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APEURO - Lecture 1F Mrs. Kray Some slides taken from Susan Pojer and some info taken from historysage.com The Commercial Revolution, 1500-1700 Causes Roots in the Middle ages (e.g. Hanseatic League) Population growth 70 mil in 1500; 90 mil in 1600 More consumers Price Revolution long, slow upward trend in prices Increased food prices, increased volume of money, and the influx of gold and silver Increased prices = increase in supply of goods States and emerging empires sought to increase their economic power Rise in capitalism: entrepreneurs invested money in their own businesses or other business ventures Middle class (bourgeoisie) led the way Banking Features Fuggers in Germany and the Medicis in Italy were among Europe’s leading bankers Banking and commercial center of Europe 16th c. = Antwerp; 17th c. = Amsterdam Hanseatic League evolved from within the German states in the Middle Ages to eventually controlling much of trade in northern Europe Mercantile association of numerous towns and cities Chartered companies = state provided monopolies certain areas Ex. British East India Co.; Dutch East India Co. Joint-Stock Companies Investors pooled resources for a common purpose (forerunner to corporations) Features Stock Markets emerged First Enclosure movement in England Wealthy landowners enclosed their lands to improve sheep herding and thus supply of wool for production of textiles “Putting out system” emerged in the countryside for cloth production Some farmers displaced by enclosure supplemented income by producing textiles at home New industries: cloth, mining, printing, book trade, shipbuilding, cannons, & muskets New consumer goods: sugar*, rice, tea Sugar production resulted in an enormous slave trade in the Atlantic Features: Mercantilism Developed in the 17th c. Goal: Nations sought economic self-sufficiency Strategy: create a favorable balance of trade where a country exported more than it imported Bullionism: a country should acquire as much gold and silver as possible A favor balance of trade was necessary to keep a country’s supply of gold from flowing to a competing country Significance Slow transition from a European society that was almost completely rural and isolated to a society that was more developed with the emergence of towns Many serfs, mostly in Western Europe, improved their social position as a result Emergence of powerful nation states Wealth could be taxed Brought about the Age of Exploration as competing nations sought to create new empires overseas Furthered the Price Revolution Nobility suffered a diminished standard of living Their income was fixed; based on rents and fees Bourgeoisie grew in political power and economic significance More of the Price Revolution Prices during the 16th c. rose gradually Causes: The rising population of Europe increased demand for goods, thereby increasing prices Influx of gold and silver from the New World was one of the factors Inflation stimulated production as producers could get more money for their goods Bourgeoisie acquired much of their wealth from trading and manufacturing; their social and political status increased Peasant farmers benefitted when their surplus yields could be turned into cash crops The Age of Exploration and Conquest Causes: “God, Gold, & Glory” Christian crusades in 11th & 14th c. had created European interest in Middle East Rise of nation states resulted in competition for empires and trade Portugal and Spain sought to break the Italian monopoly on trade with Asia Impact of the Renaissance: search for knowledge Revival of Platonic studies, especially mathematics; printing press meant spread of accurate maps and texts Technological advances Commercial Revolution resulted in capitalist investments in overseas exploration Missionary impulse New Maritime Technologies Better Maps [Portulan] Hartman Astrolabe (1532) Mariner’s Compass Sextant New Weapons Technology Portugal Motives for Exploration Economic: Sought an all water route to Asia to tap the spice trade Religious: sought to find the mythical Prester John (a Christian king somewhere in the East) for an alliance against the Muslims Prince Henry the Navigator Prince Henry the Navigator, 1394-1460 Financed numerous expeditions along the West African coastline in hopes of finding gold Ushered in new era of European exploration Portuguese Exploration Bartholomew Diaz (1450-1500) Rounded Southern tip of Africa Vasco da Gama (1469-1525) Completed all water route to India Brought back Indian goods creating huge demand for these products in Europe Blow to Italian trade The Portuguese and Brazil Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512) Explored Brazil Perhaps first European explorer to realize that he had discovered a new continent Brazil Portugal’s major colony in the New World Administrative structure similar to Spanish colonies in New World Imported large slave population for coffee, cotton, & sugar plantations Significant racial mixture between whites, Native Americans, and blacks resulted Spain Christopher Columbus, 1451-1506 Eager for Spain to compete with Portugal in overseas exploration Financed by Ferdinand and Isabella 1492: Reached Bahamas Believed he was somewhere in India Ushered in era of exploration and domination of the New World First permanent contact