Download Exploration

Introduction
This chapter opens with a description of Christopher Columbus's encounter with the Tainos, the
native people on the island of San Salvador, in October 1492. Columbus's landfall in the
Caribbean signaled the beginning of the transformative impact European cultures would have on
the New World and its inhabitants. But that impact cut both ways— the encounter changed the
history of Europe and the rest of the world as well. Europeans slowly began to understand that
what Columbus had found was a whole New World (as they called it) separated from their own
by vast oceans. After 1492, neither of these worlds would be the same again.
Europe in the Age of Exploration, pp. 36-40
Despite the brief settlement of Newfoundland by Norsemen around the year 1000, historically
Europeans had generally turned to the East to pursue an expanding trade with Asia and Africa.
Although risky, trading ventures could and did reveal rich new information, opportunities, and
land.
Mediterranean Trade and European Expansion
The Mediterranean trade in exotic goods carried overland by traders from the East was
dominated by Italian bankers and merchants from the twelfth through the fifteenth centuries. By
the fifteenth century, various factors impeded and stimulated further European expansion. The
bubonic plague— the Black Death-wiped out about a third of the European population, causing
great hardship and distress. While the insecurity and dislocation caused by the plague led some
to avoid taking risks, paradoxically it encouraged others to venture out on voyages of
exploration, especially those who sought to better their position within European society. This
desire for overseas expansion was heightened further by advances in geographic knowledge and
navigational aids. In the end, it was the Portuguese who took the lead in venturing out beyond
the borders of the known world.
A Century of Portuguese Exploration
Portugal was a small and relatively poor nation located on the fringes of the thriving
Mediterranean trade. It had participated in zealous crusades against Muslims in the Reconquest.
Prince Henry the Navigator was an influential advocate of Portuguese exploration. From 1415 to
1460, he amassed information about sailing techniques and geography and encouraged the
explorations and conquests down the daunting west coast of Africa that eventually would lead to
a discovery of a sea route to the rich trade of the East. A key development in this quest was the
Portuguese invention of a sturdier seagoing vessel: the caravel. By 1480, the Portuguese were
trading with Africans, obtaining gold, slaves, and ivory, and venturing farther down the African
coast. In 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the southern tip of Africa-the Cape of Good Hope—
and, ten years later, Vasco da Gama led the first Portuguese fleet to India. By the early sixteenth
century, the Portuguese had established trading posts throughout the East Indies and controlled
a widespread empire. The sea route they discovered to the East destroyed the monopoly of the
old Mediterranean trade as it eliminated the need for overland travel and the role of middlemen
merchants; it also allowed Portuguese merchants to charge much lower prices for the eastern
goods they imported and still make handsome profits.
A Surprising New World in the Western Atlantic, pp. 40-44
Inspired by the example of the Portuguese, other Europeans reasoned that alternative routes to
the Indies might be possible. One such European was Christopher Columbus.
The Explorations of Columbus
An Italian born in Genoa in 1451, Christopher Columbus spent years as a sailor and learned from
Portuguese maritime innovations. He became obsessed with the possibility that by sailing west
instead of east, one could eventually reach Asia. Although Columbus, like most other Europeans,
believed that earth was spherical, he parted company with many of his fellow mariners in his
certainty that the circumference of earth was much smaller than commonly believed and thus
that an expedition west was feasible. In 1492, after years of seeking a sponsor, he persuaded King
Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain to provide financial backing for such an expedition.
Columbus's initial voyage to the New World and his reports of the new land's abundance excited
the overseas ambitions of the Spanish monarchs, who hastened to assert their control by asking
for the pope's official confirmation of their right to the lands Columbus had discovered. Alarmed
by this move, the Portuguese negotiated the Treaty of Tordesillas with Spain in 1494, which
established that all lands discovered to the east of an imaginary line belonged to Portugal,
whereas all lands to the west of that line were the province of Spain. Columbus returned to the
New World three more times; numerous conflicts between the Tainos and the Europeans foretold
of the future conflicts that would arise between the Old World and the New World. Christopher
Columbus died in 1506, still convinced that what he had explored was part of Asia.
