Age of Exploration

A Changing World…

Stop, Think & Review!

What are some push and pull factors causing individuals to migrate from one place to another?

Stop, Think & Review!



Need for Food



Religious Beliefs/Persecution



Desire for Conquest/Expansion



Establish Trade Routes



Hunger for Gold

The Middle Ages  During the

Middle Ages

–a period from about 500 to 1350 A.D. – many Europeans thought of the world as a disk floating on a great ocean.

 The disk was made up of three continents:

Europe, Africa and Asia.

Europe Africa Asia

The Middle Ages 

During the Middle Ages Europeans knew little about the lands beyond their small villages.



But that was all about to change…

 Toward the end of the Middle Ages, Europeans would begin to look beyond their borders.

 Religious Wars and the lure of new products from far away lands would bring major changes in the way Europeans lived…

The Middle Ages 

But until then…

Middle Ages…   Back to the During the Middle Ages weak European kings and queens divided their lands among powerful nobles.

These nobles, or lords, had their own armies ( king.

made up of knights ) and courts but still owed loyalty to their

King Lords/Nobles Knights Serfs/Peasants

The Middle Ages 

This system of rule by lords who owe loyalty to a king is called

feudalism.

The Feudal System: Manors  Most of life in Europe revolved around manors of these powerful lords.

 The

manor

fields.

included the

lord’s castle, peasants’ huts, and surrounding villages or

The Feudal System: Serfs  

Most of the people on the manor were serfs, or peasants bound to the land for life.

Serfs

worked for the lord and could not leave the manor without the lord’s permission – they gave their lord part of their harvest (taxes) in return for the use of land and other services they needed. In exchange the lord protected the serfs from attacks by outsiders.

   The Feudal System: Serfs Under feudalism there were few merchants and traders and few roads or towns existed.

Almost everything made was used to pay taxes.

To pay the crop tax, some crops went to the lord, and some they kept. To pay the bread tax, some bread they made went to the lord, and some they kept. To pay the coat tax, some of the warm coats they made went to the lord, and some they kept.

The Church – A Powerful Force  Most manors provided a place of worship.

 During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church remained the single most powerful organization of Western Europe.



Why?

The Church – A Powerful Force 

The Role of Faith



Power and Wealth



Learning

The Church – A Powerful Force 

In time, Church teachings would lead Europeans to look beyond their manors…

The Crusades    As Christianity was spreading throughout Europe, Islam spread throughout the Middle East and Africa.

European Christians feared losing access to the

Holy Land

place of Christianity. – the birth

Palestine

was also sacred to the Muslims since Muhammad, their prophet, had also lived there.

The Crusades   In 1095 the Europeans launched the first of nine expeditions, known as the

Crusades

regain control of the Holy Land from the Ottoman Turks.

, to The Europeans were not victorious in regaining the Holy Land.

Search for New Trade Routes  

The Crusades did have lasting effects, however.

For the first time, large numbers of Europeans traveled beyond their small towns.

Search for New Trade Routes    New rulers of

England, France, Portugal and Spain

knew they could make huge profits by trading with China and other lands in Asia.

However, Arab and Italian merchants controlled the trade routes across the Mediterranean Sea. If they wanted to share trade, European rulers had to find another route to Asia.

“Rebirth” of Knowledge    European citizens wanted to improve their knowledge of past civilizations in order to understand their trading partners.

Europeans started to use reason and science to create new technologies that would enable them to explore Asia.

Scientific Revolution & the Renaissance

Map Improvements  Using reports of explorers and information from Arab geographers, European cartographers were able to create accurate land and sea maps.

 They also created maps that showed exact location.

 Better instruments were also developed for navigation.

New Navigation Technologies 

Magnetic Compass

determined direction when far from land.

– 

Astrolabe

– measured position of the stars (determined latitude) 

Caravel

earlier ships and carried more cargo and food supplies - floated in shallow water.

– sailed faster than

The Printing Press      Invented during mid 1400s by Johannes Gutenberg of Germany. Before the printing press monks wrote down books by hand.

As a result, only a few copies were available.

Now large numbers of books could be printed at a low cost.

More individuals had the opportunity to read about the world.

Spain vs. Portugal

Why did Spain and Portugal want to find a sea route to Asia?

