Transcript Age of Early European Explorations & Conquests

Earlier Explorations
Europeans have always had wanderlust.
Because food surpluses had existed since before the ancient Greeks,
Europeans had been able to devote time to pursuits other than
finding, or producing food…war, the arts, war, building, war…
The Greeks had their triremes in which they explored the Aegean Sea
and the Mediterranean sea.
The Greeks set up colonies, all around the
Mediterranean…they exported their culture, religion,
and political system…tyranny, democracy,
totalitarianism.
The geography of Greece is rugged, and
mountainous.
Here is a map of Ancient Greek cities
Athens invented DEMOCRACY
(demos=people and cracy=government)
where the individual’s rights were the
most important thing…if you were a
man!
Geography played a huge role in determining
the Greek culture and, by extension, ours.
The cities are spread out. The mountains make
it hard to go from one to another
The separation of these cities led to them
being fiercely independent and competitive
They developed governments that were very
Sparta invented a system that put the state before the different from each other…
individual…the individual was only important in how he,
or she, could help the state…TOTALITARIANISM
From the Greeks it is merely a matter of centuries before we get to the
largest Mediterranean empire…the Romans
Here is a map of the Roman Empire at its greatest extent.
So far we have seen one theme of European history…exploration
We will leap ahead 500 years to Marco Polo
Marco Polo, in September 1254?…we are not sure
exactly, a Venetian trader and explorer gained fame
for his worldwide travels in his book…The Travels
Of Marco Polo.
Polo, together with his father Niccolò and his uncle
Maffeo, were the first Westerners to travel the Silk
Road to China (which was then called Cathay) and
visit the great Khan of the Mongol Empire…Kublai
Khan (grandson of Genghis Khan).
Marco
Polo
Marco Polo told such wonderful tales about far off and exotic places…China, India, Arabia…
If we look at Europe at the beginning of the 1300’s we see feudalism, the Black Death is around the
corner, the 100 years war is ongoing, and the church has instituted another Inquisition…how different
the tales of Marco Polo must have seemed
Since the fall of the Roman Empire, the succeeding Dark Ages had brought instability to Western
Europe and a near collapse of the trade network.
Nevertheless, some trade did occur. For instance, Jewish merchants…forbidden from owning land,
farming, or joining guilds…traded between the Christians in Europe and the Muslims of the Near
East…especially SPICES.
Spices were among the most luxurious products available in the Middle Ages, the most common
being black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
They were all imported from plantations in Asia and Africa which made them extremely expensive.
pepper
cinnamon
mace with nutmeg fruit
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The control of trade routes and the spice-producing regions were the main reasons that
Portuguese…under the leadership of Henry the Navigator…in the late 1400s started a new era of
European exploration.
In 1488 Bartholomew Diaz reached the southern tip of Africa…the Cape of Good Hope
Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and sailed on to India in
1497/8. He returned with a cargo worth 60 times the cost of the voyage!!!
It was Afonso de Albuquerque who allowed the Portuguese to take control of the sea routes to
India. He set up a series of Portuguese colonies/ports/forts/ all the way to Goa, in India.
The Portuguese could now trade directly with Siam, China, and the Spice Islands.
The Silk Road complemented the Portuguese sea routes, and brought the treasures of the Orient
to Europe via Lisbon, many of which were the coveted spices. Henry the Navigator
Monument to Prince Henry in Lisbon…today
Museum of Navigation in Lisbon…set up by Prince
Henry, in 1419
Let us take a look at some of the new technologies that allowed the
Portuguese, the Spanish, the English, French and other European nations
to explore and conquer.
Hartman Astrolabe
Mariner’s Compass
Sextant
The Fra Mauro map (1459) Venetian provided the first
practical descriptions of Europe, Africa, and Asia
Exploring is never going to be enough…you need speed to beat your
