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The Age of Exploration
THE WORLD WOULD NEVER BE THE SAME
WHY? Motives for Exploration=The 3 G’s
▪ Gold & spices-Asian spices were in high demand but
political instability along the silk road made trade difficult/
a sea route to Asia would cut cost of Asian goods
(Europeans wouldn’t have to pay Italian merchants who
added cost to goods for a profit)/ and gold-who doesn’t
want gold!!
▪ God-European rulers were Christian and wanted to spread
their religion
▪ Glory-the greater the wealth of a nation-the greater the
power they have
HOW? New Technology=Access to Explore
▪ Astrolabe-used to find latitude
▪ Compass-used to find direction
▪ Carotgraphy-update maps with
new areas explored
▪ Triangular sails-allowed ships
to sail in any direction the wind
blew
▪ Much knowledge came from
Arab merchants who brought
ideas with them as they
traded=cultural diffusion
Ptolemy
▪ Greek geographer
▪ Drew maps of the world for his
book Geography
▪ Recorded latitude & longitude
of over 8,000 locations
▪ Printing press made maps
more available to sailors &
explorers
WHO was exploring?
▪ Portugal, Spain, France & England
▪ All had ports on Atlantic Ocean
▪ All eager to find sea routes to Asia
▪ Portugal took the lead because England & France
were still fighting with each other over religion and
Spain was fighting with Muslims
Portugal-1400’s
▪ Prince Henry the Navigator-sent
expeditions to sail to Africatraded goods for gold to sponsor
more exploration
▪ Seized (took) the Azores, Madeira
and Cape Verde islands (off
western coast of Africa)
▪ 1488-Bartolemeu Dias-sailed to
southern tip of Africa
▪ 1497-Vasco da Gama rounded tip
of Africa and landed in
India=water route to Asia
Spain joins the race-1492
▪ Christopher Columbus sailed
for King Ferdinand & Queen
Isabella of Spain
▪ Went west across Atlantic
Ocean with 3 ships (Nina,
Pinta, and Santa Maria)
▪ Landed in the Caribbean-San
Salvadore, Cuba and
Hispaniola(present day Haiti &
Dominican Republic)
Explorers encounter Natives
▪ The Taino were the native
people of the islands Columbus
landed on
▪ At first he traded with them
▪ He brought back parrots, gold,
spices, and several Taino as
proof of his success
▪ He believed he landed in Asia
▪ 1507-Amerigo Vespucci realized
Columbus discovered a “New
World”=America
1493-Columbus returns
▪ Columbus brought soldiers with him to conquer the natives.
▪ Taino were frightened of the conquistadors (soldier-explorers)Spanish had guns, cannons, and horses
▪ The Spanish enslaved and killed the Taino people
▪ 1494-Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas dividing the
territory of the “New World”
Ferdinand Magellan
▪ Sailed an exploration voyage for
Spain
▪ Goal was so sail west around America
to Asia
▪ Discovered Strait of Magellan at tip of
South America
▪ Made it to new ocean and named it
the Pacific
▪ Reached the Philippines-died in a
battle there
▪ His crew continued to sail and made it
back to Spain-1st to circumnavigate
(sail around) the world
Early English & French Explorers look
for northern water route
John Cabot-(England)explored coast
of Newfoundland & Nova Scotia
Verrazano-explored & mapped much of eastern N.Am
Cartier-sailed St. Lawrence River to Montreal-claimed
much of Canada for France
Map of Exploration Routes
Spainish conquistadors conquer Mexico
and Peru
Cortes-conquers Aztecs
Pizarro-conquers the Inca
Natives couldn’t survive
▪ Natives were frightened & shocked by the
advanced weaponry of the conquistadors-guns,
horses & cannons
▪ Natives were not immune to germs & diseases of
the conquistadors/smallpox decimated the native
population
European Powers Settle in the Americas
▪ Viceroys ruled Spanish colonies in N. & S. Am-had 2 goals: to bring $ back
to Spain and convert natives to Christianity
▪ Spanish used natives that survived smallpox as slaves to work on their
plantations(sugarcane, tobacco, coffee and cotton=cash crops) and
mines(gold & silver)
▪ Pedro Cabral-claimed Brazil for Spain
▪ French-establish settlements in N. Am for fur trade and some in Caribbean
(sugar & cotton plantations)
▪ England-colonies in N.Am-Puritans(religious freedom)
▪ Dutch-N.Am & Asia-trading empire through efficient transportation of
goods
It’s all about the $$$
▪ Mercantilism=economic theory
that a country’s power was in
proportion to its wealth
▪ This theory drove European
powers to settle colonies in
Americas
▪ They exploited the natives for the
natural resources they didn’t
have in Europe
▪ Commercial Revolution=new
business methods
▪ Development of
commerce=buying & selling of
goods over large distances
▪ Birth of entrepreneurs=invest $ in
a project/business in order to
make a profit
▪ Joint stock companies-sell stock
to spread out risk-investors put $
in hope of a share in profit
Age of Exploration=sharing of goods,
ideas and diseases=Columbian Exchange