Download Exploration and Expansion

Exploration and
Expansion
Foundations of Exploration
• The ideas of the Renaissance
(humanism, scientific discovery, etc.)
led Europeans to begin exploring new
lands or finding new routes to places
already known.
Why Explore?
• 1) Increased wealth – easier access to
Asian goods like spices and silk.
• 2) Fame and glory
• 3) Spread religion – both Catholic and
Protestant
• 4) Curiosity – many explorers wanted to
know what was out there.
New Technology
• 1) The compass
and astrolabe
come to Europe –
allowed sailors to
plot courses even
when they could
not see land.
New Technology
• 2) Improvements in ship
building
– Caravel – a ship that was
very light and fast.
Guided by a rudder and
used triangular sails to
catch wind from any
direction. Caravels could
also be equipped with
weapons.
The Portuguese
• Portugal was the first country to launch large scale
explorations
• Henry the Navigator – son of King John I of Portugal
was himself not an explorer, but he supported those
who wanted to explore.
• Henry worked to improve mapmaking, sent explorers
to the western coast of Africa, and encouraged the
finding of a water route around Africa to India
The Portuguese
• In 1488 Bartolomeu Dias became the first
European to sail around the southern tip of
Africa
• In 1497 Vasco da Gama reached India. This
excited the Portuguese who then sent Pedro
Cabral who on his way back to Portugal saw
and claimed the land that would later become
Brazil
The Spanish
• Spain was eager to find new trade
routes as well.
• In 1492 King Ferdinand and Queen
Isabella agreed to send Italian sailor
Christopher Columbus west. Columbus
believed by sailing west he would reach
China
The Spanish
• After reaching the Caribbean (which he
mistook for Asia) Columbus returned as a
hero in 1493.
• Columbus made 3 additional voyages but it
was not until 1502 that explorer Amerigo
Vespucci concluded that Columbus had in
fact discovered a new continent.
The Spanish
• In 1513 Vasco Nunez de Balboa led an
expedition across Panama becoming
the first European to see the Pacific
Ocean. This proved to the Spanish that
to get to Asia they would need to cross
yet another ocean.
The Spanish
• In 1519 Ferdinand Magellan left Spain with
five ships and 250 men. After months at
sea Magellan reached the Philippines where
Magellan was killed in a battle with natives.
The survivors sailed on and in 1522 18
survivors arrived in Spain, becoming the first
explorers to circumnavigate the world.
The English
• In 1497 John Cabot sailed from England to the
Atlantic coast of what is now Canada. Cabot also
thought that he had reached Asia
• Sir Francis Drake was sent to round the tip of South
America and explore the western coast. Drake
stopped in what is now California and began to sail
north to seek a route around North America. When
he was unsuccessful he headed west and became
the second person to circumnavigate the world.
The English
• In 1607 Henry Hudson set out to find a
shorter route to Asia by sailing north.
He searched for the northwest passage
but found only ice. Though he was
unsuccessful in finding a passage
through the north he did explore parts of
modern day New York and Canada
The French
• In 1534 Jacques Cartier sailed past the
island of Newfoundland (Canada) into
the St. Lawrence River. He too was
looking for the Northwest Passage to
Asia.
The Colombian Exchange
• The term Colombian Exchange
describes the movement of goods,
plants, animals, people, and diseases
between the “New World” and the “Old
World”
Effects of the Colombian
Exchange
• 1) Crops such as corn and potatoes
became essential to the diets of people
around the world
• 2) These foods also allowed Europeans
and others to live longer
• 3) Traditional cuisine changed: Italians
finally had tomatoes for their pizzas
Effects of the Colombian
Exchange
• 4) European diseases such as malaria
and small pox wiped out huge portions
of the New World population. This
made it possible for European nations
to conquer the Aztecs, Incas, etc.
Mercantilism
• Mercantilism – the belief that a nation’s
strength depended on its wealth. In
order to become wealthy many nations
believed they must take wealth away
from other nations.
Mercantilism
• Basic Ideas of Mercantilism
– Nations need gold and silver for wealth
– There is a fixed amount of wealth in the world
– Must have a favorable balance of trade – sell more than you
buy by limiting imports and increasing exports
– A nation needs its own sources of raw materials to avoid
dependence on others
– Colonies exist so that the mother country can make a profit
– A country’s colonies should not trade with any other
countries.
Mercantilism
• Mercantilism led to a growth of large
cities and wealthy individuals
• Colonies were needed for raw materials
and so the race was on to colonize the
New World