and I don't like pepper. haha Anyways, good essay. Tasmania is an interesting country and I never knew a man from Holland discovered it.
Alexandria Grace,
I like your choice of topic. I always find it hilarious how a man named Leif actually was teh first to find the New World. It's very interesting how he moved away from his family when he was only 8 and returned when he was considered a man. Also interesting how he killed a man and instead of the death penalty, he just got kicked out of the country for awhile. I agree completly with what you said about our generation being lazy and needing to get more determained. To get anything good done, we first must get off our lazy butts and get determained to get stuff done! I also agree with what you said about exploring the seas and saving the earth, those are things I believe our generation could do if the lazy issue is resolved. Good essay!! :)
I am going to tell you about Eric the Red, a Viking explorer. He falls in the period between Alexander the Great and Marco Polo.
ReplyDeleteHe was born in Jaeren in Southern Norway and his real name was actually Eric Thorvaldson (950 AD – 1003 AD), but he was called Eric the Red because of his red hair. He discovered and explored Greenland. Eric was exiled from Iceland for three years, because he killed somebody. In that time he decided to explore the land to the west, which had been sighted by Gunnbjörn Ulfsson in the 10th century. It was also visible from the mountaintops of Western Iceland, so he took his family, friends, livestock, servants and slaves and followed Gunnbjörn’s course (982 AD).
After a few days of sailing they arrived at the eastern coast of a huge island. It was covered in ice so they continued to sail around the southern tip to the western coast and settled there. Eric and his people stayed there during the 3 years and couldn’t find any other people. Before they left the island (986 AD) he named it Greenland, because he thought that more people would be coming to the island if it had an attractive name.
I think my generation and the generations after mine have to face the problem that energy sources are going to get rare. They are already looking for many different new energy sources and I’m pretty sure that they are going to find new ways. So these new inventions probably will be big contributions to the human knowledge.
Works cited:
http://library.thinkquest.org/C001692/english/index.php3?subject=explorers/database/show&id=4
http://library.thinkquest.org/C001692/english/index.php3?subject=explorers/timeline
Marco Polo was born in 1254 in Venice, Italy. His father was a merchant who became wealthy by trading with the Middle East. While his father and uncle were on a trading voyage in Asia, Marco was raised by his aunt and uncle because his mother had died.
ReplyDeleteHe was well educated, especially in trading subjects.
Niccolo Polo, his father, came back to Venice in 1269, and met his son for the first time. In 1271, the seventeen-year-old Marco set off for Asia with his uncle and his father. They traveled for twenty-four years, a distance of 15,000 miles, living through many adventures, which Marco Polo later documented in his book. They became very wealthy by trading with different Eastern countries, bringing back many riches and treasures.
Venice was at war with Genua, and Marco was taken prisoner when he returned. He stayed in prison for one year, writing his book “II Milione”, in English “The Travels of Marco Polo.” The book became a big success and was widely known.
Marco Polo died in 1324, his last words being: “I have only told the half of what I saw!”
Traveling by ship was hard in that era, mainly because of the navigation. They used the sun at day and the pole star at night. The compass was discovered in 1183, making it possible for sailors to determine the direction of the ship. By means of a quadrant, a special metal instrument, people were also able to determine the latitude of their location on the globe.
I think that our generation has the potential to make great contributions to human knowledge, because we have a privilege that former generations didn’t have: technology. We are able to explore every part of the earth. But still there are restrictions, for example in exploring the entire universe. We really are in need for new energy supplies and fuel, like oil, and also we should expand our knowledge in the medical area. We should concentrate on how to help people with cancer and other diseases. But our generation has to be careful not to destroy the world in our enthusiasm to explore it.
I have chosen to do my report about the explorer, Vasco da Gama. Vasco da Gama is known for discovering a sea route to Asia.Vasco da Gama was born in Sines, Portugal around 1460. Much of his early life is uncertain, but it is believed that studied mathmatics, astronomy, and navigation as a young man. He fought in the wars against Castile. He became a naval officer in 1492, and in 5 years King Manual I of Portugal chose Vasco da Gama to lead an expidition to find a sea route to India.