The Geographic Revolution and the Columbian Exchange
Within thirty years of Columbus's landfall in the West Indies, European perceptions of world
geography underwent a revolution. Journeys of other explorers in the wake of Columbus's
voyage confirmed the presence of several large land masses in the western Atlantic, but
gradually it became clear that these were not parts of Asia. Discoveries by Vasco Núñez de
Balboa and Ferdinand Magellan provided conclusive geographic evidence that Columbus had
stumbled on a whole new world&mdash but they also demonstrated the enormous dangers and
the impracticalities of sailing west to gain access to Asia. Columbus's arrival in the Caribbean had
other revolutionary effects as well. The reconnection of the two hemispheres initiated the
Columbian exchange, an exchange of goods, peoples, and ideas. New items and technologies
were introduced into the New World, including iron, sailing ships, and horses, as well as deadly
diseases that caused epidemics among Indian tribes. American goods made the reverse trip,
introducing Europeans to pineapples, corn, and potatoes. However, it took another generation
for the Spanish to locate the material wealth for which they longed.
Spanish Exploration and Conquest, pp. 44-60
The early period of Spanish colonization in the New World (1492-1519) took place primarily in
the Caribbean islands, where Spanish settlers enslaved local tribes and forced them to grow crops
and mine the limited gold available. Far more enticing to the Spanish monarchs was the
possibility of great wealth in the interiors of Mexico and Central and South America. The
mainland phase of exploration, which began with Hernán Cortés's expedition into Mexico in
1519, lasted until about 1545.
The Conquest of Mexico
In 1519, Hernán Cortés, who would become the most famous conquistador of all, led an
expedition of Spaniards from Cuba into Mexico in search of a rumored kingdom of fabulous
wealth. His guide and interpreter was Malinali, called Marina by the Spanish, a Mexican girl who
had been sold into slavery by her stepfather, enabling her to learn the languages of numerous
captors. Montezuma, the emperor of the Mexica, heard of Cortés's approach and sent emissaries
bearing gifts to meet the intruders believing Cortés to be the Mexican god Quetzalcoatl. When the
Spaniards finally reached Tenochtitlán in November 1519, they took Montezuma hostage, hoping
to use him as a puppet through whom they could rule. However, after the Spanish massacred
some Mexica nobles, the population revolted, killed Montezuma, and launched a ferocious
assault against the Spaniards. Cortés and his men fought their way out of the city, but
determined to return to conquer Tenochtitlán. In the spring of 1521, with the support of tens of
thousands of Indian allies bitter at Mexican treatment, Cortés and his men besieged the city.
Within two months, they had completed the systematic looting and destruction of Tenochtitlán
and the total subjugation of the Mexica people.
The Search for Other Mexicos
Urged on by an insatiable lust for gold, conquistadors moved out to search for other Mexicos. In
the following few years, Francisco Pizarro brutally conquered the vast Inca Empire in Peru,
capturing a huge treasure of gold and silver. In the 1520s, Ponce de León and Lucas Vázquez de
Ayllón explored the Atlantic coast; both died in their efforts. In the 1540s, Hernando de Soto and
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado separately explored parts of the North American interior in
search of gold. De Soto led his men on a brutal three-year march through the southeastern United
States in search of riches but perished empty-handed in 1542. Coronado moved northward out of
Mexico, traveling as far as Kansas in search of the legendary Seven Cities of Cíbola. After several
years of wandering through the Southwest and Great Plains, he gave up, never having located
the fabulously rich cities. Juan Rodríguez de Cabrillo sailed along the coast of California; his men
made it as far as Oregon but were forced to turn back by a storm. The expeditions of
conquistadors like de León, de Ayllón, de Soto, Coronado, and many others convinced Spaniards
that, although extensive land stretched northward from Mexico and Peru, its inhabitants had few
riches worth pursuing.
New Spain in the Sixteenth Century
Spain dominated the New World in the sixteenth century and created a colonial society that
exploited the New World to serve the purposes of the Old. One-fifth of all plunder went to the
crown, and leaders such as Cortés took the rest, leaving common soldiers without a share of the
loot. After 1519, Cortés and the Spanish monarchy compensated Cortés's men by giving them
Mexica towns under the system of encomienda. The encomenderos often mistreated the Indians,
abusing and overworking them. The Catholic missionaries who sought to convert the Indians
were guilty of similar maltreatment. The Spanish crown itself sought to make amends, in part
through a reform of 1549 known as the repartimiento, which limited the amount of labor an
encomendero could require from his Indians. Despite these reforms, Indian labor had replaced
gold as the most important New World treasure. Spaniards used Indian labor for silver mining,
which created immense profits for the crown. New Spain had a rigid class and caste system
comprising peninsulares, creoles, mestizos and Indians, who made up the bulk of the population.
This type of strict social stratification by race and country of origin would become commonplace
in European colonies throughout the New World.
