ARE YOU A RISK-TAKER? What is the biggest adventure

you have ever been on? Why does it qualify as your

biggest adventure? What was the benefit when

compared to the cost?

CH.19.1 AND 20.1

An Age of Explorations

Essential Questions: What led Europeans to seek new trade

routes to the Indies? What new technology allowed

Europeans to sail great distances? Why did Europeans establish colonies

around the world? How did life change as a result of

European overseas exploration?

Motive and Means… The Renaissance encouraged a new sense of

adventure and curiosity The Three Gs:

GodGlory Gold

Bartolomeu Dias: “To serve God and His Majesty, to give light to those who were in darkness and to grow rich as all men desire to do.”

And don’t forget the importance of spices…

Pepper - The most sought after spice. Black pepper was the most expensive. Imported from Asia and later Africa.

Ooo, ooo, Rumor has it… Europeans gained some

understanding of the wealth of the East by hearing the stories of Crusading knights returning from the Holy Land

Marco Polo’s overland trek to China in 1275 further whet the appetites of Europeans

Marco Polo, rockin’ the Vellucci Beard

Why did the Portuguese lead the way in overseas exploration?

Out of need: the Portuguese population was growing rapidly; but they had limited land for farming. Importing food was expensive

Spice Routes of the 1400s

Why didn’t Europeans try to explore routes to the Indies before the mid-1400s?

After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Muslims controlled the overland route to Asia. Christians could pass, but were forced to pay exorbitant tolls

The Venetians controlled the Mediterranean Sea route. If any anyone tried to mess with their turf, just remember what happened to their last competitor during the Fourth Crusade-1204 (Constantinople)

CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY…Up until this time, ships didn’t venture out too far into the open ocean. They liked sticking close to land. Why????

Because the ships weren’t great for blue water travel and the navigation ability away from land wasn’t great either.

Plus, the sail technology was good only for going with the wind. If it was against you, you just had to pull the sails and wait until it shifted.

This changed, though, with the introduction of some Muslim technology and some new sails.

What new technology allowed them to sail great distances?

○ The Caravel○ Sturdier○ Triangular sails

stronger against the wind (called tacking)

○ Large cargo area

○ Shallow draft allowed it to explore close to the shore

New triangular Lateen sails were another big deal. They allowed ships to travel against the wind by tacking (zig-zagging).

The Astrolabe:This enables sailors to figure out where they were in relation to the equator (latitude, but not longitude).

The astrolabe was eventually replaced by the sextant

Another nice innovation was the magnetic compass from China.

First Chinese mention of something like a compass is about 70 AD. First mention of one used for navigation is 1119.

Today we use GPSThe printing press allowed navigators to put pieces of the puzzle together.Better maps meant a better knowledge of the world

Better Maps…

PortugalPortugal became an independent kingdom in 1139

Iberian Peninsula around 1420. TheReconquista wouldnot be completeuntil 1492 with thecapture of Granada

Portugal Leads the Way…

This was mainly due to Prince Henry the Navigator. He founded a navigation school, and gathered together mapmakers, instrument makers, shipbuilders, scientists, and sea captains (think JFK and the creation of NASA).

Henry used his own fortune to finance exploration and as a result, died in debt

Goal of the Portuguese: To reach the Indies (India, China, Indonesia) by way of sailing around Africa

Prince Henry the Navigator

Let’s talk explorers!

Bartolomeu Dias Date of Voyage- 1487/1488 Ventured down the coast of

Africa until he and his crew reached the southern tip

The Cape of Good Hope His ships were battered by

storms and were forced to return to Portugal

Vasco Da Gama Portuguese Navigator Sailed 1497/1498 Notice the time elapsed

between the voyage of Dias and the voyage of Da Gama. REASON?

The first navigator to sail all the way around Africa to India

Vasco da Gama’s Route to the Indies

The Result… They filled their ships

with spices like pepper and cinnamon and return to Portugal

The cargo was worth 60 X the cost of the voyage!

Remember our discussion about risk analysis?

Cost vs. Benefit

Da Gama’s Ship

The New Portuguese Route to the Indies

Spain Also Makes Claims As the Portuguese

were establishing trading posts along the west coast of Africa, Spain watched with increasing envy

Spanish monarchs desired a direct route to Asia

In walks Christopher Columbus

SpainSpain, in its modern form, is widely believed to have begun by the Union of the crowns of Castile and Aragon in 1479 (the marriage of Isabella and Ferdinand (1469)

In 1492, Columbus sailed…

After unsuccessful attempts to get Portugal to finance his voyage, Columbus goes to the new monarchs of unified Spain, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand

They had just completed the Reconquista of Spain, and were heavily in debt

Could they afford to finance Columbus wacky idea about sailing west for Asia?

Again, cost vs. benefit

The Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria…not as big as you might think!

A Couple of Facts About the Voyage… Columbus miscalculated the size of the earth- he

thought it was much smaller As a result, he thought it would only take six to seven

weeks to reach China by sailing west. It took about 9 1/2 weeks!

