Company

LOGO Europeans

Begin to

Explore the

World

THE ROMAN EMPIRE

From about the 5th century B. C. Until

the late 400s A. D., the Roman Empire

ruled much of Europe, the

Mediterranean Sea, North Africa, and

the Middle East.

Rome at the Height

of its Power…

The empire split into two parts in the late

200s A.D. in order to better manage it.

• The Western Empire eventually collapsed in

476 A. D., after internal strife, and invasions

from outside forces such as Northern Germanic

tribes.

• The invaders eventually destroyed many of

the Roman trade routes, and Europe broke up

into many smaller kingdoms.

• With no trade, people stopped using money,

and began to pay for items by using things like

animals and produce—the barter system.

• Other invaders, such as the Vikings also

disrupted life in Europe.

Feudalism and the Manor System

• To survive tough

times, people turned

to an idea called

FEUDALISM.

• It is a political

system in which a

king allows people

called NOBLES or

LORDS to use land

they own in return for

military service.

• The MANOR SYSTEM

also developed. With this

system, lords divided their

land into manors or large

estates farmed mostly by

SERFS who were

landless peasants who

the lord promised to

protect. Large castles

were built for protection.

The Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church also

gained power during uncertain times.

The church filled roles such as

collecting taxes, aiding the sick,

and punishing criminals. It

became a powerful, unifying force

throughout Europe.

By the 1000s, feudalism had created a

more stable society. Merchants

eventually felt safe to travel, more food

was raised, and the population began to

grow. Old trade routes opened up, as

more and more people produced goods,

and wanted to buy goods from far

away places. Money came back into

use, and a new middle class of people

developed.

Contact With the EastTrade not only increased throughout Europe,

but spread toward the East. Italian cities

especially gained from this trade because of

their location on the Mediterranean Sea.

Religious wars known as THE CRUSADES

also introduced new goods to European

people. The Crusades were religious holy

wars fought between Christians and

Muslims for control of the Holy Land and the

city of Jerusalem.

The Crusades

During and after the Crusades were over,

Europeans were exposed to new goods,

which were brought home with them. Clothing

made from silk and cotton was introduced.

New food items like oranges, lemons, dates,

etc. were introduced. Spices such as pepper

and cinnamon, livened up the food

Europeans were eating. The desire for

products like these and many others,

directly led to Europeans traveling and

trading more often.

Marco Polo and Family

Italian traders often brought products from the

east. One of the most famous was a trader

from Venice named Marco Polo. His father

and uncle journeyed throughout Asia leaving

before Marco was actually born. They

returned when Marco was about 15. At age

17, Marco, his father, and uncle embarked on

a remarkable journey that lasted 24 years. It

is estimated they traveled about 15,000 miles.

Journeys of Marco Polo and Family

On the journey, they saw incredible

things, and learned about Asian culture.

When Marco Polo returned, he found

Venice at war with another Italian city,

Genoa. While imprisoned for a few

months, he dictated his memories to a

cell mate. Later, a book containing

some of his memories was written. His

tales of the riches of the east inspired

and excited many Europeans.

Before becoming a

united country,

Italy was broken

up into several

city-states.

Venice and

Genoa were

bitter rivals who

wanted to control

trade in the

Mediterranean.

Both Venice and Genoa had

established extensive trade networks.

The Decline of Feudalism

• The growth of trade and towns weakened

feudalism as many serfs left the farms

and moved to cities to work.

• A deadly plague known as the “Black

Death” that started in 1347, killed about

1/3 of the population, reducing the

number of workers.

• Kings eventually grew to be stronger, and

as countries became safer, trade grew.

Bubonic Plague - “Black Death”

Devastated Europe

• After going through the decline of feudalism, and suffering from the Plague, Europeans began to question what life meant. Many people turned to the past for answers.

• In the 1300s Europe went through the RENAISSANCE or rebirth of learning and the arts.

• The influence of Greek and Roman culturecame back.

• Writers described human feelings, artistscreated lifelike paintings and sculptures, and architects designed nonreligious buildings.

The Renaissance

The Renaissance started in Italy, and

occurred from the 1300s – 1600s.

The Reformation• For nearly a thousand years, the Catholic

church had dominated life.

• After the invention of the printing press, books

became more widely available, and new ideas

began to spread.

• Some people began to question the power and

authority of the Church, and wanted to “reform”

it.

• Protests against the church, led to PROTESTANT

churches beginning to flourish in parts of Europe.

Martin Luther and his 95 Theses, or

questions for the Church.