ReplyDeleteBefore this, Portuguese exploration had been insignificant and had done little further explorations. But when Spain, their rivals on the sea, had sent Columbus across the Atlantic; this sparked Portugal's enthusiasm, and they were eager to find a shorter route to the East, the land of riches. Vasco da Gama sailed out with 4 ships, one for storage, one of caravel, and two medium sized, full of about 170 men (who were mostly criminals). The ships went in a circular route, to the cape of good hope, up the east coast of Africa, and through the Indian Ocean, and they arrived in Calicut in 1498.
An area I think we could explore is the depths of the oceans. I think it's possible, there are many areas of things to explore and I think it's possible for us to explore any of them.
Who was the first European to reach the “New World?” That’s easy, Christopher Columbus, right? Actually it is wrong. The first European to reach the New World was Viking Leif Erikson. He actually reached the New World approximately 500 years before the famous Christopher Columbus. His father discovered Greenland 53 years before. He was the son of Eric the Red but did not grow up with his family (as was a viking tradition). Leif Erikson’s first voyage was not monumental in the historical sense, but definitely in the spiritual sense. His first voyage began when he was 24 years old. He sailed from Greenland and passed Iceland without letting his crew get off. They traveled further south than planned and reached the Hebride Islands. A storm held them on the islands for a month. Leif Erikson stayed with the lord of the island. The lord had a daughter named Thorgunna who lived there also; she was believed to be involved with witchcraft. Before he left for Norway, she told him that she was going to have his son whom Erikson later accepted. When Leif got to Norway, he met with the king who was impressed by him. The king shared his Christian faith and Erikson was intrigued. He brought a priest back to Norway with him to spread the Gospel. As to how Leif came across the New World, there is some debate, but this particular website tells it this way. He was investigating some tales told by Bjarni Hergelfson. He followed his directions and found land. This land was just a slab of rock so he moved further south and came across land that had trees and was sandy. This is now believed to be eastern Canada. So he sailed further south to fertile land. They built houses in the winter and then explored the land. They had found wild grapes growing and named the area Vinland before they left. This area is now known as L’Anse aux Meadows (in Newfoundland). The only people that returned to this New Land was Leif’s sister and a group of settlers. They were later killed by Indians.
ReplyDeleteOur generation is so privileged in that we have this advanced technology to use for the benefit of discovery. We can search farther in the sea or deeper into outer space. I think we will begin to explore the areas that have been most avoided to find things we want or extra benefits. What we need most would have to be the necessities of the current society. We always think of oil as a necessity. Our important contribution to history won’t be a new land, but what’s in that land. New recourses, new planets besides our own, things that happened in the past that we didn’t know about before will be what we can find with our developed technologies.
Simon, your essay was very good. You are right when you say that many of our future contributions will be toward energy recourses. Our world uses so much power and energy that in order to use it practically, we must find additional and beneficial recourses.
ReplyDeletejess_megs15, you made a really good point when you said that as Americans we become really comfortable with where we are and don’t see the need to move forward, but because we are such a diverse nation, there are those who take part in both sides. There are those who make it their personal mission to advance whatever problem they have, but then there is the other part of individuals who look for anyway to get out of making some kind initiative. I believe, as in the past, there will be some who progress with some new invention, idea, or purpose and will go down into the pages of history, so we should not fall into the group of people who take no pride in what we do or who we are.
Henry Hudson was probably born in London, England (experts are not sure about that!), He was the son of Willan and Babara Hudson. He grown up around the sea and was a captain, after he worked his way up from a cabin boy. He had three sons (Richard, John and Oliver) with his wife katherine.
ReplyDeleteHenry Hudson started with exploring in 1608.He was an explorer and was searching for a Northwest Passage to the Orient. As he tought out his four major voyages his obsession for the passage overtook his good judgement and because of his lack of management on the Dicovery he died in 1611.
