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After Marco Polo returned with golds, silvers, and all sorts of treasures, and spices the
need to trade with the East was unbearable. Practiclly every European in Europe was
trying to
find ways to get to Asia and India to trade for the riches of the East. Marco Polo had
traveled to
Asia by land, and this took time and money because of its long journey. They needed
food for the
large caravans and needed men willing to head towards Asia. So this caused some
countries not
to be able to trade with Asia. Since Marco Polo was an Italian, the Italians thought that
they had a
monopoly on the trading to the Far East. Genao and Venice were the two city-states that
were
able to get all the trading from Asia. But many of these Italian traders never left Italy,
because
Muslims from afar came to Italy with all of Asia's riches and traded with Italians, so
Italians never
really left Italy. The Italians persuaded the Muslims only to trade with themso then Italy
was really
the only countryable to trade with Asia, so they did have a monopoly on the trading. This
angered
the rest of Europe because they had to pay much, much more for the treasures of Asia
than Italy.
Now the other countries of Europe started to try to find new ways to get to Asia.
The country that led the search for new routes to Asia was Portugal. Since
Portugal's
power had grown with the decline of feudalism they were very interested in finding a
new route to
Asia. In the early 1400's Prince Henry, the king of Portugal's third son, tried to find a way
by the
ocean to Asia.This was a bazaar idea at this time because many people believed that the
seas
boiled at the equator and so would the blood of any manwho tried to cross. Also people
believed
that there were sea monsters were all over the oceans ready to atack innocent ships that
tried to
get by. But this didn't stop Prince Henry, Prince Henry wanted to find a sea route to Asia
because:
(1) Henry hoped to find an all-water route to Asia. And this would stop Italy's
monopolization on the trading with Asia. It could also help make Portugal rich.
(2) A powerful navy would help defeat the Muslim forces in North Africa.
(3) As a true Christian he wanted to spread Christianity beyond the borders of
Europe to
other cities.
(4) Being a child born in the Renaissance, he wanted to learn as much as he could
about
the oceans and the lands beyond them.
So Henry began sending ships south from Portugal along the African coast.
Prince Henry
did not sail with the expeditions himself, but he did sponsore each and every expedition
so then he
became known as Henry the Navigator.
In Henry's seaside castle he invited geographers, astronomers, mapmakers, and
sailors.
Each of these people reviewed each and every one of the expetions. These people would
then
draw charts with the reports of the expeditions to allow each expetion after that to go a
little
farther than the one before. None of these skilled people or any other Europeans thought
that
Africa was so huge. Every expedition needed brave and bold men to keep the exploration
of a
new sea route to Asia alive.
Sailors were aided by new improvements in their navigating. Ever since the
1100s, sailors
have been able to tell where they were with the use of compasses. Even with tihs
instrument
sailors neededto know where their location was in the oceans. So prince Henry and his
scientists
deviseda way to use the stars to know where they were, this was called celestial
navigation-navigating by the stars. Prince Henry's scientists also rediscovered the
astrolabe, a
navigational device used by the ancient Greeks. Now sailors were able to go farther and
increase
the chances in finding a sea route to Asia.
Prince Henryalso design a new ship that they called a caravel. A caravel was a
doubled
rigged ship with triangular sails that allowed it to sail into the wind, and with the squares
sails this
ship could sail with the wind at its back too. Now this ship was a real confidence builder,
so now
sailors could get home no matter what direction the wind was blowing.
As Portuguese ships continued going southward along the coast of Africa, the
sailors
learned of vast and rich kingdom in West Africa. For centuries these extraordinary
kingdoms,
Sonhai, Benin, Kongo, and Mali, had been trading with Muslims. Timbuktu was the
trading center
for the trade between these kingdomsand the Muslims in North Africa. In Timbuktu,
Africans
exchanged bronze work from Benin and gold and cotton from Mali for salt, cloth , and
copper
from the northern area. Timbuktu also had an university where African Muslims came to
study
mathematics and religion.
The Portuguese found out that the people on the West coast of Africawere willing
to trade
with them. At first the Portuguese traded only for gold and ivory, but by the early 1440s
they
started trading for slaves.
Some Africans made slaves out of prisoners of war, which they used themselves
and
traded and sold the other slaves to Arabs who took the slaves to Asia to be sold.
Portuguese
expeditions traded with the kingdom of Benin and brought back to Europe pepper, cotton
cloth,
ivory and African slaves. The Portuguese hoped that the sale of these slaves would help
pay for
some of the expeditions to find a sea route to Asia. They also wanted slaves as cheap
labor on
Portuguese farms. By the time of Prince Henry's death in 1460, almost 1,000 slaves were
brought
99to Portugal. Then other countries followed Portugal into the trading of slaves.