Spain vs. Portugal  Both countries wanted to get in on trading in Asia and Africa.

 They wanted to bypass (avoid) Arab & Italian merchants.

Portugal’s Interests 

Portugal

was the first European power to explore the boundaries of the “known” world.

 Portugal lacked a Mediterranean port so they had to find a new route to China & India.

Henry the Navigator  Prince Henry of Portugal

(Henry the Navigator)

mathematicians shared their knowledge with Portuguese sailors and shipbuilders.

set up a center for exploration or “school of navigation” where astronomers, geographers and

Portugal’s Interests  In order to trade directly with India and China Portuguese ships moved south along the coast of West Africa.

 There they traded for gold and ivory, established trading posts and began buying enslaved people there as well.

Bartholomeu Dias  1487 – King John sent Dias to explore the southernmost part of Africa and from there to sail northeast into the Indian Ocean.

 Around the southern tip of Africa (Cape of Good Hope) Dias ran into a storm and was forced to turn back to Portugal.

 Spain Joins the Race Queen Isabella, a devout Catholic, was finally persuaded by her husband’s minister to finance to support the expedition for two reasons.

 

Columbus promised to bring Christianity to the lands he found.

If he found a way to Asia – he bring wealth to Spain and trade would open up.

Spain Joins the Race

December 1503 - Queen Isabella decreed that because “Indians…run away from the Christians…I order you…to compel the Indians to have dealings with the Christian settlers…to work on their buildings, to mine and collect gold…and to work on their farms and crop fields.”

John Cabot follows Columbus    Another Italian sailor Giovanni Cabata, had ideas much like Columbus’. He too thought he could reach Asia by sailing west.

He went to England – dropped his Italian name and became

John Cabot.

Landed somewhere on the coast of Canada in 1497 giving the English the right to settle in North America.

Vasco da Gama  1497 set out to India with four ships.

 His ships made a huge semicircular sweep through the Atlantic Ocean and rounded Cape of Good Hope safely.

 He reached India in May 1498.

Pedro Alvares Cabral  Cabral followed da Gama’s route 6 months later and swung so far west that he reached Brazil.

 Cabral claimed Brazil for his king and sent one of his ships back to Portugal to spread the good news while he continued on to India.

Portuguese Trading Empire  Cabral not only gave Portugal a stake in the Americas but he returned home from India with cargoes of spices, porcelain and other goods.

 Portuguese fleets repeated Cabral’s success, and established its first permanent forts in India.

 The Portuguese capital of Lisbon became the marketplace of Europe.

Columbus’ “Discoveries” 

He explored the Caribbean islands of

Hispaniola

Republic), (present-day Haiti and the Dominican

Cuba and Jamaica.

Exploring America  After Columbus, other voyagers explored the Americas.

 In 1502

Amerigo Vespucci

sailed along South America’s coast. Vespucci concluded that South America was a continent, not part of Asia.

Sailing Around the World  In 1520 Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese seaman sailing for Spain, reached the southernmost tip of South America. He began in 1519.

 He sailed into what he later named the Pacific Ocean.

Sailing Around the World  After he died in the Philippine Islands, his crew continued west arriving in Spain in 1522.

 They became the first known people to circumnavigate the world.

Analyzing the Columbian Exchange Was Columbus a Hero or Villain?

Columbus: Hero or Villain?

 The 1492 encounter between Native Americans and Europeans started an

exchange of goods and ideas that transformed people’s lives around the globe.

 The meeting between two old, very different worlds – the Americas and Europe (and even Africa and Asia) – led to the creation of one new world.

Columbus: Hero or Villain?

 Christopher Columbus’ visit began this exchange of goods.

 Because it began with him, scholars refer to this

transfer

as the

Columbian Exchange.

Columbian Exchange     Food & Farming: Taught Europeans to eat corn, squash, beans and potatoes.

Language: Europeans adopted Native American words for animals, clothing and inventions they had not known before.

Technology: skills.

Helped European settlers survive in North America – agricultural, medicinal, & hunting Other Influences: pottery, leatherwork, lacrosse, Iroquois Political Structure – League of the Iroquois (model of democracy).