Hehad been the first explorer to reach high into the North Pole region. People also say about him, that he started with the whaling industry in England. His most remembered exploration was on the Noth American coastline where three land forms are called by his name: Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait and the Hudson River. He provided much information to the geographical knoledge in the past.
What's Next?
I really think we are going to explore the ocean. I personally think the sea is something special. Because we explored almost everything on earth and a lot in the univers but we do not really know what kind of animals are in the sea. I mean sometimes we find clues about what could life down in the deep sea, but most of the time people do not get to see those sea "monsters". I don't think that if we explore the ocean we would find every living creature in it, the sea is just to deep and huge for us to explore everything. Still it would be nice to know what lives down there, but on the other side I am sure not everyone wants to know about those huge animals in the deep wide ocean.
i have chosen to do my essay about vasco da gama.vasco da gama is known for discovering a sea route to asiavasco da gama was born in portugal around 1460.much of his early life is unknown but it is believed that he studied math,astronomy and navigation as a young man.he fought in the wars against castile.he became a naval officer in 1492 and in 5 years king manual I of portugal chose vasco to lead an expidition to find a shorter way to india.before this exidition portugal didnt do anything significant.when spain sent columbus across the alantic it sparked portugal's enthusiam and were more eager to find a route to asia,the land of riches.vasco da gama had 4 ships and 170 men which was mainly low lifes.the ships went in a circular route,through the cape of good hope,up the east side of africa,and though the idian ocean and they arrived in calicut in 1498.
ReplyDeletei think we could explore the depths of the oceans.i think its possible to explore anywhere we havent explored yet.
This week I'm going to do my essay on Henry Hudson.Hudson was from England, but nothing is known about his life before 1607On May 1, 1607, Hudson, his son, and 11 other crew members sailed from England on the Hopewell. He and his crew went past Greenland toward the North Pole. They were working for an English trading company and they were hoping to find a quicker way to get from England to the Far East, by way of the Arctic Ocean. In the next two years, he tried twice to find a "northeast passage" but failed and returned to England. The trading company would not send him on any more exploration.In 1609 he moved to Holland and sailed for a Dutch trading company on the ship named Half Moon. In 1609 he set sail from Amsterdam and headed north, again trying to find a way through the Arctic to the Far East. This time, conditions were so bad that his crew of about 20 men threatened to mutiny. Hudson turned the ship around and headed south down the east coast of Canada.
ReplyDeleteHudson was hoping that the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans were separated by just a thin strip of land, and that he would be the one to find the shortest way between the two oceans. He sailed into New York Bay in September of 1609 and explored a river which became known as the Hudson River for about 150 miles. He was looking for the shortcut to the Pacific, but of course, he didn't find it, so he returned to Holland. He was told by Holland to go back to England. On his final journey from England in 1610, he again headed northwest towards Canada, this time on the ship Discovery. In August Hudson found a body of water which at first he thought was the Pacific Ocean. The body of water was a large bay, which eventually was named the Hudson Bay. I think Henry in comparison to other explorers did a lot like them went on many voyages until he found something. Hudson reason for the expedition was to find a faster route. I chose Hudson cause he founded the Hudson River and Bay.
After reading the article I think we should do further studies into the vastness of space and the depth of the oceans. I think we could learn a lot from these things. The problem is that each generation is become lazier then the last we have to become more motivated to make more discoveries.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDavid Livingstone, he was a missionary and a doctor, and dedicated his life to the exploration of central Africa. Livingston was born on March 19, 1813 in Blantyre, Scotland. Livingstone’s first trip to Africa was in 1840. He made several more expeditions over the next couple years. Livingstone became the first European to see Victoria Falls, in 1855. Livingstone made very detailed notes; Africa was able to be slowly drawn out for maps. Livingstone went back to Africa to search for the starting point of the Nile River. But Livingstone and his crew set camp at Ujiji, and they were not heard from fro some time. And another explorer named Henry Stanley was sent to find Livingstone. After he was found Livingstone and Stanley became good friends and made other explorations together. Livingstone became one of the most popular national heroes in the late 19th century. Our generation biggest needs are to cure the main diseases that are killing our people. Like cancer and aids, the biggest diseases that have no cure to them. I think our generation will bring many important things to human knowledge. There will hopefully a lot for other to learn from what our generation is capable of doing.