Changes in Trade

As the Renaissance continued, Italian trade

boomed. Because they had been trading

with Muslims in the Middle East for centuries,

they had a special relationship. The

Italians used military strength to protect their

interests on the Mediterranean, and worked

to block other Europeans from trading.

Many were jealous of Italy’s wealth, and

began to look for other ways to get to Asia.

When the

Muslims

conquered

Constantinople in

1453, they

changed its name

to Istanbul and

the oldest

remaining part

of the old

Roman Empire

collapsed. The

Muslims could

now control the

land trade routes

between Europe

and Asia.

Constantinople Becomes Istanbul

With Italians in firm control of

Mediterranean trade, Europeans began

to search for other trade routes.

Portugal, located on the southwest edge of Europe,

turned to the sea, and its use of a ship known as a

CARAVEL, to try and find a route around Africa.

Portuguese explorers made it to the bottom of Africa

in the 1480s, and all the way to India by the 1490s.

An Italian

explorer named

Christopher

Columbus

proposed

sailing west,

into the Atlantic

Ocean, in order

to reach Asia.

Although much of the educated world accepted

the idea that the earth was round, there were

some who feared venturing far from land in

case they fell off, or were attacked by sea

monsters.

• Columbus had

approached

Portugal with his

idea, but they

thought it was

impractical, and

chose to focus on

their African route.

• Both Genoa and

Venice were also

not interested in

his plan.

• He approached the

Spanish monarchy,

but was originally

rejected.

• However, he was

called back by the

Spanish royalty,

and he eventually

achieved

financing for his

adventure.

Columbus in the presence of King

Ferdinand and Queen Isabella

1890s replicas of

the Nina, Pinta, and the Santa Maria

• The 120 Voyagers left Spain on August

3, 1492.

• As the winds continuously blew them

west, sailors worried about getting

home.

• After weeks of traveling, Columbus faced

the danger of MUTINY from his crew.

• On October 12, 1492, the exploration

party landed on an island somewhere in

what we now call the Bahamas.

Columbus was fortunate, in

that the trade winds blew

him westward, but on the

return journey, he caught

the winds that tend to blow

eastward.

The First Voyage of Columbus

1492

• While exploring, the Santa Maria was

wrecked on Christmas Day, 1492.

• On the return trip, the captain of the Pinta

sailed off on his own to try and beat

Columbus back to Spain.

• However, Columbus arrived back in

Spain first, on the Nina, March 15, 1493.

• The Pinta arrived a few hours later, with

its ill captain dying a few days later.

• News of Columbus’ successful journey

spread rapidly throughout Europe.

• Mistakenly believing he was in Asia, he

referred to the natives as “Indians”.

• He made a total of four voyages to this

“New World”, as some called it.

• Note: HE NEVER TOUCHED WHAT IS

NOW THE MAINLAND U. S.!!!

The Second Voyage of Columbus

1493

The Third Voyage of Columbus

1498

The Fourth Voyage of Columbus

1502

Columbus died in 1506, still believing

that he had made it to Asia. In history,

he is famous for making the journey, and

then having so many other Europeans

come after he did. Some Native

Americans do not look on him fondly,

because of all the changes that took

place in the “New World” after his

journeys. Despite your opinion of

him, he made a huge impact on

history.

Both Spain and Portugal were Catholic

countries. Not wanting them to fight,

the pope created an imaginary line,

giving Portugal the riches of Africa,

and Spain the riches of the “New

World” Columbus had bumped into.

Nobody knew how big the region really

was.

The Pope divided

new land

between Spain

and Portugal

without knowing

how far Brazil juts

out into the

Atlantic Ocean.

That is why

Portuguese is the

dominant

language there.

• Around the year 1500, a Portuguese

explorer by the name of Cabral was

supposed to go around Africa. However,

possibly by accident, or perhaps being blown

off course, he landed on Brazil’s east coast.

• Eventually other Catholic Christian countries

like France didn’t pay too much attention

to this line, and Protestant Christian

countries like England and Holland

ignored it as well.

• However, it took awhile for those countries

to catch up to Spain and Portugal in

claiming the riches of this “New World”.

ConquistadorsCONQUISTADORS were Spanish (and Portuguese) warriors who overpowered a lot of the New World. They took much of the region’s gold and silver, and set up colonies. Many native people were enslaved, but then began to die off, especially from diseases like SMALLPOX. Eventually, imported African slaves were used as labor on places such as sugar plantations.

After the Europeans realized they were

not in Asia or the Indies, they focused on

gathering the riches of this “New World”.

Several

European

countries

began

competing

for control

of various

parts of

the

Americas,

changing

them

forever.

The Columbian Exchange