competitors. And, you need weapons technology to conquer, hold onto
territory, and fight off rivals.
A caravel is a small, highly
maneuverable, two or three-mast ship
used by the Portuguese and
Spaniards for long voyages of
exploration beginning in the 15th
century.
Because of its smaller size, the caravel was able to explore upriver in shallow coastal waters.
With the lateen sails affixed, it was able to go speedily over shallow water and take deep wind, while with
the square Atlantic-type sails attached, the caravel was very fast.
Its economy, speed, agility, and power made the caravel esteemed as the best sailing vessel of its time.
It generally carried two or three masts with lateen sails, while later types had four masts.
The Nina
The Pinta
The Santa Maria
Motives for European Exploration
1.
Europeans, during the Middle Ages, had a meager knowledge of geography…limited to
Europe, Northern Africa, and Western Asia
2.
Substantial trade between Europe and the East (Asia) began during the
Crusades…very profitable, but, in the hands of Asians
3.
Italian merchants from Italian city-states also started shipping products from the eastern
Mediterranean area to Western Europe.
4.
In the 15th century this lucrative trade attracted the attention of 2 newly developed
nations…Portugal and Spain.
5.
To smash the monopoly of the Asian traders, and Italian merchants, Portugal and
Spain, financed expeditions seeking a water route to the Far East.
6.
There was a curiosity of the far east since Marco Polo’s reports which fed into the
Renaissance spirit of inquiry
7.
By the 16th century a number of west European nations possessed sufficient wealth to
fund expensive voyages of exploration
8.
The rising middle classes desired increased trade and their absolute monarchs sought
colonial empires
9.
Because of scientific progress sea travel was less hazardous
• They had rediscovered the earth was round!
• They had improved maps, a better compass and astrolabe.
Portugal’s empire
Portugal
Isabella I was Queen of Castile and Leon…she and her husband, Ferdinand of Aragon, laid
the foundation for the political unification of Spain when in 1492 they expelled the last of
the Moors (muslims) in the Reconquista. Spain would consolidate, and expand under Isabella
and Ferdinand's grandson, Carlos I, (Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor).
In 1492 the Spanish monarchs
funded Columbus’s voyages to
find a westerly route to Asia
They also gave the Jews of
Spain a choice…Either,
convert to Catholicism or leave
Spain!
Jews had lived in Spain since
the times of the Roman
Empire…over a 1000 years!
They set up the Inquisition to
make sure the conversos were
genuine…hundreds of
thousands were falsely
accused and murdered.
SPAIN
Queen Isabella
The monarchs funded Columbus, an Italian, navigator.
He planned to reach the Spice Islands, in the east, by sailing
westward across the Atlantic Ocean.
He failed because his ships were blocked by 2 continents hitherto
unknown to Europe
Formation
Twit!
of the
Atlantic
Was Columbus a converso?
King Ferdinand
Columbus’ Four Voyages
He never ever
admitted that
he had
discovered a
new world…he
thought he
was in Asia, in
the Indies
which is why
he called them
the West
Indies! And,
the
inhabitants
Indians!
Other Voyages of Exploration
I have a serious problem
with this whole notion of
the first to
circumnavigate the
globe!
Ferdinand Magellan & the First Circumnavigation of the
World…Early 16th Century (1522)
I think the very least
expectation we should
have is LIFE!
When they got home
Magellan had been
dead since the
Philippines…pew!!
So, should he be
considered the first…he
was DEAD?
I think he should be
considered the first
corpse, or the most
smelly, or the first dead
Portuguese explorer in
a Spanish ship!
What do you think?
Spurred by the discoveries;
other West European nations
sent explorers to the New World
and Far East.
Atlantic Explorations
They sought a “Northwest Passage”
through, or around, North America
to the Far East.
To secure gold, silver, gems, spices,
and other valuable goods.
Convert the natives to Christianity
(God)
Establish claims to these new lands
for their Kings
And, for personal Glory.
Where do the Dutch come from?
Why does it say England and not Britain?
As dangerous as it was would you have left
all you know to brave the unknown?
Looking for “El Dorado”
The “Columbian Exchange”

