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Dividing the New Lands ~j_// Portugal and Spain Took the Lead in Exploration ExplO~ers sailing under the flags of Portugal and Spain made the first European voyages into unknown waters. Driven by curiosity and by religious and economic aims, and backed by their governments, they made discoveries throughout the world. The ventures of these early pioneers served as the foundation for future empire-building. Portugal and Prince Henry Perched at the southwestern corner of Europe, the small nation of ~as one of the first to become seriously interested in exploration. P....daxce ~e Navigator, a member of the Portuguese royal family, was largely responsible for this interest. Henry wanted to start a crusade in Africa-in which he would join forces with Prester John, the king of a legendary Christian kingdom-to encircle and outflank the Muslims. He aim wanted to acquire a share of the African slave trade, then controlled by the Muslims, and to begin trading L~arning from Pictures The Ciboney Indians with Asia. To help accomplish these goals, Prince Henry welcome Christopher Columbus to Cuba in 1492. founded a school that trained navigators- After What country sponsored Columbus’s voyage? 1418 his navigators began a series of explorations westward into the Atlantic and southward along because they could buy goods directly the west coast of Africa. As they slowly worked rather than from Arab traders or their way south, they claimed for Portugal a num- who charged very high prices. Ships ber of islands, including th~ Azores in the Atlanticcarry cargoes more cheaply than could Ocean. Farther to the south, below the desert animals traveling overland. In addition, region of the Sahara, the Portuguese began to trade not have to pay the mils that frequently were for slaves, gold, and ivory. on overland transportationFurther explorations brought the Portuguese even greater gains. In 1488 Bartolomeu Dias (DEE" ahsh) sailed around the Cape of Good Hope Christopher Columbus at the southern tip of Africa. Then in 1498 Vasco Spain, too, became interested in t da Gama sailed beyond the Cape of Good Hope pc, trade routes. Its rulers, King Ferdinand eastward across the Indian Ocean to India (see"Isabella, decided to finance a x[oyage map, pages 360-6!). He returned home with a fab- pher Columbus, a Ge~oan navigator. ulous cargo of spices and jewels that paid for his trip the writings of Marco-Polo and Ptolemy’s description of the round 60 times over. Da Gama’s successful voyage represenmd a tre- believed he could reach Asia quickly mendous stroke of good fortune for the Portuguese. westward. Their ships could now sail to India and the East--~gust 1492 Columbus Indies and bring back rich cargoes of Asian goods. Spain, with three small ships-the Q The direct ocean route saved the Portuguese money ~62 ~ , ~tio~,~,"qSpain and Portugal often claimed settle and the Santa Marfa-and crossed the Atlantic. t pogc__Alexander In the early daystheotsa~2 exDOranewly discovered VI landS. On October 12, 1492, his small fleet landed on the tiny island that Columbus named San Salvador v~b~Id map they agreed to (see map, pages 360-61). After exploring other Finally, their disputes. In 1493 he drew on a Atlantic Ocean, from the North pole to the South islands in the area, Columbus returned trium" of the erieS. Because believed thetoislands laydiscovoff the a lit3e of demarcation down the middle disphantly to Spainhe early in 1493 report his called them the Pole. He granted Spain the rights to all newly of India, Columbus, a’-ns ,, He had covered lands west of the line. Portugal could claim east .coast ,, ~h:hi:( inhabitants mm~ ¯ all those to the east of the line. A year later, ,’In&es ~n ands that were later to be known .~ - .u-s (tawrd" uh" ¯SEE" yuhs) Columbus made discover~* ~ he Treaty of torOesma ~ as the West Indies. Although ~isd-P~’ugal moved the hne farther three more voyages to the "Indies" between 1493 west (see map, pages 360-36!). Obviously, because the earth is round, if either and 1504, he believed until his death that he had Spain or portugal had continued to explore and landed off the coast of Asia. uallv overlapped on the other claim lands in the direction allowed, their side claims e Impact of Columbus’s Voyages would have event " -’~i ,,urnoses, however, the the years after Columbus’S voyages, a massive of the world. For pract~-’* v pope’s line of demarcation worked well. For examthe interaction, New Worldoften and the Old ple, a Portuguese captain, pedro Alvares Cabral tookbetween place. This referred the Columbian Exchange, involved the moveBRAHL), reached the east coast of South of produc~s, plants, animals, and even (kuho America by accident in 1500. He had sailed for between the western and eastern hemi- India along da Gama’s route, but strong winds had For example, gold and silver mined in blown him far off course, forcing him westward. America was shipped eastward to Spain. At When he claimed what is now Brazil for Portugal,. Spanish honored his claim because he had of the Spanish Empire, bullion ships left the made landfall east of the line fixed by the Treaty of for Spain at the rate of one every four ] Oortu~al agreed to extend American precious metals helped Spain Tordesillas. 