ReplyDeleteI am writing my essay on Eric the Red. In 982 Eric the Red discovered the land of Greenland and then explored the newly discovered land. He got his unique name from the color of his hair, how creative. He was born in 950. . Eric had three sons, Thorvald, Torstein, and Leif. Eric, being a Viking explorer, thought it would be funny to trick some people by naming the frozen land Greenland and sail back to the fertile Iceland.
ReplyDeleteI think that the importance of our nation in this time is the honesty between the government and the people. Although the government does keep secrets to protect its people, but I think that it can hurt itself. It can hurt itself because the more the government lies to its people the more its people do not trust its government. Personally I think the government should come clean of its secrets sp that the nation can move forward together in crucial areas of growth: medical and technology. This will create a more unified and stronger nation which in the end might end the problems that our nation is facing. Back when our nation was founded we were founded on Christian principals and now we have strayed far from those principles.
“Doctor Livingstone I presume” these are words that we all have heard. This is the story behind them. Scotsmen David Livingstone was born on March 19, 1813. He was a missionary doctor who became a great explorer in central Africa. Dr. Livingstone had many great accomplishments. His first missionary journey to Africa was in 1840. From then on he only continued to forge on into new unexplored territory crossing the Kalahari Desert in 1849. Dr. Livingstone was also the first white man to see the waterfalls that would later be named Victoria Falls. A map of the African interior would later be constructed using his detailed notes. After Livingstone was finished with his missionary work he went back to Africa in 1866 as the leader of an expedition to find the head waters of the Nile River. Dr. Livingstone never found the source of the Nile but he did discover several lakes and another river. Being in failing health Dr. Livingstone had to rely on slave traders to take him to Ujiji where he was supposed to have supplies. The supplies that he needed had been stolen and he was not able to get the help he needed. Dr. Livingstone had been out of contact with the out side world for three years when a reporter sent from The New York Herald , Henry Stanley, finally made contact with him. Stanley had been sent to find Dr. Livingstone in 1869. He did not find him until 1871. He found Dr. Livingstone in Ujiji very ill. This is where he delivered the famous lines “Doctor Livingstone I presume.” David Livingstone died on May 1, 1873 having forever changed the way people would look at the continent of Africa. as for what I think will be the next thing to explore, I think that there are some that will always be explored like medicine and science but I also think that people will begin to explore the extents of what the human body can do. Runners will try to get faster, weight lifters stronger, basketball players taller. It seems that there is no end to this. I think that in the future people will try to find just where that end is.
ReplyDeleteI choose to write my essay about Marco Polo. I don’t really know much about him so by this essay I hope discover more about his life and exploration of the route to China, Asia.
ReplyDeleteMarco Polo was born in the year 1254, in Venice Italy. His father and uncle traveled to the Mongol Empire in the years 1260 to 1265. When his father came back, Marco Polo was born but his mother was dead. He then went to the Mongol Empire with his father and uncle in 1271 and left the Empire in 1292.
Marco Polo was captured in 1297 for one year in Genua. He wrote romances called Rustichello when he was in prison. They told his whole story. The book The travels of Marco Polo was translated in French shortly after that. It was a success and a lot of people knew about it.
He was then releast from prison and went back to Venice where he married Donata Badoer with whom he had three daughters. He stayed there until he died at the age of 70 in the year 1324.
Marco Polo was the first one to explore the route of China, Asia. He was also one of the first explorers in the 1 AD.
It’s a very good question, What else is there for our generation to discover?
There is for sure no other land on the face of the earth that we could discover since the satellites do it for us and we can know anything that’s going on with them on the earth.