between New and Old Worlds The “Columbian Exchange” Squash Avocado Peppers Sweet Potatoes Turkey Pumpkin Tobacco Quinine Cocoa Pineapple Cassava POTATO Peanut TOMATO Vanilla MAIZE Syphilis Trinkets Liquor GUNS Olive COFFEE BEAN Banana Rice Onion Turnip Honeybee Barley Grape Peach SUGAR CANE Oats Citrus Fruits Pear Wheat HORSE Cattle Sheep Pigs Smallpox Flu Typhus Measles Malaria Diptheria Whooping Cough Treaty of Tordesillas, 1494 New World divided between Spain and Portugal (at behest of Pope Leo V) Line of Demarcation North-South line was drawn down the middle of the Atlantic Ocean Other Spanish Explorers Vasco Nunez de Balboa (1475-1517): Discovered the Pacific Ocean after crossing isthmus of Panama Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521): First to circumnavigate the globe Spanish Conquistadors Hernando Cortez (1485-1547): conquered the Aztecs by 1521 Francisco Pizarro (1478-1541): conquered the Inca Empire along the Andes Mountains in modern-day Peru in 1532 Other Voyages of Exploration The First Spanish Conquests: The Aztecs vs. Fernando Cortez Montezuma II The Death of Montezuma II Mexico Surrenders to Cortez The First Spanish Conquests: The Incas vs. Francisco Pizarro Atahualpa Spain’s Empire in the New World “Golden Age of Spain” Empire resembled more the “New Imperialism” of the late 19th and early 20th c. by outright conquering entire regions and subjugating their populations Mercantilist philosophy Colonies existed for benefit of mother country Mining of gold and silver was most important Crown received 20% of all precious metals mined 1545: World’s richest silver mine opened in Potosi, Peru ushered in Spain’s Golden Age Spain sold manufactured goods to America and discouraged industries from taking root in America to avoid competition Treasures from the Americas! Structure of Spain’s Empire Empire divided into four viceroyalties; each led by a viceroy Audiencias = Board of 12 to 15 judges served as advisor to the viceroy and the highest judicial body The Influence of the Colonial Catholic Church Guadalajara Cathedral Spanish Mission Our Lady of Guadalupe Encomienda System Motive: Spanish gov’t sought to reduce the savage exploitation of Native Americans in the Spanish Empire Must provide Christian instruction and protection of workers Reality: laws against exploitation were poorly enforced Native Americans worked for an owner for a certain number of days per week but retained other parcels of land to work for themselves Spain’s ability to forcibly utilize Native American labor was a major reason why the Spanish Empire imported so few slaves Bartholomew de las Casas, 1474-1566 Priest and former conquistador A Brief Account of the Destruction of the Indies, 1552 Publicly criticized the ruthlessness with which Columbus and his successors treated the Native Americans Writings helped spread the “black legend” in Protestant countries where Spain was accused of using Christianity ostensibly for killing countless natives Reality: Protestant countries just as guilty as Catholic ones for decimating native populations The Colonial Class System Peninsulares Mestizos Native Indians Creoles Mulattos Black Slaves “Old Imperialism” in African and Asia Characteristics Countries establish posts and forts on coastal regions Generally did not penetrate inland to conquer entire regions or subjugate their populations Spain was an exception Sharp contrast with the imperialism of the late 19th and early 20th c. where entire nations were conquered and exploited for the benefit of the European colonial powers Portugal By 1495, Portugal had established forts and posts along the Guinea Coast Da Gama set up trading posts in Goa and Calcutta Alphonso d’Albuquerque (14531515) Laid foundations for Portuguese imperialism Established strategy of making coastal regions a base to control the Indian Ocean (choke points) Also sought to convert people to Catholicism Other European Colonizers Dutch Republic Dutch East India Co. became major force behind Dutch imperialism Took control of Portuguese Empire in Asia Began to challenge Spain for control of Asiento system England Came into exploration relatively late First permanent settlement not established until 1607 at Jamestown Asiento System: The Slave Trade Portugal first introduced slavery in Brazil to farm the sugar plantations After 1621, Dutch West India Co. took control of the slave trade and transported thousands of slaves to the New World England’s Royal African Co. entered the slave trade in the late 17th c. Facilitated a huge influx of African slaves into the Caribbean and North America African slaves were approx. 60% of Brazil’s population and 20% of the U.S. population An estimated 50 mil. Africans died or became slaves during the 17th & 18th c Some black slaves went to Europe Seen as exotic, highly prized in certain areas “American form” of slavery existed in Mediterranean sugar plantations Slave Ship “Middle Passage” “Coffin” Position Below Deck African Captives Thrown Overboard Sharks followed the slave ships! Impact of European Expansion 1. Native populations ravaged by disease. 2. Influx of gold, and especially silver, into Europe created an inflationary economic climate. [“Price Revolution”] 3. New products introduced across the continents [“Columbian Exchange”]. 4. Deepened colonial rivalries. New Colonial Rivals
