Download Age of Exploration

AGE OF
EXPLORATION
The First Global Age
1500-1800
Intro: When the Black Death ended, the
population of Europe increased again,
The growing population wanted Asian
Goods, particularly SPICES (used to
keep foods from spoiling, to make
medicines and perfumes). During the
1400s, Muslim & Italian merchants
controlled the trade routes between
Asia and Europe. Europeans knew
direct trade w/Asia would make them
rich.
. . . So, they began to look for new routes
to Asia.
Essential Questions:
Analyze the causes of European
expansion from 1450 to 1750. Explain
the impact of the Columbian Exchange
on the Americas, Africa, & Europe.
Explain the impact of the Atlantic slave
trade on West Africa and the Americas.
Explain how the Inca and Aztec
empires were impacted by European
exploration/colonization.
What were the motives for exploration?
Three motives for exploration:
gold – opportunities for riches
God – religious zeal
glory – spirit of adventure
What technology made exploration possible?
Chinese rudder introduced in 12th century
Square sails replaced by triangular lateen sales
-- Work better with cross winds
• Navigational instruments: astrolabe,
cartographers, magnetic compass
• Knowledge of winds, currents
• The Volta do Mar
– “return through the sea”
•
•
Voyages to the Americas
• The Portuguese were the first successful
European explorers.
Who was the most important figure in the
History of Spanish Exploration?
• Christopher Columbus sails the Atlantic
Ocean in August 3, 1492 and lands in
Hispañola (an island in the Caribbean Sea)
in October 12, 1492.
• Others: Ferdinand Magellan, John Cabot,
Francisco Pizarro, Vasco de Gama
Page 408
A line of demarcation
Treaty of Tordesillas 1494:
established a line of demarcation
between territories controlled by
Portugal (east of the line) and Spain
(west of the line)
Why did Spanish explorers travel to the Americas?
Spanish explorers traveled to the Americas
to:
- find riches
- to convert people to Christianity
The Spanish conquer Mexico
Hernan Cortes landed on the coast of
Mexico in 1519
-- in 1521, Cortes conquers Tenochtitlan
• . . . With about 600 men, 16 horses, 6
canons and with the help of “la Malinche”
How did the Spanish conquer the Aztecs?
1- Superior technology; horses; Spanish
muskets & canons; metal helmets & armor
protected the Spanish from the Indians’
arrows & spears
2 – Native Americans allied w/the Spanish
3 – Disease wiped out the Indian population
Effects of European Exploration
How did European exploration lead to a
global exchange? What economic changes
occurred in Europe in 1500-1600s?
A global exchange of people, plants,
animals, ideas and technology began.
Since this exchange started w/Columbus,
it is called the Columbian Exchange.
From the Americas TO Europe, Africa, Asia:
• silver, gold
• dyes
• tobacco
• cotton
• beans
• peanut
• squash
• pumpkin
• turkey
• vanilla
• hides
• potatoes* (Peru)
• sweet potato
• Cacao beans
• maize (corn)
• tomato
• pineapple
• chili pepper
• avocado
From Europe, Africa, Asia TO the Americas :
• wheat, rice,
barley, oats,
coffee
• banana
• onion
• grape (wine)
• dandelion
• citrus fruits
• sugar cane
• cattle, horse, goat,
sheep, chicken,
cat, dog, goose,
rabbit, pig
• honey bee
• smallpox,
influenza,
malaria, measles
• hoe, scissors
Economic Impact and Competion
The increase of trade w/colonies
encouraged European capitalism:
-- investment of $$$
* European nations adopted a new policy:
mercantilism: dominated economic
thought in the 17th century; the
prosperity of a nation depended on a
large supply of gold and silver – mother
country benefited from the colonies’ $;
colonies were used to support mother
country w/ raw materials & to buy its
goods
European trading posts in
Africa and Asia, about 1700
The Spice Trade
Why were Europeans and Muslims traders so
interested in Southeast Asia?
* the growing spice trade resulted in the
creation of an Islamic trade network
*the Moluccas -- Spice Islands
* 1600 – the Dutch begins to control the
spice trade by limiting the cultivation of
clove to one island and stop others from
growing it
* spices: clove, pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg
From Mining to Plantation Agriculture
• Tainos occasionally rebel, but outgunned by
Spanish military technology
• Smallpox epidemics begin 1518
– Spaniards launch raids to kidnap and replace
workers, spread disease further
– Taino society disappears by middle of 16th
century
•Limited gold production causes new interest
in exploiting Caribbean for sugarcane
production *** Requires massive importation
of slaves: The Slave Trade
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The Triangular TradePage 416
* The triangular trade marked the
emergence of a new world economy
(connected Europe, Africa, the Americas;
manufactured goods from Europe were
sent to Africa, where they were
exchanged for slaves, who were sent to
the Americas, where they were exchanged
for raw materials that were then sent to
Europe)
African slaves were shipped to Brazil and
the Caribbean to work on the plantations
(sugar plantations)
The journey of slaves from Africa to
America was called the “middle passage”
(the middle portion of the triangular
trade)
Atlantic slave trade caused many cultures in
Africa to lose their fittest members and
families were torn apart.
Remaking the Americas
- Spanish introduced new forms of gov’t,
religion, economy, and culture to the
Americas; New social structures developed
- Spain kept strict control over their colonies;
Catholic Church helped run the gov’t; Indians
were converted to Christianity
- Encomienda: grants of land given to the
Spaniards where Indians were used as slave
labor.
- Indians were forced to work on sugar
plantations since sugarcane became a large
business
- Spanish brought slaves from Africa to do the
work since many Indians were dying
Conquest of Peru
• Francisco Pizarro and 600 men bring down
Inca empire in Peru (1532-1533)
Mining in the Spanish Empire
• Hunt for gold and silver
– Conquistadores loot Aztec, Inca treasures and
melt them down for their value as raw
precious metals
• Gold not extensive in Spanish holdings, but silver
relatively plentiful
– Extensive employment of natives
• Incan mita system of conscripted labor
• Dangerous working conditions
– Eventually assimilate into Spanish culture
• 1/5 reserved for crown (quinta), hugely
profitable
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