Prince Henry died before the first Portuguese sailing expedition crossed the
equator in
1473. Then in 1487 Bartholomeu Dias sailed around the tip of Africa. The Kingof
Portugal at that
time hoped that Dias had founda new sea route to the Indes, so the Portuguese King
named the
tip, 'The Cape of Good Hope'.
And in 1498 another Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, ful filled the hope of
the King
and of Prince Henry by finding an all-water route to Asia. Da Gama followed Dias's route
around
the Cape of Good Hope and then headed north along the eastern coast of Africa. Then da
Gama
sailed east across the Indian Ocean until he reached India.
Finally the Portuguese had found an all-water route to Asia. As predicted the
immense
treasures from the Asia trade proved true. Da Gamasailed home with a shipload of spices,
silks,
and jewels worth 6 times the exspense of the voyage.
Transporting these goods cost less than long overland voyages using caravans of
pack
animals. Italian merchants bought goods from traders who traveled by land. Therefore,
Portuguese merchants could sell their goods from the East cheapier than the Italians.
Portugal
then became the leader in rich Eastern trade. In the early 1500s Lisbon, Portugal,
Portugal's
capital, became the richest port in Europe. Soon, however, Spain and other European
countries
would challenge Portugal's lead on the Eastern trade.
As Portugal tries to find a sea route to Asia a man named Christopher Columbus
heads for
Spain to ask for funding on a trip West to reach the Indes.
This man, Christopher Columbus, grew up in Italy, in the city-state of Genoa.
Although
his father and his grandfather were wool weavers Columbus was always drawn to the
city's busy
waterfront. At the youthful age of 14 Columbus began going on trading voyages. One
such
voyage would change his destiny. When Columbus was 25 his ship was sunk by a hostile
fleet off
the coast of Portugal. He survived by holding on to an oar and swimming to shore. Once
on land,
Columbus headed for his brother's house in Lisbon, where his brother worked as a
mapmaker. In
Lisbon Columbus acquired information that would lead him west across the Atlantic
Ocean.
Columbus learned the business of mapmaking from his brother and taught
himself how to
read and write Spanish. Columbus also learned Latin, the language of most books.
Among the
books he read were the works of Ptolemy, a mathematician and geographer from ancient
Greece.
Columbus also read the travels of Marco Polo. Marco Polo's tales of the wealth and
wonders of
Asia intrigued Columbus's imagination. Columbus was particulary excited about Polo's
description
of Japan, which was based only on hearsay and rumor. 'Many of the apartmanets' Marco
Polo
'have small tables of pure gold of considerable thickness.' He also claimed that the entire
roof of
the sovereign's palace was covered with pure gold.
Columbus landed in the best place to learn about ocean navigation. Yet Portugal
navigational knowledge was a state secret. But he married a sea captain's daughter so he
got all
sort of security clearance. He studied until he dropped on those charts and maps of his
father-in-law's. With those Columbus learned the advances of Portuguese exploration.
Christopher Columbus also learned the practical skills of deep-sea navigation. He
sailed
south with some of the Portuguese fleets to Guinea on Africa's gold coast. During the
voyage
Columbus gained experience in sailing a caravel and he also learned that the winter winds
blew
from the east and these two facts would help him now.
So now this man, Christopher Columbus, is standing before the King and Queen
of
Spain, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. These two monarchs are interested in
Columbus's ieda
to sail West to reach Asia, unlike the Portuguese monarchs. The Spanish monarchs saw
that this
might bring Spain both gold and wealth and a jump on Portugal, and Queen Isabella
thought it
was her duty to spread christianity throughout the rest of the world.
But the time of this was not right, because King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella
were
fighting to expel the Moors from the city of Granada, their last stronghold in Spain. This
struggle
to win back Spain was called the 'Reconquista'-which is Spanish for 'reconquest'. The
Rconquista had occupied ferdinand and Isabella's ancestorsfor over 800 years, and they
were set
on winning back their country.
And finally after six years of waiting, in 1492 when King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella
had gotten an entirely christian Spain they were ready to consider Columbus's dream. So
Isabella
summoned Columbus (who was ready to go to France to offer his assistance to them) to
dicuss
the negotiations on the expedition to the West for Asia.
Christopher Columbus proved to be a hard bargainer. He insisted that he be
promoted to
the nobility and given a coat of arms. He demanded the right to rule a lands he claimed or
conquered. He also asked for 10 percent of all wealth from those lands and the grand title
Admiral
of the Ocean Sea. Finally after three months the King and Queen agreed to these
demanded, 'You
are going at our command' the King and Queen of Spain told him 'to discover and subdue
the
islands and continent in the ocean. It is only just and reasonable that since you exspose
yourself to
danger to serve us you should be rewarded for it.'