1529 S.pa , a ~he dobe. Thus Spare ai~erch;nge orld nower.between the New World and theIn line compteteiy arounu ~- ~, South Ameraffected the way people lived.foods, European markedly after American such took control of most of Central and tomatoes, beans, and corn were lntro- ica, while Portugal exploited Asia. cattle, brought Americas aheted to thethe life style of Ve~spucci, Balboa, and Magellan Horses andgreatly Spanish, especially in what today is Mex- Other explorers followed Columbus westward. the southwest United States. Other Between 1497 and 1503, Amerigo Vespucci .... were less beneficial. For example, small- (vehoSpOO¯ chee), a navigator from Florence, other diseases carried westward by took part in several SpaniSh and Portuguese expedi" nearly destroyed the native population tions acrOSS the AtlantiC. Unlike other explorers, Vespucci was convinced that the land he saw was America. not part of Asia but was instead what he called a "New World." After reading Vespucci’s writings ¯ ¯ ~:~ new land, a German geographer .7 ,~ describing tttt~ -- ~ Ve~,cci" (whose first name, !If ~amed it America atter v’ ~"* in Latin, is Americus). In 1513 a Spaniard named VascO Nfinez de.Balr~adl~ i the ~rnerieas and Isthmus of Panama and looked out he diSCOvered iOr spainl HOW boa crossed the which he called the South Sea and .~ WOrld have be~n diiforent if on a vast ocean, seemed dear that the a relX~niati9~ 0{ th0 claimed for Spain. It now paniSh m0na~ch? 363 from the plantations. To complete the triangle, merchants used the plantations’ products, such as As they did in Asia, the Portuguese went to Africa molasses and sugar, to make rum. The triangular to trade. At first the Portuguese, largely at the trade began anew when they used the rum as well as request of Christian missionaries who wanted to cloth, metal, and guns to buy more African slaves. convert the continent’s inhabitants, maintained Middle Passage. The Middle Passage had a friendly relations with the Africans. The Por-brutal and dehumanizing effect on all involved. tuguese treated the monarch of the Kongo kingdom The traders chained the slaves in the overcrowded as a legitimate and "brother" king to the Portuguese hold of the ship to prevent them from jumping ruler. In turn, the king of the Kongo welcomed the overboard or organizing a rebellion aboard ship. newcomers and accepted baptism. His advisers The slaves had little food or water and no provision adopted European dress and manners. Envoys from for sanitation. Many died before they ever reached the Kongo traveled to Europe, and the king corm- their destination. In the 1500s slave traders transported about sponded with the pope. The cordial relations, how2,000 slaves a year from Africa. At the height of ever, soon collapsed when the economic interests the trade in the 1780s, they seized as many as economic interests in Africa cen- 80,000 slaves a year. Histo~:ians estimate that a largely on slavery, holding people in servi- total of 11 million to 14 million Africans lived ude. Slavery had been practiced since the earliest through the horrible journey of the Middle Passage Europeans themselves had been used as to become slaves in the Americas. Possibly as many the Byzantine Empire and in the Arab and died during the process of enslavement by fellow empires. During the 1500s, however, the Africans and on the hard trip from the interior of ~verseas empires of the Europeans began to Africa to the coast, where stil! other Africans sold the slaves to Europeans for shipment overseas. ire slave labor. The trade grew very gradually, beginning in This tragic loss meant that Africa’s population when the Portuguese set up sugar planta- did not increase between I650 and 1800, when Euon the islands of Pr~ncipe and S~o Tom{ off rope’s population grew rapidly. Despite the tragedy ,f West Africa. To operate efficiently and of the slave trade, strong states arose that helped to these plantations required large numbers protect their own people from slave raiders. In time Plantation owners acquired their slaves these states conquered large areas of West Africa As plantation agricul- where most of the slave trade was centered. In the late 1600s, for example, the Ashanti ~ Brazil and the Caribbean islands, the slaves increased. By the early i600s, state developed on the Gold Coast bordering the trade served as the chief purpose of Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. At about this time the economy of the Gold Coast experienced rapid with Africa. growth of the slave trade. The Por- change. The Europeans who had arrived in the late began to lose their grip on international 1400s had been interested primarily in gold. But by when Spain annexed Portugal in 1580. the 1700s the traders actively engaged in the slave emerged as the leading naval power and trade. Ashanti rulers responded to this trade by over some of Portugal’s colonies, most notably limiting the slaves traded to prisoners of war, and In addition, the slave trade came Ashanti flourished throughout the 1700s and 1800s. To the east of Ashanti two other kingdomstheir control. Later, the English and the Benin and Dahomey-arose. These kingdoms purbecame involved in the slave trade. trade. The transatlantic slave sued completely different policies toward the slave s just one aspect of a system known as the tra&. Benin took little part in the trade afte~c the In the first stage of this system, early 1500s when the ruler outlawed the export of shipped cotton goods, weapons, and male slaves. Since the Europeans were almost exclusively in exchange for slaves or gold. The .