   Food & Livestock: Introduced livestock (chickens, goats, horses), wheat, bananas, citrus fruit and sugar cane.

Technology: Europeans taught them how to use metals to make copper pots and iron knives.

Diseases: Native Americans had no such resistance to “European” diseases such as measles, smallpox or even influenza.

 Scholars estimate that between 50 percent and 90 percent of Native Americans died of diseases introduced from Europe.

How does Columbus describe the islands he discovered?

    Many havens on the seacoast – incomparable to any other known in Christendom.

Plenty of rivers, honey, many kinds of birds & fruits.

Many mines of metals, great mountains, hills, plains and fields.

Rich land for planting and sowing, for breeding cattle and for building towns and villages.

How does Columbus describe the Taino Indians?

    The people of the island all go naked, men and women.

They are artless and generous with what they have.

No knowledge of arms and artillery They are the most timorous creatures in the world – weak.

According to Columbus, why did he give the Indians gifts?

  “I gave gratuitously a thousand useful things that I carried, in order that they may conceive affection, and furthermore may be made Christians.” Columbus thought by bribing them – they would want to convert to Christianity.

What was Columbus’ goal?

   Columbus cared most about converting “those who go naked” to Christianity no matter the cost.

Aware of his audience, Columbus made the Caribbean sound like a paradise – he desired praise and did everything he could to portray himself as a just and strong leader.

He portrayed himself as a crusader willing to bring profit and honor to Spain.

Stop & Think: 

How should Columbus’ journey be evaluated in the year 2008? Should Columbus be remembered as a hero or villain? Explain your answer…

Columbus: Hero or Villain… 

For years, Columbus has been remembered as the bold sea captain who “discovered America.”

Columbus: Hero or Villain?

 True, Europeans knew nothing of the Americas before Columbus brought them news of this “new world.”  His journey brought the peoples of Europe into lasting contact for the first time in history.

    Native Americans paid heavily.

Columbus and the Europeans who came after him forced native peoples to work in mines or on farms raising sugar cane and cotton.

Over the next 50 years, hundreds of thousands of Caribbean Indians died from harsh working conditions and European diseases.

Starting with Columbus, Europeans justified seizing Indian lands – they believed they had the right because Indians were not Christians.

   Curious Europeans wanted to know more about the lands across the Atlantic.

They saw the Americas as a place where they could trade and grow rich.

Once Columbus reached the Americas, nothing could stop the flood of explorers and settlers who followed him.

Spanish Conquistadors “Lords of the Spanish Main”

The Spanish Main   Consisted of the Mexican mainland and Central America, most of South America and much of Southwestern U.S.

It included important waterways such as : Straits.

The Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea and the Florida

Who were the Conquistadors?

  Throughout most of the 16 th , 17 th and 18 th centuries Spanish

conquistadors

Spanish Main.” – (conquerors), explorers, traders, and sea captains were “lords of the Spain gained this empire at a terrible cost: the destruction of other peoples and civilizations.



What are the characteristics of a civilization?



Should the Aztecs be considered one? Explain your answer.

Characteristics of a civilization 

civilization:

tracking time.

a highly developed society that developed a complex, or highly detailed system for writing, counting and/or

Characteristics of a civilization    

Usually includes:

Cities Well organized government Complex religion Social classes   Specialized skills and jobs Some method of keeping records.



Why were the first Europeans amazed by Tenochtitlan?

The Marvels of the Aztecs  Tenochtitlan – construction was a miracle of engineering and human labor.

 Created causeways or bridges of earth linking the island and shore. They filled parts of the lake with earth so they could grow crops.

The Marvels of the Aztecs 

Tenochtitlan was also a center of trade, attracting thousands of merchants to its outdoor markets.

Predict their fate!



Why do you think the Spanish were able to defeat the Aztec warriors?

Why Spain Succeeded      Spanish arrived with weapons – guns and cannons.

Spanish rode horses and had huge, ferocious dogs.

To the natives, the Spanish seemed like gods.

Some Aztecs in the region turned against the Aztec overlords and assisted the conquistadors.

Disease – With no immunity, their resistance to their invaders was weakened

Pizarro Conquers the Inca  Having heard tales of the incredibly wealthy Inca Empire in what is now Peru,

Francisco Pizarro

sailed down the Pacific coast of South America with about 180 Spanish soldiers.