But we can explore other planets, galaxies were no one has put his feet on. Or the oceans and seas. We can also push our self to our limits, the human’s body limits. Or the unknown.
I chose to write about Christopher Columbus because He is the first person that discovered North America . and he appeared on our note so I just wanted to learnt more a bout him .He is one of the most popular explorer .Christopher Columbus was born in 1451 in Italy. Till he became an adult, he didn’t have that much education. He couldn't read or write. Then he became sailor. His ship was sunk when he pirates off the coast of Portugal, he swan settled in Lisbon.
ReplyDeleteHe concluded something from his previous travels by the maps and charts. Columbus showed his theories to King John II of Portugal. Because of his miscalculations, and other Portuguese ships rounding Asia, his proposal was rejected.
He moved to Spain. And luckily enough his perseverance was paid off as in April 1492 King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella (Marriage of monarch) sponsored his voyage. They promised to make Columbus viceroy.He was given two furnished ships for his voyage named Nina and Pinta. His crew was selected at Palos . Columbus made four voyages to the New World.
After I read those articles some peope may thought that oil it one of the most important thing that we have been discovered but I think in the future we need to discovered more water because it’s the most important thing of our lives
My essay will be about Eric the Red. I chose to write about him because I have always been interested in the Vikings, and he was a great Viking explorer. Eric the Red was born in Jaeren, Norway in 950 AD. His exploration took place in the time between Alexander the Great and Marco Polo.
ReplyDeleteEric the Red’s real name was Eric Thorvaldson, but he was called the Red because he had deep red hair,. Eric had three sons: Thorvald, Thorstein, and Leif. Eric the red decided for some reason to do the exact same thing his father did and kill a man. Eric was caught and was found guilty. He was then sent to banishment from Iceland for three years. Because Eric the Red didn’t know what to do for those years he decided he would go and explore the huge land mass that Gunnborn Ulfsson spotted from high in the mountains. With his destination set he rounded up his family livestock and all he owned loaded it up on a boat and set sail. A few days of sailing passed and he finally reached the island. Since where he was was covered in snow, he continued to sail around the southern tip to a more habitable location. He then named this island Greenland. This deceptive name was given because he thought more people would come if they thought it was a land of green instead of the barren Iceland it was.
What’s next to explore you ask? Well we haven’t even started to touch the mysteries of the sea. There are so many different things that are so far under that we have no idea about. Ships that are lost have sunk to the bottom containing unknown vats of knowledge. Who knows? There might be countless civilizations that we don’t know about because all of it was lost into the sea and assimilated into another’s culture and we associate them with the new people.
I think a big problem that is growing is recourses. Yes we have plenty now, but what about in 10 years? How about 20? New advances can start to absorb them in a much more rapid rate. I think our generation is going to play a key role in utilizing our resources more efficiently, and inventing more ways to use replentable resources instead of all our coal and oil.
I have chosen to write about Lewis & Clark who explored the Missouri River in the years 1804-1806.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of this mission was to find a way that the United States could use the river as a passage way to the Pacific Ocean. With that reason, their goals were to establish peaceful communication with the Indian tribes and to gather information about the animals, plants, and natural resources in the region. The search for a Northwest Passage was of high importance to Jefferson. Because of the recent purchase of the Louisiana Territory, this expedition would be on primarily American soil. The region of Oregon had not yet been claimed, but this expedition would also allow the United States to do so.
Meriwether Lewis was assigned this mission by President Thomas Jefferson. He was needed to find a partner, and with the experience of studies in medicine, botany, and zoology, Lewis chose William Clark.
In May of 1804: Lewis, Clark, forty-two men, a keelboat and two pirogues finally set out on their journey. Arriving on September 23, 1806, their journey had been completed.
http://library.thinkquest.org/C001692/english/index.php3?subject=voyages/america/cross
Alexandria Grace,
ReplyDeleteIn your article you said we ought to save the earth, and I agree with you on that. When you mentioned ways to make our water cleaner I thought of people in this world who don’t have any clean water at all, and I think it is our generation’s responsibility to help them. We should use our knowledge not only to save the earth, but also make it a better place to live for everyone. Also, I think you were right when you said that we are getting more and more lazy. One of the reasons for that I think is the great amount of electronic devices we have nowadays.
