Chapter 13Chapter 13

THE AGE THE AGE OF OF

EXPLORATIONEXPLORATION

SECTION 1

Factors that Encouraged Factors that Encouraged ExplorationExploration

1. The search for spices and profits. Italian merchants had a monopoly and charged high prices.

2. Desire to spread Christianity. Europeans believed they had a sacred duty to convert non-Christians.

3. Ability to use new technology. The Caravel was able to ride out storms. The compass and astrolabe allowed them to indicate direction and determine position by the stars.

Motive and MeansMotive and Means

• Because of Ottoman Turks conquest to the East, Europeans began to sail all over the world on the dangerous seas.

• 3 Reasons for this:

1. Economic- hoped to find precious metals and to expand trade, especially for the spices in the East

2. Religious- Europeans believed it was their duty to convert other peoples to Christianity.

3. Glory & Adventure

These 3 motives were known as

“God, glory, and gold”.

The Portuguese Trading EmpireThe Portuguese Trading Empire

• In 1420, Prince Henry the Navigator, sponsored fleets that began to explore the coast of western Africa and found gold. Became known as the Gold Coast.

• 1488, Bartholomeau Dias rounded the tip of Africa called Cape Good Hope on his way to India to get a cargo of spices.

• Vasco da Gama reached India in 10 months and gave Portugal a direct route to India.

• The Portuguese wanted control of spice trade from the Muslims.

• Admiral Afonso de Albuquerque set up a port at Goa, on the western coast of India. He gained control of Melaka, which was a thriving port for the spice trade.

• They made expeditions to China and the Spice Islands and later signed a treaty with a local ruler and for the purchase and export of cloves. This treaty gave them control of the spice trade.

Voyages to the AmericasVoyages to the Americas

• While the Portuguese sailed eastward, the Spanish sailed westward to reach the source of the spice trade.

• Christopher Columbus (Admiral of the Ocean), an Italian, persuaded Queen Isabella of Spain to finance his expedition to reach Asia by sailing west. Believed the world was round, not flat.

• In 1492, he reached the Americas. He believed he had reached Asia.

• 4 voyages later, he had reached all of the major islands of the Caribbean and Honduras. He called them the Indies, believing he was in Asia.

• With both the Portuguese and Spanish exploring for new territory, both of them feared that the other would try to claim land that the other had discovered.

• Treaty of Tordesillas- created a line of demarcation, an imaginary line that extended from north to south through the Atlantic Ocean and the easternmost part of South America.

• Unexplored territories east of the line would be controlled by Portugal (Africa), west would be controlled by Spain (Americas).

• Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese nobleman, believed he could reach Asia by sailing around the southern tip of South America. Explored the west coast of South America.

• John Cabot, a Venetian seaman, explored the New England coastline for England.

• Pedro Cabral, a Portuguese sea captain, landed in South America in 1500.

• Amerigo Vespucci, wrote letters describing what he saw. The New World eventually became known as the Americas after him. Explored the coastline of Brazil. He believed that it was not Asia, but a newly discovered continent.

The Spanish EmpireThe Spanish Empire• Conquistadors- Spanish conquerors of

America.

• Hernan Cortes conquered the Aztec Empire in Central America.

• By 1550, they had gained control of northern Mexico.

• Francisco Pizarro took control of the Inca Empire.

• The Portuguese took control of Brazil.

• By 1535, the Americas were under colonial administration of the Spanish.

• Encomienda- Spanish settlers- were allowed to use Native Americans as laborers, but also were to protect them.

• They were put to work in sugar plantations and in gold/silver mines. Forced labor, starvation, and disease (small pox, measles, and typhus- 30-40%) killed many Native Americans.

• Their whole way of life was replaced by the European systems of religion, language, culture, and government.

Economic Impact and Economic Impact and CompetitionCompetition

• Gold, silver, sugar, dyes, cotton, vanilla, hides, potatoes, coffee, corn, and tobacco were all brought back from the Americas.

• Portugal soon became the chief entry point for the trade in spices, jewels, silk, carpets, ivory, leather, and perfumes.

• Ferdinand Magellan, a Portuguese explorer, sailed around South America to the Philippines Islands, where they established a colony.

• In 1595, the Dutch landed in India and began to compete with the English and Portuguese for trade. The Dutch created the East India Company. They created the West India Company to compete for trade in the Americas.

• The Dutch established a colony of New Netherlands (New York) and the Massachusetts Bay Colony.

