early european explorations why did the iberians (portuguese and spanish) sail first? why did...
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Early European Explorations
Why did the Iberians (Portuguese and Spanish) sail first?
Why did Europeans go on voyages at all?
Portuguese possessions at their height
Red = actual ownershipPink = areas of influenceBlue = area of first European Exploration
LESSON: EUROPEANS GAINED SMALL COASTAL ENCLAVES – THAT’S IT!
1. Internal Factors• Poor, faced ocean• Small country
(Portugal), primogeniture
• Excellent navigators and ship builders (gained compass, astrolabe, improved sails, caravel)
2. 1257/1492 C.E.
• Year that Muslims were defeated in Portugal and Spain
• No more Muslim rule
• Wars create a sense of national identity
• Monarchs consolidated power
3. Trade• Asian/North African cities were hit hard by
Plague
• Luxury goods scarce & $$$• Around 1400, Europe was in recovery, perfect
time to make $$$ through trade!
Black Plague Buboe
4. Fall of Constantinople
• 1453 C.E., Muslims in total control of trade routes
• cuts off access to Slavs (slaves = cheap labor) from the Balkans
• Jacked up prices on luxury goods
5. The Middle Man
• Desired to cut Muslims out
• Wanted GOLD
• Wanted pepper/spices
• Wanted porcelain
• Desired to go directly to the source
5. Collapse of Pax Mongolica
• Silk Road unsafe
• How to get Indian cotton, E. African gold, S.E. Asian Spices? – go around Africa to reach the riches of India
by H2O!
Need + Opportunity + Skill =
European Exploration
Portugal Makes its Move• 1415 C.E. – Sack Moroccan city of Ceuta
•
• Discover there is a LOT of gold there
• New Goal = reach Songhai by sailing around West Africa to the source
Ceuta
Difficulties• Water Currents – can go down not up
• Prince Henry the Navigator; opens a
school to figure it all out
• 1462 – Reach around the bulge of W. Africa
• Songhai – Portugal LEASED a port and traded peacefully for gold, ivory, pepper
• Were NOT strong enough to dominate – had to pay for trading rights
• Exchanged guns, cannons, metal goods
Trade Develops/Atlantic Slave Trade Begins
• West African Kingdoms = Empire Building
• Kongo, Benin, Ashanti
• W. African Empires begin using male POWs from African wars to extract gold to trade w/ Europeans. Europeans traded guns for slaves
• Slave trade was controlled by Africans at first
• After about 100 years, slaves were the #1 export. This disrupted population patterns, b/c so many men were taken into slavery.
Changes in IOMS Trade• Before = no central control.• Traders operated independently of governments• Portuguese introduced use of organized gov’t
military force to the system • Governments invested in the success of trading
operations• Sugar was produced by slaves off the coast of
Europe/West Africa – slave trade from W. Africa picks up
• A new “Atlantic System” of trade develops
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