Download Chapter 13: absolutism in Europe

Chapter 13
The Age of Exploration
Motives for Exploration

Attraction to Asia


Economic motives


Expand trade- spices and precious metals of the far East
Religion


Inspired the writings of Marco Polo and his voyage to Kublai Khan’s court
Making sure natives were “introduced into the holy Catholic faith”
Sense of adventure and glory
“God, Glory, Gold”
What Made Exploration
Possible?

European monarchies
increased their power
and resources
 Could focus beyond
their borders

New levels of
technology

New global age emerges
Technological Advances
Mapmaking


Improved during the
Renaissance due to interest in
writings of ancient geographers
Knew the earth was round
Navigation Instruments

Creation of the compass

Astrolabe: applied astronomy
and geometry to navigation so
sailors could determine relative
height of stars and planets


Added information about Africa
and Asia
Using this info they could
calculate latitude
Technological Advances
New Ships


1400s ship designers in Spain and
Portugal made important
improvements
 Made width of ships
proportional to their length
 Made smaller and different
shaped sails
 Moved rudder (steering) to
back of the ship
These improvements allowed ships
to sail against the wind, travel
faster, and be steered with
reasonable accuracy
The Cannon

Europeans first used cannons in
1400s

Before this, naval warfare was
ramming and then boarding and
enemy vessel

Cannons on ships and handguns
carried by sailors helped
Europeans defeat enemies’ navy
Economic Changes

1400-1750 known as the Commercial Revolution


Major changes in European economy
Standardized Money

Before 1400 money not standardized- meaning value of coins could change
depending on how much precious metal used to make them

During 1400s this changed- Italian cities (Florence, Venice) led the way in
mining coins with fixed value

Standardizing money made transactions more reliable- by accepting the money
you knew its worth

This trust in money lead to growth of international trade and banking

Large sums banks accumulated made it possible for them to lend money to
gov’ts and major trading companies that financed large overseas expeditions
Money is standardized
New trust in value of money
How
standardization
of money leads
to overseas
expeditions:
Trust leads to growth of international trade and
banking
Banks accumulate large sums of money and can
lend it to governments and trade companies
Governments and trade companies finance
overseas expeditions
Economic Changes

Joint-stock Companies

Company that raised money
by selling stocks in the
company to investors

These shareholders became
co-owners of the company
and divided profits

Joint-stock companies raised
large amounts of money from
people willing to invest
Political Changes

Rivalries between countries of
made governments big
supporters of new exploration
and colonization

Become rich from overseas
exploration was one way a
country could become more
powerful than its rivals

Portugal, Spain, Francemonarchs not only financed
voyages but also controlled
exploration and building
overseas empires
Mercantilism

Set of principles that dominated
economic thought in 17th ce

Theory that a nation became
powerful by building up large
supplies of gold and silver

How do you become
powerful?...colonies

European nations began est
trading posts and colonies in
Americas and the East
The Role of
Colonies
Rules of Mercantilism

Mother countries began
to create laws to control
their economy

What was the main goal
of these laws?
 To build up the
mother country’s
supply of gold and
silver
Rules of Mercantilism
RULE #1
 Export
(sell) more than you import (buy)
to create a favorable balance of trade
Rules of Mercantilism
RULE #2
 Place
a high
tariff (tax) on
foreign goods to
keep them out of
your country
Rules of Mercantilism
RULE #3

Settle colonies!

Why?



They provide raw materials and crops not available in Europe
They provide a market to sell manufactured goods
Also, by not allowing your colony to trade with other
countries, you will be able to export more
Long-Term Impact of
Mercantilism

A transition began from a feudal
economy to a market economy

People that used to be farmers
started gaining wealth and
starting new businesses

In this market economy
individuals began deciding on…


What to produce and sell

What prices to charge
This caused them to begin
earning profits
Social Changes

Increase in population during 14th and 15th ce caused
overcrowding

Caused people to look for other opportunities such as life at
sea


Sailors paid, fed, and given place to stay
Other people wanted chance at a new life overseas



Get quick profits- tales of gold and jewels
Escape religious or political persecution
Desire to spread Christianity
Key Explorers
Vasco da Gama



Rounded the tip of Africa and
and cut across the Indian Ocean
to India
May 1498, arrived off the port
of Calicut and took on a cargo
of spices
After returning to Portugal, da
Gamma made a huge profit
Ferdinand Magellan