Squash

Avocado

Peppers

Sweet Potatoes

Turkey

Pumpkin

Tobacco

Quinine

Cocoa

Pineapple

Cassava

POTATO

Peanut

TOMATO

Vanilla

MAIZE

Syphilis

Trinkets

Liquor

GUNS

Olive

COFFEE BEAN

Banana

Rice

Onion

Turnip

Honeybee

Barley

Grape

Peach

SUGAR CANE

Oats

Citrus Fruits

Pear

Wheat

HORSE

Cattle

Sheep

Pigs

Smallpox

Flu

Typhus

Measles

Malaria

Diptheria

Whooping Cough
Cycle of Conquest & Colonization
Explorers
Official
European
Colony!
Treasures
from the Americas!
Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
The Slave Trade
1. Existed in Africa long before the coming of the
Europeans.
2. Portuguese replaced European slaves with
Africans.
Sugar cane & sugar plantations.
First boatload of African slaves brought by
the Spanish in 1518.
275,000 enslaved Africans exported
to other countries.
3. Between the 16th & 19th centuries, approximately
10 million Africans were shipped to the Americas.
Slave Ship
“Middle Passage”
“Coffin”, or tight pack, Position Below Deck
Tight pack meant you
could “squeeze” more
in, but more would die
Loose pack meant
you would start off
with less, but more
would be alive at
journeys end
Motive was ‘PROFIT’
Dead African slaves
Thrown Overboard
Sharks followed the slave ships!
European Empires in the Americas
What was New York
called before it became
NY?
The Colonial Class System in the
Spanish colonies
Peninsulares
Your status was decided
partly by race!
Mestizos
Native Indians
Creoles
Mulattos
Black Slaves
The Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494 &
The Pope’s Line of Demarcation
The Treaty of Tordesillas was signed in Tordesillas, (in Spain), in 1494.
It divided the newly discovered lands outside Europe into an exclusive duopoly
between the Spanish and the Portuguese along a north-south meridian 370 leagues
west of the Cape Verde Islands…off the west coast of Africa. (The league most
frequently expresses the distance a person, or a horse, can walk in 1 hour…usually about
3.5 miles or 5.5 kilometers).
This was about halfway between the Cape Verde Islands (already Portuguese) and
the islands discovered by Columbus on his first voyage (claimed for Spain), named
Cuba or Hispaniola.
The lands to the east would belong to Portugal and the lands to the west to Spain.
The treaty was ratified by Spain July 2, 1494 and by Portugal, September 5, 1494.
The other side of the world would be divided a few decades later by the Treaty of
Saragossa or Treaty of Zaragoza.
Portugal gained control of all lands and seas east of the demarcation line, including all of
Asia and its neighboring islands so far "discovered,"
leaving Spain most of the Pacific Ocean.
Besides Brazil and the Moluccas, Portugal would eventually control Angola,
Mozambique, in Africa; Goa in India; and East Timor and Macau and in the Far East.
The Portuguese Empire
The Spanish Empire
The British,
Dutch, French,
etc…had different
ideas about the
Spanish
Portuguese
duopoly!
In fact, the Brits
raided Spanish
colonies and
treasure ships…
stealing Spanish
booty.
The Brits stole
the Dutch New
World colonies
and fought the
French in 4 major
colonial wars!
Those Brits are sure
aggressive…so, watch
it!!
New Colonial Rivals
• The term COMMERCIAL REVOLUTION summarizes the effects that overseas
expansion had on both western Europe and the rest of the world.
• There was an increase in imports and world trade
• A) western Europe imported many commodities from the new world and far east:
potatoes, corn (maize), tobacco, chocolate, cane sugar, tea, and quinine.
• Their availability helped improve the European living standard…they became plentiful
and cheaper
• B) large quantities of gold and silver affected Europe's economy…as they served as
currency consumers had more money to spend on goods…the prices went up, which
caused INFLATION.
• Landlords demanded higher rents; workers demanded higher wages; governments
demanded higher taxes.
• C) to reduce the risk of losing ships and piracy…insurance was born.
• D) Western Europe’s major trade routes shifted from the Mediterranean to the
Atlantic…Italian city states declined in importance…countries bordering the Atlantic
increased their commerce, wealth, and power
• E) The nation-state became preeminent in world affairs
• F) Western Europe’s population increased, in part due to the availability of additional
food… “fat and happy people have babies…”
• G) Western Europe’s middle class – bankers, merchants, capitalists – grew in number
New Patterns of World Trade
Mercantilism
• To further national prosperity European governments became interested in economic
affairs.
• Mercantilists argued that a nation must (1) attract the maximum amount of gold and silver,
since wealth is measured in these metals.
• (2) export more than import, thereby achieving a favorable trade balance
• (3) increase exports by giving subsidies (money) to domestic businesses and industries
• (4) discourage imports by imposing tariffs (import taxes)
• (5) acquire colonies to assure markets for your manufactured goods and guarantee your
•
raw materials
• (6) forbid colonies from trading with any other country
• Mercantilists held that colonies were set up to benefit the mother country.
• The effects were astonishing…Western Europe moved from a static, local, non-profit
economy typical of the Middle Ages to the beginning of a dynamic, worldwide, profit
oriented system called CAPITALISM.
• ENTREPRENEURS engaged in business enterprises, taking risks and facing
competition, in the hope of making profits.
• Prices of goods and wages were determined largely by supply and demand!
• Many Europeans migrated to overseas colonies, either to escape religious persecution
or to improve their economic position
• Trade and emigration spread European civilization throughout the world.
Student ‘out takes’.
• During the Renaissance America began.
• Christopher Columbus was a great navigator who discovered America
while cursing about the Atlantic.
• His ships were called the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Fe.
• Later the Pilgrims crossed the Ocean, and the voyage was called the
Pilgrim’s Progress.
• When they landed at Plymouth Rock, they were greeted by Indians, who
came down the hill rolling their hula hoops before them.
• The Indian squabs carried porposies on their back.
• Many of the Indian heroes were killed, along with their cabooses, which
proved very fatal to them.
• The winter of 1620 was a hard one for the settlers. Many people died
and many babies were born. Captain John Smith was responsible for
all this.
• Magellan was the first man to circumcise the globe with a giant clipper