Introduction to The Age of Exploration

Long ago, things were different.

In 1491, Europeans did not know about America.

People in America did not know about Europe.

Other explorers had been there before. But Europeans did not know that.

Then something changed.

It was the year 1492.

A man named Christopher Columbus sailed across the ocean.

He sailed across the Atlantic Ocean.

He found islands near America.

He did not plan to find them. It was by accident.

This was the start of something big.

It was called the Age of Exploration.

News spread fast.

Men from Spain wanted to find treasure.

These men were called conquistadors. That means "conquerors" in Spanish.

One conquistador was named Francisco Vasquez de Coronado.

He looked for silver and gold.

He walked through swamps.

He walked across deserts.

He explored many lands. He took over many lands too.

Soon, other countries joined in.

John Cabot explored for England.

Henry Hudson explored for England and for the Netherlands.

Samuel de Champlain explored for France.

These explorers changed the world.

They connected Europe and America.

Now you will read about their trips.

The Lure of Spices

Many explorers wanted gold.

Gold is a special metal. It is worth a lot of money.

But explorers wanted something else too.

They wanted spices!

Spices are things that make food taste good.

Why did explorers want spices so badly?

Here is why: Things that are hard to find cost more money.

Gold is hard to find. That is why it costs so much.

Spices were hard to find in Europe too.

So spices cost a lot of money back then.

Some spices were worth almost as much as gold!

Let's learn about some spices.

Peppercorns

Peppercorns are small red balls.

Cooks use them to make soup taste better.

Some cooks grind them into tiny bits.

Grinding means crushing something into small pieces.

There are also white peppercorns.

White peppercorns come from the same plant.

But they are made in a different way.

Cloves

Cloves are dried flower buds.

A bud is a small part of a flower before it opens.

Cloves make meat and stews taste good.

They can flavor tea and pumpkin pie too.

Cloves are very strong.

Cooks must be careful. Too many cloves can be too strong.

Where Spices Grow

Peppercorns cannot grow in Europe.

They need warm, wet places.

India is a warm, wet place. Peppercorns grow there.

Spices Today

Today, we can get spices easily.

Airplanes and ships carry spices far away.

You can buy spices at the store.

A jar of cloves might cost a dollar or two.

Spices Long Ago

Five hundred years ago, it was different.

The world was not connected like today.

A man in Spain who wanted pepper had to pay a lot.

The pepper had to travel all the way from India.

It traveled on donkeys, mules, and camels.

Cloves and cinnamon were the same.

These plants could not grow in Europe.

They had to be imported.

Imported means brought in from far away.

Cinnamon

Most spices come from flowers, fruits, or seeds.

Cinnamon is different.

Cinnamon comes from tree bark.

Workers cut strips of bark off the tree.

They remove the outer part.

They keep the inner part.

They roll it up like a small scroll.

These are called cinnamon sticks.

Cinnamon can be ground up too, just like pepper.

Do you like cinnamon toast?

Would you sail across the ocean just to get cinnamon?

That is what explorers were willing to do!