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CHAPTER 14
EUROPE AND THE WORLD:
NEW ENCOUNTERS, 1500-1800
I. On the Brink of a New World; Medieval contact with other societies?
A. The Motives
1. Fantastic Lands; Travels of john Mandeville, Christian kingdoms
2. Economic Motives; travels of Marco Polo, Spices
3. Religious Zeal; Spain’s crusading mentality
B. The Means; centralized monarchs
1. Maps; Portolani, Ptolemy
2. Ships and Sailing; compass, astrolabe, wind patterns
II. New Horizons: The Portuguese and Spanish Empires
A. The Development of a Portuguese Maritime Empire; Prince Henry the Navigator, school of
navigation
1. The Portuguese in India; Dias, d agama, African exploration, forts, slave trade, spice
warfare, d’Albuquerque, Gao
2. In Search of Spices; Malacca, extent of Portuguese empire, reasons for success
B. Voyages to the New World
1. The Voyages of Columbus; Columbus’s idea, islands, failure of mission
2. New Voyages; Cabot, Cabral, Vespucci, Balboa, Magellan, Treaty of Tordesillas
C. The Spanish Empire in the New World; conquistadors, reasons for success
1. Early Civilizations in Mesoamerica; Maya and Aztec
2. Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire; Cortez, Tlaxcala, Moctezuma, Small pox,
building
3. The Inca; Cuzco, Pachukuti, Organization of empire
4. Spanish Conquest of the Inca Empire; Pizzaro, small pox, weapons, civil war
5. Administration of the Spanish Empire; encomienda, plantations, gold and silver mines,
brutality, death and disease rates, de las casa, viceroys, religion
III. New Rivals On the World Stage; Dutch, English and French
A. Africa: The Slave Trade; Boers
1. Origins of the Slave Trade; Sugar
2. Growth in the Slave Trade; triangular trade, numbers of people, countries involved,
middle passage, king Affonso of Congo, African Middle men
3. Effects the Slave Trade; economic, social, political, Benin
B. The West in Southeast Asia; Problems with Portugal, Spain in Philippines, Dutch
encroachment (economic, political and military) Dutch east India Company, Monarchs in the mainland,
C. The French and British in India
1. The Mughal Empire
2. The Impact of the Western Powers; British forts, French and English competition,
Robert Clive, Battle of Plassey, British east Indian Company
D. China
1. The Ming and Qing Dynasties
2. Western Inroads; Money, population growth, Russia, restrictions on British traders
E. Japan; Tokagawa Shogunate
1. Opening to the West; early trade and Christianity, expelling missionaries and traders,
Dutch in Nagasaki
F. The Americas; decline of Spain and Portugal
1. West Indies; French and British possessions
2. British North America; Spanish claims, Dutch claims, British colonies, navigation acts
3. French North America; French colonies, problems with colonization, seven years war,
Breaking into Spanish and Portuguese possessions
IV. Toward a World Economy
A. Economic Conditions in the Sixteenth Century; Price revolution, winners and losers, causes
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B. The Growth of Commercial Capitalism; Flourishing regions, joint-stock companies, other
areas of industry, Fuggers, bank of Amsterdam and Amsterdam exchange, peasants
C. Mercantilism, competition, state’s role, tariffs
D. Overseas Trade and Colonies: Movement Toward Globalization; Intra European trade, world
trade
V. The Impact of European Expansion
A. The Conquered; devastation, Multicultural Latin America, world ecology
1. Catholic Missionaries, rise and fall of Catholicism in Japan and China
B. The Conquerors; Columbian exchange, products from abroad, piracy, new world view,
Mercator Projection, Europe’s relationship with the rest of the world
Primary Source Documents
1. “The Portuguese Conquest of Malacca”: What justifications does Albuquerque give for the attack on
Malacca? Which justification might have been most important in the sixteenth century? Would the
Muslims have responded with the same justifications? Why or why not? What, if anything, has changed
by the twenty-first century? (page 384)
2. “Columbus Lands in the New World”: What evidence is there in Columbus’ comments that suggest
that his remarks were made mainly for public consumption and not just for the Spanish court? What
elements in society might have responded to his statements, and why? What does Columbus’ comments
about the Native Americans reveal about the “Indians” and about Columbus and his Europeans?
(page 385)
3. “The Spanish Conquistador: Cortés and the Conquest of Mexico”: What does Cortés focus on in his
description of an Aztec city? Does he have a self-interested motive in his description of Tonochtitlan and
the Aztecs? If so, what might it be? Why do you think he felt justified in overthrowing the Aztec Empire?
What were his several possible motives, and which might have been the most important? Why?