Emily C.,
I really liked your essay. I found it interesting to learn that Christopher Columbus was not the first man to discover the New World. I agree with you that now is the time for us to explore areas in this world that generations before us avoided the most. Maybe there are useful things deep down in the oceans or in the universe, and now we have the chance to discover them with our advanced technology.
Biggin, I enjoyed reading your essay. I liked the way you told us so much different things of Abel Tasman's life. He had a interessting life and a lot to tell and learn about. You also told us about what you think our generation is going to "explore"; that were some really good thoughts. I did not even think about the Medicine, but sure that will be something people are going to work on. So many times people thought about new ways to heal Cancer or Aids, and so I don't think that people ever give up to find new methods of healing or slowing down this illness. I am sure a lot of time will be invested in researches for answers!
ReplyDeleteStella, I realy liked that you not just told us about Marco Polo but also about his father Niccolo Polo, who was a big part of Marco Polo's life. Even when they saw each other the first time when Marco was already 17 years old. Amazing that they went on this 24 years trip on a boat together. Your essay was really good. Keep up your good work!
jess_megs15
ReplyDeleteVery good job and im sorry I stole your first topic haha. Your report was very good and informative. I didn"t realize that Henry had so many accompishments. Im sure he was very influencial because of many reasons but first of all he was a Prince.
I definitely agree that people who assume there is nothing left to explore are naive and must not care about exploration. Also, you said "we become so comfy with our lives that we just assume let someone else explore and find new things" and I find that very true in many ways not just with exploring. Finally, I honestly cant even imagine how much our generation and the following generation would change if everyone stopped being so consumed with all our entertainment and electronics and started putting in a little effort to change the world.
Great Job, I enjoyed reading your report.
Elena,
ReplyDeleteGood job, like you, I didnt really know much about him but through your report I learned quite a bit. Its pretty cool that while he was in prison he wrote romances that told his whole story. I bet he felt great after being the first man to explore the route of China and one of the first explorers in 1 AD.
Even though as you mention, our satelites do a lot of work for us concerning land, there are still tons of things man could discover.
Good Job!!
Essay from Jerome,
ReplyDeletethis week I will report about a very important Explorer Vasco Da Gama.
He was so famous and important, because he was a portuguese navigator and explorer of the sea route to India.
He was born in arround 1460 on the southwest coast of Portugal at Sines and died 24 December 1524.
He was the third son of Estevao da Gama. One of his brother was Paulo da Gama. Vasco comes from a Portuguese nobility. His early life is uncertain,
but a little bit is known about him. Gama studied at the inland town of Evora,
which is where he may have learned mathematics, astronomy and navigation as a young man. Probably Gama knew astronomy well.
Vasco da Gama was a count of Vidigueira. In 1492 he became a naval officer. He also fought against Castile.
1497 the portugals King Manuel chose Vasco to lead an expedition to find a sea route to India.
Actual Vasco's father was originally chosen Joao II, but he died befor that.
I guess the reason of this explore was to advance national power, that crusades introduced technology and to get the spice prices grossly inflated in overland trade.
Vasco da Gama was the commander for the trip to India.
1497 Gama led a fleet of 4 ships with a crew of 170 men from Lisbon.
The distance traveled in the journey around Africa to India and back was greater than around the equator. In my ear it sounds insane.
The names of the ships were The São Gabriel, The São Rafael, The caravel Berrio and
the last one is unknown. Vasco da Gama set sail for home on 29 August 1498. He got home September 1499. 55 crew members returned,
and two ships were lost. After this voyage he got the titel of "Admiral of the Indian Seas".
He also did a second Voyage On 12 February 1502.