• By 1700, the English established a colonial empire along the eastern seaboard of North America.

• During the 1500s and 1600s, European nations established trading posts and colonies in North America and the East.

• Colony- a settlement of people living in a new territory, linked with a parent country by trade and direct government control.

• Mercantilism- set of principles that the prosperity of a nation depended on a large supply of bullion (gold/silver).

• Balance of trade- the difference in value between what a nation imports and what it exports over time.

• Tried to keep foreign goods out of their own countries by placing high tariffs (taxes) on these goods.

• Colonies were and excellent source of raw materials and an excellent market for finished goods.

Worldwide Contact Brought Hazards and Benefits

1. Epidemics- Europeans brought smallpox, measles, influenza to America. Native Americans were not immune and many died.

2. Farm Animals- Europeans brought goats, horses, pigs, cows, chickens, sheep, donkeys, and oxen to America.

3. New Plants- Spanish brought wheat, barley, rye, oats, oranges, apples, bananas, coffee, sugarcane, peaches, apricots, olive trees to America. Took back corn, potatoes, beans, squash, pineapples, melons, and tobacco.

Section 2

The Slave TradeThe Slave Trade

• The demand for slaves increased with the discovery of the Americas in the 1490s.

• Plantations- large agricultural estates, that grew sugar required large amounts of labor. African slaves were shipped to Brazil and the Caribbean to work the plantations.

• 1518, the first boatload of slaves from Africa to the Americas arrived.

• Triangular trade- European ships carried manufactured goods, such as guns and cloth to Africa, where they were traded for a cargo of slaves.

• The slaves were taken to America and sold.• Europeans brought back tobacco, molasses,

sugar, and raw cotton.• As many as 10 million African slaves were

brought to the Americas between early 16th and 19th centuries.

• The journey from Africa to the Americas became known as Middle Passage.

• Prior to the Europeans becoming involved with transporting slaves from Africa, most slaves were prisoners of war. Some local rulers traded slaves as a source of income and for guns and gun powder.

• It led to the depopulation of some areas. The demand for slaves increased warfare in Africa.

• In the 1700s, roughly 6-7 million Africans were shipped to the Americas as slaves.

Political and Social StructuresPolitical and Social Structures

• In most areas, traditional African political systems continued to exist.

• Monarchy becomes a common form of government throughout Africa.

• Some continued to live in small political units in which authority rested in a village leader.

• Trade routes shifted toward the coast weakening the Songhai trading empire.

• The Portuguese sent missionaries to Africa to convert them to Christianity. It was mainly limited to South Africa and Ethiopia.

• Islam continued to spread in North & West Africa.

Section 3

Emerging Mainland StatesEmerging Mainland States

• Conflicts erupted between the Thai and the Burmese.

• In 1767, a Burmese army sacked the Thai capital. The Thai created a new capital at Bangkok.

• Vietnamese gradually took over the Mekong delta and the Khmer monarchy disappeared.

• New states developed along the trade routes created by the Muslims.

• In the 15th century, Melaka became the leading power in the region due to its lockation and the rapid growth of the spice trade.

The Arrival of EuropeansThe Arrival of Europeans• In 1511, the Portuguese seized Melaka and soon

occupied the Moluccas (Spice Islands).• The Portuguese set up trading posts, since they

didn’t have the resources to set up colonies.• In the early 1600s, the Dutch gradually pushed the

Portuguese and the English out of the spice trade.• Took control of Java, built a fort, and limited the

growth of cloves to one island.• The Portuguese had limited trade relations with the

mainland states, like Burma, Thailand, and Vietnam. They resisted foreign intrusions. The mainland states were able to unite and drive out invaders.

Religious and Political SystemsReligious and Political Systems

• Between 1500-1800, religious beliefs changed in SE Asia. Traditional beliefs still survived, but Islam, Christianity, and Buddhism attracted converts.

• Four different styles of kingship arose in SE Asia.

1. Buddhist kings- king superior to other human beings.

2. Javanese kings- king believed to have sacred quality and maintained the balance between the sacred and the material world.

3. Islamic sultans- sultan was the head of state and viewed as a mortal. He defended the Islamic faith and staffed his bureaucracy mainly with aristocrats.

4. Vietnamese emperors- ruled according to Confucius teachings. A mortal appointed by Heaven to rule because of his talents and virtue. Also was an intermediary between Heaven and Earth.