Pizarro Conquers the Inca    In 1532 Pizarro captured the Inca ruler,

Atahualpa

, and destroyed much of the Inca army.

The next year, the Spanish falsely accused Atahualpa of crimes and executed him – the Inca were not able to fight effectively without him.

Pizarro gained control of the Inca Empire.

Spain in North America  Mexico and Peru were rich in silver and gold.

 Hoping to find similar wealth to the north, conquistadors explored the southeastern and southwestern parts of North America.

Who

’

s Who?

The Who

’

s Who of our remaining conquistadors!

Who Am I?

  In 1513 the coast of present-day Florida, leading to the first Spanish settlements in what is now the U.S. – I landed on I was looking for a fountain of youth!

Juan Ponce de Leon

Who Am I?

 In 1521 I destroyed the Aztec capital of Tenoctitlan in Mexico.

Hernan Cortes

Who Am I?

 In 1532 I captured the Inca ruler in present-day Peru – gained control of Inca Empire.

Francisco Pizarro

Who Am I?

  I was shipwrecked while trying to colonize Florida in 1528. Landing on an island off the coast of Texas, we were prisoners of the Indians foe several years. In about 1536 I arrived in Mexico and related tales about 7 cities of gold.

Cabeza de Vaca

Who Am I?

   I was one of the many explorers who tried to find the “ Seven Cities of Cibola.

” I didn ’ t find them but I became the first white man to explore what is now Arizona and New Mexico in about 1540.

I opened the way for Spanish settlement.

Francisco Vasquez de Coronado

Who Am I?

 In 1541 I crossed the Mississippi River as part of 3 year exploration of the present day southeastern U.S.

Hernando de Soto

Do Now: 

Which do you think is more important to Queen Isabella: converting the natives to Christianity or getting them to work? Explain your answer.

New Spain as a “blending of cultures”     By the mid 1500s a new way of life took place in New Spain.

Spanish settlers brought their own customs to the colonies – their language, laws, religion, and learning.

In 1539 – first European book in Americas.

1551 – Spanish founded University of Mexico.

New Spain as a “blending of cultures”    Native Americans also influenced the culture of New Spain.

Colonists adopted Indian clothing, new foods – potatoes, corn, tomatoes and chocolate – forever changing people’s diets in Europe, Asia and Africa.

Indian labor made it possible for the Spanish to build libraries, theaters and churches (used adobe brick & decorated the church walls).

A difficult life for the Natives  The Spanish treated the Indians as a conquered people.

 Under Spain’s strict social system, Indians were kept in poverty for hundreds of years.

A difficult life for the Natives  The colonists needed workers for their ranches and farms.

 The Spanish government helped by giving settlers

encomiendas

–

the right to demand labor or taxes from Native Americans living on the land.

The Mines and Plantation Life    The Spanish forced native laborers to work in the mines – rickety ladders, narrow tunnels where they hacked out rich ore – many died.

Spanish settlers also made large profits by exporting crops and raw materials – West Indies – main exports were tobacco and sugarcane.

To raise these crops the Spanish developed the

plantation system – a large farm.

Bartholome de Las Casas     A Spanish priest Las Casas condemned this cruel treatment of the natives and pleaded for laws to protect them.

Las Casas suggested replacing the natives with enslaved Africans (he regretted it later) He thought the Africans could endure the labor better than the Natives could.

RESULT

: Thousands of Africans from

West Africa brought to the Americas. By late 1500s plantation slave labor essential to colonial economy.

 1540 – Las Casas reports to King Charles I “ The Spaniards entered…like wolves, tigers, and lions which had been starving for many days, and since forty years they have done nothing else…than outrage, slay, afflict, torment, and destroy. In this way they have cared for [Indian] lives – and for their souls…the reason why the Christians have killed and destroyed such an infinite number of souls is that they have been moved by their wish for gold and their desire to enrich themselves.”

 1540 – Las Casas reports to King Charles I How does Las Casas describe the arrival of the Spainards in the New World?

  How does Las Casas describe the way that the Spaniards “cared for Indian lives?” According to Las Casas why did the Spaniards treat the Indians the way they did?