Download Unit 1: Age of Exploration

The “Old World”
Europe, Africa, and Asia
in the Early 1400s
Trade
• Europeans wanted goods such as tea, silk, and
spices from the Indies (Southeast Asia)
• The Silk Road ran from Europe to the Indies
and was kept safe by strong Chinese rulers.
The Silk Road
Changes in Trade Routes
• New rulers (Turks) took over the Silk Road and
it became unsafe for travel. They also
increased taxes, making it very expensive
• The Ottoman Empire rulers became the
“middle men” in trade between Europeans
and the Asians. Asian goods were WAY too
expensive for most Europeans to buy.
Why did Europeans want to explore?
• To find new trade routes to the Indies
• For glory and adventure
• To spread their culture (Christianity and
European values)
Obstacles to Exploration
• Lack of knowledge and technology
• Ocean currents and wind patterns would carry
ships off course.
• Sailors would have to ride with the currents
and winds and this limited their ability to
explore far away places.
Beginning of European Exploration
• Map-makers (cartographers), shipbuilders,
navigators, and inventors shared information
that made exploration possible.
• Europeans gained access to maps and sailing
information from the Chinese, Greeks, and
Arabs
Europe
Search for New Trade Routes
• The five major European nations involved in
exploration were: Spain, Portugal, England (Great
Britain), France, and the Netherlands.
• Portugal and Spain were the first European
nations to search for new water routes to the
Indies.
– Portugal sent explorers East around Africa
– Spain sent explorers West across the Atlantic
• England, France, and the Netherlands began
exploring soon afterwards.
Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro
Colonial Claims
• Spain was more interested in the Americas
than anywhere else because they were
searching for spices.
• The spice trade was not successful in the
Americas, but the Spanish were able to get
gold and silver from the Aztecs and the Incans.
• The Spanish gained gold and silver using
advanced technology. They would send the
riches back to Spain.
Advances in Navigating the Seas
• A lot of the political, military, and economic
domination by the European nations during
the 17th and 18th century (1600s and 1700s)
was because of new scientific and technology
advances.
Exploration Technology
Invention
Description
Compass
Astrolabe
Caravel
Gunpowder
A device which helped sailors find direction
by using a magnetized needle which always
pointed north
A device which helped sailors use the
position of the stars to figure out their
location (latitude)
A fast, lightweight ship which used triangular
sails and a rudder for easier navigation at sea
and in shallow waters
A mixture of chemicals that explodes
when lit
Used in guns and cannons for:
-protection from other Europeans
-to dominate trade
-to fight against natives
-to hunt for food
Conquering New Nations
• As Europeans conquered new nations, they
were able to spread their ideas, beliefs, and
models and dominate the world economically,
culturally, and politically.
Prince Henry
a. Royal Prince, soldier
b. Sent many
expeditions along
coast of West Africa
c. Established a
navigation school
Christopher Columbus
• Italian man
• Looked WEST for route
to
Asia
• Was given money by
King Ferdinand and
Queen Isabella from
SPAIN.
• Discovered land in 1492
Magellan
a. Searched for passage to Pacific
Ocean
b. Sailed through “straits of
Magellan”
c. Died in Philippines
d. Crew 1st to circumnavigate the
world
Hernan Cortes
a. Spanish Conquistador
b. Conquered Aztec
emperor Montezuma
c. Found gold
d. claimed Mexico for
Spain (1519-21)
e. "discovered"
Tenochtitlan
John Cabot
• Sailed for England
• Found
“Newfoundland”
• Mapped North
America
• On a return voyage
his ships were lost at
sea
Henry Hudson
• English, but explored for
Netherlands (Dutch)
• Explored Arctic Ocean and NE
North America
• Hudson River, Hudson Bay and
Hudson Strait named for him
• Looking for waterway from
Europe to Asia
• Mutiny on his ship – crew set
him out to sea
Pizzaro
a. Explored / found
Pacific Ocean with
Balboa
b. Conquered the Incan
Empire
c. Looted city and killed
many
d. Became governor of
Peru
Samuel Champlain
•
•
•
•
French explorer
Mapped NE N America
Settled in Quebec
Started Port Royal, Nova
Scotia
• Helped Huron Indians
defeat Iroquois
Effects of Colonialism
• Political (power/government)
– European countries became more powerful
– Competition
– People of Africa, Asia, and the Americas became weaker
• Cultural (religion/ways of life)
– Cultures were changed
– Dominance of European language and customs
– Christianity spread to colonized lands
• Economic (trade/money)
–
–
–
–
Expanding international trade
Growth of capitalism
Growth of middle class
Transfer of wealth from colonies to Europe
Economic Changes in Europe
• During the 1600s and 1700s, many changes took
place in Europe because of colonial expansion
(exploration) and global trade (trade around the
world)
• European nations began trading with countries all
over the world as a result of conquering nations
using advanced technology, the discovery of the
“New World”, and a growing merchant class (the
people who traded goods)
• The economy became more complicated as it
moved from a feudal system based on land
ownership.
• European nations developed the system of
mercantilism.
• Under mercantilism, governments tried to
control and regulate trade to create what they
called a favorable balance of trade (the value
of exports, or what they sell would be greater
than the value of their imports, or what they
bought).
Mercantilism
• As nations set up a balance of trade, they would
then build supplies of gold and silver and make
the “mother countries” richer.
• Colonies were SUPER IMPORTANT!!!
• They provided cheap raw materials (products like
tobacco, rice, sugarcane) and other resources for
European nations. They also provided a market
for finished products (This means that the
colonies would be forced to buy the
manufactured goods from the European nation
that controlled them).
• European nations would also place a high
tariff, or tax on goods imported from other
nations, meaning that it would be more
expensive to buy from another country.