His crew on the verge of mutiny, Columbus convinced them to sail on

When he reached the New World, he thought he had reached Asia (thus, the misuse of the term “Indian”)

He named the newly discovered island San Salvador (Holy Savior)

Trade vs. Colonization Portugal establishes a trade empire

Controls key port cities like Goa, India and Cape Town, South Africa

They also controlled key straits like the Strait of Hormuz and the Straits of Malacca (where pirates are still common!), which are strategic trade routes even today

However, by 1600, other countries like the Dutch Republic (aka, the Netherlands) challenged Portugal’s dominance in the Indies

The Dutch East India Company was formed to established and direct trade in Asia. They could mint money, make treaties, and even raise their own armies.

Portuguese Trade Empire

Spain Chooses to Colonize Spain established colonies in the Americas

after Columbus’ discovery of the New World and subsequent voyages of other explorers such as Amerigo Vespucci, Vasco de Balboa, and Ferdinand Magellan

Why colonize? To turn a kingdom into an empire!Land = WealthTo gain natural resources and raw materialsTo use the native population as a marketFor some, to escape religious persecutionFor others, it was the first chance to own their own

land

War Over the New World? Both Spain and Portugal feared the other

would try to claim some of its newly found territory

As the rivalry grew more tense, the two nations were on the verge of war

Pope Alexander VI took some time away from his mistresses and stepped in to keep the peace

He established the Line of Demarcation, a north/south divider through the Atlantic

Treaty of Tordesillas When the Line of Demarcation was drawn

in 1493, Spain was given all lands west of the line and Portugal received all lands east

Portugal thought the line was unfair So in 1494 the Pope moved the line further

West. Both countries signed the Treaty of Tordesillas to honor the line

Portugal could now claim Brazil as a result of Francisco Cabral’s voyage

Treaty of Tordesillas/Line of Demarcation

Other Explorers Take to the Seas Pedro Alvarez

Cabral, Portugal Gets blown off

course on his way to India

Discovered Brazil and claims it for Portugal in 1500

Amerigo Vespucci (1499) Like Columbus, another Italian

navigator commissioned by Spain He is the first to recognize the

Americas as a new continent, and not Asia

He explored the east coast of South America and then Central America

A German mapmaker, reading of the discovery, names the new continent in honor of Amerigo Vespucci

Why don’t we live in North Amerigo?

Vasco de Balboa Spanish explorer 1513- becomes the first

European to view the Pacific Ocean after marching across Panama

Juan Ponce de Leon Spanish explorer 1513- While searching for the

Fountain of Youth, he claims Florida for Spain

Ferdinand Magellan (1521) Commissioned by Spain to set sail for

the newly discovered Pacific Ocean Leaves with five ships and 250 men Eventually reaches the Philippines Magellan becomes involved in a local

tribal war and is killed (actually, torn to pieces is a better description)

His first mate, Juan del Cano, finishes the voyage back to Spain, but Magellan is given credit as being the first navigator to circumnavigate (sail completely around) the world (1522)

Magellan’s Route

Age of the Conquistador

Conquistador- a Spanish soldier or “conqueror” who fights for God, Glory and Gold

Hernando Cortes 1519- Lands on the shores of Mexico Learns of the vast wealth of the Aztec Empire Despite being vastly outnumbered, he proceeds to

conquer the Montezuma and the Aztecs with the help of superior weaponry (muskets, cannons), neighboring Indian tribes, and most of all- disease!

Hernan Cortes Claims an Empire for Spain

Francisco Pizarro Another Spanish conquistador Disobeyed the orders of his superior; 1532- marched

south from Panama along the west coast of South America; conquered the Inca of Peru

Captured the Incan emperor Atahualpa and held him for ransom

Received 24 tons of gold and silver- the richest ransom in history. Unfortunately, Atahualpa was still executed (a “merciful” strangling since he converted to Christianity)

Pizarro earned a place in the book TheTop Ten Most Evil People of All Time

How ‘bout we throw in an English explorer? Sir Francis Drake 1577-1580 He sailed as a privateer for England under Queen Elizabeth

(basically, a legal pirate) He raided Spanish settlements on the west coast of the

Americas. Couldn’t find a eastern route back to England, so he just

circumnavigated the world The second navigator to do so…

How did life change around the world as result of European exploration?

The Positives:Obviously, knowledge of the world increasedThe increase in gold/silver led to an international

currencyThe Columbian Exchange is created- tomatoes, squash,

pineapples, tobacco, cacao (for chocolate) The cost of goods (spices, food, etc.) decreased and

they became more readily available. As a result…Diets changed. European food became less bland.

Corn and potatoes became a staple of peoples diets. Increased nutrition means people live longer, boosting the world’s population

Triangular Trade

The Negative Impacts European’s crave sugar. The Caribbean is the

ideal setting for sugar cane to grow, but the plantations are labor intensive. The result?

The development of the African slave trade. The infamous Middle Passage leads to the death of 20% of those slaves on board the ships

Why were African slaves considered a better choice of labor? They were strangers to America with no allies or places to hide in case they escaped. Also physically stronger

The terrible conditions of the voyage…

The Encomienda SystemNative Indians were also oppressed. Spain used what was known as the encomienda system to basically enslave the native population in order to exploit the land for its precious resources.

Effect of Disease…

Negative Impacts Continued• Disease Ravages Americans• Smallpox, measles, typhus • Hispaniola – pop. 250,000 in 1492

pop. 500 in 1538• Mexico – pop. 25 Million in 1519

pop. 1 Million in 1630

• Cultures also mixed. Spanish peninsulares (those born in Spain) mixed with the native Americans. The mixed offspring were known as mestizos