Download Europe and Exploration

Europe and Exploration
Why did Europe explore the New
World?
Early motivations
• Europe was partially motivated due to the
Crusades (1066-1291)
Why the Crusades
• Opened Europe up to goods from Asia
• Included
– Silks
– Spices
– Porcelain
– Ivory
The Renaissance
• The rediscovery of scientific knowledge
brought into Europe by the Crusades
– Led to discovery of new technology
– Growth of intellectual class
– Movement of knowledge away from the Church to
governments and universities
Technology from the Renaissance
• Three Sailed Caravel: Fast three-mast ships
guided by a rudder
Technology of the Renaissance
• The Astrolabe
– Device that uses the position of the sun or stars to
determine the exact latitude of the ship
Technology of the Renaissance
• The Printing Press
– Created by Johannes Guttenberg (1440)
• Led to mass production of books
• Wide spread of knowledge
Early Motivations
• The Protestant Reformation (1517)
– Founded by Martin Luther
– Broke the monopoly of power of the Catholic
Church
– Created competing Protestant and Catholic
countries
Early Motivations
• Powerful new nations
– France, England, Spain and Portugal gain powerful
rulers
– These rulers seek ways to improve their countries
by sponsoring art, public works, and exploration
Early Motivations
• Mercantilism:
– An economic system where the primary unit is the
nation or country and the goal is total control of
international trade
• Each nation seeks to amass the most wealth
• Wealth is amassed by selling goods in the most markets
and bringing money back to mother country
Early Explorers
• The Basques
– Ethnic group living in Southern Spain
– Explored the coasts of North America hunting for
Cod Fish
– Kept their explorations secret to discourage
competition
Early Explorers
• The Vikings
– Discovered Greenland, Iceland and eastern banks
of Canada while fishing
– Rarely if ever came on land in N. America
Early Explorers
• Marco Polo
– One of the first Europeans to reach China
– Also explored much of Indonesia and India
– Published a journal that became extremely
popular
– Inspired Europeans to seek a path to Asia
Polo’s Journey
First Great Naval Empire
• Portugal’s King Henry the Navigator (13941460) hired paid explorers to establish trade
routes overseas
– Created a college of navigators to train the best
sailors
– Hoped to reach Asia
– Began sending traders to create trading stations in
Africa
Portuguese Explorers
• Bartholomeu Dias: First to round Cape of
Good Hope in Southern Africa (1487)
Portuguese Explorers
• Vasco de Gama: First to reach India by sea,
established a base (1498)
First Great Naval Empire
• Trade route to India gives Portugal immense
wealth in the form of Spices and Ivory
Spanish Empire
• Spain desires to gain trade route to China, but
cannot go around Africa
• Hires Christopher Columbus to find a new
trade route going west
• Lands on a Caribbean Island he names New
Spain, present day Haiti/Dominican Republic
Columbus
• Makes three voyages back and forth
• Brings little back besides slaves and a few
pieces of gold
• On third voyage, a navigator Amerigo Vespucci
writes a lengthy report criticizing him
• Columbus arrested, dies penniless
Spanish Empire
• Ferdinand Magellan
– Attempts to find a Southern trade route to Asia
– First to round South America, named Pacific
Ocean
– Get lost, crew becomes first to circumnavigate the
globe, Magellan dies in the Philippines
– Son returns home, creates new trade route.
possible competition with Portugal
Spanish goals in New World
• Gold: mine gold to gain more money
• Religion: Convert natives to create a more
powerful Catholic Empire
• Territory: Seize territory to deny markets to
the rest of Europe
Spanish Empire
• South and Central America conquered by
Conquistadors
– Mercenaries working for Spain who get to keep
portion of land they conquer
– Mexico conquered by group led by Hernan Cortez
– South American conquered by Francisco Pizarro
– Both helped along by Small Pox, brought to New
World by slaves
Competition
• Portugal quickly establishes colony in Brazil
• To keep two countries from War, Pope
establishes the Treaty of Tordesillas
• Divides world in half
• Who does this leave out?
Spanish Rule in the New World
• The Spanish Established four kinds of
Settlements in the New World
• Encomiendas: Plantations designed to grow
cash crops or mine gold
• Pueblos: Towns designed to trade goods
• Missions: Religious communities designed to
convert natives
• Presidios: Fortresses to protect area
The New Laws
• Established by Bartolome de Las Casas
– Argued that killing and enslaving natives
prevented them from being converted
– Forbade enslavement of natives
– Led to widespread importation of slaves from
Africa
Other Conquests
• Spanish begin exploring North America on the
basis of local legends told by natives
• Ponce de Leon seeks Fountain of Eternal Youth
in Florida
• Missionaries seek El Dorado, city of Gold in
Arizona and New Mexico
Limits of Spanish Expansion
• The Pueblo Revolt
• Pueblo Indians named for their large villages
Limits of Spanish Expansion
• Spanish attempt to conquer Pueblos by
occupying them with soldiers
• Indians coordinate revolt using knotted ropes
• Coordinated revolt forces Spanish to flee to
Sante Fe
• Signed treaty with Indians guaranteeing rights
to religion and self rule in exchange for paying
tax
Limits to Spanish Expansion
• Spanish still allowed to set up Missionaries in
Pueblo Territory
• Led to creation of Los Angeles, San Francisco
and San Diego
Competition
• British, French and Dutch seek to establish in
New World to compete against Spanish
• Seek to find a Northwest Passage
– A sea route in North America that leads to China