Once They Arrived: Watercraft in the Americas

Once they arrived in the New World, explorers often found that European-style ships were too bulky or unwieldy for American waters. For example, Columbus' ship, the Santa Maria, sank when it ran aground on a coral reef in the Caribbean. As a result, the Europeans had to adopt native watercraft in order to successfully navigate the shallow coastal waters as well as inland rivers and lakes.

One example of this is the canoe. English settlers discovered natives of the Powhatan tribe creating dugout canoes. They would set a controlled fire to the center of a log, then dig out the ashes using a clam shell or metal tools (more common after contact with the English). Meanwhile, French explorers came across a different style of canoe. Algonquin tribes in New France used birch-bark canoes. They would stretch tree bark – birch bark is naturally light and waterproof – over a wooden frame. Canoes would prove invaluable to explorers such as Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle as his expedition traveled down the Mississippi River.

Read more about the individual explorers:

Jacques Cartier | Samuel de Champlain | Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle

Find out about their watercraft:

How They Got There | Once They Arrived 

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French Exploration