THE AGE OF EXPLORATION

1. THE AGE OF EXPLORATION

2. Motives for Exploration • Need a route by sea to Asia (India and China) • The Ottoman Empire, due to its conquests, controls the land route to Asia • Motives for European exploration: • God – spread their faith to new lands • Glory – want fame and adventure • Gold – search for wealth • Able to expand due to new technologies: • Better ships and cartography (map-making) • New technologies from the Arabs, such as the compass and astrolabe

3. Portugal Takes the Lead • Portugal was the first country to launch large-scale voyages of exploration • In 1420 Prince Henry the Navigator sponsors expeditions to sail along the western coast of Africa • His ultimate goal was to find a water route around Africa to India • Portuguese sailors learned that both gold and slaves were available on Africa’s west coast • Bartholomeu Dias was the first European to sail around the tip of Africa looking for a route to India in 1488 – he was forced to turn back due to violent storms

4. Vasco da Gama set out for India in 1497 and ten months later he became the first European to reach India by sea • Brings back a cargo of space, makes a profit of several thousand percent • Pedro Cabral sailed to the west and ended up sighting and claiming land that became known as Brazil • The Portuguese were interested in setting up trading centers, not interested in conquering • They took the spice trade from the Muslims by force • Had the advantage since they put cannons on their ships

5. Spain Sails West • While the Portuguese sailed east to reach the source of the spice trade, the Spanish sailed west • Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain financed Christopher Columbus to sail west to reach Asia in 1492 • Columbus thinks that the circumference of the world is not as large as others thought it was • Reaches Cuba in 1492, but thinks he is in Asia, on islands known as the Indies • Sails a total of four missions – explores many Caribbean islands and Honduras, which he names the Indies and calls the people Indians

6. The Spanish call Columbus a hero since they think he has found a new route to Asia • In 1502 Amerigo Vespucci sailed along the coast of South America and he finally realized that this wasn’t Asia, but a new land • It is later named America in his honor and the Spanish set out to explore it • Vasco Nunez de Balboa led an expedition across the Isthmus of Panama and became the first European to view the Pacific Ocean • Ferdinand Magellan decided to sail west around the world in 1519 with five ships and 250 men • Magellan was killed in a fight in the Philippines against the native people but his men continued on

7. In 1522 18 survivors from Magellan’s expedition arrived back in Spain, the first people to ever circumnavigate the world • Treaty of Tordesillas – signed by both Spain and Portugal in 1494 that gives a line of demarcation dividing their new territories • Each feared that the other would claim some of its newly discovered territories • The treaty gives an imaginary north-to-south line through the Atlantic Ocean and the easternmost part of South America • Everything west of this line went to Spain and Portugal got everything east of the line

8. Other Explorers • John Cabot sailed to and explored the Atlantic coast of Canada and New England • He set out on a second voyage, but his entire fleet vanished • Sir Francis Drake sailed around the tip of South America and explored its west coast • He stopped in what is now California and then went on to become the second man to circumnavigate the globe • Henry Hudson explored parts of eastern America and had a river and a bay named after him

9. Jacques Cartier sailed past the island of Newfoundland into the St. Lawrence river • He claimed all the land along the river as the province of New France (Canada)

10. The Spanish Empire • The Spanish don’t just settle for a trading empire, they are going to conquer and colonize • Conquistadors = Spanish conquerors of the Americas • Had incredible success due to guns, horses, and disease • Hernan Cortez arrived with 600 men to take on the Aztec empire • Other Native American groups joined them since they hated the Aztec • Around 1520 Cortez defeats the Aztec empire • Ten years later Francisco Pizarro arrives with 200 men to take on the Inca empire

11. Pizarro took the new Inca emperor prisoner and killed him although they received lots of gold for ransom • He then conquered the Inca empire • By 1550 Spain controlled northern Mexico and the western part of South America • Spain created a system of colonial administration • The Spanish kings chose officials called viceroys to rule a large area in the king’s name • Encomienda system – a colonist was given a certain amount of land and a number of Native Americans to work the land for him • Catholic missionaries convert and baptize hundreds of thousands of natives

12. Drop in population among the Native Americans caused by forced labor, starvation, and disease • European diseases caused much death to the native populations who lacked immunity to such diseases, such as smallpox • Haiti went from a population of 100,000 when Columbus arrived to only 300 by 1570 • Mexico’s population dropped from 25 million to 3 million • Decreased by 30% in the first ten years following contact with the Europeans • The Inca Empire decreased from 13 million in 1492 to 2 million by 1600

13. Other Colonies • Portugal colonized Brazil • France established several colonies in New France or Canada • Only small groups of traders colonized these areas • The French also did not enslave Native Americans, in fact many traders married Native American women • Samuel de Champlain founded the city of Quebec • Rene-Robert La Salle claimed the enormous Mississippi region for France and named it Louisiana in honor of Louis XIV

14. The Dutch established New Netherlands and bought the island of Manhattan from Native Americans, founding the city of New Amsterdam • The Dutch were more interested in the profitable spice trade and they eventually lost New Netherlands to the English, who renamed it New York • The first English colony established was the settlement of Jamestown in Virginia • The English soon established the thirteen colonies • Rivalries over trading and colonies eventually led to war

15. The Columbian Exchange and Economic Concepts • The Columbian Exchange = global transfer that happened when large-scale contact between European and American societies led to the widespread exchange of plants, animals, and disease • Plants such as potatoes and tomatoes were introduced into Europe, while animals such as horses and pigs were introduced into the Americas • Colony = a settlement of people living in a new territory, linked with the parent country by trade and direct gov’t control • Played a role in the theory of mercantilism

16. Mercantilism is an economic theory that the prosperity of a nation depends on a large supply of gold and silver • A nation’s strength depended on its wealth, which was measured by the amount of gold and silver it possessed • Mercantilists believed that there was a fixed amount of wealth in the world – had to take wealth and power away from other nations • Could build wealth in two ways: • Extract gold and silver from mines • Have a favorable balance of trade • Balance of trade = the difference in value between what a nation imports and exports over time • Favorable = export more than import

17. Place high tariffs (taxes) on imported goods • Favorable balance of trade was a central goal for mercantilist nations • Establishing colonies was also essential to the mercantilist system since colonies were useful as: • Sources of raw materials for the parent country • Markets for finished goods from the parent country • In the mercantilist view, colonies existed only to benefit the home country • Capitalism = economic system in which most economic activity is carried on by private individuals or organizations in order to seek a profit

18. Joint-stock companies = investors pooled their money to fund business ventures in which investors bought shares of stock in the company • Idea of shared risk • Each shareholder receives a portion of the profit based on the number of shares owned • In 1607 the Virginia Company of London established Jamestown

19. The Atlantic Slave Trade • Colonization greatly increased the slave trade • Plantations = large agricultural estates • Shortage of labor in the Americas due to the death of millions of Native Americans • Triangular Trade = pattern of trade connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas Europe America Africa Middle Passage

20. Middle Passage = journey of slaves from Africa to the Americas, usually lasted three to six weeks • Horrible conditions and high death rate – 20% did not survive • Number of slaves imported • 16th century – 275,000 • 17th century – over one million • 18th century – six million • Sources of slaves – Africa • Prisoners of war prior to the arrival of Europeans • Local merchants at slave markets on coast – exchange slaves for gold and guns • Some Europeans organized slave raids

21. Effects of the slave trade • Separated families • Depopulation in some areas • Strongest men and women taken, the future leaders of the villages • Increased warfare