(page 388)
4. “Las Casas and the Spanish Treatment of the American Natives”: In what ways did this account help to
create the image of the Spaniards as “cruel and murderous fanatics”? What motives may have prompted
Las Casas to make this critique and how might his opinions affect the broader standing of Spain in global
politics of the era? Did his criticisms of early Spanish rule have any impact? If so, what? (page 390)
5. “The Atlantic Slave Trade”: Given the horrific realities of the slave trade, why were European
governments and public opinion so slow to respond its inhuman practices? What role did religion,
economics, race, and sheer ignorance play in ignoring the plight of the African slaves? How could any
human being justify or rationalize taking part in the slave trade? (page 393)
6. “West Meets East: An Exchange of Royal Letters”: What are Louis XIV’s motives in writing to the
King of Tonkin? Why does he not seem interested in the economic advantages of trade between France
and Tonkin? What does Louis’ letter say about Louis? What is the justification by the King of Tonkin for
refusing to receive Christian missionaries? Might he have unstated reasons? If so, what? (page 396)
7. “An Imperial Edict to the King of England”: What reasons does Qianlong give for denying Britain’s
request to open diplomatic and trading relations with China? What does Qianlong’s edict say about the
emperor? About China at the end of the eighteenth century? Do his comments imply a ignorance about
the West c. 1800? If he knew more, would his response have been different? Why and or why not?
(page 398)
8. “The Mission”: From the comments written by Feliz de Azara, could the Jesuit missions in Paraguay be
described as socialist societies? Why or why not? What might have been the motives of the Jesuits in
establishing such missions? Why did the Jesuits so distance themselves from the natives? Were the Jesuits
in charge of the missions dictators? If so, how could the Jesuits justify such a system? (page 404)
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CHAPTER SUMMARY
The fifteenth and sixteenth centuries was an era of Western global expansion. Among the
motives, economics ranked first, followed by religion, and adventure or fame, or, as the text quotes,
“God, glory, and gold.” It occurred when it did because of the emergence of centralized monarchies,
sufficient wealth to finance such endeavors, and new technologies such better maps and charts, more
seaworthy ships, the compass and astrolabe, and knowledge of Atlantic winds.
The first to venture forth were Portugal and Spain. Portuguese ships were exploring and trading
along Africa’s west coast by the mid-fifteenth century, bringing back slaves and gold. Southern Africa
was rounded in 1488, and India was reached in 1498, followed by the Malay Peninsula and the Spice
Islands (Indonesia). The Portuguese empire was one of trade; its population was too small to establish
large colonies, but Spain had greater resources. Seeking the same Asian goal as Portugal, the Italian
Christopher Columbus (d.1506), sailing for Spain, reached the Caribbean West Indies in 1492, believing
it was part of Asia. It was not, and the new found land became known as the New World or America,
after Amerigo Vespucci, an early geographer. Spanish conquistadors arrived on the mainland of
Mesoamerica in 1519. Aztec resistance was quickly overcome thanks to assistance from other native
states, gunpowder and horses, and European diseases such as smallpox, for which the native population
had no immunity. In South America, the Incas were conquered by the 1530s. The natives became
Spanish subjects, but were often exploited by Spanish settlers. Two viceroys (vice kings) ruled in Mexico
City and Lima, Peru; Catholic missionaries, under the control of the Spanish crown, brought Christianity,
including cathedrals, schools, and the inquisition, to the native population.
Although originally less prized than gold and spices, slaves became a major object of trade, and
by the nineteenth century ten million African slaves had been shipped to America. Slavery was common
in Africa, and the African terminus of the trade was in the hands of the Africans, but the insatiable
demand for slaves led to increased warfare on that unfortunate continent. It was not until the late 1700s
that slavery came under criticism in Europe.
The Dutch expelled Portugal from the Spice Islands by 1600, and in India, the British East India
Company controlled the Mughal Empire by the mid-1700s. Trade with China was limited, its rulers
believing the West offered nothing that China needed, and Japan gave only the Dutch even minimal
trading rights. In the New World, the Dutch, French, and the British also established colonies. Eventually
British North America consisted of thirteen colonies. France established an empire in Canada, but its
French population remained small.
In Europe, a commercial revolution led to integrated markets, joint-stock trading companies, and
banking and stock exchange facilities. Mercantilist theory posited that a nation should acquire as much
gold and silver as possible, there must be a favorable balance of trade, or more exports than imports, and
the state would provide subsidies to manufactures, grant monopolies to traders, build roads and canals,
and impose high tariffs to limit imports.
The impact of European expansion was mixed. In the Americas, the native culture was largely
destroyed and a new multiracial society evolved. That was less true in British America, which became
mainly European in population and culture. The Columbian exchange saw Europeans bringing horses,
cattle, sugarcane, wheat as well as disease and gunpowder to the New World and adopting the potato,
maize (corn), and chocolate in turn. Native cultures were least affected in Asia, particularly in Japan and
China. Missionaries, mostly Catholic, were mainly successful in the New World, and within Europe,
imperial rivalries could lead to war.
