Group items tagged

After 1500, a web of maritime trade linked Western Europe, Africa, and the Americas. Thousands of ships carried explorers, merchants, and migrants from Europe to the Americas. They also transported millions of enslaved men and women from Africa. Vessels bound back to Europe carried gold, silver, sugar, tobacco, rice, and other cargoes, along with returning travelers. Every crossing brought new encounters between people, customs, and ways of life, ultimately creating entirely new cultures in the Americas. The maritime web connected the lives of millions of people on both sides of the Atlantic.

Live map of maritime commerce

Van Valen's Gold Rush Journey -- encourages 6th - 8th graders to learn what life was like during the gold rush by investigating the journal of Alex Van Valen, a man who set sail in 1849 to stake his claim in the California gold fields. The website includes a rich set of primary sources to explore and analyze, an interactive guide where students can record, save and print their findings, as well as a teacher's guide.