With confidence and a bright new energy Columbus assembled his expedition at
the
Spanish port of Palos. At dawn on August 3, 1492, three ships- the Nina, the Pinta, and
the Santa
Maria- left the harbor on a southwest course. Columbus wanted to reach the latitude
where the
winds blew from the east to west. In the Canary Islands to the west of Morocco,
Columbus
restocked his ships with water and meat. Then he gave his crew the course 'West; nothing
to the
east, nothing to the south.' Then the great voyage of finding Asia to the west had begun.
Columbus and his crew of about 90 sailors, many of whom were teenagers had a
long
difficult voyage. The conditions were rough, cooking was done on the ship's deck and
only a few
officers had bunks. Nor did the low pay they received- about $10 a month- make the
sailors any
happier.
As the voyage went on, the crew started to worry, grow nervous. Many began to
fear that
they would never ever see Spain again. So to calm the sailors Columbus made up a false
record,
which showed less than it really was. Columbus kept the true record to himself, but this
still didn't
calm any of the sailors any little bit. But on October 10 after ten weeks of sailing the
crew of
sailors wanted to turn back, and head for Spain. But Columbus persuaded the crew to sail
west
for three more days. And on October 12, 1492 the look out on the Pinta sighted land.
No one is positivily sure where Columbus landed, some say it may have been
Samana Cay,
a tiny island in the Bahamas. Columbus named this particular island San Salvador. Here
on this
island Columbus saw nobody wearing fine silks or jewels, but instead saw simple people
living in
simple grass huts barely wearing anything.
Believing in an error that the golden-roofed palaces of Japan were nearby
Columbus went
through the islands of the Carribean Sea, but found no clue of any of these palaces of
gold were
anywhere to be seen. He did although find beautiful lands where there were beautiful
birds and
trees and mines of metals and there was a population of calculable number. The people
had no
weapons and thought that Columbus fell from the sky.
Columbus however did find gold on the island of Hispaniola to convince himself
he had
reached Asia. He didn't realize he discovered a new country, continents even! But he did
sail back
to Spain and say he reached Asia. So he convinced King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella to
let
himgo back to his Asia.
Even though Columbus never reached Asia, he did take a small step towards the
growth
of a country. So we owe alot to Henry the Navigator and Christopher Columbus.
Bibliography
1. Roberts, J.M. History of the World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.
2. Boorstin, Daniel. The Discovers. New York: Random House, 1983.
3. Mason, Lorna C., Jacobs, William, Ludlum, Robert. History of the United States.
Boston:
Houghton Mifflin Company, 1992.
4.Fritz, Jean, Patterson, Katherine, McKissack Patricia and Fredrick, Mahy, Margaret,
Highwater,
Jamake. The World in 1492. New York: Fitzhenry " Whiteside Ltd... 1992
5. 'Portugal,' World Book Encyclopedia. 1989, Vol 15 pp 697-698.
6. 'Spain,' World Book Encyclopedia. 1989, Vol 18 pp 747.
I. Italy's Role
A. Marco Polo
1. Gives Italy trading rights to Asia
2. Italy has monopoly on trade
II. Portugal's Role
A. Prince Henry
1. Starts search for route to Asia
B. Bartholomeu Dias
1. Gets to Cape of Good Hope
C. Vasco da Gama
1. Finds water route to India
III. Spain's Role
A. Christopher Columbus
1. Heads west for Asia
2. Discovers America
Keywords:
after marco polo returned with golds silvers sorts treasures spices need trade with east
unbearable practiclly every european europe trying find ways asia india trade riches east
marco polo traveled asia land this took time money because long journey they needed
food large caravans needed willing head towards asia this caused some countries able
trade with since marco polo italian italians thought that they monopoly trading east genao
venice were city states that were able trading from many these italian traders never left
italy because muslims from afar came italy riches traded italians italians never really left
italy persuaded muslims only themso then really only countryable they have monopoly
trading this angered rest europe because much much more treasures than other countries
europe started find ways country that search routes portugal since portugal power grown
decline feudalism were very interested finding route early prince henry king portugal
third tried find ocean bazaar idea time many people believed seas boiled equator would
blood manwho tried cross also people believed there monsters over oceans ready atack
innocent ships tried didn stop prince henry prince henry wanted route hoped water route
would stop monopolization could also help make rich powerful navy would help defeat
muslim forces north africa true christian wanted spread christianity beyond borders other
cities being child born renaissance wanted learn much could about oceans lands beyond
them began sending ships south from along african coast sail expeditions himself
sponsore each every expedition then became known navigator seaside castle invited
geographers astronomers mapmakers sailors each these people reviewed each every
expetions these then draw charts reports expeditions allow expetion after little farther
than before none skilled other europeans thought africa huge expedition needed brave
bold keep exploration alive sailors aided improvements their navigating ever since sailors
have been able tell where compasses even tihs instrument neededto know where their