• Under mercantilism, the governments made
the money and profited the most.
Capitalism
• Capitalism is an economic system based on
the private ownership of resources and
production that is driven to make a profit
(Meaning: People can own their own
businesses and make a profit. The government
doesn’t profit.)
• Merchants and ship owners took risks in trade
and profited under capitalism.
• The merchants and businessmen formed what
became known at this time as the middle
class.
• The middle class led to a market economy (a
system in which individual buyers and sellers
interact in the marketplace to exchange goods
and services).
• Citizens started their own businesses for the
first time!
• Mercantilism, international trade, the middle
class, and the market economy led to
capitalism, which most nations still use today!
International Trade
Europeans in Asia
• Europeans were interested in Asia because of
trade and the beginnings of exploration
(Originally, Europeans were looking for a water
route to Asia to find spices).
• Portugal was the first nation to find an all-water
route to Asia. (Vasco da Gama led this
expedition)
• Asia was different than Africa and the Americas
because they had many advanced, wealthy, and
militarily strong civilizations.
• Europeans mostly treated Asians as “equals.”
• Europeans were allowed to build trading posts
along the coastal areas in Asia.
• Asian nations became dependent on
European trade.
• Asian societies had a rise in their merchant
class (middle class).
• Europeans didn’t colonize Asia like they did
the New World, but Asians were fearful of this
happening.
• For centuries, Asian nations had isolated
themselves from one another and from
Europeans.
• Isolationism-the policy of turning inward, or
away from the rest of the world
• Because Europeans began introducing many
of their ideas, such as Christianity, nations
such as Japan and China closed off trade to
protect their cultures.
• Many Asian nations already practiced religions
such as Buddhism or Hinduism, so they were
not interested in Christianity.
Europeans in the Americas
• Colonization took place in the Americas, unlike
Asia and Africa.
• Portugal, Spain, England, France, and the
Netherlands all colonized in the Americas.
• In areas where Spain and Portugal discovered
gold, trade became the main reason for
interacting in that area.
• Spain and Portugal also developed plantation
systems that depended on slave labor.
Government in the Americas
• The Europeans established new forms of
government in the Americas.
• The Spanish and Portuguese ruled colonies
with their own monarchies that sent viceroys,
or someone to rule in their place, to these
colonies.
• The French and the Dutch were not as strict
and allowed the colonists to make decisions.
• The English allowed a representative
government system in which the colonists
elected representatives to participate in
decision making.
Types of Colonies in the Americas
• Trading post empire-a collection of colonies
used to trade items, typically along an
established trade route
• Settler colony-type of colony where people
move from their mother countries to create
permanent settlements or towns
• Plantation colony-a type of colony in which
large areas of land are farmed by enslaved
people to grow cash crops
Plantation Colonies
• Plantation colonies depended on slave labor in
order to survive.
• Plantation colonies were located in the
Caribbean, the Amazon basin (South America),
and the southern English colonies.
• In the Caribbean and the Amazon basin, sugar
cane was the most valuable cash crop.
• In the southern English colonies, tobacco, rice,
indigo, and some sugar were the cash crops.
• To first solve the labor shortage, the Spanish
and Portuguese enslaved Native Americans.
Because they were not immune to European
diseases, many Native Americans died.
• The British and French relied on indentured
servants for labor.
• Indentured servants would work to pay off
debts or the costs of traveling to the Americas.
• In the British colonies, “redemptioners” would
work to pay costs of travel and about 25% of
the indentured slave population were
criminals.
• Georgia was established by indentured
servants who were criminals.
• After losing the American Revolution, the
British began sending convicts to Australia.
• Eventually, not enough people were available
to be indentured servants so European
nations turned to Africa for slaves.
French Settlements
Dutch Settlements
Trading Post Colonies
• The French and the Dutch colonies focused on
trade.
• Plantation farming and gold and silver trading
were not successful in most of their colonies.
• The Dutch tried to settle in South America, but
most of their colonies failed.
• The French traded fur with Native Americans.
• Fur trading was prosperous and allowed the
French to have a very good relationship with
the Native Americans.
• The British tried to take over the fur trade and
the French and Indians fought alongside each
other in the French and Indian War.
• Britain won and gained most of France’s land.
France lost most of their power in the
Americas.
English Settlements
Settler Colonies
• Settler colonies were the true colonial
settlements.
• They were created by transporting large
numbers of people to live in an area.
• The first permanent English settlement was
Jamestown (in Virginia).
• It was first set up for trade, but later became
permanent.
• After Jamestown began to become more
successful off of tobacco, the Pilgrims came to
America to set up a colony based on religious
freedom (Plymouth Colony in Massachusetts).
• The Spanish and Portuguese also spread
Christianity (Catholicism) to their colonies.
Europeans and Native Americans
• Europeans spread diseases which killed many
Native Americans
• European missionaries came to spread
Christianity to natives
• Spanish-enslaved them and forced them to work
on plantations
• French-lived among them, learned their
language, traded with them
• English-lived peacefully at first, then forced them
off their land
Europeans in Africa
• The slave trade began as a result of needing
more labor in the colonies.
• Africa already had a slave trade in place in
which they traded debtors or criminals.
• Europeans traded weapons, iron, cloth, and
horses with African tribes for slaves.
• Portugal was the first nation to trade slaves.
• Tribal warfare increased as tribes began
capturing other tribes.
• Some tribes became very powerful because of
the slave trade.
• African societies lost a lot of valuable workers
to the slave trade.
• Families and communities were separated and
the population began to decrease.
• Many Africans resisted the slave trade by
attacking slave traders or revolting on slave
ships.
Middle Passage
Triangular Trade