~-called the Middle Passage-was the interested in male slaves to do manual work on to the Ameri- colonial plantations, the ban effectively mednt that sold the slaves for produce Benin had nothing to do with the slave trade. The Slave Trade Learning from Pictures Vasco Ng*’~ez de Balboa, the discoverer of the Ocean, later lost the favo of the Royal Governor o Panama, who had him executed for treason. The Portuguese in the East. "~g New World really was a distinct landmass, separate from Asia. ~and Magellan, a Por~u~guese_~navi- Portuguese conquered part of the of India, making the port of Goa (GO" uh) gator sailing for S~’dqt. ...... In 1519, with five ships, Magellan set out from administrative center. From India they Spain, crossed the Atlantic to South America, and the East Indies (see map, pages 360-61 sailed along its eastern shore until he roached the quered Malacca (muh. LAHK- uh) on the southernmost tip. After passing through the strait west coast of the" Malay Peninsula. Then now named for him, Magellan found himself in amoved east to take a group of islands great ocean. Because it appeared to be very calm, Moluccas (muh¯ LUHK ¯ uhz). Europeans he named it the Pacific Ocean, from the Latin word these the Spice Islands, because spices grew t pacificus, meaning "peaceful." This was the same in abundance. The Portuguese next ocean Balboa had named the South Sea. Magellan sailed westward across the Pacific and Japan. They then and reached the Philippine Islands, daiming them for island of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Spain. There, in 1521, he died in a fight with the coast of India, adding it to their chain of islanders. The crow, led by Juan Sebastian de bases. With its key location between Elcano, sailed on. Only one ship and !8 crew mem- Malacca and its tea and spices, bers completed this first round-the-world voyage, Portuguese dominate trade with the East The Portuguese in the New Worldi returning to Spain in 1522. gai’s colonies in Asia, though smal! trading bases. In the New World, ~r Portuguese Expansion the Portuguese founded a much After the voyages of Dias and da Gama, the Por- Brazil. They divided this huge country tuguese pursued Henry the Navigator’s dream of mous agricultural estates on which do~ninating trade with Asia. for export. 364 365 the crew lost to accident or disease. Each year Although the ban was eased in the 1700% the slave Portugal sent out its strongest, most daring young trade never became an important part of Benin’s men as sailors or traders. Sometimes only half of economy. In contrast, Dahomey based its economy those who set out returned. Because Portugal had a small population to begin with, the losses could not in large part on the slave trade. African slavery. Not all Africans participated easily be replaced. in the slave trade with Europeans, but many Third, Spain annexed Portugal in 1580, and Africans had practiced slavery well before the Portugal did not regain its independence until arrival of the Europeans. African slavery was very 1640. In the meantime Spain limited Portuguese trade and neglected the colonies that the Pordifferent from that of the Americas, however. African slavery included a wide range of rela- tuguese had established. Taking advantage of these weaknesses, the tionships, from voluntary service to enforced captivity of prisoners of war. While the slavers sold Dutch and English captured much of the Asian children captured in raids, Africans usually consid- trade from the Portuguese in the 1600s. ered the children born to enslaved women as free because their fathers were often free men. Most slaves sold in the international Slave trade were wealth. Only Brazil and Angola remained major adult males, whose labor would be productive on Portuguese colonies. plantations. African societies generally allowed slaves to buy back their freedom, and they treated slaves as people with a role in society. Europeans, on the other hand, considered slaves as property to 1 Define triangular trade, M ddle Passage 2. Identify Prince Henry the Nav gator, Prester be bought or sold for profit. John, Bartholomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama, Treaty Because Europeans rarely ventured beyond oi Tordesillas, Pedro ~Jvares Cabral, Amengo Africa’s coast, they needed the help of Africans in Veseucci, Vasce N0~ez de Balboa, Ferdinand gathering and transporting slaves. Some African Magellan societies and individuals willingly joined in the 3, Locate Azores, Cape of Good Hope, San slave trade to obtain arms and other goods Salvador, Brazil, Isthmus of Panama, Strait ol Magellan, philippine Islands, Malacca, Moluccas, from Europe. In turn, neighboring groups either Ceylon had to participate in the trade or become its wc- 4. InterPreting How d d Christopher , s Ideas waYeople lived Columbus voyages affect the P tiros. The demand for slaves led to increased slave ? raiding the cycle of violence in Africanthat lifeaccelerated and had a disastrous effect on the future of the continent. Weakness of the Portuguese Empire n Europe the Americas? lave trade affect ......... - "[n 5. ~,nalyzing Ideas ~tow o~o mu ~ the future of Africa? S nthesizingmade Ideasbetween Which of voyages1520s of 6¯ exY~loration thethe 1480sand contributed most to people’s understanding of the world? Explain your answer. Portugal rapidly acquired wealth and a vast empire, but the empire declined almost as swiftly as it rose. Three main factors hastened this decline. First, the Portuguese government, neither strong nor well Spain Created organized, had difficulty controlling its officials at home and found it impossible to control them in its a Vast Empire in colonies. Europe and Over.seas Second, transporting products home from the colonies drastically reduced Portugal’s population. Throughout the 1500s Spain, the most Portuguese ships made enormous profits in trade, nation in Europe, had the largest but they carried so much cargo that they were top- However, within just 150 years, Spain’s heavy and thus dangerous to sail. The voyage from declined. The reasons for the ri Portugal to India took six to eight months. The of the Spanish Empire are wove’ ships, often manned by inexperienced sailors and cam network of historical events. usually in bad repair, might be beset by storms and