2. 8 Monday May 4th speaking // video and text:

 EXPLORING NORTH AMERICA

Searching for a Passage to Asia
 In the 1500s, explorers from Europe sailed to the Americas searching for a water route to Asia which they called the Northwest Passage. Hired by the English, John Cabot landed in what is now Canada. The French sent Giovanni da Verrazano and later Jacques Cartier. Da Verrazano explored the east coast of North America and the area of present-day New York City. Cartier made three trips, exploring nearly 1,000 miles along the St. Lawrence River into Canada. In 1608, France sent Samuel de Champlain to start a settlement for fur trading. He named it Quebec.

 Further Exploration 
Henry Hudson, a sea captain working for Dutch merchants, explored the parts of New York now named for him: the Hudson River and Hudson Valley. The Dutch made a claim on these places and started a colony in 1610. Later Hudson explored for the English, reaching Hudson Bay in what is now Canada. On his voyage around the world, English sea captain Sir Francis Drake explored the western coasts of South and North America He may have sailed as far north as what is now Oregon and even what is now British Columbia.