location oceans scientists deviseda stars know where called celestial navigation
navigating stars scientists also rediscovered astrolabe navigational device used ancient
greeks farther increase chances finding henryalso design ship called caravel caravel
doubled rigged ship triangular sails allowed sail into wind squares sails ship could sail
wind back real confidence builder home matter what direction wind blowing portuguese
ships continued going southward along coast africa learned vast rich kingdom west
centuries extraordinary kingdoms sonhai benin kongo mali been muslims timbuktu center
between kingdomsand north timbuktu africans exchanged bronze work benin gold cotton
mali salt cloth copper northern area timbuktu university african came study mathematics
religion portuguese found west coast africawere willing them first portuguese traded only
gold ivory early started slaves some africans made slaves prisoners which used
themselves traded sold slaves arabs took sold expeditions kingdom benin brought back
pepper cotton cloth ivory african hoped sale help some cheap labor farms time death
almost brought countries followed into died before first sailing expedition crossed
equator bartholomeu dias sailed around kingof hoped dias founda indes king named cape
good hope another explorer vasco gama filled hope king finding water gama followed
dias around cape good hope headed north along eastern gama sailed across indian ocean
until reached india finally found water predicted immense treasures proved true
gamasailed home shipload spices silks jewels worth times exspense voyage transporting
goods cost less than long overland voyages using caravans pack animals italian
merchants bought goods traders traveled land therefore merchants sell their goods
cheapier became leader rich eastern early lisbon capital became richest port soon
however spain european challenge lead eastern tries named christopher columbus heads
spain funding trip west reach indes christopher columbus grew city state genoa although
father grandfather wool weavers columbus always drawn city busy waterfront youthful
began going voyages such voyage change destiny when sunk hostile fleet survived
holding swimming shore once land headed brother house lisbon brother worked
mapmaker lisbon acquired information lead across atlantic ocean learned business
mapmaking brother taught himself read write spanish learned latin language most books
among books read works ptolemy mathematician geographer ancient greece read travels
tales wealth wonders intrigued imagination particulary excited about description japan
which based hearsay rumor many apartmanets have small tables pure gold considerable
thickness claimed entire roof sovereign palace covered pure landed best place learn about
navigation navigational knowledge state secret married captain daughter sort security
clearance studied until dropped those charts maps father those advances exploration
christopher practical skills deep navigation sailed south fleets guinea during voyage
gained experience sailing caravel winter winds blew facts standing before queen spain
ferdinand queen isabella monarchs interested ieda reach unlike monarchs spanish
monarchs might bring both wealth jump queen isabella thought duty spread christianity
throughout rest world right ferdinand isabella fighting expel moors granada last
stronghold struggle back called reconquista which spanish reconquest rconquista
occupied ferdinand ancestorsfor over years winning country finally after years waiting
when gotten entirely christian ready consider dream summoned ready france offer
assistance them dicuss negotiations proved hard bargainer insisted promoted nobility
given coat arms demanded right rule lands claimed conquered asked percent wealth those
lands grand title admiral finally three months agreed demanded going command told
discover subdue islands continent just reasonable exspose yourself danger serve should
rewarded confidence bright energy assembled port palos dawn august three nina pinta
santa maria left harbor southwest course reach latitude winds blew canary islands
morocco restocked meat gave crew course nothing nothing south great begun crew whom
teenagers long difficult conditions rough cooking done deck officers bunks received
month make happier went crew started worry grow nervous began fear never ever again
calm made false record showed less really kept true record himself still didn calm little
october weeks sailing turn head persuaded three more days october look pinta sighted
positivily sure landed been samana tiny island bahamas named particular island salvador
here island nobody wearing fine silks jewels instead simple living simple grass huts
barely wearing anything believing error golden roofed palaces japan nearby went through
islands carribean found clue palaces anywhere seen although beautiful there beautiful
birds trees mines metals there population calculable number weapons fell however
hispaniola convince reached didn realize discovered country continents even reached
convinced himgo even though take small step towards growth alot navigator bibliography
roberts history world york oxford university press boorstin daniel discovers york random
house mason lorna jacobs william ludlum robert history united states boston houghton
mifflin company fritz jean patterson katherine mckissack patricia fredrick mahy margaret
highwater jamake world york fitzhenry whiteside book encyclopedia book encyclopedia
role gives rights monopoly role starts search bartholomeu gets cape good vasco finds
india role heads discovers america
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