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The Foundations of European Exploration. As Europe started to grow, the need to expand became important. Technology and resources were needed for long voyages. NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT IMPACTED EUROPEAN EXPANSION . Improved Ship Design – (Caravel) Faster, safer The Printing Press
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The Foundations of European Exploration As Europe started to grow, the need to expand became important. Technology and resources were needed for long voyages.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES THAT IMPACTED EUROPEAN EXPANSION • Improved Ship Design – (Caravel) • Faster, safer • The Printing Press • More reliable and accurate Magnetic Compass • Invention of the Clock • Allowed for new navigational methods – eventually Longitude • Astrolabe - Latitude • More Accurate Maps • Gun Powder and New Weapons • Cannons and Muskets
ASTROLABE- LATITUDE MEASUREMENTS IMPROVED COMPASS
ECONOMIC • Rapid economic growth and an increase in business activity • Vast amounts of Gold and Silver Flooded into Europe • Prices of Goods rose due to inflation and Mercantilist economic policies • Too much Gold and Silver drove down the value of the currency • More opportunities for the rising Middle Class • Majority of Europeans (Peasant Class) saw little improvement in their standards of living • Capitalism slowly began to emerge by the 1700s
MERCANTILISM • Mercantilism stated that a country’s government should do all it could to increase the country’s wealth. • There is a limited amount of money, so you needed to grab what you could • Export more then you import….was the policy. • Favorable balance of trade • Placing tariffs on imports (taxed outsiders) • Encouraged exports (subsides) • Controlled raw materials
SOCIAL CHANGES • Social values became more focused on material wealth and social standing • Growing secular trend • Rising middle class benefitted the most from new economic and social opportunities • Power and wealth in the colonies came to be concentrated in the hands of a few (Europeans) • Strict economic and social hierarchy • Social and economic issues have continued to plague these regions as a results of this trend • This trend has continued throughout South and Central America • Christianity spread across the Globe and the Catholic Church became dominant in many colonial regions • Very often conversions were forced and or coerced; However, many ever, many truly converted to Christianity