Sources: http://library.thinkquest.org/C001692/english/index.php3?subject=explorers/database/show&id=10,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasco_da_Gama
Dear biggin,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy to read your essay. You have lots of informations and everybody can understand it. You chose a good choice.
I don't even know that Abel Tasman exist. I learned alot. Great job!!
Dear Alexandria Grace,
You did a realy good job. I did not really know much about him but through your essay I learned much more. You have a
good division of paragraphs with his Biography and of the answers. I didnt know that he reached
the New World five hundred years before Christopher Columbus. That is pretty amazing. That is amazing that it was possible to reacht the globe in this time.
Great Job!!!
Dear Jess-megan: Thank you for sharing on Prince Henry the navigator. Being the middle son of King John I and Queen Philippa, I'm amazed at everything he was able to do. I can't imagine the pressure of being a king's son. I would think that all the sibling rivalry would be distracting. It seems that he was able not to allow distractions and pressure to keep him from being focused on navigation. I like the thought of building a home on top of a mountain to wake up and view endless possibilities in
ReplyDeleteexploration.
Zach: Great job on David Livingston. We don't realize how primitive life was in Africa during David Livingston's time. You mentioned that Livingstone was able to make detailed notes about the areas he covered. Much of the African Continent was just a blank map to Europeans before explores like Livingston and Samuel Baker forged into the jungles. My parents had a teacher in college who's parents were missionaries in Africa. To be able to get into the interior they had to be carried in litters because it was too difficult to walk. At one point they were guest of a tribe of cannibal's that were boiling water getting ready to put them in the pot. God rescued them, but this was not too many generations back. The map of Africa has been completed thanks to explorers like Livingstone.
Christian, Great Essay! Vasco De Gama is a very interesting explorer. I did my essay on Marco Polo, who also discovered the route to Asia but by land. The fact that most of the mens were almost all criminals is very interesting but smart at the same time. If the ships didn’t came back, I guess that’s what most people were thinking, it wouldn’t have been a big lost to the country. It, I guess, actually helped them emptying prisons.
ReplyDeleteThe ocean is a big place to be discovered. There is so much to know about nature and with all the new technology, it’s going to be much more easier. Again, great essay.
Eileen, Great Essay! I like the story of Henry Hudson! I think it’s a big honor to go so far in the North Pole region. His death is pretty sad, only because of his lack of management on the Dicovery. Again, great essay.
to jess megs 15, i really liked it and i think it was a Great choice for an essay, Prince Henry the navigator was a great and infuencial figure in history. He was one of the greatest navigators of his time, and he even started his own navigation school, I think its pretty great that his naval school of navigation, that also taught about cartography and astronomy, his school of navigation infuenced the lifes of many of the people that were around him. I think you had a great a choice in essays by choosing to do your essay about Prince Henry the navigator. I really enjoyed your essay, and i learned a lot of new things about Prince Henry the navigator just from reading your essay about him and all of his accomplishments. UBt great job though, i really liked it!
ReplyDeleteTo Alex, Great job on your essay, i really enjoyed reading about Leif Erickson. Great job Alex!!
ReplyDelete@Emily:
ReplyDeleteI really liked reading your essay because I learned a lot from it. I knew that before that this guy found America first, but I didn't know all the details. I also liked it because the guy was the son of Eric the Red who discovered something too. I also liek that you show that this theory is argued but that this website tells it like that. That is really professionel.
Good job!!!
@Elena:
I liked reading your essay. I knwe Marco Polo but I didn't know a lot of him so that was really interesting. He is so famous and I didn't really know what he did. Good job!!
Simon,
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your essay man! I really liked it. I as well did mine on Eric the Red because of my interest in the Vikings. I don’t think I would be able to do what he did and live on an icy island for three years without finding anybody and only living with my family. I also loved how he called the island Greenland even though the island was covered in ice. Sounds a lot like something I would do to try and get somebody to come somewhere. I also see how many people follow in his footsteps to do the same thing. Such as the quality inn hotels… xD
Jess_megs15,
Nice essay! I found your point about how we Americans will start to grow lazy and comfortable and see no need for advances. There are always those in every society in every era that sees no need for it either. However alongside those lazy buffoons there are those who see a problem or even a slight inconvenience and tackle it head on to improve the lives of those to come.
