The Age of Exploration

What was the Age of Exploration?

• Period when Europeans began to explore the rest of the world.

• Improvements in mapmaking, shipbuilding, rigging, and navigation made this possible.

• Blue water sailing, not just coastal sailing.• Policy of mercantilism drives exploration.

What is Mercantilism?

• European monarchs adopt new economic policy

• Believed nation’s real wealth was measured in its gold and silver treasure.

• Therefore, nations should export more than it imports

Mercantilism

• Overseas colonies are beneficial to parent country through resources and raw materials. These could be turned into manufactured goods and sold.

• Imposed high tariffs on imported good.• GOAL: Increase wealth

Why explore?

• 3 G’s: God, Gold, Glory• Find a sea route to Asia for access to spices:

flavor, medicine, and perfumes• Expansion: to control a larger empire• Furs: valuable in Europe• Expand knowledge of the world: Overlaps

Renaissancedesire to learn

New Technology

• New and improved maps• Magnetic compass• Caravel• Astrolabe

The Explorers: Portugal

Prince Henry• Discovered and claimed

the Madeira and Azores Islands and seized Port of Ceuta on N. Africa Coast

• Believed he could convert Africans to Christianity and that Africa was a source of great riches

• Set up school for exploration

The Portuguese explored the Gold Coast

•Southern coast of Africa along the Atlantic = “The Gold Coast”

Bartolomeu Dias • 1488-Sailed around

Cape of Good Hope at southern tip of Africa.

• Found route to Indian Ocean

• Trade can go from Europe to Asia by sea.

Vasco da Gama

• Landed in India in 1498.

• Important trade route from Europe to India and East Indies.

• Confirms Portugal’s status as a World Power

Ferdinand Magellan • Sets out in 1519• Goal-find way to reach Pacific• Gets to South America-goes

through Strait to Pacific• Most want to go back-but he

insists on going to East Indies• Believed it to be about 3 weeks…

took about 4 months-lands in Philippines where he’s killed

• His crew made first round-the-world voyage. (circumnavigate)

• Animaniacs Clip

The Explorers: Spain

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus • Believed a shorter route

to Asia could be found by sailing westward instead of around Africa.

• Found the Caribbean Islands-aka West Indies

What was the Colombian Exchange?

• Massive exchange of plants, animals and diseases.

• These things moved between the New and Old Worlds.

• Started with Columbus. • To the Americas: cows, horses, wheat,

smallpox, plus much more.• To Europe: potatoes, tomatoes, tobacco, corn,

plus much more.

Two Leading Countries: Portugal and Spain

• 1493-After Columbus returned to Spain: King and Queen of Spain, Ferdinand and Isabella, appealed to Pope to support their claim of lands in the “New World”

• Pope set Line of Demarcation-divided non-European world into two zones. Both countries agreed and signed the Treaty of Tordesillas.

• Spain had trade and exploration rights to the West. Portugal to the East. (PEWS)

Spanish Win the Treaty:They get the best Of the deal

Vasco Nunez de Balboa

• 1513-went through tropical forests of Panama.

• 1st explorer to see the Pacific Ocean

The Explorers: England, France, and Netherlands

English, Dutch, and French

• Explored the coast of North America unsuccessfully for a “Northwest Passage” or route from Atlantic Ocean to Pacific Ocean through Artic Islands.

Northwest Passage

Cabot

• An Italian who sailed and claimed land in Canada for England

• Left Bristol on voyage with 300 men and 5 ships-1 ship made it to Ireland-the rest never returned

• What happened to Cabot?

Hudson• Sailed for the Netherlands

and England• Made 4 voyages• Sought the Northwest

Passage-unsuccessful• Traveled down to N.Y.• Last voyage-crew mutinied

and Hudson, his son, and some crew members were put in small boat and left to die

• Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, and Hudson River named after him

Cartier• Sailed for France in many

voyages-1st in 1534• Left with 2 ships and 61 men• Explored W. Coast of

Newfoundland• Discovered Prince Edward

Islands• Sailed through Gulf of St.

Lawrence• Set up base in Quebec• By end of career-his

reputation was tarnished

China

• Chinese under Ming dynasty sets up Trade with Portugal-later the Dutch, English, and other European countries

• Could only trade under imperial officials• Missionaries tried to convert Chinese with

little success• 1793-Lord McCartney tries to get Chinese-

Qing Dynasty-to open port cities in North-unsuccessful…will prove problematic later

Korea

• Restricted contacts with the outside world in the 1500s and 1600s

• 1590’s Japan invaded Korea and left it devastated

• 1636-Manchu’s from China conquered Korea and set it up as a tributary state Run by its own govt. but forced to acknowledge China’s

supremacy

• Korea-chose isolation-set itself up as Hermit Kingdom-excluded all foreigners except the Chinese and a few Japanese – Killed shipwrecked Europeans

Japan

• At 1st-welcomes Westerners (Europeans)• 1543-Portugese reached Japan-followed by Spanish, Dutch,

and English• Missionaries converted Japanese to Christianity • Spain seized Philippines-Tokugawas expel foreigners and

missionaries• Persecute and kill thousands of converts• By 1638-Tokugawas barred all European merchants and

forbade Japanese to travel abroad• To keep informed about world events-1-2 Dutch ships were

allowed at Nagasaki harbor each year• Remained isolated for over 200 years