Set sail Sept 1519 down coast of S.
America in search of a sea passage
through the America

Oct 1520 he passed through
waterway (Strait of Magellan) into
the Pacific Ocean

Fleet reached Phillipines but
Magellan was killed by natives

Although only one of his ships
returned to Spain, he is known as
first person to circumnavigate the
globe
Strait of Magellan
Christopher Columbus

Believed he could reach Asia by
sailing West instead of East
around Africa

Oct 1492 he reached the
Americas and explored the
coastline of Cuba and the island
of Hispaniola (Hati/ DR)

Columbus believed he reached
Asia but in his four voyages, he
reached all major Caribbean
islands and Honduras
Impact of Columbus’
Voyages

Interaction began between the ‘New World’ and the ‘Old World’



Known as the Columbian Exchange
Changed the way people lived

Diet of Europeans changed-potatoes, beans, corn, tomatoes introduced

Horses and cattle brought from Europe changed lives of N. Americans
Some exchanges not positive

Smallpox and other diseases carried westward by Europeans nearly destroyed
the native population
Columbian Exchange

Exchange of plants and
animals between Europe and
the Americas


Transformed economic
activities in both worlds
Colonists est plantations and
ranches to raise sugar, cotton,
vanilla, livestock, and other
products to export to Europe
Treaty of Tordesillas

Spain and Portugal both feared
that other countries might try to
lay claim to the lands they had
discovered

Treaty of Tordesillas: called for a
line of demarcation extending
from north to south through the
Atlantic Ocean and the
easternmost part of the S.
American continent
 Unexplored territories east of
the line would be controlled
by Portugal and west of the
line by Spain
Portuguese Expansion

1510 Portuguese conquered part of
SW coast of India and made port
of Goa their administrative center

They then moved on to conquer
much of SE Asia


With many trading bases
throughout the islands, the
Portuguese dominated trade in
the region
Also went on to gain footholds in
China, Japan, East African coast
and Brazil (sugar plantations for
export)
Weaknesses of the
Portuguese Empire

Portuguese government did not have a strong financial base and could not
afford its vast empire

Distant sea voyage put a strain on the population

Many men went to sea and never returned

Although Portuguese ships made large profits, shipwrecks and attacks
from enemies cost the country money

Because Portugal used to be part of Spain, the Spaniards limited
Portuguese trade and did not care about their colonies overseas
Slave Trade

Portuguese relationship with Africa was friendly in the beginning


Originally utilized slaves for sugar plantations off the coast of Africa


This changed due to Portuguese economic interests- largely focused on slavery
As plantation life grew so did demand for slaves
Triangle trade: Atlantic trade system for goods and slaves

Middle Passage: Shipment of slaves from Africa to the Americas- brutal effects

Between 1741-1810 European slave ships carried average of 60,000 slaves
per year

Est that 1.5 million slaves died during Middle Passage
Triangular Trade

First Stage: cotton goods,
weapons, liquor sent to
Africa

Second Stage: Middle
Passage-shipment of
slaves from Africa to
Americas

Third Stage: Plantation
products sent to Europe
Destroyed Civilizations

Conquistadors: Spanish conquerors whose firearms, organizational skills,
and determination brought them incredible success

Cortes had a relationship with the Aztecs

Modern weapons of the Spanish gave them an advantage over the natives

Many Aztecs fell sick and died from new diseases such as smallpox

Spanish leveled pyramids and temples to build gov’t buildings and churches

Within the 30 years after the fall of the Aztecs, Spanish expanded their
control to all of Mexico

Same situation happened with Francisco Pizarro and the Incas
1550-1715
 1560-1650
Europe witnessed severe economic
and social crises

Inflation
 Growing
population (16th ce) increased demand
for land and food- prices for both went up
 By

1650 population began to decline
Warfare, plague and famine contributed
 One
response to the crises of the 17th ce was to
seek stability by increasing the power of the king
 Result
was absolutism: system in which a ruler
holds total power
 Absolutism

tied to the divine right of kings
Receive power and authority through God
 Louis
XIV is seen as the best example of
absolutism in the 17th ce

Huguenots: French protestants influenced by Calvin


For 30 years battles raged between Catholics and
Huguenots until 1598 when Henry of Navarre came to
the throne as Henry IV


40-50% nobility- powerful political threat to the Crown
Realized he would never be accepted by Catholic France so
he converted and fighting ended
Henry IV issued the Edict of Nantes: recognized
Catholicism as the official religion of France but also
gave the Huguenots the right to worship and enjoy all
public privileges

