Europeans Set Sail

1. Europeans Set Sail

2. The European Economy Grows • The Bubonic plague arrived in Asia in the mid 1300’s and spread to Europe. It killed as many as 30 million people. • The Commercial Revolution began in the 1200’s, Europeans became interested in making a profit • Merchants sought capital so they formed joint stock companies to pool their money • Prices increased because of goods being passed through many merchants.

3. Renaissance • The Renaissance was a rebirth of learning that began in Italy and spread throughout Europe in the 1300’s until the 1600s. • The arts were supported by wealthy merchants • Leonardo Da Vinci • Michelangelo • The printing press helped spread ideas throughout Europe • The Astrolabe allowed navigators to learn a ship’s location by plotting the stars

4. Trade with Africa and Asia • Much of the wealth came through trade • Africa - Gold, ivory, salt, slaves • Asia – Silk and spices • Most trade came by way of long overland routes such as the Silk Road • Merchants in Venice had a monopoly on Asian goods that reached the Mediterranean • Overland routes became less reliable due to political changes and bandit raids

5. Portugal • Prince Henry • Gathered sailors, mapmakers and shipbuilders, and improved navigational instruments • First to set sail for Asia • They designed a caravel • Bartolomeu Dias sailed around the African coast • They traded slaves in Africa, this led to local wars, In the 1500’s, Portugal controlled 75% of the spice trade between Europe and Asia

6. Columbus • Columbus wanted to sail west to reach Asia (the Indies), most people believed such a long voyage would be impossible • King John preferred Dia’s route. • King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella ruled Spain • They agreed to pay for the voyage • They agreed to make Columbus a viceroy of the land he explored • Columbus departed Spain on August 3, 1492 • He sighted land on October 12, 1492

7. Columbus • He landed in the Bahamas but thought he was in Japan (Asia – Indies) • He wanted to find gold, but he did not • Established settlement on Hispaniola called La Navidad before returning to Spain in 1493 • He became an admiral and governor • Isabella wanted to convert the natives to Christianity

8. Columbus • The Pope created the Line of Demarcation • This gave all lands west of the line to Spain, and the lands east of it to Portugal. • The Treaty of Tordesillas moved the Line 800 miles west • Brazil came under Portuguese control. • He went back to find that La Navidad had been destroyed • He enslaved the Taino’s (Indies) against Isabella’s wishes • Made two additional voyages before he died in 1506

9. European Exploration • Vasco da Gama sailed around the Cape of Good Hope to reach India in 1498 • He established trading forts in India, Africa and China • These people had a history of trading with Muslim and Italian merchants. • Pedro Cabral accidentally discovered Brazil, which he claimed for Portugal • John Cabot, worked for the English, he sought a northern route to Asia, but instead discovered North America

10. European Exploration • Balboa took control of the settlement in Panama and made alliances with the Native Americans through force and trade • Balboa led an expedition to the Pacific (South Sea) in 1513 from a mountaintop in Panama. • He tried to build a fleet to explore the area and was tried for treason by his enemies and executed • This convinced Magellan to sail west.

11. European Exploration • Ferdinand Magellan was a Portuguese sailor who went to work for Spain, this led to and increase in trade between Spain and Asia • He set sail in September 1519 and discovered a strait (an all-water route) at the southern coast of South America, this became know as the Strait Of Magellan (Sea Passage) • Magellan was killed in the Philippines. His remaining crew continued to voyage around the world and finished in 1522 by Juan Sebastian de Elcano, (circumnavigate) • One of the last borderland areas settled by the Spanish was California

12. The Search for the Northwest Passage • Europeans hoped to discover a Northwest Passage, or sea route through North America to Asia • Giovanni da Verrazano (France) explored the coast from present-day North Carolina to Maine • Jacques Cartier made two trips to what is now Canada • Cartier and his crew sailed up the St. Lawrence River all the way to present-day Montreal

13. The Search for the Northwest Passage • Samuel de Champlain visited the Great Lakes and in 1615 founded the colony of Quebec • The moment that French claimed Canada began. • He had help from the Huron Indian guides. • Henry Hudson was the captain under England and the Netherlands • search for the Northwest Passage • Hudson found a huge bay, later called Hudson Bay • His crew rebelled and set Hudson and his followers adrift in a small boat • Did failure stop European interest in North America?

14. To reward settlers for moving to new lands in the Americas, Spain established the encomienda system.