Chapters 4 & 5 – French in the New World, Henry Hudson, Warlords of Japan
We looked at the globe and talked about the fact that Spain and Portugal had colonies, and England had colonies — but France also sent some people out to explore. They looked for the Northwest Passage. Champlain went on several trips – some ended with problems, but on his third trip he managed to start the city of Quebec and is known as the Father of New France.
Henry Hudson also tried several times to find different routes to the spices of China and India. His crew of sailors kept having mutinies though. They eventually left him in Hudson Bay (which they had thought was the Pacific Ocean, but then learned differently).
We talked about three rules in Japan. The first, tried to unite Japan by hiring all the Samurai and then killing anyone who was against him. The second, was a general and when he took over he didn’t kill people who were against him — he made them swear loyalty to him, or surrender their weapons. He tried to add China to his land, but he had to go through Korea to get there, and the Chinese and Koreans fought back. He died before he could try again. Then his son was going to rule, but the army split and half supported him, while half supported the third ruler. Once the third ruler had won he made everyone swear loyalty to him and then had their families life in the same city as him. He also eventually killed the second ruler’s son, so that his descendants could be the rulers.
Books to Check Out:
ch 4
Beyond the Sea of Ice: The Voyages of Henry Hudson by Joanh Elizabeth Goodman
The Early French Explorers of North America by Daniel E. Harmon
Henry Hudson: Famous Explorers by Claude Hurwicz
The Flying Canoe by Eric A. Kimmel
Lumberjack by William Kuralek
Of Kings and Fools: Stories of the French Tradition in North America by Michael Parent and Julien Oliver
Who Hides in the Park by Warabe Aska
ch5
A Samurai Castle by Fiona MacDonald
Japan in the Days of the Samurai by Virginia Schomp
Make it Work! Japan by Andrew Haslam and Clare Doran
The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn by Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler
The Inch-High Samurai by Shiro Kasamatsu
Night of the Ninjas (Magic Tree House #5) by Mary Pope Osborne
The Samurai’s Daughter: A Japanese Legen (Puffin, 1997)
Three Samurai Cats: A Story from Japan by Eric A. Kimmel
Mulberry Learning Co-Op 