Simon,
ReplyDeleteI liked your essay on Eric the Red, you were very descriptive in your essay about him. Eric the Red was a very great choose to right about, after reading your essay I wish I would have chosen to do my essay on Eric the Red to. But great essay!
Elena,
I really liked your essay on Marco Polo. I learned a lot about him from your essay. Your essay was very clear and descriptive. Great Work!
I wanna write about Vasco da Gama. Vasco da Gama is known for discovering a sea route to Asia.Vasco da Gama was born in Sines, Portugal around 1460. Much of his early life is uncertain, but it is believed that studied mathmatics, astronomy, and navigation as a young man. He fought in the wars against Castile. He became a naval officer in 1492, and in 5 years King Manual I of Portugal chose Vasco da Gama to lead an expidition to find a sea route to India.
ReplyDeleteBefore this, Portuguese exploration had been insignificant and had done little further explorations. But when Spain, their rivals on the sea, had sent Columbus across the Atlantic; this sparked Portugal's enthusiasm, and they were eager to find a shorter route to the East, the land of riches. Vasco da Gama sailed out with 4 ships, one for storage, one of caravel, and two medium sized, full of about 170 men (who were mostly criminals). The ships went in a circular route, to the cape of good hope, up the east coast of Africa, and through the Indian Ocean, and they arrived in Calicut in 1498.
An area I think we could explore is the depths of the oceans. I think it's possible, there are many areas of things to explore and I think it's possible for us to explore any of them
Dear Michael
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy to read your essay. You have lots of informations and everybody can understand it. You chose a good choice.
I don't even know that Abel Tasman exist. I learned alot. Great job!!
Dear Alex,
You did a realy good job. I did not really know much about him but through your essay I learned much more. You have a good division of paragraphs with his Biography and of the answers. I didnt know that he reached
the New World five hundred years before Christopher Columbus. That is pretty amazing. That is amazing that it was possible to reacht the globe in this time.
Great Job!!!
I decided to do my essay on Marco Polo. I love China and I always have so I think Marco and I would have been good friends. Marco was born in Venice around 1254. He was very well educated. Marco and his father traveled together for twenty-four years. While they were trading with many Eastern people, they became very wealthy. After his travels when Marco returned to Venice, he was arrested. There was a war going on between Genua and Venice at the time. While he was in prison, he wrote a book called “II Milione” or, in English, “The Travels of Marco Polo.” He died in 1324. A few years after Marco’s exploration, Prince Henry directed voyages along West Africa.
ReplyDeleteWe are all extremely curious and drawn to things that are unknown. We are also intimidated by them which is why we try and make them known. Things that we haven’t experienced yet often frighten us.
Technology has transformed exploration. Imagine going through Mammoth Cave without any lights. No flashlights or anything. I would be terrified. Older explorers probably had to do that. I think there is still a lot of exploration that is necessary to further our society. For example, we should probably find another means of getting oil and fueling our cars. Another thing that has fascinated people for ages is the ocean. There is so much ocean we’ve yet to explore. Imagine what’s at the deepest parts of the ocean!
Willi, great job on your essay. I thought it was funny that the 170 men he took to find a shorter route to the east were mostly criminals. I completely agree that we need to explore the depths of the ocean. Maybe you should start exploring it! I’m too scared to do it.
ReplyDeleteNang, Christopher Columbus technically wasn’t the one who discovered America. There were other people who landed on this land before him. For example, Ponce de Leon landed in Florida. I guess Chris just gets all the credit for some reason. Aside from that, good job on your essay.
Elena, your essay rocked. It gave a lot of detail and a lot of dates. I like how you included the fact that Marco eventually got married. Maybe it’s just me, but I just don’t see explorers like this having a life. I guess I just thought they woke up one morning and dedicated their life to finding new places and abandoned everything else.