Exploration & ExpansionCHAPTER 13 SECTION 1 1500-1800

Motives & Motivations

Trade & CommerceAccess to tradable goods that had been so readily available to Europeans by the land trade routes in the past were now harder to come by due to numerous factors such as the Black death & the fact that Ottoman Turks now controlled the area where these tradable goods passed by. Europeans consider Precious metals & spices to be the most valuable commodities. Spreading ReligionAfter Hernan Cortes made land fall in Mexico, he considered it his duty as a Catholic to bring the religion to as many people as possible. He said that natives should be ” introduced into the Catholic faith”. Fame & GloryMany explorers were viewed as heroes back in Europe, these explorers were viewed as the celebrities of their day. Along with this fame came great wealth which was very appealing to these explorers, especially the ones who came from poorer back grounds.

A Race for Riches - Portugal* The most influential European country at the beginning of the Age of Exploration was Portugal. Located on the Atlantic Coast of the Iberian Peninsula, they enjoyed direct access to the seas. Vascco de Gamma, was the first person to sail around the Southern coast of Africa, thus bringing a European presence into the Indian Ocean.• Upon De Gammas return from India with large quantities of

spices, he was able to make a profit of a thousand percent off of these sought after goods.

• Other Portuguese sailors such as Afonso de Albuquerque extended Portugal's influence in the Indian Ocean by expanding into the Malay Peninsula (Melaka), Moluccas (aka. The Spice Islands), and into China. By doing this they diminished Arab dominance over this area and brought back great wealth to the Kingdom of Portugal.

A Race for Riches - Spain

By this time period it was abundantly clear that the earth was round, however the circumference of the Globe was still unknown. Christopher Columbus believed that he could fin a shorter route to Asian spices by sailing west, instead of East as the Portuguese were doing.

After being financed by the newly established Spanish kingdom, Columbus eventually made landfall in what today is referred to as the Americas. He explored the Caribbean basin making landfall in Cuba & Hispaniola (Modern day Haiti & Dominican Republic). Upon arriving at these islands Columbus believed that he had reached some unknown Asian islands, it had not donned on him that he had “discovered” a new continent.

European Explorers

Columbus Magellan De Gamma

A Race for Riches - Spain

After it was clear that a new territory had been discovered by Europeans, the Spanish continued their efforts to look for alternate trade routes to Asia. In 1519, Ferdinand Magellan, sailed around South America, then west across the Pacific. His fleet would arrive in the Philippines where he would be killed. Despite being killed by natives, Magellan is still recognized as the first person to circumnavigate the globe even though he did not make the return to Spain.

With the Portuguese now also having a presence in the Western hemisphere, they negotiated the treaty of Tordesilla which was overseen by the Catholic Church. This treaty drew a line from North to South across the Americas dividing the territory between these 2 European powers only. Portugal gained everything east of the line, including Africa, and Spain everything west including most of the Americas.

Treaty of Tordesillas

Europe's Thirst for Land

As news spread of the new territory acquired by the 2 kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula (Spain & Portugal), other European counties entered into the Fray.

England entered into the mix by commissioning John Cabot, an Italian from Venice. He explored the coastline of New England claiming territory for the English.

Another famous individual from this era was the map maker, Amerigo Vespucci. He accompanied the Portuguese captain Pedro Cabral on his voyages to the New World. The Americas would be named after Vespucci.

The Spanish Empire

Spanish conquerors, known as Conquistadors were Spanish individuals who moved to the Americas to establish Spanish rule in the new territories. These conquistadors were ruthless individuals to the natives of these lands, killing thousands who opposed Spanish rule.

The Aztec empire had been established in parts of Mesoamerica and controlled this territory politically for over a century. Upon the arrival of the Hernan Cortes, himself a conquistador, their empire quickly collapsed as the more technologically advanced Europeans were able to defeat them rather easily (the new diseases brought over by Europeans also had an impact).

Upon Cortes’ arrival at Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, he meet the Aztec monarch Montezuma. The Aztecs initially welcomed the Spanish but tensions soon rose, and battle between these 2 parties began.

The Spanish Empire

As the Spanish continued to explore their new territorial acquisitions, they cam in contact with another native civilization in South America, The Incas.

Francisco Pizarro arrived off the Pacific coast of South America and marched inward with his men. They brought with them steel weapons, gunpowder, and horses with them. The Incas also had never seen these things before.

Similar to the effects on the Aztecs, the Incas died in large numbers after being exposed to European diseases. The King of the Incas died after being exposed, which led to a civil war amongst his 2 eldest sons. Pizarro took advantage of the situation, took control of the territory and established a Spanish capital in modern day Lima, Peru.

The Columbian Exchange

By 1550, much of the territory had been explored and large numbers of Spaniards moved into the Americas. Queen Isabella gave these settlers the right to use natives as laborers, this right was known as encomienda. By this point, natives were referred to as Indios, named for being the inhabitants of the Indies.

Many of these natives worked in gold & Silver mines & sugar plantations. Many died under poor working conditions. This along with disease wiped out huge number of the population. Mexico had a population of 25 Million in 1500, by 1630 only 1 million remained.

Along with this decline in population, Native culture also disappeared as European missionaries brought their language, religion, culture and government replacing wha had been their previously.

The Columbian Exchange

With Europeans establishing plantations and ranches centered around agricultural crops not available in Europe previously, a new sector of the economy was being created. Potatoes, cocoa, corn, tomatoes and tobacco were being shipped to Europe. The Europeans also brought cattle and horses to the Americas, animals not native to the Western Hemisphere. The exchange of goods between the Americas and Europe became known as the Columbian exchange.

By the 17th century rivalries between European Kingdoms began. The Dutch and English were now also major players, with England & The Netherlands encroaching Portuguese claims in the Indian Ocean and Spanish and Portuguese claims in the Atlantic Ocean.

European Rivals

The Dutch established settlements in North America, originally settling the land where New York City sits today.

The French also jumped into colonizing as they established colonies in the Caribbean, Canada, and Louisiana. Samuel de Champagne, founded Quebec, the first permanent French settlement in the Americas.

The English claimed land around Massachusetts Bay, and established a colony in Virginia.

The French & English dominated trade in North America eventually bringing an end to a Dutch presence. England came to control most of the North American Atlantic seaboard.

European Claims in The Americascirca 1700

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