Download WORLD HISTORY Age of Discovery and Expansion

WORLD HISTORY
Greer
AGE OF DISCOVERY AND EXPANSION
APPLICABLE GEORGIA STANDARD(S):
SSWH10 The student will analyze the impact of the age of discovery and expansion into the Americas,
Africa, and Asia.
a. Explain the roles of explorers and conquistadors; include Zheng He, Vasco da Gama, Christopher
Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, James Cook, and Samuel de Champlain.
b. Define the Columbian Exchange and its global economic and cultural impact.
c. Explain the role of improved technology in European exploration; include the astrolabe.
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Renaissance Thinking Led to the Age of Exploration
 Curiosity & desire to learn new things
 Europeans began to look outside their own borders
o Crusades proved a strong stimulus for trade
Marco Polo Traveled the Silk Road for Over 24 Years
 Italian trader/merchant/explorer who ventured all over China
 Guest of the court of Mongol emperor Kublai Khan
 Marco Polo wrote extensively about his travels
o Described the wealth and luxury of Chinese society
o Urged Europeans to try and find a quicker route to China
The Great Silk Road and Trade Out of the “Far East”
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Chinese Explorers Navigated the Indian Ocean a Century Before the Europeans
 1405-1433 – Chinese admiral Zheng He made a seven naval expeditions, sponsored by Ming emperor
 Made stops in Indian, Ceylon, and Arabia
 Purpose was not trade, just exploration
 Ships were much larger than later European sailing ships
 Emperor who had sponsored the expeditions died; successor saw no value in them
o Some evidence that Zheng He explored coastal lands in the Americas
Age of Exploration in Europe Began With Christopher Columbus
 Italian sea captain who could not find sponsorship in Italy or Portugal
 1492 – Columbus obtained sponsorship from King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain
 Columbus sought a quicker route, more direct route to the “East” (India) by sailing west
o Miscalculated the circumference of the world
 Sailed with his 3 ships: Nina, Pinta, and Santa Maria
o Reached what is now the Bahamas after 33 days at sea
o Believed he had reached “the Indies”
 Referred to native peoples he encountered as “Indians”
 Columbus made three more voyages, but never found a quicker sea route to India
Trade Rivalry Developed Between Spain and Portugal
 Both nations were eager to claim new lands and increase trade partners
 Sought to trade finished goods and obtain raw materials they could not obtain locally
 Rulers of Spain and Portugal also sought to obtain converts to Roman Catholic Christianity
NOTABLE EUROPEAN EXPLORERS
Vasco da Gama
 1497 – Portuguese explorer who led a fleet around the Cape of Good Hope (southern tip of Africa)
 Sailed across Indian Ocean to southern India
 First European to reach India by sea
Amerigo Vespucci
 Made expeditions financed by both Spain (1499) and Portugal (1501)
 Explored coast of present-day South America
 The “Americas” were named for him as an honor
Ferdinand Magellan
 Portuguese sailor sponsored by Spain
 1519 - Led first voyage to circumnavigate (completely circle) the globe
 Sailed west around the tip of South America (Cape Horn) into the Pacific Ocean
 Died in the Battle of Mactan in the Philippine Islands
 His crew sailed on to complete the journey
 Magellan’s voyage proved that Asia was much farther west of Europe than had previously been thought
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Magellan’s Crew Was the First the Circumnavigate the Globe
John Cabot
 Italian who sailed under English sponsorship in search of the “Northwest Passage” to the East
o Mythical route from Europe that went from North Sea through Canada
 Thought to be first European to set foot on North American mainland since Viking Leif Erickson
Samuel de Champlain
 French navigator who opened North America to French trade; especially fur
 Never found the “Northwest Passage” he sought
 Known as “Father of New France”
o Did most of his exploring around modern-day Quebec (Canada)
James Cook
 English explorer and cartographer (map-maker)
 Credited with “discovering” Australia and Hawaii
Advances in Exploration Made Easier With New Technology
 Astrolabe: perfected by Muslims in the 800s
o Designed to use the position of the stars for determining location on earth
 Compass: used at sea to determine direction by using the Earth’s magnetic force
 Telescopes and sextants: Used by navigators to help chart their courses
 Ships were better built and able to weather rough ocean storms and sail in little wind
o Caravel was the most common type of deep-water sailing ship
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SPANISH CONQUISTADORS (CONQUERORS) CLAIMED PARTS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH
AMERICAN FOR THE SPANISH CROWN
Not All Expeditions Were for the Sole Purpose of Exploring New Lands
 Some explorers were more interested in obtaining riches for their rulers (and thus, themselves)
 Many of these explorers were Spaniards, who were called conquistadors
Hernan Cortes
 Spanish conquistador who overthrew the Aztec chief, Moctezuma (Montezuma)
o Took control of the Aztec (Mexican) empire
o Moctezuma had originally welcomed Cortes as a returning god (Quetzalcoatl)
