Chapter 15 European Exploration and Conquest 1450 1650

Chapter 15 European Exploration and Conquest, 1450– 1650

A detail from an early-seventeenth-century Flemish painting depicting maps A detail from an early-seventeenthcentury Flemish painting depicting maps, illustrated travel books, a globe, a compass, and an astrolabe. Reproduced by courtesy of the Trustees, The National. Gallery, London

The Afro-Eurasian Trading World Before Columbus The Indian Ocean was the center of the Afro-Eurasian trading world. After a period of decline following the Black Death and the Mongol invasions, trade revived in the fifteenth century. Muslim merchants dominated trade, linking ports in East Africa and the Red Sea with those in India and the Malay Archipelago. The Chinese Admiral Zheng He’s voyages (1405– 1433) followed the most important Indian Ocean trade routes, hoping to impose Ming dominance of trade and tribute. Source: Some data from The Times Atlas of World History, 3 d ed. , page 146.

The Port of Banten in Western Java Influenced by Muslim traders and emerging in the early sixteenth century's a Muslim kingdom, Banten evolved into a thriving entrepôt. The city stood on the trade route to China and, as this Dutch engraving suggests, in the seventeenth century the Dutch East India Company used Banten as an important collection point for spices purchased for sale in Europe. Archives Charmet/The Bridgeman Art Library

Bellini: Procession in the Piazza San Marco The Piazza San Marco was, and remains, the principal square of Venice. Located on the Grand Canal, it is home to Saint Mark’s Basilica and the palace of the doge, the officer elected for life by the city’s aristocracy to rule the city. Many Venetian festivals, like this procession recorded in 1496 by the great artist Gentile Bellini, took place in the square. Erich Lessing/Art Resource, NY

Ptolemy’s Geography The recovery of Ptolemy’s Geography in the early fifteenth century gave Europeans new access to ancient geographical knowledge. This 1486 world map, based on Ptolemy, is a great advance over medieval maps but contains errors with significant consequences for future exploration. It shows the world watered by a single ocean, with land covering three-quarters of the world's surface and with Europe, Africa, and Asia as the only continents. Africa and Asia are joined, making the Indian Ocean a landlocked sea and rendering the circumnavigation of Africa impossible. The continent of Asia is stretched far to the east, greatly shortening the distance from Europe to Asia. Giraudon/Art. Resource, NY

Nocturnal An instrument for determining the hour of night at sea by finding the progress of certain stars around the polestar (center aperture). National Maritime Museum, London

Overseas Exploration and Conquest, Fifteenth and Sixteenth Centuries The voyages of discovery marked a dramatic new phase in the centuries-old migrations of European peoples. This map depicts the voyages of Ferdinand Magellan, Christopher Columbus, and Vasco da. Gama. • 1 What was the contemporary significance of each of these voyages? • 2 Was the importance of the voyages primarily economic, political, or cultural? • 3 Which voyage had the most impact, and why?

The Portuguese Fleet Embarked for the Indies This image shows a Portuguese trading fleet in the late fifteenth century, bound for the riches of the Indies. Between 1500 and 1635, over nine hundred ships sailed from Portugal to portion the Indian Ocean, in annual fleets composed of five to ten ships. British Museum/Harper. Collins Publishers/The Art Archive

World Map of Diogo Ribeiro, 1529 This map integrates the wealth of new information provided by European explorers in the decades after Columbus’s 1492 voyage. Working on commission for the Spanish king Charles V, the mapmaker incorporated new details on Africa, South America, India, the Malay Archipelago, and China. Note the inaccuracy in his placement of the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, which are much too far east. This “mistake” was intended to serve Spain’s interests in trade negotiations with the Portuguese. Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana

The Aztec Capital of Tenochtitlán Occupying a large island, Tenochtitlán was laid out in concentric circles. The administrative and religious buildings were at the heart of the city, which was surrounded by residential quarters. Cortés himself marveled at the city in his letters: “It has four approaches by means of artificial causeways. . The city is as large as Seville or Cordoba. . There are bridges, very large, strong, and well constructed, so that, over many, ten horsemen can ride abreast. . The city has many squares where markets are held. . There is one square, twice as large as that of Salamanca, all surrounded by arcades, where there are daily more than sixty thousand souls, buying and selling. In the service and manners of its people, their fashion of living was almost the same as in Spain, with just as much harmony and order. ” The Newberry Library

Doña Marina Translating for Hernando Cortés During His Meeting with Montezuma In April 1519 Doña Marina (or La Malinche as she is known in Mexico) was among twenty women given to the Spanish as slaves. Fluentin Nahuatl and Yucatec Mayan spoken by a Spanish priest accompanying Cortes), she acted as an interpreter and diplomatic guide for the Spanish. She had a close personal relationship with Cortés and bore his son Don Martín Cortés in 1522. Doña Marina has been seen as a traitor to her people, as a victim of Spanish conquest, and as the founder of the Mexican people. She highlights the complex interaction between native peoples and the Spanish and the particular role women often played as cultural mediators between the two sides. American Museum of Natural History, Image VC #31

Seaborne Trading Empires in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries By the mid-seventeenth century, trade linked all parts of the world, except for Australia. Notice that trade in slaves was not confined to the Atlantic but involved almost all parts of the world.

A New World Sugar Refinery, Brazil Sugar was the most important and most profitable plantation crop in the New World. This image shows the processing and refinement of sugar on a Brazilian plantation. Sugar cane was grown, harvested, and processed by African slaves who labored under brutal and ruthless conditions to generate enormous profits for plantation owners. The Bridgeman Art Library/Getty Images

Chinese Porcelain This porcelain from a seventeenth century Chinese ship’s cargo, recovered from the sea, was intended for European luxury markets. Christie’s Images

Philip II, ca 1533 This portrait of Philip II as a young man and crown prince of Spain is by the celebrated artist Titian, who was court painter to Philip’s father, Charles V. After taking the throne, Philip became another great patron of the artist. Scala/Art Resource, NY

Christopher Columbus, by Ridolpho Ghirlandio. Friend of Raphael and teacher of Michelangelo, Ghirlandio (1483– 1561) enjoyed distinction as portrait painter, and so we can assume that this is a good likeness of the older Columbus. Scala/Art. Resource, NY