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History (5.1.14)
OBJECTIVE
The students will know:
1.
Know how Portugal and Spain took the initiative in this
search for new routes.
2.
Learn the reasons for the Portuguese overseas empire
not lasting long.
3.
Be familiar with the Spanish colonies of South America
and Mexico.
SUMMARY
THE Islamic global order which revolved round the Indian
Ocean for a long time was replaced by the Christian global
order by the end of the Era of Discovery. The region from
East Africa and Ethiopia to Arabia, the Yemen, Persia, India
and the Indonesian archipelago, had been under the aegis
of Islam. It was a world economy in and around the Indian
Ocean with India at its centre and the Middle East and
China as its two dynamic poles. Portuguese and Spanish
adventurers wanted to open a new route for the age old
trade by exploring the sea. This venture ultimately led to
the discovery of the West Indies and finally of America.
With the discovery of America by Columbus and the sea
route to India by Vasco da Gama, both in the last decade
of the 15th century, a new world system was born.
These developments provide hints about the dual nature of
the new age – that it was increasingly an age of truly world
history and that it was one whose success story was
dominated by the astonishing success of one civilization,that of Europe. Europeans eventually became masters of
the globe. Western civilization came to the Portuguese and
Spanish colonies as a pre-modern Catholic civilization while
the Dutch and the English colonies of a later period
signified mercantile capitalism and rationalist ideologies
with a milder dose of Christianity.
GLOSSARY
Age of Discovery – A period in European history from
early fifteenth to early seventeenth century, during which
intensive
exploration
of
the
world
was
undertaken
establishing contacts with Africa, the Americas, Asia and
Oceania; pioneered by the Portuguese and Spanish; led to
mapping of the world.
Albuquerque’s navicert - A type of monopolistic system
in
which
trade
with
certain
ports
and
commodities
(especially spices) was permitted only on the basis of a
license issued by the Portuguese to the merchants, in lieu
of payment.
Zamorin – A title used by the Hindu rulers of Kozhikode
(present day Kerala), who were close allies of the Arab
traders ; Kozhikode or Calicut was the most important
trading port on the Malabar coast.
Plantation crops – Crops such as tea, cotton, sugar,
tobacco or other commercial crops which are cultivated in
large estates.
Henry the Navigator – The Portuguese Prince,(13941460), who established the first navigational school in the
world and planned the circumnavigation of Africa.
Francisco Pizarro Gonzalez (1476-1541) – Spanish
conquistadore,
conqueror
of
the
Incan
Empire;
first
European to cross the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and
view the Pacific Coast of the New World.
Vasco da Gama (1469-1524) – One of the most
successful
explorers
in
the
Age
of
Discovery;
the
Portuguese commander of the first ships to sail directly
from Europe to India in 1498.
Hernan
Cortez
(1485-1547)
–
The
Spanish
conquistadore who caused the fall of the Aztecs and
brought a large portion of Mexico under the rule of the
King of Castile; was the governor, captain-general and
chief justice of New Spain.
Enlightenment
–
The
European
movement,
which
stressed tolerance, reasonableness, common sense, and
the encouragement of science and technology.
Rationality
–
The
idea
of
the
great
17th
century
‘Rationalists’ like Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz, who
believed that the general nature of the world could be
established
by
wholly
non-empirical
demonstrative
reasoning.
QUIZ Complete
1.
Which power captured Constantinople in the 15th
century?
a.
The Arabs
b.
The Turks
c.
The Mongols
2. Where did Columbus land in his quest for India?
a.
America
b.
India
c.
West Indies
3. What was the most lucrative item of Portuguese trade
in Morocco?
a.
Slaves
b.
Gold
c.
Corn
4. What was the most important item of Spanish trade
from Peru?
a.
b.
c.
Gold
Silver
Diamonds
5. Who sent the first expedition to circumnavigate Africa?
a.
The king of England
b.
The king of France
c.
Henry the Navigator
6. Hispaniola is a
a.
Caribbean island
b.
Pacific island
c.
South American region
7. The greatest colonial power in the 15th century was
a.
England
b.
France
c.
Portugal
8. Which power replaced the Portuguese in the East?
a.
The Dutch
b.
The French
c.
The Spaniards
9. Pizarro is credited with defeating the
a.
Aztecs
b.
Incas
c.
Red Indians
10.
Which place was called ‘New Spain’?
a.
Brazil
b.
Mexico
c.
Peru
FAQ
1.
What were the two important events that changed the
course of European history in the 15th century?
