Colonial - Civil War History M-W 6:00
             Within Europe in the 15th century thru the 17th century exploration became a prominent part of life. Several adventurers left to find a faster trade route to Asia. Many of the spices of Asia were very desirable along with luxury items such as, jewelry gems, and silk. Because of the find of the New World many explores ventured out across the Pacific Ocean, they became adamant with founding land and gaining wealth, and tortured people who got in their way.
             Christopher Columbus is probably one of the most famous explorers and is generally credited with the find of the New World. Columbus first tried to convince the king and queen of Portugal to give him funding, but they said no. In 1485, he asked King Fernando and Queen Isabella of Spain for funding and after six years, they said yes.
             Columbus got three ships on his first voyage. Their names were the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria. He was given 90 men. He navigated by using the stars and compasses. He would drop a log into the water to measure the speed of the ship. Columbus eventually landed on an island, which he named San Salvador for Holy Savior. Columbus thought that he was in the West Indies. He called the people there Indians obviously because of his belief that he was located in the Indies. Columbus was looking for the gold and riches and the great cities of Asia, but he didn't find them. He was disappointed because there weren't any cities of gold. Another Spanish explorer was Hernando Cortes. Cortes fought under Governor Diego Velazquez in a Cuban expedition that began in 1511. In 1518, Velazquez selected him to lead an expedition to the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, then a center of Maya civilization. Before Cortes could leave Cuba, Velazquez canceled the expedition, fearful of the voyage's expense and distrustful of Cortes's ambition. Cortes disobeyed and sailed for Yucatan in 1519,
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