Chapter 13 - The Age of Exploration

1. Chapter 13 - The Age of Exploration Between the late 1400s and 1700s, Western Europeans: • benefitted from technology in mapmaking, navigation, shipbuilding, and weaponry. • found new sea routes and dominated trade with Asia, Africa, and the Americas. • competed with each other to establish profitable colonies. • began global interactions that greatly affected people around the world. Spain and Portugal on the eve of the encounter • As Europeans were looking for new routes to the riches of Asia, Spain and Portugal took the lead. • Both of these nations had the technology, resources, and political unity to support sea travel. • Both of these nations had also struggled with Muslim rule in their countries and had created Christian kingdoms. Spain • The marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon to Isabella of Castile in 1469 brought together two powerful Spanish kingdoms. • In 1492, Ferdinand and Isabella forced the Muslims from Granada, their last stronghold in Spain. • This victory completed the Reconquista, a campaign begun by Christians in the 700s to recapture Spain from the Muslims. • After achieving political unity in Spain, Isabella sought to establish religious unity. • She launched a brutal crusade against the Moors (Muslims) and Jews who refused to convert to Christianity. Many people were killed, and about 150,000 were forced into exile.

2. Reasons for European Exploration • Travel to the East (Asia) was disrupted by Ottoman control of the eastern Mediterranean. • By the 1400s Europeans needed to reopen trade routes to have access to spices and other goods. • Muslim traders brought goods to the Mediterranean, and Italian traders but each time goods changed hands, goods got more expensive. • To gain direct access to Asian trade, Portugal and Spain looked for new oceanic routes. **Portugal and Spain wanted a direct route which would give them access to what they wanted at a lower cost Impact of technology • The Printing Press – books could be made quickly and cheaply on a broad range of topics, including geography. • Gunpowder – The Portuguese equipped their ships with cannon, that helped them gain control of the Indian Ocean trade network. • Naval Technology – Mapmakers, or cartographers, created better maps and charts of the sea. The caravel was a faster ship design invented by the Portuguese. The astrolabe could be used to plot their latitude using the sun or stars, and the magnetic compass, invented by the Chinese, helped sailors chart a course. Early Voyages of Discovery 1415 - Africa to Asia – Prince Henry, son of the Portuguese king, known as Henry the Navigator 1492 – West Indies, Caribbean – Christopher Columbus 1497 – east coast of Africa, India – Vasco da Gama 1497 – Canada, North America – John Cabot 1519-1522 – Circumnavigates (go around the world) the globe – Ferdinand Magellan

3. Gold, God & Glory - European Colonial ExpansionCauses • Growth of cities and wealth • Desire for spices and luxury goods (silks, jewels) • Need for sea routes to Asia • Development of better navigational techniques • Development of better maps • National monarchs needed wealth to consolidate power and compete with other powers • Desire to spread Christian faith Effects • Nations adopted mercantilist economic philosophy • Europeans exploited the wealth of the Americas, Africa, India, Southeast Asia • Colonial empires and political competition grew • Slavery and the slave trade spread globally • Forced labor systems emerged on colonial plantations in the Americas and Southeast Asia • Mesoamerican civilizations destroyed (Aztec, Inca) • European diseases killed many indigenous (native) people • Cultural diffusion accelerated (speeded up) • Capitalism expanded • Large numbers of Europeans migrated to other regions (especially the Western Hemisphere)

4. Mercantilism • A mother country would have colonies • Colonies would provide raw materials/natural resources • The mother country would provide manufactured goods • Colonies would provide a market to buy the manufactured goods • The mother country would accumulate gold and silver to be able to purchase military supplies and maintain an army and navy • Mercantilists wanted a “favorable balance of trade” – that means the mother country made money from the colonies – exports (goods sold to others) exceeded imports (goods bought from others) The Columbian Exchange • New World – turkey, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, chili peppers, pumpkins, beans, peanuts, avocados, pineapples, and tobacco • Old World • Europe: horses, cattle, sheep, goats, sugarcane, wheat, onions, diseases (smallpox, measles and typhus) • Africa: coffee, sweet potatoes, and bananas • Asia: rice

5. Effects of the Columbian Exchange • American gold and silver brought new wealth to Europe • Corn, beans, and potatoes improved the European diet and thus increased populations • Poor Europeans tried to better their lives by settling land in the colonies • By 1650, Native American populations were about one-tenth of what it had been in 1500 Triangular Trade and Slavery • Labor shortages led to a slave trade which grew into a huge and profitable business • The Middle Passage – The voyage from Africa to the Americas on the slave ships was called the Middle Passage – conditions were terrible on these ships. • Hundreds of people would be crammed together onto a single ship • Millions of people died on the way from disease, brutal mistreatment, or suicide Effects of the Slave Trade • About 11 million Africans were forcibly relocated to the Americas • The slave trade caused local wars to develop in Africa • African political structures were undermined/destroyed • African societies were deprived of the talents of young, strong, and intelligent men and women

6. Spanish EmpireSocial PyramidAt the very top was the monarch appointed viceroy (regional governors) with almost absolute power

7. European Competition for Colonies - Imperialism • Imperialism – the domination by one country of the political and/or economic life of another country • Africa • Portuguese established a string of forts in the west and captured several port cities in the east • Dutch established the Cape Town settlement in South Africa – The Dutch farmers who settled in the area were known as Boers. The Boers removed or enslaved many Africans • Asia • Portugal – took control of the Indian trade network from the Muslims • Dutch – dominated the Asian spice trade • Spain – founded colonies in Southeast Asia and financed the voyage of Magellan, who claimed the Philippines for Spain • England and France - both established East India Companies. They made alliances with local rulers and competed with each other for dominance. • The Americas • Spain • Portugal • France • Dutch • English Treaty of Tordesillas – Treaty between Spain and Portugal which divided South America