SUGGESTED LECTURE TOPICS
1. The Age of Encounter: Why the West?
2. The Age of Discovery: The Iberian Scramble for the World
3. Economic and Political Expansion in the New World
4. The Geopolitics of Mercantilism: Economic Imperatives for the Development of European Colonialism
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5. The Long-Term Socioeconomic Consequences of European Discovery of the New World
MAP EXERCISES
1. Discoveries and Possessions in the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries. MAP 14.1. What were the major
geopolitical reasons why the Spanish succeeded mainly in the Western Hemisphere and the Portuguese in
Southeast Asia in establishing colonial possessions? (page 383)
2. Triangular Trade Route in the Atlantic Economy. MAP 14.2. What products were bought and sold in
the Atlantic triangular trade. Which nations participated? In Africa, where were the most important
regions for slaves and why? Where were most of the slaves taken, and why? (page 393)
3. The Columbian Exchange. MAP 14.4. Note the items exchanged between the Western Hemisphere
and Europe. What were the most significant products exchanged between the two regions, and why were
they so important? Did one hemisphere benefit more than the other, and if so, how? (page 405)
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS FOR THE PRIMARY SOURCES (BOXED
DOCUMENTS)
1. “The Portuguese Conquest of Malacca”: What justifications does Albuquerque give for the attack on
Malacca? Which justification might have been most important in the sixteenth century? Would the
Muslims have responded with the same justifications? Why or why not? What, if anything, has changed
by the twenty-first century? (page 384)
2. “Columbus Lands in the New World”: What evidence is there in Columbus’ comments that suggest
that his remarks were made mainly for public consumption and not just for the Spanish court? What
elements in society might have responded to his statements, and why? What does Columbus’ comments
about the Native Americans reveal about the “Indians” and about Columbus and his Europeans?
(page 385)
3. “The Spanish Conquistador: Cortés and the Conquest of Mexico”: What does Cortés focus on in his
description of an Aztec city? Does he have a self-interested motive in his description of Tonochtitlan and
the Aztecs? If so, what might it be? Why do you think he felt justified in overthrowing the Aztec Empire?
What were his several possible motives, and which might have been the most important? Why?
(page 388)
4. “Las Casas and the Spanish Treatment of the American Natives”: In what ways did this account help to
create the image of the Spaniards as “cruel and murderous fanatics”? What motives may have prompted
Las Casas to make this critique and how might his opinions affect the broader standing of Spain in global
politics of the era? Did his criticisms of early Spanish rule have any impact? If so, what? (page 390)
5. “The Atlantic Slave Trade”: Given the horrific realities of the slave trade, why were European
governments and public opinion so slow to respond its inhuman practices? What role did religion,
economics, race, and sheer ignorance play in ignoring the plight of the African slaves? How could any
human being justify or rationalize taking part in the slave trade? (page 393)
6. “West Meets East: An Exchange of Royal Letters”: What are Louis XIV’s motives in writing to the
King of Tonkin? Why does he not seem interested in the economic advantages of trade between France
and Tonkin? What does Louis’ letter say about Louis? What is the justification by the King of Tonkin for
refusing to receive Christian missionaries? Might he have unstated reasons? If so, what? (page 396)
7. “An Imperial Edict to the King of England”: What reasons does Qianlong give for denying Britain’s
request to open diplomatic and trading relations with China? What does Qianlong’s edict say about the
emperor? About China at the end of the eighteenth century? Do his comments imply a ignorance about
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the West c. 1800? If he knew more, would his response have been different? Why and or why not?
(page 398)
8. “The Mission”: From the comments written by Feliz de Azara, could the Jesuit missions in Paraguay be
described as socialist societies? Why or why not? What might have been the motives of the Jesuits in
establishing such missions? Why did the Jesuits so distance themselves from the natives? Were the Jesuits
in charge of the missions dictators? If so, how could the Jesuits justify such a system? (page 404)
STUDENT RESEARCH AND PROJECT TOPICS
1. Have students examine various maps in order to familiarize themselves with the “New World” of the
late 1400s and 1500s.
2. Have students do oral reports from their research on one of the Spanish or Portuguese explorers. Be
sure to have them determine the reason(s) or motives for the explorer's venture.
3. Suggest students discuss and debate the relationship between economic and non-economic causes and
motives as Europeans encountered the non-Western world.
4. Have students debate the issue of whether the New World could have become economically profitable
for the West without the resources of the Africa slave trade.
5. Suggest that selected students research the reasons for the Chinese and Japanese responses to Western
incursions into their territories and present their findings to the class.
6. In a panel discussion, have students explore and examine the possible reasons why the first era of
globalization was largely the result of European initiative rather than Chinese or Arabic or some other
non-Western state or society.
7. Have students debate the advantages and disadvantages which the Europeans and the non-Europeans
gained from the Columbian exchange.
RELEVANT WORLD-WIDE WEB SITES/RESOURCES
1. Hanover History Texts Project (at Hanover College):
http://history.hanover.edu/project.html
(Fine site referenced earlier containing good original source documents arranged by era. Excellent
material early modern Europe and Ancient Regime.)
RELEVANT VIDEO RESOURCES
Conquistadors with Michael Wood, PBS Home Videos, (2 cassettes).
The Spanish Conquest of Mexico, Films for the Humanities and Sciences, (28 minutes, “Great
Battles of History” series).
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