o C. 1518 - Cortes made allies of Moctezuma’s enemies and used them to take Moctezuma’s
empire
Francisco Pizarro
 Conquered in Inca empire (present-day Peru)
 Both Cortes and Pizarro sent tons of gold and silver back to Spain
COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE
Arrival of Europeans Had Damaging Effects on Native American (Indian) Populations
 However, both the “Old World” (Europe) and the “New World” (the Americas) benefitted from the
interaction of civilizations
 This exchange of plants and animals is called the “Columbian Exchange”
o “Columbian” refers to the arrival of Christopher Columbus
o New foods crossed the Atlantic, resulting in a greater and healthier population in Europe
o New animals appeared on European and American shores
 Food supplies increased and new products (e.g. wool)
 New animals meant different methods of transportation and work (horses are the best example)
 Diseases were also exchanged
o Native American populations had no natural immunities to European diseases (and vice versa)
 E.g. measles, smallpox
Exploration Led to Colonization in the New World
 Europeans were hungry for land and opportunities
 Colonization led to acquisition of goods and raw materials
o This, in turn, led to an increase in trade between European countries
o Mercantilism arose, as a result of this increase in trade
 Economic system based on belief that national wealth could best be obtained by
increasing your country’s exports and getting (gold & silver) in return
 Colonies were an important part of the theory of mercantilism
 The provided raw materials that could be turned into finished goods
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Trade Between the Colonies and Europe Led to Triangular Trade
 Rum, cotton, and sugar were sent from New England to Europe
o In turn, manufactured goods (textiles, guns, etc.) were sent to Africa, in exchange for slaves,
which were sent to the Americas
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EFFECTS OF NEW WORLD COLONIZATION
Many Effects of New World Colonization are Still Apparent, Today
 Numerous cultural impacts
o French is considered an official language of Canada (and can be heard in New Orleans,
Louisiana)
o English is spoken throughout the United States (heavy Spanish influence in southern USA)
o Spanish/Portuguese influence in Central and South America
o Most of Central and South America is Roman Catholic
 So are parts of Florida, Texas, and California
 Architecture and law heavily influenced by English common law and Roman-based French laws
The Impact of New World Colonization on Europe Was Also Significant
 Spain ultimately suffered from its colonization efforts
o Large amounts of gold & silver shipped back from Central & South America devalued its
money, caused inflation, and damaged its economy
 England and France became wealthier countries
o They shipped luxury goods such as fur, tobacco, and chocolate back to Europe
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TERMS TO KNOW:
Crusades
Astrolabe
Colonies
Marco Polo
compass
slaves
Silk Road
exports
Triangular Trade
Columbian Exchange
raw materials
mercantilism
finished goods
ASSIGNMENT #26
INSTRUCTIONS: Read the following article and write a two paragraph response to it.
The Columbian Exchange - Why Should I Care?
The Columbian Exchange: It's a relatively obscure concept, developed by a relatively obscure historian. Most
people have never even heard of it. Its definition—the transmission of non-native plants, animals, and diseases
from Europe to the Americas, and vice versa, after 1492—doesn't sound very sexy. And yet the Columbian
Exchange just may be the single most important event in the modern history of the world.
The Columbian Exchange explains why Indian nations collapsed and European colonies thrived after
Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492.
The Columbian Exchange explains why European nations quickly became the wealthiest and most powerful in
the world.
The Columbian Exchange explains why Africans were sold into slavery on the far side of the ocean to toil in
fields of tobacco, sugar, and cotton.
The Columbian Exchange even explains why pasta marinara has tomato sauce.
If you don't understand the Columbian Exchange, you cannot truly understand the forces that shape the world
we live in today. You cannot understand why you speak the language you speak, why you live in the nation you
live in, or even why you eat the food you eat.
If you don't understand the Columbian Exchange, much of what you think you know about the history of the
Americas may be wrong. Spanish soldiers did less to defeat the Incas and Aztecs than smallpox did. Divine
Providence did less to bless the Puritan settlers of the Mayflower with good health and fortune than the
Pilgrims' own immune systems did.
In the Columbian Exchange, ecology became destiny. Powerful environmental forces, understood by no one
alive at the time and by very few people even today, determined who would thrive and who would die. And that
may be the most shocking truth revealed to those who take the time to understand the Columbian Exchange: we,
as humans, cannot always control our own destinies. The most important historical actors in this story are not
Christopher Columbus or Moctezuma or Hernán Cortés. They are the smallpox virus, the pig, the potato, and
the kernel of corn.
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