Henry also worked to
restore the power of the
central gov’t, discipline
the army and rebuild
the infrastructure of the
country

But France’s financial
difficulties made these
changes hard to make

System of taxation was
inefficient, unjust, and
corrupt

Nobles and clergy did not
pay direct taxes so burden
fell on the peasants
 Henry

IV’s son was Louis XIII
His health was poor and suffered from concentration
issues
 Understanding
his personal issues Louis XIII chose
Cardinal Richelieu to be his chief minister
 Richelieu
wanted to make the king the supreme
ruler in France

Set out to destroy nobles and Huguenots
 Began
to remove the political power of nobles
and replaced them with middle-class people that
favored a strong-monarchy

Louis XIV came to
power when he was 4
but Cardinal Mazarin,
chief minister, took
control

When Mazarin died in
1661 Louis took over
supreme power at age
23

Established and kept a
strict routine

Referred to himself as
the ‘Sun King’- source
of light for all his
people
 Louis
established the royal court at Versailles:
personal household and chief state offices
 Greatest
danger to his rule came from high
nobles and royal princes who believed they
should play a role in the gov’t

Louis removed them from gov’t and brought them to
Versailles to enjoy life and stay out of politics
 Louis
has absolute power over nationwide
policies but not local- so he bribed important
people in each province to see his policies were
carried out
 Louis

pursued an anti-Protestantism policy
Aim was to convert Huguenots to Catholicism
 Ordered
the destruction of Huguenot churches
and closed their schools

Many fled to England and Germany
 Building
palaces, maintaining his court and
pursuing his wars made finances crucial
 Jean-Baptiste
Colbert was controller-general of
finances: sought to increase France’s wealth
through mercantilism
 Built
roads and canals to increase transportation
and trade while decreasing imports by raising
taxes on foreign goods

Louis developed a standing army of 400,000 in time
of war

Wished to achieve military glory and ensure his
dynasty dominated Europe

To achieve this he waged 4 wars in 46 years

Many nations banded together to prevent him from
taking over Europe

BUT through wars Louis added some territory and set
up a member of his dynasty on the Spanish throne
 Endless
wars cost
many lives and too
much money spent
 Although
France
faced defeats, Louis
XIV made the nation
extremely powerful

France was largest,
richest, and most
influential nation
 Cultural
and physical factors that separated
Russia from Europe:

Religion was Eastern Orthodox v. Roman Catholic or
Protestant

Used Cyrillic alphabet v. Roman alphabet- caused
barrier to communication

Geography isolated the country from the rest of
Europe- almost entirely landlocked

Stronger kingdoms blocked access to the Sea

Became czar (caesar) in
1689

He was an absolute
monarch who claimed the
divine right to rule

Goal was to westernize
Russia and was eager to
borrow European
technology

Modernization of the army
and navy were crucial to
make Russia a great power

By Peter’s death in 1725,
Russia was a great military
power and an important
ruler

Peter began to introduce Western custom, practices
and manners into Russia
Ordered first Russian book of etiquette
 Insisted Russian men shave their beards and women
remove traditional face-coverings and move out into
society


Also wanted a port with ready access to Europewarm water b/c did not freeze in winter


Only could be achieved through Baltic Sea which Sweden
controlled
Peter acquired lands won after a war with Sweden

1703 began construction of St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg became
the base for the new
Russian navy and a
window to the West

Used shipbuilding skills
and trained craftsmen
acquired from the West
to build new warships
for the Baltic fleet

St. Petersburg became
Russia’s most important
port and reminded the
Russian capital until
1918
 Peter

also reorganized the army
Employed Russians and Europeans as officers
 Drafted
peasants into 25-year stints to build a
standing army of 210,000
 Divided
rule

Russia into provinces to more effectively
Goal: a “police state”- well ordered community
governed by law
 However,
not everyone felt the same way and
Peter’s personality created an atmosphere of fear

Part of present-day Germany

Rose to power in late 1600s


1640- Frederick William the Great Elector inherited the
throne


After the Thirty Years’ War he decided that having a strong
army was the key to safety
He built a large and efficient standing army


Built up their empire from a number of small land holdings
Prussia was a small, open territory with no natural frontiers
for defense
General War Commissariat was created to levy taxes for
the army and oversee its growth

Was the chief instrument to govern the state