Exploration
World History: Patterns of Interaction & Modern European History
Important Timeline of the European Expansion
1419 Portugal’s Prince Henry the Navigator establishes a school of seamanship and navigation.
1427-1431 Portuguese explore the Azores (North Atlantic Ocean)
1442 The Portuguese establish a slave-trading station in West Africa
1488 Bartholomew Diaz rounds Cape of Good Hope
1492 Pope Alexander VI establishes the Papal line of Demarcation
Important Timeline of the European Expansion
1497-1498 John Cabot explores the Northeast coast of North America
1498 Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut on India’s Malabar Coast
1499-1500 Amerigo Vespucci makes two voyages of exploration along the Atlantic coast of South America
1500 Pedro Cabral claims Brazil for Portugal
1511 The Portuguese take Malacca on the Malay Peninsula
Important Timeline of the European Expansion
1513 Ponce de Leon discovers Florida; Vasco de Balboa crosses Panama to the Pacific Ocean
1519-1521 An expedition originally led by Ferdinand Magellan circumnavigates the globe.
1524Giovanni de Verrazano explores the coast of North America
1532 Francisco Pizarro conquers the Inca Empire in Peru
Important Timeline of the European Expansion
1534 Jacques Cartier makes his first voyage to Canada
1542 The first Portuguese ship reaches Japan
1557 The Portuguese establish a trading station at Macao on the Southern Coast of China
By the early 1400s
Europeans were ready to venture beyond their borders.
The Renaissance encouraged a new spirit of adventure and curiosity.
Factors that encouraged EXPLORATION
SEEKING GREATER WEALTH
SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES
Seeking of greater wealth
Desire for new sources of wealth.
Trading of spices and luxury goods from Asia (eg. Nutmeg, ginger, cinnamon, pepper).
Demand for these goods was greater than the supply, merchants could change high prices and thus make great profits.
Spread of Christianity
European nations believed that they had a sacred duty not only to continue fighting Muslims, but also to convert non-Christians throughout the world.
Bartolomeu Dias says, “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.”
Technological advances
Advances in technology made the voyages of discovery possible.
1400s-shipbuilders designed a new vessel, the caravel, which is sturdier than earlier vessels. Its triangular sails allowed it to sail effectively against the wind.
PORTUGAL LEADING THE WAY
Portugal took the lead in overseas exploration due to strong government support.
Who is Prince Henry the Navigator?
Prince Henry the Navigator 1394-1460 Portuguese infante and patron of Portuguese
exploration.
He was said to have shown little emotion. (Which suggests his coldness and being distant disposition)
No one, in fact, ever saw him to lose his temper.
By the time he died, the Portuguese had established a series of trading posts along the shores of Africa. Trade of Gold, ivory, and slaves, then, became important.
Portuguese Sailors
Reached the Cape of Good Hope.
He also considered sailing to India but his crew was exhausted and food supplies were low. Hence, he went back to Portugal.
Reached the port of Calicut in 1498.
Amazed by the spices, the rare silks, and the precious gems that filled Calicut’s shops.
SPANISH CLAIMS
Portuguese established trading posts along the west coast of Africa, Spain watched with envy.
Spanish monarchs desired a direct sea route to Asia.
Christopher Columbus
Convinced Spain to finance a plan: finding route to Asia by sailing west across the Atlantic Ocean.
October 1492, Columbus reached Caribbean. This would open the way for European colonization of the Americas.
IMPACT OF COLUMBUS’S COLONIZATION OF THE AMERICAS
Portugal suspected that Columbus had claimed for Spain lands that Portuguese sailors might have reached first.
Pope Alexander VI- stepped in to keep peace between the two nations. Suggested an imaginary dividing line
drawn north to south through the Atlantic Ocean.
Line of Demarcation- all lands to the West of the line are for Spain. All lands to the East of the line, Portugal.
Treaty of Tordesillas – 1494 Both countries agreed to honor the line.
Portugal’s Trading Empire After da Gama’s voyage, Portugal built a
trading empire throughout the Pacific Ocean.
Goa- a port city on India’s west coast, was made the capital of their trading empire.
Portuguese sailed farther east to Indonesia (aka the East Indies) and eventually seizing control of the Strait of Malacca. This gave them control of the Moluccas Islands (aka Spice Islands).
Effects of Portugal’s success in Asia
Attracted the attention of other European nations like Spain.
In 1521, Spanish expedition led by Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines.
In what year did the Spaniards settle in the country?
In the beginning of 1600, the English and Dutch began to challenge Portugal’s dominance over the Indian Ocean trade.
Both formed an East India Company to establish and direct trade throughout Asia. Had the power to mint money. Make treatises Raise their own armies.
DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY
Richer, more powerful than England’s.
Headquarters were at Batavia on the island of Java.
Also seized both the port of Malacca and the valuable Spice Islands.
In 1600s, Netherlands increased its control over the Indian Ocean trade. Hence, Amsterdam became the leading commercial center.
DUTCH EAST INDIA COMPANY
Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie
Richer, more powerful than England’s.
Headquarters were at Batavia on the island of Java.
Also seized both the port of Malacca and the valuable Spice Islands.
In 1600s, Netherlands increased its control over the Indian Ocean trade. Hence, Amsterdam became the leading commercial center.