THE AGE OF EXPLORATION Motives for Exploration Need

THE AGE OF EXPLORATION

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

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

• 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

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

– 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

– 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

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

• 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)

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

• 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 a number of Native Americans to work the land for him • Catholic missionaries convert and baptize hundreds of thousands of natives

• 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

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

• 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

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 theory of mercantilism

• 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

– 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

• 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

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

• 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 – 16 th century – 275, 000 – 17 th century – over one million – 18 th 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

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