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AGE OF EXPLORATION. Astrolabe. Since Spain had just expelled the Moors and Jews, Columbus saw himself as a sort of visionary who was going to bring about the Second Coming, and part of his mission was to convert the rest of humanity to Christianity. He dies believing he had reached Asia.
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Since Spain had just expelled the Moors and Jews, Columbus saw himself as a sort of visionary who was going to bring about the Second Coming, and part of his mission was to convert the rest of humanity to Christianity. He dies believing he had reached Asia. It takes a long time for Europe to realize the impact of the “discovery” of the Americas on European society.
A map drawn in 1763, allegedly a copy of a map drawn by Zheng He in 1418. Did Columbus already have a map of the world?
Prince Henry of Portugal Or Henry the Navigator Portugal, one of the poorest states in Europe, initiates the age of discovery around 1413 sending explorers down the coast of Africa and encouraging map making and trade. Once Bartolomeo Diaz reached the Southern tip of Africa in 1487, and Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498, Portugal saw the potential for great profits. Portugal saw an opportunity to break the Muslim monopoly on trade from India.
Prince Henry was obsessed with defeating the Moors and the Turks. He had heard legends of an ancient Christian kingdom in Africa (possibly from stories from Ethiopia or Eretria) and wanted to make contact. By finding this mysterious civilization, he believed he could form an alliance to defeat the Ottoman Empire and help drive the Moors out of Iberia. For this reason, initial Portuguese expeditions were discouraged from trading with non-Christians. (They are much less driven to spread their culture).
Gold and slaves, were the main interests of the Portuguese in Africa. Once they reached India, they were able to defeat the Ottomans in the Indian Ocean and monopolize the European spice trade with India and the Spice Islands. The Portuguese set up colonies in Goa, Calicut,
Ferdinand and Isabella Get married in 1474, joining the kingdoms of Castille and Aragon and ushering in the 'golden age' of Spain. Isabella was expected to join Castille with Portugal, rather with Aragon. By choosing to marry into the house of Aragon, she was signaling a shift towards Europe, rather than towards Africa. Influence of Isabella and Ferdinand on Spain: • Centralized state • National Police Force (helped to keep nobility under control) • Bureaucratic system: State government relied on trained lawyers and bureaucrats, rather than nobility. • Expelled Muslims and Jews in 1492
Isabella ends the intellectual isolation of Spain by creating universities, importing books and foreign scholars. At the same time, Spain moves away from the multi-culturalism it experienced in the middle ages. The Inquisition became directed at those suspected of only pretending to be Christian. In 1482, a crusade against Granada is launched. Partly, this is to occupy the nobility and prevent opposition to the crown..
Most of the men Spain sends to the new world on expeditions of discovery were veterans from the campaign against Granada. They were seen as potentially dangerous mercenaries, who might pose a challenge to the state. Popularity of persecutions Isabella replaced her brother, Henry IV, who was known for the following: * Promoter of Moorish art * Immoral – sexually promiscuous * Politically incompetent * Disrespectful towards Christianity To help legitimize her claim to the throne and distance herself from her brother, Isabella had political motivations for pursuing the Inquisition and expulsion of Jews and Moors.
Magellan’s Voyage 1519-1522 • He set out with five ships intent on claiming the Molucca islands for Spain, but only one returned to Spain with 18 surviving sailors.
Machu Pichu
Incan EmpireTawantinsuyu A centralized state Passivity and respect for the empire. Ideal citizens Avoid Rebelliousness Part of a religious system that emphasized obedience, and the importance of the collective rather than the individual. • Mitimaes – system of displacing farmers in new territories and moving them far away • Deterred development of writing • 1001 Taboos and Precepts
Pizarro comes along… • Pizarro is an illiterate pig farmer from Spain. He comes to Cajamarca and meets with Atahuallpa, who is returning from the conquest of a new province with an army of 80,000 - 100,000 soldiers. • Pizarro has: • 180 men • 37 horses • Also: guns, swords, steel & armor.
What‽ 180 Spaniards defeated an army of 80,000? They killed about 7,000 Inca in one day? They didn’t suffer any casualties? …The numerical difference was such that the Quechua ocean would have had simply to shake in order to drown the invader. -- Mario Vargas Llosa
How can we explain the Incan defeat? • Llosa suggests, “They did the only thing they could do with heroism, we must admit, but without breaking the 1001 taboos and precepts that regulated their existence. They let themselves get killed.”
Potosi Silver was discovered at Potosi in 1545, which quckly became one of the most productive silver mines in the world. The silver from Potosi funded the Spanish empire, and contributed to the economic development of Europe. Before the conquest, Inca Emperor Huayma Capaj sent miners to find gold and gems in Sumaj Orko (rich hills) to decorate the Temple of the Sun in Cuzco. When miners began to dig, a voice as loud as thunder came from the hills and said in Qechua “This is not for you; God is keeping these riches for those who come from afar.” The miners fled and renamed the mountain Potosi, which means “to thunder, burst, explode.” By 1573, a town of 120,000 people had grown up around the mines. (This was as large as London, and larger than Seville, Madrid, Rome and Paris).
Between 1503-1660, 185,000kg of gold and 16,000,000kg of silver were exported from Spanish colonies to Spain. (This was 3x more than all European reserves).
New Technology for mining silver: Mercury amalgamation process, (after 1535) After 1535, most coinage in Europe was coming from Potosi and Zacatecas. In 1540, 1.5 million ounces/year By 1590, 10 million All European mines put together: 3 million oz. This was a HUGE influx of silver into the European economy!
In groups: What was the main significance of the age of discovery for the Americas? for Europe?
Consequences of Spanish Colonization: For the Americas – Demographic catastrophe: 80% decline in population over the first 100 years (most of the death was from disease and unhealthy working conditions). – Slavery: Large-scale enslavement of American Indians and African slaves – Ethnocide: attempt to wipe out the way of life/civilization of native peoples. – Columbian Exchange
Consequences of Spanish Colonization: • For Europe: • Massive influx of gold and silver • Stimulates trade, cash flow, economic growth • Spurs Inflation • Europe begins to gain in power an wealth, and by 1750, is the most wealthy and powerful part of the world. • Increased competition between kings (beginnings of national identity) • Spread of Christianity and European culture around the globe • Columbian exchange
Consequences of Spanish Colonization For Europe: – Stimulates trade – boosts cash economy – also produces inflation – (did this lead to modern capitalism?) – Produces Golden Age of Spain – How much of this silver stayed in Europe? Much of the silver was spent in East Asia to purchase spices and textiles. – intensifies global competition between European monarchs. (Produces a sense of national identity). – Europe becomes the first global power in world history. – Huge expansion of Christianity