The Toll of Spanish Conquest and Colonization
The conquest and colonization of New Spain devastated Indian cultures. By 1560, the main
centers of Indian civilization had been destroyed and the remaining peoples completely
subjugated. Adding to the culture shock of conquest was the deadly devastation wrought by
European diseases, such as smallpox and measles, against which the Indians had no immunities.
By 1570, the Indian population of New Spain had fallen about 90 percent from what it had been
prior to Columbus's arrival. Because the Indian deaths left New Spain with a shortage of laborers,
the colonists began to import African slaves, but due to their expense relatively few (under fifty
thousand) were imported in the sixteenth century.
Spanish Outposts in Florida and New Mexico
After the explorations of de Soto, Coronado, and others, North America attracted little interest by
Spanish officials. In the mid-sixteenth century, however, the Spanish monarchy ordered the
establishment of a few settlements in North America to give credence to its claim over the area.
Thus, in the latter half of the sixteenth century, the Spanish established an outpost on the Atlantic
coastline&mdash St. Augustine, founded in Florida in 1565. Sixteen hundred miles west of St.
Augustine, another Spanish outpost was founded (in 1598) by Juan de Oñate in New Mexico.
However, Indian revolts against Spanish rule saw Oñate slaughter eight hundred men, women,
and children. Many disillusioned settlers returned to Mexico. By the beginning of the seventeenth
century, the few scattered, decrepit settlers in New Mexico were no more than a dusty reminder
of Spanish claims to the North American Southwest.
The New World and Sixteenth-Century Europe, pp. 60-64
The sixteenth century was considered the Golden Age of Spain. Using the vast wealth of New
Spain, King Charles I fought dynastic and religious wars in Europe and used bribes to have
himself selected as the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. But still another challenge confronted
the Catholic king: Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation.
The Protestant Reformation and the European Order
In 1517, Martin Luther started the Protestant Reformation by publicizing his criticisms (ninetyfive theses) of the Catholic Church. Luther wanted to reform what he believed were unscriptural
practices. He insisted that people did not need priests to interpret the Bible for them and that
faith in God, not good works, was essential for salvation. Although Luther's ideas caught on
quickly, the new theology faced a formidable adversary in Charles V, king of Spain and Holy
Roman emperor, who swore to commit all his efforts to extinguish the Protestant heresies.
New World Treasure and Spanish Ambition
New World wealth allowed Charles V and his son and successor, Philip II, to maintain Spanish
supremacy throughout the sixteenth century. Unfortunately, the ambitions of Charles V and
Philip II were too great— the expense of constant warfare far outstripped the revenues arriving
from New Spain. To raise more capital, both kings increased taxes in Spain more than fivefold
during the sixteenth century, but the nobility, by far the wealthiest class, was exempt from
taxation and burdensome new taxes fell mostly on poor peasants. To escape bankruptcy, Charles
V and Philip II borrowed heavily from European bankers. It was no easy fix. Eventually interest
payments on royal debts swallowed two-thirds of the crown's annual revenues.
Europe and the Spanish Example
Spain proved that a New World empire could make a major contribution to a nation's power and
prestige in Europe. France and England tried to follow Spain's example. In 1524, France
authorized Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazano to sail westward. Verrazano searched the
coast of North America from North Carolina to Canada for the fabled Northwest Passage to the
East Indies. More important for later French claims, Jacques Cartier mounted expeditions to the
St. Lawrence River area beginning in 1535 and established a colony in 1541 that survived only
briefly. English attempts to establish North American settlements in the sixteenth century were
no more successful. Sir Humphrey Gilbert led two expeditions in 1578 and 1583 to establish
colonies in Newfoundland, until Gilbert himself disappeared at sea. In 1585, Sir Walter Raleigh
explored the North Carolina coast and later sent a colony of over one hundred settlers to the
island of Roanoke. When the next supply ship reached Roanoke, the colonists had disappeared
mysteriously. Nothing was left except the word Croatoan carved on a tree.
Conclusion: The Promise of the New World for Europeans, p. 64
The establishment of the Columbian exchange became the most important legacy of the European
presence in the New World. This exchange, initiated by the Spanish, saw the introduction into the
New World of European "products" and especially diseases. The exchange also demonstrated
another sixteenth-century event of momentous significance: after millions of years, the Atlantic
Ocean no longer constituted an unbridgeable barrier separating the Eastern and Western
Hemispheres. After almost a century of unchallenged dominion over the New World, the
Spanish would find themselves having to contend with other European interlopers. In the
seventeenth century, as Spain's new rivals began to challenge its hegemony and make colonial
forays of their own, they would have to learn how to differ from and improve on Spain's
example.