The two important events which changed the course of
European history were, the capture of Constantinople by
the Turks and the control of the Guinea coast of Africa by
the Portuguese.
2.
What was the nature of the Annales school of thought?
The Annales movement was distinctive for its stance
against the established empiric school of thought. Instead
of focusing on politics and individuals the historians of the
Annales school focused on social groupings, collective
mindsets and long term changes. They preferred to rely on
a wide range of sources including folklore and literature
and
did
not
confine
themselves
merely
to
primary
helped
Portugal
documents.
3.
What
were
the
factors
that
expanding to other regions overseas?
in
Portugal possessed a long seaboard, a considerable fishing
and seafaring population and a powerful commercial class
largely emancipated from feudal interference. Portugal
shippers were also eager to shift from an Atlantic trade, to
a more lucrative trade in gold, spices and slaves.
4.
Why was the control of Gibraltar so important for the
Portuguese?
The control of Gibraltar was important for the Portuguese
because it was located at a point from which ships could go
from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, and so would
enable them to stop the Arab incursion into those areas.
5.
What was the pattern of world trade in the 16th
century?
Sixteenth century world trade had a triangular pattern.
Manufactured products were brought from Europe to
Africa. African slaves were taken to the Americas and
plantation crops were brought from the Americas to
Europe.
6.
Why was Henry the Navigator so keen to send
expeditions to circumnavigate Africa?
Henry the Navigator wanted to circumnavigate Africa for
two reasons. One was to find the source of African gold
and the other was to encircle the area dominated by
Islamic forces.
7.
What was the significance of the opening of the sea
route to India for the Portuguese?
The opening of the sea route to India, enabled the
Portuguese with their superior guns to disrupt Arab trade
in the Indian Ocean and establish their dominance there,
and to force trading concessions from the rulers of the
coastal areas of Africa and India, and to establish a sort of
monopoly over the trade between Europe and the East
which had been dominated by the Muslim merchants.
8.
What was the advantage of the English East India
Company over the similar companies of other European
states?
The English East India Company was a private commercial
organization whereas the similar companies of most of the
other states were government controlled ones. So the
English East India Company was free to take its own
decisions while others such as the Portuguese or French
companies had to wait for decisions to come from the
government authorities back in Europe.
9.
How did the Portuguese strengthen their authority in
the newly acquired territories?
Since the Portuguese did not have enough men for
defence, they constructed forts and garrisons, which could
save them from native opposition. In all the ports held by
the Portuguese, the fortress areas containing dockyards
and warehouses, barracks and living quarters were set
apart. They also had a naval force to protect themselves.
10. What were the motivations for the Spaniards to go to
America?
The Spaniards initially went to America for private profit
and
national
wealth,
rather
than
as
explorers
and
missionaries. After failing to find a route to the East for the
lucrative
spice
trade
they
turned
their
attention
to
whatever was available in the New World. The lures of
landed estates, opportunities for stock raising and of
course for precious metals, motivated them to venture
forth.
ASSIGNMENTS
1.
Do you agree that the world order changed its shape
in the 15th and 16th centuries A.D.?
2.
What was the importance of the fall of Constantinople?
How did it affect the Eastern and Western halves of
Europe?
3.
Discuss the part played by geography and technology
in the European exploration of the world. Why did the
Islamic forces fail to resist the Europeans?
4.
What are the main reasons behind Portuguese success
in India and the Far East? Why did the Portuguese Empire
in the East collapse?
5.
Narrate in brief the history of Spanish explorations.
What were its consequences?
REFERENCE
1.
D. L. Weidner – The History of Africa : South of
Sahara.
2.
Sir Reginald Coupland – The Exploration of East Africa.
(1968 Faber and Faber)
3.
D. Macpherson – History of the European Commerce
with India.
4.
F. G. Danvers – History of the Portuguese in India, 2
volumes.
5.
W. Milburn – Oriental Commerce, 2 volumes.(1999
Kessinger Publishing)
6.
R.S. Whiteway – Rise of the Portuguese Power in
India, 1497-1550. (Westminster Constable)
7.
R. B. Merriman – The Rise of the Spanish Empire. (
Cooper Square Publishers Inc. 1962)
8.
E. J. Payne – History of the New World called America.
( Oxford 1899)
9.
J. Fiske – The Discovery of America. ( 1992 Reprint
Services Corp )
10. B. Penrose – Travel and Discovery in the Renaissance,
1420 – 1620.
(Holiday House 1955)