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What was the Age of Exploration? When : It was a period from the 15th century (1400s) to the 17th century (1600s). Where: Europeans explored the world by ocean. Europe turned its attention away from trade in the Mediterranean Sea and zoomed in on trade with the Americas and trade on the Atlantic Ocean. What: Originally, Europeans were searching for a sea route to Asia. They were looking for trading partners and particular trade goods, especially valuable spices. Who: The giants were Columbus and Magellan. Columbus sailed to two continents that were unknown to the Europeans: North and South America. He was the first to establish a permanent relationship between Europe and the Americas. He launched the Columbian Exchange - the trading of goods between the two continents. The crops grown in the Americas (corn, tomatoes, potatoes) were unknown in Europe. Magellan was the first to circumnavigate the globe - that is, sail around the world. His voyage was the most dangerous of all. How: New technology in shipping made long-distance sailing possible. 1. The astrolabe - Thanks to the Arab world, navigators could determine the latitude. 2. The magnetic compass - Thanks to China, navigators could use the compass. 3. The Caravel - Thanks to Portugal, this new ship could leave the calm Mediterranean Sea and sail out into the dangerous Atlantic Ocean. Why: To get to Asia! During the Middle Ages, the Europeans traded along the Silk Road. They bought wonderful stuff from China and the rest of Asia. The spices, the silks, and the inventions were incredible. In 1453, the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople. From then on, the land route to Asia was closed. So Europeans tried to find a sea route to Asia. In 1492, Columbus sailed to Asia. From Europe, he sailed west across the Atlantic. Instead of running into Asia, he ran into two unknown continents - North and South America. The Causes Trade with Asia -Silks & Spices Europeans wanted to trade with Asia, especially India and China. They wanted silks and spices. Since the Middle Ages, they had been trading with Asia along the Silk Road. During the Age of Exploration, the Europeans sailed to other continents. Why? Land route closed -Silk Road closed - In 1453, the Silk Road came to a screeching halt for European traders. The Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople. From then on, the land route to Asia was closed to the Europeans. So Europeans tried to find a sea route to Asia. Sea route possible -Technology - the Europeans could make ocean voyages. 1. The caravel ship 2. The magnetic compass 3. The astrolabe determined latitude. The Results What were the results of the Age of Exploration? Europe Americas Africa -The Atlantic trade -Columbian Exchange -The Atlantic Slave Trade From then on, Europe focused on trade across the Atlantic. Trade between Europe and the Americas. The Caribbean became a major trading hub. The Europeans enslaved Africans to work in the Americas. -Epidemics The Portuguese launched the slave trade. -Atlantic Ocean -- Spain controlled this ocean. -Treaty of Tordesillas In 1494, the pope gave Latin America to Spain; Brazil, Africa and Asia to Portugal. -Cartography Mapmakers made new maps! Native peoples died of European diseases, like smallpox. -Cultural change Spain imposed its language, religion, culture, politics, (and forced labor) on its subjects. The World -Imperialism The European powers carved up Asia, Africa, and the Americas. -Colonialism Each had an empire of colonies & adopted the culture of the mother country. The Commercial Revolution --- Mercantilism The majority of slaves were sent to suga plantations in Brazil and the Caribbean. Asia -Trading posts The Portuguese set up trading posts in Africa and Asia. Later, the Europeans set up colonies: British in India. French and Dutch in Southeast Asia. The Columbian Exchange greatly affected almost every society on earth, bringing destructive diseases that depopulated many cultures, and also circulating a wide variety of new crops and livestock that, in the long term, increased rather than diminished the world human population. This exchange of plants and animals transformed European, American, African, and Asian ways of life. Foods that had never been seen before by people became staples of their diets, as new growing regions opened up for crops. For example, before AD 1000, potatoes were not grown outside of South America. By the 1840s, Ireland was so dependent on the potato that a diseased crop led to the devastating Irish Potato Famine. The first European import, the horse, changed the lives of many Native American tribes on the Great Plains, allowing them to shift to a nomadic lifestyle based on hunting bison on horseback. Tomato sauce, made from New World tomatoes, became an Italian trademark, while coffee from Africa and sugar cane from Asia became the main crops of extensive Latin American plantations. Also the chili / Paprika from South America was introduced in India by the Portuguese and it is today an inseparable part of Indian cuisine. Before the Columbian Exchange, there were no oranges in Florida, no bananas in Ecuador, no paprika in Hungary, no tomatoes in Italy, no pineapples in Hawaii, no rubber trees in Africa, no cattle in Texas, no burros in Mexico, no chili peppers in Thailand and India, no cigarettes in France and no chocolate in Switzerland. Even the dandelion was brought to America by Europeans for use as an herb. Before regular communication had been established between the two hemispheres, the varieties of domesticated animals and infectious diseases were strikingly larger in the Old World than in the New. This led, in part, to the devastating effects of Old World diseases on Native American populations. The smallpox epidemics probably resulted in the largest death toll for Native Americans. Scarcely any society on earth remained unaffected by this global ecological exchange.