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World History. The Age of Exploration. In Search of Spice and Profit. In Search of Spice and Profit. During the Middle Ages, spices from Asia brought huge profits Asian goods and spices flowed to Europe along complex overland routes. In Search of Spice and Profit.
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World History The Age of Exploration
In Search of Spice and Profit • During the Middle Ages, spices from Asia brought huge profits • Asian goods and spices flowed to Europe along complex overland routes
In Search of Spice and Profit • Each time goods passed from one trader to another – From Muslim merchants to Italian merchants – the prices increased • Europeans wanted to cut out the middle man
In Search of Spice and Profit • By the late 1400s, this desire spurred Europeans to explore the oceans • Improvements in technology helped Europeans conquer the vast oceans of the world
Advances in Technology and Knowledge • Cartographers (map-makers) created more accurate maps and sea charts • Europeans also gained access to the astrolabe
Advances in Technology and Knowledge • The astrolabe had been developed by the Greeks and had been perfected by Arabs • It determined latitude at sea
Advances in Technology • The Portuguese developed the Caravel • The Caravel was a type of ship that combined the best elements of European, Arab, and Chinese sailing.
Exploration • Portugal led the way in exploration • Portuguese ships explored the coast of West Africa and rounded the Cape of Good Hope to reach spices in Asia
Explorers • Bartolomeu Dias is the first known European to sail around the Cape of Good Hope (1480s) • His exploration proved that it was possible to reach India by going around Africa
Explorers • Vasco da Gama was the first European to sail directly from Europe to India
Explorers • In 1492, Columbus convinced the king and queen of Spain that he could reach Southeast Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean
Explorers • Columbus thought he had reached the islands off the coast of East Asia, but instead had discovered two new Continents
Conquest of the Americas • European powers built colonial empires in the Americas • They began an exchange of plants, animals, institutions, values, and ideas that affects the world to this day
Conquest of the Americas • This exchange of goods between the New World and the Old World is known as the Columbian Exchange
Conquest of the Americas • A flood of Spanish explorers, settlers, and missionaries followed Columbus to the Americas • These Spanish conquerors were known as conquistadors.
Conquest of the Americas • The conquistadors claimed all of the land and people that they visited for the king and Church • The conquistadors overthrow Aztec and Inca civilizations
Conquest of the Americas • Disease also spread • Europeans unknowingly carried diseases to which Native Americans had no immunity – wiping out entire communities
Conquest of the Americas • An immediate result of Spanish conquest was the flow of gold and silver • The wealth of the Americas helped make Spain the most powerful country in Europe
Conquest of the Americas • In order to build an empire, Spain set out to impose its culture, language, religion, and way of life on millions of people • To the Spanish, winning souls for God was as important as gaining land
Conquest of the Americas • Spanish soldiers helped Roman Catholic missionaries who built churches
Conquest of the Americas • Sugar cane became a key resource for the Spanish • To grow enough, the Spanish set up plantations
Conquest of the Americas • Plantations: large estate run by an owner or overseer • Plantations need large numbers of workers to be profitable
Conquest of the Americas • Spanish monarchs gave the conquistadors encomiendas • Encomiendas: the right to demand labor or tribute
Conquest of the Americas • The conquistadors used encomiendas to enslave Native Americans under brutal conditions • Later, settlers would import Africans and force them to work as slaves
Struggle for North America • In the 1500s and 1600s, France and England joined Spain in claiming parts of North America • Although North America did not appear to have as much gold as Central and South America, it did yield tobacco and fur
English Colonies • Britain began establishing colonies in North America • Many Europeans wanted to come to North America in search of land and profit
English Colonies • To do so, the immigrants signed on as indentured servants • They were under contract to work for seven years in exchange for ocean passage and fixed labor with an employer in the New World
English Colonies • In New England, the first collective settlement of Europeans was the Pilgrim colony founded in 1620 • They were dissenters from the official doctrines of the Church of England
English Colonies • The Pilgrim colony was bound together by the Mayflower Compact • It established a governing body for the colony
English Colonies • Of the 102 Pilgrims that arrived at Plymouth, fewer than half survived the first year • It was only with the help of Native Americans that the colony was able to survive
English Colonies • In 1630, the Puritans arrived in New England • Unlike the Pilgrims that wanted to separate from the Church of England, the Puritans wanted to purify the Church.
English Colonies • The Puritans were richer and better educated than the Pilgrims • The Puritans denied religious freedom to others
English Colonies • The Quaker colony was founded in Pennsylvania by William Penn • Penn joined the Quakers after hearing a lecture on their principles, which included pacifism
English Colonies • Pennsylvania became known throughout western Europe for their religious toleration • People from many countries and faiths immigrated to Pennsylvania for this reason
French Colonies • France established its first colony in Quebec, Canada • From there France moved to the Great Lakes and then down the Mississippi • The French also established New Orleans
Exploration in Australia and New Zealand • While the Americas had been colonized quickly, much of the Pacific was still untouched by Europeans
